Coronavirus: Hotels still suffering - Association

Dr Edward Ackah Nyamike, President, Ghana Hotels Association, says hotels are yet to recover from the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the industry.

He said though a few hotels were resuming operation after the lockdown, they were struggling and “suffering.”

Dr Nyamike, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said most hotels closed down during the lockdown with a few struggling ones needing urgent support to survive.

He said despite low patronage, the facilities had to pay workers and maintain equipment.

“Most hotel managements are suffering due to insufficient finances. There is low patronage of services, but they still have to pay their workers with loans, which is also another financial burden,” he emphasized.

Dr. Nyamike said the Association was engaging stakeholders for a business-friendly environment to facilitate operations of members.

He, therefore, appealed to government to allocate some amount of money to the industry to “bring it back to live.”

Dr Nyamike said the Association was working on the establishment of a credit union to assist members in difficult times and called for support of all stakeholders.

He said the Association was also seeking to engage members in digital training on technicalities relating to housekeeping, cost management, and marketing to attract domestic tourists and improve service delivery.

Mr Clement Quartey, Manager, Mascot Hotel, in Accra, bemoaned low patronage due to the pandemic, which consequently led to the laying-off of some of his workers.

He said they shut down the restaurant, pool, gym and conference, and that the only services rendered currently were the take-away packaging and room services.

Mr Quartey said patronage of services was extremely low, almost leading to the closure of the hotel last year.

He said the celebration of Valentine’s Day had not had any positive impact on the business as expected.

He said they were adhering to the COVID-19 protocols strictly and “Hope that the cases will come down so that business will also bounce back,” he said.