Tens of thousands of people who work in the hotel and tourism sector in the Bristol region could lose their jobs as a result of the 海角视频鈥檚 lockdown, an industry boss has warned.
Raphael Herzog, head of Bristol鈥檚 Hoteliers Association, says the industry needs social distancing to be reduced to one metre in order for hotels to survive.
He also says the ending of the government鈥檚 furlough scheme should be staggered depending on when businesses reopen - and extended for the hospitality sector.
鈥淭he hotel industry will be the last sector to open in July and when we reopen business won鈥檛 be as strong," he said.
鈥淲hy are hotels having to move into flexible furlough straight away when other businesses have reopened in June and had full furlough to start with?
鈥淗otels should be able to benefit from the full scheme for a further two months and then go into the flexible scheme.鈥
Mr Herzog, who manages a hotel in Gloucestershire, had a team of 150 before the virus outbreak but was forced to furlough the majority of staff when 海角视频 hotels closed.
And the picture for the industry is bleak, he says. Mr Herzog believes some hotels are likely to go bankrupt and mass redundancies are 鈥渋nevitable鈥.
He said: 鈥淭houghts around the city are that hotel profits will take three years before they return to 2019 levels and if changes are not made quickly we are likely to see redundancies around the [Bristol region] of more than 100,000 from the tourism sector.鈥
When asked if the city region could see some hotels disappear all together, Mr Herzog says the question for hoteliers is whether it is worth reopening at all.
鈥淲ill there be enough business? Some people could go bankrupt and the small independent hotels could be at risk.
鈥淢ost of the business for hotels in the Bristol region is domestic, but we will see a drop off in demand for meeting and events, tour series and the corporate market from businesses like Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Airbus, which used to fly in domestic and international employees to stay in our hotels.鈥
The problems facing the sector could be further compounded by the shrinking 海角视频 economy, according to Mr Herzog, who says the industry's future depends on the severity of a 海角视频 recession.
鈥淚t all depends how long it will take for the 海角视频 economy to recover and how many lose their jobs because if people are made redundant they won鈥檛 be booking holidays or buying things.鈥
Mr Herzog says his hotel is already putting plans in place to reopen, including a drive-thru digital check in, removing all furniture from the lobby, closing the pool, and sealing bedroom doors with tape after they have been cleaned.
The hotel鈥檚 restaurant, which could previously seat 180 people, will only be able to serve 60 when it reopens - and that鈥檚 only if one-metre social distancing is allowed.
鈥淲e need more guidance as a sector. Do staff need to wear masks and PPE? There are so many questions that need answering," he added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a huge challenge for our industry moving forward. The credit crunch of 2008 is nothing compared to this.鈥
