CBD hotels are now making difficult decisions to close doors during the COVID-19 crisis.
CBD hotels are now making difficult decisions to close doors during the COVID-19 crisis.

Tourism Accommodation Australia says major hotels in Central Business Districts around Australia were now beginning to close their doors in order to survive the Coronavirus outbreak and tourism shutdown.

With occupancies now well below 10% and many in the low single digits, TAA National CEO Michael Johnson says the collapse in visitors had left properties with no option but to close up shop. The news came during a phone conference held late yesterday with the organisation’s national board, led by Chairman, Martin Ferguson AM.

“This is a devastating time for our sector – and sadly things are set to get even tougher before the eventual recovery,” Johnson said.

Despite the closures, Johnson said some venues, even among those which had closed, had expressed interest in operating as a makeshift ‘medi-hotel’, quarantine or isolation centre in order to help ease the load on government health departments and hospitals.

“During this difficult time TAA will continue to brief all members and represent them at the highest levels of state and federal governments. I have said before we are a resilient industry and TAA will be doing all it can to ensure our members and their staff are in the best possible position when recovery comes.”

The organisation’s board was solely focused on the COVID-19 crisis and would continue to represent the interests of hotel owners, regional areas, payroll, visa workers and all measures designed to protect staff.