Business hotels do not receive government assistance for almost a year: living on loans

Almost a year in empty pockets

Not long before, in mid-March, we will count exactly one year from the beginning of the pandemic and the first quarantine in Lithuania. It is true that the hotel sector also counted the days which, as E. Šiškauskienė assured, also quickly mentioned the date, the year in which the sector does not receive aid from the State.

“City hotels have not received any state aid since March, except for loans and interest deferrals for companies.

You know, taking out a loan or paying off interest is the kind of help here … plus not much help. Everything revolves around loans.

The situation is catastrophic. The hotels have not received any non-refundable subsidy so far, and so far only that language exists, ”he said.

When asked if employees received wage subsidies during downtime, the spokeswoman confirmed this, but added that it was not a help for companies but for individuals.

“We represent 42 thousand for employees, for each of whom there is a family, loans, all kinds of different situations,” he said.

According to E. Šiškauskienė, the first real aid will probably come to the hotels together with the planned support for the business, whose turnover decreased by 30%, which will depend on the GPM paid by the company.

“But many will be related companies, that date is still pending. Actually, this will be exactly the year of March, when business hotels have not received any support, ”said E. Šiškauskienė, adding that perhaps it was a bit easier for spa and resort hotels to survive.

“But they were also ‘full’ of de minimis aid, it happened that the de minimis aid is 200 thousand. Eur for any company for 3 years, the government took the medical coupons “changed” after that help, they are actually hotels in 2-3 months. The tourist complexes have used this aid and now they want to cover the interest on the loans, because they have expanded that measure, and they can no longer, because they have already used those 200 thousand. Yet you won’t be able to take advantage of it for years to come. This also helps, “the spokeswoman said.

In general, he stated that he considered the aid to the hotels as subsidies that the company did not have to repay.

“I understand the first wave, it was new for everyone, everyone was confused, they did not know what to do, but a year has passed. After all, a closed company is preparing a package of measures. It already closed for the second wave; it has to offer a plan, there has to be a subsidy.

That government promised us that everything was in line with Europe, that it would launch subsidies, but when the current government arrived, it turned out that nothing was coordinated and no measures were taken, there were only empty electoral speeches.

After all, even the retirees received money, but we see that the money was simply wasted and an electoral show was made, and for a business that pays taxes and supports the same retirees, we sat in vain for a year, ”said E Šiškauskienė.

Hotel managers: how much more can we borrow?

Artūras Vainora, director of the Centrum hotel chain, which owns hotels such as Gratis, Ratonda and Artis, said the reaction closed two hotels on March 16, just after the quarantine began, but has not received any non-refundable subsidies. of the state. till the date. and only taking out loans himself.

“The situation is that we have not received non-reimbursable subsidies. There are deferred taxes that will have to be paid and we have received a soft loan that will have to be repaid, and subsidies for workers are also delayed.

My opinion is that business support should be more differentiated, as there were companies that received and benefited from the support, but after the first quarantine they “bounced” and successfully increased their turnover and still received large amounts of support. And there are businesses that have fallen drastically, like us, waiting for that pandemic to end.

For example, the situation with business hotels is dire, while with spas, hotels in tourist cities had a record in the summer.

All this must be differentiated and evaluated according to the size of the company’s decline and that the subsidies are gradual. Suppose if the turnover was reduced by 50 percent. – support equal if 70%. “It is different, but the subsidies should not be reimbursable,” he explained.

In general, the businessman said that he no longer understood how much more could be borrowed.

“It just came to our attention then. Now nobody counts, they take loans to maintain liquidity, retain staff, pay for utilities.

The situation is truly catastrophic, but hopefully it will change. Hopefully the vaccination will take place this year, maybe some immunity will be gained in the middle of the summer, so I want to believe that tourism will recover very quickly.

Hopefully in the fall we will have 50 percent. previous turnover and back to 2019. we should be in 2022, after Easter, ”he said.

The editorial office also contacted Tadas Matjošaitis, CEO of Amberton Hotel Chain.

He said that the only support he receives today is the payment of subsidies to workers.

“If an employee is in downtime, the state makes up for it. That’s the only thing. We haven’t even received a deferral of interest on the loan, we still pay interest because the state has recognized us as a big business for the number of employees. , because we are a network and we have several hotels ”, he said.

How do we survive? It’s a lot of downtime, only a minimal amount left to work, some people come. In Klaipeda, our hotel is multifunctional, we receive part of the income from the rental of the premises. This is how we live, we get used to everything, but we probably won’t survive long, ”said the director.

According to him, that the loans remain loans, but they will have to be repaid.

“I really don’t think the hotel industry will recover quickly. It won’t happen this year or next, maybe in 2023. But I don’t even know if those people will travel again, because their habits change over time and, more so, companies they have gotten used to communicating remotely, ”commented T. Matjošaitis.

Ministry: We are making efforts

Delfi commented to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.

“The Ministry of Economy and Innovation understands the difficult situation of the tourism sector, which is already experiencing the second wave of COVID-19, and therefore is making special efforts to help this sector.

Most of the affected companies can only use general aid measures, while the tourism sector, including hotels, can use both general measures (tax deferrals, downtime, subsidies, etc.) and exclusively for them ”, said the answer.

According to the ministry, hotels, as well as tour operators and restaurants, can obtain soft loans in very good condition, for a loan of up to 1 million. EUR no deposit is required when, for comparison, in Latvia the limit is only 150 thousand. euros.

“The loans allow tour operators to pay tourists for missed trips and hotels and restaurants to cover necessary expenses,” the ministry said.

In total, almost 32 million euros have been allocated to help the tourism sector. help euro.

In addition, the first business support package is already in place, according to which a business that has experienced 30 percent. Fall and beyond, you can apply for grants and loans. 180 million have been earmarked for this. euros. The first grants to companies have already been distributed just one week after the start of this measure.

The second business aid package, which also provides aid to the most affected companies, has already been presented to the social partners and we are now awaiting their comments. This package is expected to reach 150 million. “said the ministry.

When compensation for downtime and these relief measures are combined, a total of around € 500 million will be allocated to help businesses.