Spectre of Omicron haunts Thailand’s hotel sector
As per the Hotel Business Operator Sentiment Index for January, 42 per cent of hotel operators are still worried that the Covid-19 crisis will hinder the sector’s recovery.
“Our survey found that the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in Thailand and temporary suspension of the Test & Go scheme have forced most customers to cancel their hotel bookings in January,” Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, chairman of the Thai Hotel Association (THA), said on Thursday.
“January has recorded 32 per cent average occupation rate, dropping from an average of 36.9 per cent in December. THA believes February’s average occupation rate will drop even further to 24 per cent.”
A survey was conducted among 200 hotels nationwide, including 18 alternative quarantine hotels and seven hospitels, from January 10-26. Most of the respondents or 73 per cent said they had opened for service in December, while the rest plan to reopen in the second half of this year.
Most hotel operators say their income in January is about the same as the previous month. Meanwhile, 49 per cent have earned less than 30 per cent of the pre-Covid level, while 26 per cent have been able to rebuild their revenue. Most of these hotels are in the South and East of Thailand.
Of the respondents, 53 per cent said they have enough liquidity to run their businesses for another three months, while 11 per cent said they only have enough to survive for one month. However, 17 per cent said their liquidity has risen compared to the previous month, and most have reported a 50-per-cent occupancy rate.
Average employment in the hotel business in January has also dropped to 63.6 per cent from 64.7 per cent in the previous month corresponding to the low occupancy rate.
The survey also found that most hotel operators want the government to keep the co-payment scheme alive to help them continue employing staff and provide a debt moratorium programme for operators’ bank loans.
The operators are also hoping the government will increase the limit on rooms that can be let out, extend ongoing tourism stimulus schemes and launch new campaigns that focus on promoting corporate seminars.