Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1316584
3 NEWS 10.12.2020 FROM PAGE 1 e complete lack of tourists visiting Malta at the moment – and in the fore- seeable future – means that guesthous- es are struggling to fill their rooms, with many shutting their doors until the pan- demic is over. And the exodus of foreign workers back to their home countries means that the very little demand for rental units there is at the moment, is being fulfilled by the over-supply of apart- ments available, these having rents re- duced drastically in a bid to attract at least a modicum of income. Bartolo acknowledged the problem many operators are facing. "By its very nature, tourism depends on the movement of people, and so, the ban on international travel imposed by many countries had a massive effect on the tourist industry on a global scale," he said. Like all other countries in Europe and beyond, Malta also suffered the effects of the drastic drop in travellers experi- enced worldwide and this affected all the hospitality sector, from the biggest to the smallest establishment. "Right from the beginning, the Mal- tese Government has provided its full support including financial assistance in the form of wage supplements and vouchers that were aimed at sustaining the sector through these challenging times," Bartolo said. "It will continue to offer its support to the whole sector with the aim of return- ing to more normal levels of operation in the shortest possible term." Wage subsidies a lifeline e minister's words will go down well with many guesthouse owners who hope business will start flowing in once people feel comfortable travelling again with the widespread availability of a vaccine. Robert, owner of the five star-rated White Star guesthouse in Salina told BusinessToday that he had decided to shut down operations as he could not fill any rooms, whatever he tried. "e bottom line is there is no demand whatsoever and it did not make sense for us to remain open," he said. "No is even booking for next year, as everyone seems to be waiting to see what will happen, whether a Covid vaccine will be found." Robert is hedging his bets on a vaccine being available around the beginning of the year, and is hoping therefore to be able to reopen in mid-February. at would give him enough time to ramp up interest and bookings to cov- er the profitable spring and summer months through October. "Hopefully foreign workers will start returning too, as they too are important for our business," Robert said. As to the staff, Robert said they are still being paid, even while shut down. "e government's wage subsidy has been a godsend in these hard times, and we have been able to keep our staff on the payroll, complementing the govern- ment's subsidy with our own contribu- tion, and thus paying the staff the full wages due." Robert explained that his family owned a number of apartments that they also rented out. ose too remain empty at the moment and the family is counting on the return of the foreign workers to Malta to start seeing some income from those rental units once again. e owner of Tarona Guesthouse in St Paul's Bay agreed that filling a room was an impossible task at the moment. He said he had tried discounting pric- es and offering incentives, but the utter lack of incoming tourists had dealt a deadly blow to his business, and many others like him. "We even tried offering our rooms at very competitive rates on a long-let basis, in a bid to attract some of the re- maining foreign workers on the island," he said. In fact, the guesthouse was offering rooms at rates starting from €220 per month. A €450 monthly rate included daily breakfast and dinner, free wifi, and weekly laundry service. "We had a lot of feedback, but these workers were practically all insisting on a one-year lease contract, which I could not do, as that would have overlapped next year's spring and summer seasons," the owner said. Of course, rates in peak season would be much higher than those offered as incentives at the moment, so the owner felt he could not jeopardise next year's potential profit. Key word here is 'potential' as none of the owners or operators know what to expect next, though most appear to be hoping that a vaccine will be available in the beginning of next year. Tentative bookings for summer Sandro, manager owner of a large guesthouse in Swieqi, told Business- Today that they remained nominally open for businesses, though they have no guests registered for the past three months. "We had some long-term residents who have since also returned to their countries to be with their families," San- dro said. "We are still paying our staff 's wages, thanks to the wage subsidy, but we are currently operating a very re- laxed work schedule, with the staff only coming in once or twice a week to help maintain the common areas." He said that they had some tentative provisional booking for next Summer, and those were only from returning cli- ents who visited Malta and stayed at the guesthouse every year. "So far, we are not even accepting deposits on bookings for next year, as we still do not know where we'll be at," Sandro said. "I hope we'll be over Covid by then because otherwise many of us would not be able to continue, especial- ly if government stops its subsidies and incentives." He said the owners had already in- formed staff that if the bookings re- mained non-existent and if the govern- ment subsidies ended at March, they would possibly need to readdress the operational value of the business. And that, for many of the owners as well as the staff, is what it's all about. Because the business cannot survive on government assistance alone for long. And with plane after plane reaching Malta empty, the only hope for guest- house operators is for a Covid vaccine becoming available in the next few months. Otherwise, it might come too late to save many of them. Guesthouses, yes, but no guests Even long-stay package offers have found no takers, leaving guesthouses empty and losing money