HOLIDAY accommodation providers are facing crippling financial pressure and some are on the verge of going under, says the body that represents the industry in South East Cornwall.

Chairman of the South East Cornwall Tourism Association (SECTA) Kim Spencer said that she had been told of cases where owners were having to choose between paying refunds to guests or doing their own grocery shopping.

Accommodation providers have been shut since the Prime Minister told them to close in March. And while people are now preparing to re-open on July 4, says Kim, the loss of income so far this year, the lack of sufficient support from Government, and the obligation to make refunds, have combined to create a ‘perfect storm’ for owners. Whatever the summer brings may not be enough to see them through the winter months, says Kim.

‘The impact has been massive. Some people have had no financial support at all, because they weren’t eligible for either the Government rateable value grant or the self-employed funding.

‘This is changing, with the introduction of the discretionary grant, but it is still not enough. B&Bs have been shut since March and are only now receiving any help.’

Kim, who owns Wringworthy Cottages at Morval with her husband Michael, outlined her own situation.

‘We received the £25k grant that was given at the start of April, but that £25k was very quickly eaten up in refunds,’ she said.

‘My husband and I don’t take any income, so we can’t be furloughed, although we have furloughed what staff we can.

Furnished holiday lettings are an anomaly in the tax system which means we don’t count as self-employed.

‘For the period from the end of March to the end of June we have refunded £40,000. Plus we have lost about £50,000 worth of bookings.’

While SECTA and Cornwall Council have been lobbying Government for further support, Kim says insurance companies are responsible for much of the pain felt.

‘The insurance companies are the real villains of the piece here.

‘They have failed to pay out to the businesses that are their customers and they have failed to pay out to travellers.

‘The tourism businesses are effectively acting as the insurers of last resort. It’s a disgrace.’

Insurance

Kim says that of around 50-60 SECTA members plus many more tourism industry businesses she has spoken to through networks in Devon and Cornwall, ‘not one’ has received an insurance payment.

‘We are going to see businesses fold this year and into next year, because they don’t have enough cash to see them through the winter.

‘We desperately need to make sure all tourism businesses are supported. And you have to remember the additional spend of visitors. Other businesses rely on the tourism businesses.’

In preparation for opening after July 4, accommodation providers are planning ahead as best they can for what restrictions and measures might have to be in place.

‘We are still waiting for the Government guidance to make tourist accommodation safe, in terms of cleaning, use of bedding, check in and out times, and so on,’ she said.

‘Many of us are making a good start on our risk assessments, but we’re a bit stuck until we see the guidance. It is causing a bit of distress.

‘We live in our communities as well. We don’t want to see a spike in coronavirus cases,’ she continued. We are all hoping we can re-open, but if the Government says I have to stay shut until December, that is fine, so long as they fund us to do that.’