The government could close down hotels completely within weeks over Covid-19 fears, a hotel industry association is warning.
The Bristol Hoteliers Association (BHA), which represents 40 major hotels in the city, has said some hotels will “not survive” unless there are short-term cuts to staff or redundancies, leaving many working in the industry "hugely worried".
The coronavirus crisis has seen occupancy rates at hotels in Bristol plummet to roughly half the levels they usually are in March, according to the BHA.
Most hotels would usually be around 80 per cent occupied at this time of year but levels are currently between 30 and 40 per cent.
Those rates are expected to fall further - to around 10 to 15 per cent - over the next two weeks.
Raphael Herzog, BHA chair, says many hotels have staff who live in the buildings permanently and there are concerns around what will happen to them if hotels are closed.
Mr Herzog said: “These are difficult times for many people, but the hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard.
“Some hotels are planning to close as soon as the end of March, or partially close; some which are part of larger groups are looking at merging their operations, so that they have just one hotel open."
'Hotels are not going to be able to survive'
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Mr Herzog believes the government could instruct hotels to shut following the announcement on closing bars, restaurants and leisure facilities.
He said: "Clearly the welfare of our staff and guests must be the most important priority, and we must follow all guidelines.
“At present all hotels are only offering room service or take away options as we need to still be able to offer food and beverage to all our guests.
“Some of us have staff living in, so there are concerns about what will happen to them if hotels have to close.
“Some hotels are not going to be able to survive without either short-term lay-off of staff or even redundancies, which is a huge worry to many of our dedicated employees.”
Most conferences that were scheduled to take place between now and May have been cancelled, according to the BHA, and many planned for June and July have also been called off.
Mr Herzog said: “Most hotels are offering alternative dates over the next 12 months, but the big worry is all the uncertainty.”
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The association is now calling on the government to provide more support for the hospitality industry, including:
- A VAT-cut to encourage consumers to book trips and holidays so that trade can resume as soon as possible once the virus threat is over
- Slashing the rate of National Insurance Contributions for one year, to help with the retention of staff
- Ensure the insurers are suitably supported to assist businesses experiencing cancellations
- At least delaying, if not reviewing, the implementation of a points-based immigration system, due to be introduced on 1 January 2021, which will have a huge impact on the ability of hotels, as well as other industries such as the care sector, to recruit staff
- Ensuring that insurers are suitably supported to assist businesses which are experiencing widespread cancellations
- Postponing until September the proposed April increase in National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage, to ease the financial burden on struggling businesses
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Mr Herzog says it’s estimated there will be a revenue loss among members of at least £3million throughout March and April - although this could be more if hotels are forced to close.
He added that those who are part of the association are doing “all they can” to minimise the risk of spreading the virus and to maintain some social distancing.
This includes adding hand gel sanitising stations, not offering buffet services, increasing cleaning regimes on all touching points around hotels, public areas and bedrooms, and taking payments by card.
He added: “We are all determined to do everything we can to make our hotels as safe as possible for our guests and our staff. This is the most important as we need to follow government guidelines and reinforce social distancing.”