EATING + DRINKING
Nobody has enjoyed Covid. Businesses have suffered, the healthcare system has strained and we’ve all been driven mad by whoever we live with – or felt the pangs of loneliness if we’re living alone. But hospitality businesses have suffered more than most.
Marisa Bidois, chief executive of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, estimates that hundreds of hospitality businesses have closed since March 2020 due to the lockdowns, with more expected following recent restrictions.
“At Level 4, revenue dropped for hospitality by 95 percent,” she explains. “And yes, there is the wage subsidy, and that’s great to retain teams, but it covers only a fraction of businesses’ costs in reality.” At Level 3, things are only marginally better, with revenue down 40-60 percent because not every business is set up for takeaway.
In short, hospitality businesses, particularly those in Auckland, are in a precarious position. Many have taken on unprecedented levels of debt but are unable to repay loans until trading returns to normal and expect those loans to take months to repay. Several businesses are only weeks or days from closing, and some have already been forced to close – among them Auckland waterfront jewel Euro and popular Commercial
