Coronavirus Adelaide: Stamford hotels close their doors in city and Glenelg
Two of Adelaide’s grandest hotels – one in the city and one at Glenelg – have closed their doors as business slows to a trickle for the state’s hospitality industry.
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Two of South Australia’s most iconic hotels have closed their doors as a result of the coronavirus.
The indefinite closures of the Stamford hotels – on North Terrace in the city and on the Glenelg foreshore – have prompted calls for all tourism and hospitality businesses to look at the Federal Government’s new $130 billion JobKeeper program as a way of staying afloat.
Tourism Industry Council SA chief executive Shaun de Bruyn said the closure showed that accommodation providers across the state have lost “just about all their customers.”
Stamford Hotels and Resorts Chief Executive Officer Ow Yew Heng, in a statement to staff and customers said the hotel chain “support and understand” the government’s measures taken to prioritise the health and safety of the public.
“However, the escalating government-imposed restrictions have, and continue to significantly impact our business,” the statement said.
“Essentially this has led to a severe downturn in our business, and a stoppage of the vast majority of work that our employees carry out on a daily basis … we have made the very difficult decision to temporarily close some hotels, until such time as restrictions are lifted and our business can resume as normal.”
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Mr de Bruyn and the South Australian Toursim Commission boss Rod Harrex urged hotels to investigate whether they can participate in the Federal Government’s Job Keeper program.
Mr Harrex said it will inject much-needed cash into thousands of tourism operators and help them hold onto the people and skills they will need when the COVID-19 crisis passes.
“Iconic hotels are incredibly important to the tourism sector; they add the x-factor for the South Australian accommodation market and give us a very broad range of unique options for visitors to SA,” he said.
“SkyCity, Adelaide Oval, Crown Plaza and Sofitel are all under construction and when they come into the market, they will ensure we are well placed for accommodation into the future. “As a major employer, we will certainly need them to be there when we come out of this the other end.”
