The foreseeable absence of many holidaymakers also at Easter intensifies the needs of hoteliers and innkeepers in Berlin. «Of course one had the hope for April. That is no longer necessary, ”said Thomas Lengfelder, the managing director of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association, on Monday. After several trade fairs from January to March, hoteliers usually start business with holidaymakers in the Easter period. The companies are urgently dependent on the income because they are largely still waiting for promised state aid.
© dpa
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Dark clouds pass over a hotel.
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Leading politicians announced at the weekend that, given the corona pandemic, they saw no chance for holiday travel at Easter. Berlin’s tourism and congress society had already made it clear at the turn of the year that it was not expecting significant numbers of visitors until the summer.
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Lengfelder referred to the falling number of people who are infected with the corona virus. Nationwide, according to the Robert Koch Institute, there were around 59 per 100,000 inhabitants on Monday within seven days. “Everyone was hoping: When the 50 is reached, it will be relaxed,” said Lengfelder. In view of mutations in the virus, however, the federal and state governments agreed last week to use a “stable” value of 35 as a guideline for easing.
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Lengfelder called for opening steps with clearly defined conditions. “It goes from one game to the other, there is a huge amount of frustration,” he described the situation. “Many are on the verge of bankruptcy.” From the state aid money mostly only deductions flowed, but leases and salaries continued. Bank loans are difficult to get because it is not clear when the companies will have income again.
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About every third hotel in Berlin has temporarily closed according to Dehoga. The others still accommodate a few business travelers. Of the almost 100,000 employees in the industry who are subject to social security contributions, almost 15,000 have been laid off. 50,000 are on short-time work.
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Source: dpa
| Updated: Monday, February 15, 2021 11:19 am
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