Hospitality sector calling for long-term extension of Government pandemic aid
IT has been named Ireland’s best guesthouse by Tripadvisor on several occasions, providing Ballybunion’s overseas golfers with supremely comfortable lodgings during their links-side stay.
James and Mary Beasley’s award-winning guesthouse, The 19th Lodge, lies empty now instead, locked down like the rest of the sector just as they would have expected the first golfers of the 2020 season arriving. Now, like so many others in hospitality in the town, the couple are faced with the possible loss of 90 per cent of the business and a sea of uncertainty.
But one thing is clear: they will be back in operation like never before as soon as the hospitality sector gets the green light – and with an even more intense sanitising regime in place, social distancing markings and everything else required to keep the virus at bay.
“Our season is longer here than in the town as the golfing season runs from April to October,” Mary Beasley told The
Kerryman. “That’s our trading year and this hit us slap bang as we are preparing to open, with the house painted and the rooms looking their very best. But the lockdown came on March 13 and every booking we had was cancelled by email right up to July 29.”
Customers who rescheduled to later in the year have since cancelled the second bookings as well, Mary explained. Roughly 60 per cent of the business is the American market, with Canadians, Europeans, Australians, Japanese and other nationalities making up the remainder.
“The other side of it is that, even when we do re-open later in the year, we don’t know if the virus will be brought in by guests or not. We will be taking every precaution regarding hand sanitising, social distancing and hygiene full stop if we are allowed to open by July 20.”
As for who’s going to come after that date is a moot question for the golf side of the tourist trade in the resort: “We just don’t know if we will have visitors from then. It’s looking like it might be the domestic market we will have to rely on. Up to now we were thinking if guests from other countries have to quarantine there will be absolutely no hope of foreign tourists.”
James said they are looking at a 90-percent downturn for 2020. “They will have to extend the COVID payment for the year, and even at that it still won’t be enough for the bills and in light of the fact the banks’ moratorium is for only six months.”