18% of tourist accommodation bankrupt

 In News, Tourism

A survey from the Portuguese Hotel & Restaurant Association – AHRESP has revealed that 18% of bed and breakfast establishments in Portugal say they are filing for bankruptcy.

The survey states that up until the end of June, 24% of so-called local accommodation and AirBnB establishments were closed for the whole month, while 47% of companies had no guests and 41% were only 25% full.
These results mean an overall fall of 90% in take-up rate seen by 54% of companies on the same period last year.
The traditional ‘high season’ (July-September) reveals extremely worrying results as 46% of companies do not expect to see a take-up rate above 25%, while around 17% of companies expect to be between 25% and 50% full.
Given this scenario, 18% of companies are considering filing for bankruptcy they cannot cover their costs and 45% have yet to decide.
Use of the Government’s lay off scheme to support salary payments has increased since April. Around 42% of companies have applied for the mechanism, 76% only did so in May and around 60% will do so this month.
Of those which do not apply for or get lay off in July, 42% state they will not be able to pay salaries by the end of the month and 27% will not be able to pay June salaries and 12% will only be able to do so partially.
Over 12% say they will not be able to keep all of their staff on until the end of the year. Some 62% still don’t know if they will be able to keep all their staff on.
The situation for restaurants and bars is equally serious, with 38% considering bankruptcy because they cannot meet their overheads such as electricity and gas, staff and suppliers.
June’s turnover for these companies was dramatic, with over 24% of companies seeing losses of over 40% and 22% with losses greater than 60% while 12% are suffering losses or 90% on the same period last year.