COUNTERPOINT: Kousoulis missed mark on B&BS

Thank you for Bill Spurr's informative story (“Pancaked by pandemic: Nova Scotia bed and breakfast owners pay high property taxes but miss out on rebates,” May 8).

Prior to reading this, many people had no idea B&BS were no longer regulated or did not qualify for any provincial small business assistance. However, I must correct some of the assumptions Finance Minister Labi Kousoulis made in response to questions after cabinet last Thursday. Kousoulis said:

“As accommodation sites, they (B&BS) were not ordered to close and they can still have revenue.”

Since the whole province is “shut down,” travel restrictions do not allow those from other provinces to come here or allow for Nova Scotians to leave their communities. Where does the minister think B&BS will get their revenue? It sounds like he is using a “loophole” to not have to offer assistance.

“There are tons of programs out there … payroll rebates, they could look at that.”

To qualify for a payroll rebate, one would actually need to have a payroll. At the best of times, B&BS cannot afford to hire staff. Now, with no tourists, why would we need staff?

“These programs are targeted at the most severely impacted.”

In actual dollars, B&BS and other small businesses may not be as severely impacted as the large businesses that cater to millionaires, but in percentages, I would say a decrease in revenue of 70 to 90 per cent is a severe impact.

“If you are comparing a hotel/motel or a large-scale bed and breakfast, it is a much different model to someone living in a home providing one, two or three rooms as a bed and breakfast.”

First, there is no such thing as a “large-scale” B&B. Under the previous legislation, to be a licensed B&B it was required the owner occupy the home and there be no more than four rental rooms. Therefore, all traditional B&BS have four or less rooms. Like hotels and motels, we rely on tourism; unlike hotels or motels, we are not set up for individuals to quarantine, so that is not a source of revenue.

As pointed out in the original article, one program offered by the province last week provided a grant of 15 per cent of sales revenue for either April 2019 or February 2020. Not only are those ludicrous months to look at for a mostly seasonal industry, a one-time grant of 15 per cent of one month any time of year for a small business is not going to be enough to pay any significant bills.

As the three B&B owners stated in their op-ed (the impetus for Bill Spurr's story), due to COVID-19 — and, sadly, due to the government's lack of support for the industry, traditional, professionally run bed and breakfasts may cease to exist. The traditional, historical bed and breakfasts that have been the cornerstone of tourism in many rural communities around our province may disappear, along with the tourists who brought money into these communities with them.