Doom At The Inn

The president of the Hotel Association of Canada is calling on the federal government to step up support for this country’s beleaguered hotel industry, warning that Canada is on the brink of a rash of hotel closures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, reports Ian Stalker in this week’s issue of Canadian Travel Press.

Susie Grynol warned during Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s 2020 Tourism Congress that: “The clock is ticking. We’re squarely in the middle of the second phase of the pandemic and it’s worse than the first phase … Hotels in this country are sitting virtually empty and have been since mid-March.”

Grynol pointed out that most hotels in Canada are small or mid-sized properties and don’t belong to chains, and some have reported revenue losses of 70% to 100%. Many of those properties have used up their savings and are running out of options when it comes to staying in business.

HAC has welcomed some Ottawa initiatives, such as extending the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy through spring. But the association wants to see Ottawa cover 85% of salaries, with Grynol worrying “about half of this industry going under without more government support.”

For the full story, check out this week’s CANADIAN TRAVEL PRESS.