Page 37 - edt_tour_digest

Pandemic Outbreak: Resilience of Hotel Industry

Pandemic Outbreak: The decline in

demand led to a

Resilience of Hotel loss of revenue for

Industry the hotel while

being burdened by

high operating and

By Zulaikha binti Ab Rahman
operating expenses.

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID- 19) is a contagious disease caused by coronavirus 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome

(SARS- Co V- 2). It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has since spread to the rest of the

world, resulting in pandemic outbreak. Till March 2020, Malaysia Association of Hotel (MAH) has recorded, total

number of hotel's lost revenue has increased more than 193 thousand overnight rooms, which almost nearly to

RM 76 million due to pandemic outbreak. Cancellation of room bookings alone has caused more than RM 75

million in room revenue for the hotel industry in Malaysia, around 193 000 room nights.

This does not include cancellation of events, conferences, exhibitions, meetings and food & beverage losses. Hotel

demand is about to drop for April, May, June and finally for the third quarter of 2020. The decline in demand led

to a loss of revenue for the hotel while being burdened by high operating and operating expenses. Hotels need to

plan ahead and ensure their own survival. The Employment Retention Program or ERP was introduced by the

Government as a mean to help employees forced to be placed on unpaid leaves. MAH was approached by

MOTAC to find hotels at all entrances and the list topped 10 000 rooms with the Government providing RM 150

per room per night, complete with 3 meals.

image courtesy: Crello.com