The detrimental impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown meant the Northern Ireland hotel sector suffered its worst year on record in 2020.
A closely-watched survey from ASM accountants revealed a slump in revenue across the industry and a swath of jobs cuts which has left many hoteliers reeling.
Only government support through the job retention scheme and a number of other targeted funding streams helped to temper the financial impact.
Still, the impact on operations was stark, with revenue falling by more than 90%.
Restrictions on opening left hoteliers hamstrung with the majority able to open their doors for just 230 days in 2020 and those in Derry and Strabane open for just 195.
That meant room occupancy – which measures the percentage of days a year a hotel room is occupied and a key measure of a success – was just 30% last year compared to just under 80% in 2019, a drop of some 1.7 million overnight stays.
The result was felt in the job market with more than 2,000 hotel workers losing their roles, despite the government support schemes.
A start has been made to recoup many of those losses over the last few weeks as the May 24 th reopening date approaches.
Last week Hastings Hotels - which owns The Europa, Culloden and Grand Central hotels, amongst others - said it is taking on 100 new staff while Galgorm Collection – the name behind the Galgorm Resort and Spa – has announced 180 jobs.
However, the sector has some way to go to recover from a difficult year in 2020, one which came in the aftermath of a bumper period of Northern Ireland’s hotels and considerable investment in new stock.
Michael Willamson, Director of Consulting at ASM and a hotel industry stalwart, said the pandemic has had a deep impact on society and, in turn, the hotel sector.
He said further government support will be needed beyond the May reopening date if under pressure hotels are to survive in the short term and recover from one of the most difficult trading periods on record.
