Some hotel managers in Accra have rejected calls for a reduction in the cost of their services to increase patronage.
In the wake of the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic, some hotels are struggling to stay afloat, as bookings have reduced drastically, forcing some to lay-off some casual workers.
As a result, some have suggested a reduction in the cost of hotel rooms; meals and other services to enable them stay in business.
But speaking to Citi Business News, the General Manager of Accra City Hotel, Roman Krabel, said the operational cost of running hotels does not permit drastic reduction in prices.
“You cannot reduce your rate from say GHS500 to GHS300. We still have operational cost. We still have to pay our insurance. We still have to pay our ECT, we still have to pay our taxes.”
Mr. Krabel stated that with the turn of events, hotels now need to operate at a break-even point to stay in operations and cover all costs.
He added that there is the need to provide some waivers for hotels to prevent their businesses from collapsing.
Hotels Association call for tax cut
The Ghana Hotels Association has called on government to consider some tax cuts for its members as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on their operations.
Some hotel managers fear they may shut down completely if government does not intervene. Guest visits and hiring of conference halls have reduced drastically, as some organizations have even cancelled already booked events.
Nana Addo announces GHS1bn stimulus for businesses
Meanwhile, as part of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic to sustain businesses, President Akufo-Addo announced that all households and small to medium scale enterprises are to benefit from a stimulus package of one billion Ghana cedis.
“The Minister for Finance has been directed by me to prepare, for approval by Parliament, a Coronavirus Alleviation Programme to address the disruption in economic activities, the hardship of our people, and to rescue and revitalize our industries. He will, then, immediately make available a minimum of one billion cedis (GH¢1 billion) to households and businesses, particularly small and medium scale enterprises. The commercial banks are, in addition, responding to the Bank of Ghana’s 1.5% decrease in the Policy Pate and 2% in reserve requirement with a three billion-cedi (GH¢3 billion) facility, to support industry especially in the pharmaceutical, hospitality, service and manufacturing sectors” he said.