MONEY RUNS OUT FOR BACKPACKER LODGE:

Hostel fights to survive

A LOCAL business owner whose bread and butter comes from tourists is in the fight of his life due to coronavirus border shutdowns.

Reef Lodge Backpackers owner Dean Nixon-harding said business had not been this bad since the recession of the late 2000s.

Mr Nixon-harding said reservations had nosedived since Australia shut its international borders on March 21.

“Within the first three weeks, 95 per cent of all bookings were cancelled. I was just seeing a sea of red for weeks,” he said. “I haven’t had a booking online for three days and prior to this you would average 10 bookings a day.”

Reef Lodge Backpackers is currently hosting eight to 12 backpackers in the 70-bed complex; the equivalent of 11-17 per cent capacity.

Mr Nixon-harding said he had applied for $10,000 in government funding last week but had been knocked back.

“There was $50 million of grants that we filled in the paperwork for and our accountant submitted it and they said all the money had run out,” he said.

“There is only so long you can keep going without a money flow and at the moment our money flow is at a tenth for the last five weeks.”

Currently hosting backpackers from Brazil, Spain, Italy and New Zealand, Mr Nixon-harding said they were reluctant to return to their countries.

“A lot of them don’t want to go home because Australia is a much safer place to be than anywhere else,” he said.

“At the same time, the big issue is they don’t know what to do because they are running out of money and they can’t get work.”

Italian backpacker Luca Ralli, 27, has been staying at Reef Lodge Backpackers for three months and has been out of work since he arrived.

Mr Ralli’s visa will expire in March next year and he said he

wanted to stay in Australia for as long as possible.

“I have no idea what is happening and I will have to see if it is even possible to fly home but I don’t want to go home,” he said.

“Australia is the best country and I feel so lucky to be shut down here and it is safe.”

Mr Nixon-harding has offered Mr Ralli free accommodation in return for help around the backpackers’.

IN TROUBLE: Reef Lodge Backpackers owner Dean NixonHarding feels a lot of small businesses are falling through the cracks for funding relief.

Pictures: SHAE BEPLATE Backpackers Josh Fuller, Vale Garcia and Luca Ralli would rather stay in Townsville than go home.