Halifax Hotels Still Struggling Despite Borders Reopening
HALIFAX – It’s been a little more than a week since the Atlantic Bubble fully reopened on June 30, bringing with it hopes for an economic rebound for Halifax businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector. But according to Megan Delaney, president of the Hotel Association of Nova Scotia, revenues from these visitors are not enough to bring the sector back into recovery.
“It’s a bit busier and there’s an uptick on the weekends. But we’re not really getting a lot of vacation planners yet. It’s local travel-people going out for a weekend to visit friends or family,” said Delaney.
“I’ve spoken to different hoteliers, and especially ones that are outside of the downtown core, they are – I don’t want to use the word suffering – but their ramp-up is going much slower than the ones in downtown proper.”
The reason for reduced revenue isn’t solely based on low occupancy, however. The ancient laws of supply and demand have been working against the industry. With less demand for rooms, the rates have been cheaper than usual.
“When there are tons of rooms, everyone sells them for cheaper. So, everyone’s (average charge per room) is much lower than it would be in 2019, as well,” she said. “So, it’s kind of a compounding issue. Everyone’s fighting for such a small piece of the pie.”
According to Delaney, revenues for Nova Scotian hotels are still down 70 percent compared to this time in 2019, although bookings for the month of August seem to be a bit more promising than July.
“From outside the bubble, we’re getting more calls from people from Ontario or Quebec…they’re planning a trip for later in the season,” said Delaney.
But that still leaves a relatively short season for an industry that relies heavily on the five-month span of May-October to carry it through the rest of the year. And given that this is the second year in a row where peak season was hampered by Covid-19, many hotels and hospitality businesses are suffering right now.
“You have to optimize on those months to get you through until the next spring,” said Delaney.
“The fact that we’re going to lose two peak seasons – it’s very concerning for anyone in the tourism sector or arts and culture sector.”
Delaney and others in the tourism and hospitality industry continue to lobby the federal government for help. Right now, they are trying to convince the feds not to completely wind down and phase out key support programs like the wage and rent subsidies. Delaney says these programs will be needed for hotel operators until at least the second quarter of 2022.
In the meantime, Delaney is encouraging Nova Scotians to book a local hotel for a staycation this summer, as the hotel industry is relying more than ever on local support.
“What I’m asking for now is to get support back from the people. We’re in a situation where we need people to support local and have a staycation.”
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