BROWNSTEIN
‘There’s no customers coming, so what’s the point of staying open?’ says salesperson
Tourism trade hurting as reservations dry up
No easy task, but I found some tourists strolling Ste-catherine St.
Jacky Le Naour, his wife Françoise, their son and daughter-in-law had just arrived from France’s Brittany region a few days earlier.
“It’s great, almost like we have the whole city to ourselves,” Jacky said. “It’s our first time here and we are managing to enjoy ourselves, even with so many places closed.”
The family is well aware of the coronavirus, having dealt with it in France.
“We’ve been lucky so far,” the smiling Françoise interjected.
Lucky that they arrived before quarantine and strict isolation policies took hold here.
Suffice it to say, these are trying times for the city’s tourism trade.
“Very challenging days,” Ritz-carlton Hotel CEO and general-manager Andrew Torriani understated. “This is such a huge industry in this city and country, and the (coronavirus) is having such a devastating effect on it and everything else.”
Torriani had a sense of what was to come when he heard that Nestlé, one of the world’s largest companies, had banned travel for its employees.
And then events just mushroomed everywhere
“There has been a precipitous drop in occupancy here,” he said. “We could really start to feel it three weeks ago with things plummeting overall. Then came entertainment, sports events and conventions being cancelled.”
The Ritz also is a popular destination for visiting NHL clubs, not to mention visiting entertainers, actors and production personnel as well as business execs from around the globe.
“Everyone I’ve talked to in the business across the country has also been affected.”
He pointed out that the hotel had been taking an intensively proactive safety approach for a while, with doorknobs and key-cards being scrubbed constantly, and hand sanitizers being placed everywhere. The hotel’s acclaimed restaurant, Maison Boulud, has been shut down for cautionary reasons. As a consequence, staffing levels are also down, with employees on temporary leave.
“Unfortunately, we just don’t have the volumes, but, hopefully, after this pause, we can get back to business as usual.”
With the Grand Prix and summer festival plans still in the works, this will be imperative for the survival for the tourism trade.
“I think Premier Legault has to be credited for taking tough measures now. If we don’t do this now, then we’ll have another Italy, and that could be the end for so many and so much.”
It’s a two-way street for tourism. They’re not coming here, and we’re not going there.
Travel agent Geneviève Stachtchenko conceded she hasn’t made “a penny” for a few weeks.
“No one is going anywhere these days,” she said. “All I’m doing now is cancelling tickets and reservations and trying to get refunds for customers. Or else trying to get snowbird customers booked to come back later to come back now, but that’s been so tough with many of those flights booked or being cut back.
“If I don’t get some customers out from France within 48 hours, they could be facing many weeks of quarantine when they get back here.”
Stachtchenko can’t recall business ever being this abysmal — not even around 9/11.
“I was actually booking a lot of people then, but I can’t see anyone booking for at least another month. Still, I’m sure I’m far from the only one with zero income these days.”
No doubt. There’s an eerie emptiness at downtown shops. So many businesses have curtailed operations for the time being, even though they aren’t required to do so.
“There’s no customers coming, so what’s the point of staying open?” said one salesperson, whose shop was in the midst of closing.
Boutique Tozzi manager Ismael Oblitas acknowledged that business at his Crescent St. shop had slowed down and he was anticipating more of a downturn in the next two weeks. But he echoed the sentiments of other retailers offering a solution to those uneasy about showing up in person.
“The best short-term solution would be to support businesses like ours and so many others through our online platforms,” he said.
The strategy appears to be working. Canada Post mailman Tony Francescangeli has seen a huge upsurge of late in home deliveries of parcels from Amazon and other online operators: “Neither snow nor rain, nor sleet nor heat, and, now, coronavirus can deter these packages from being delivered.”
Lufa, the food delivery system with its urban rooftop vegetable farms, has, not surprisingly, also received a major sales boost.
Even though restaurants are permitted to stay open, albeit in diminished capacity, many are now shutting down entirely.
Time Out Market in the Eaton Centre announced that it will be closing down temporarily as of Tuesday. Also starting Tuesday, Tim Hortons will close indoor seating at its outlets, offering only take-out, drive-thru and delivery.
Other restos, which have closed or planning to do, are also considering a similar tack, in providing take out service.
“We’re looking into it,” said Stephen Leslie, whose two popular restaurants, Tavern on the Square and Monkland Tavern, are both closed.
“But the situation is ever evolving, changing from hour to hour. It’s nuts. I’m now been hearing rumours about the SAQ closing. If that happens, there will be tough days ahead for many.”
Not everyone is bemoaning bad business. With interest rates about as low as they’ve been and with many wishing not to place their cash in the stock market, they are choosing brick and mortar investments instead.
“That happened during the financial crisis in 2008, and I can see it happening now,” noted Joseph Montanaro, among the city’s premier real-estate agents.
He reports having completed 10 offers for homes during spring break.
“I haven’t been seeing panic in real estate.
“In fact, I foresee an amazing season, especially if they slash the interest rates even further, which I think they will. There are many taking advantage of the opportunities. It’s going to make a hot market even hotter.
“But nothing is gained anywhere if people keep freaking out. We simply can’t let things grind to a halt.”