The hospo world is in somewhat of a flap, and all for good reason.
On top of bushfires, floods extreme weather conditions, we are now suffering the clout of the Coronaviruses, also known as COVID-19. Human resources and business support peeps in our businesses are supporting teams that have lost houses, friends and possessions and there seems no end in sight.
The rollercoaster world we live in – witnessing the personal and property devastation of our friends, families and strangers, to the beyond generous Aussies and ordinary and extraordinary people around the world easing our national pain with financial and human gifting is uplifting and surreal.
And now with the Coronavirus, billions of dollars are being wiped off the economy with cancelled events, cancelled rooms from one of our biggest tourism regions. This will affect us all in the hip pocket both at a local and business level but also the cost to government to manage the health aspects of all events.
There is much in the press about how the virus started and what we can do to avoid to minimise the chance of infection. Some businesses are allowing Front of House staff to wear masks, some are not. Some businesses have compulsory travel and contact history surveys for staff and some are not. Some are not sure what to do, if wearing the mask would make our customers feel nervous? It is unfortunate that this virus has come around during the widely celebrated Chinese New Year, and we feel for our friends and colleagues.
What does this mean for us? More strain on an industry that is already hurting. Let us keep supporting our local businesses, towns and regions but don’t forget our city hotels and venues either, we all have a rough road ahead.