SIBU: Budget hotels here foresee a bleak future and some may be compelled to close shop due to losses.
This is according to Sarawak Central Region Hotel Association chairman Johnny Wong Sie Lee who said that room occupancy has plummeted amidst rising operational cost.
Johnny Wong Sie Lee
“Right now, many budget hotels are facing problems because without any visitors from outside Sarawak, their occupancy drops.
“Thus, hotels operators are running at a loss, (which) will eventually force them to stop and wind up their business, unless the situation changes.
“It will not be a surprise to see local hotels going to close down for good,” he lamented.
He made this comment in response to a recent article “Some Malaysian Hotels To Close Permanently As A Result Of The Virus Crisis” carried on a news business site.
According to the article, a number of hotels in Malaysia may be forced to shut down permanently and some temporarily as the impact of Covid-19 devastate the country’s economy and tourism.
The report was based on a survey conducted by the Malaysian Association of Hotels released on April 16.
Among the sample of 324 hotels, 48 establishments or almost 15 per cent were forced to permanently close, 50 per cent of the hotels said they are considering ceasing operations while 35 per cent said they would temporary halt their businesses.