A COONWARRA accommodation provider says she has lost more than $30,000 in cancellations in the past two weeks following the closure of South Australia’s borders, event cancellations and stricter social distancing measures.
Must @ Coonawarra owner Cate Cooper said the cancellations followed new State Government measures requiring all interstate travellers to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Major events being cancelled has also taken a toll on the small accommodation business, with Ms Cooper saying the ramifications presented quite a shock.
“Government help for small businesses like mine will not come around until the end of April so it is really hard at the moment,” Ms Cooper said.
“My staff member who cleans the rooms, no longer has any work because I just do not have the work here for her.”
Ms Cooper said the business had also been affected by statewide bans on employee travel by corporations.
“A large portion of my clients are from companies travelling to the region, but now those companies have travel restrictions,” she said.
“I have no guests at all and it is going to be very difficult to survive.”
Despite having a financial buffer, Ms Cooper said the cash flow would only last six weeks.
“When that is gone the outlook is quite dire but everyone is in the same boat,” she said.
“It will be difficult to see what happens in six weeks down the line with the government stimulus package for small businesses.
“In the meantime I will just remain open.”
Ms Cooper said she had developed self-isolation packages and trying to sell gift vouchers for when the pandemic ceases to ensure the business remained sustainable.
“This will just soften the blow a little bit financially,” she said.
“The border closures and the situation we (are) in has many of the cellar doors already shutting their doors, but luckily they are still employing staff because they have vintage going on, so job-wise we seem to be doing okay at the moment.
“If this continues past April, then we are going to see some serious shifts in our economic activity here, especially with supermarkets once people stop panic buying.”
