Another blow for Rocky motel

The business has been getting 15 to 20 phone calls a day with cancellations.

THE POSTPONEMENT of Rockynats has hit a lot of Central Queensland businesses hard.

The accommodation industry is one of the most affected as many providers were booked out well in advance.

Rockhampton’s Best Western Cattle City Motor Inn started receiving bookings in May last year and by December the 33-room motel was fully booked.

But this all came crashing down amid the COVID-19 pandemic which prompted the three-day June event to be postponed.

Motel owner Peter Boland said they started seeing cancellations early on.

“As soon as the virus started and they were talking social distancing, we had five cancellations straight away,” he said.

Once travel bans were implemented, the phone was ringing off the hook with 15 to 20 phone calls a day.

“Rarely you pick up the phone and it is someone wanting to book a room,” he said.

Most of the Rockynats booking were online at a non-refundable rate.

Mr Boland said they had to cover a lot of online costs but had waved the refunds through due to the circumstances.

Some guests have cancelled their bookings while some have moved to the new Rockynats date - Easter next year, from April 2 to 5.

“It’s just unknown at this stage, some are a bit wary,” Mr Boland said.

While the June bookings weren’t cash in the bank yet, they were forecast in the cashflow.

“You think you have this much coming in at this time and all of a sudden it’s gone,” Mr Boland said.

“Rockynats would have been an ideal time to top up the bank balance.”

Mr Boland and his wife Kathy have owned the Gladstone Rd motel in Allenstown for 12 years.

The motel mostly has corporate guests and with the ever-changing global coronavirus pandemic, there is a reduction in bookings.

They are still getting some sales reps coming through but it’s not as consistent or as long term as it usually is.

The sales reps are still being sent to the region but the businesses they usually call upon when in town don’t want to see them.

While this covers weekday bookings, there are very few guests on weekends.

“The rest of this week and next week is looking fairly ordinary,” Mr Boland said.

“You don’t know if it’s going to come through or not, you sit back waiting each day and do what you can do.”

The business supports six casual staff through housekeeping and the kitchen.

“There has been a drop in hours, we are rotating them as much as we can,” Mr Boland said.

With an on-site restaurant, room service meals are still on offer but public dining is not possible.

The couple is in the midst of renovationg the motel, having started earlier this year. All of the bathrooms are being stripped and renovating, along with some maintenance.

Looking ahead, Mr Boland said they would keep soldiering on, but he was concerned about how long restrictions and travel bans would be in place.

There are big bull and cattle sales on in September and October which the motel has a number of bookings for.

“It just really depends on how long this is going to go for,” he said.

The motel is also preparing for Beef Australia 2021 which it is already booked out for.

“We have to do what we have to do,” Mr Boland said.

“We’ve been here 12 years and have been through flood, fires, cyclones... we’ve been through some good and bad times.”

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