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Don’t flout the 25% capacity rule: Plea from hotel, restaurant associations to businesses
The hospitality scene in Colombo opened after a long dry period of lockdown which resulted in large numbers of job losses and a loss of industry revenue. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
The social scene in Colombo has begun to pick up but restaurant and hotel associations are warning businesses not to break the 25% capacity rule.
The Government approved the reopening of the hospitality industry four weeks ago. The approval for their re-openings with a 25% capacity cap came after an appeal made by the associations in Colombo and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
However, despite the strict rules that were in place investigations done by
the Sunday Times found that many
high-end restaurants, hotels, and bars were functioning in blatant disregard of the regulations.
But associations for the industry within Colombo have made an appeal to the industry to “not jeopardise the long term in pursuit of short term revenue.”
“I can’t speak for all the restaurants but the restaurants that are a part of our association have been strictly advised to adhere to the guidelines,” said Head of the Colombo Restaurant Collective Harpo Gooneratne. Most restaurants were allocating their limited spaces in accordance with the capacity cap through a reservation system.
“Complying to the regulations is not difficult at all,” said Mr. M. Shanthikumar, President of the Colombo City Hotels Association. Addressing the recent disregard to the 25% capacity rule and 1-metre social distance rules by certain star hotels along Galle Road, Mr. Shanthikumar noted that they will be addressed during the association’s regular meetings.
The hospitality scene in Colombo opened after a long dry period of lockdown which resulted in large amounts of job losses and a loss of industry revenue.
“25% is better than nothing, especially after a long lockdown, so we need to do everything in our power to not abuse this permission given because a fourth lockdown will be worse,” he warned. The industry was currently hopeful about the vaccinations process which they think will cover 60-70% of the population by September and allow business to go back to normal.
The partial reopening had once again given jobs to more staff. The initial layoffs had not been reversed as staff were still earning significantly less in terms of service charges. “Back then a staff member would earn between Rs. 40,000-50,000 per month in service charges but now that has dwindled to about Rs.7000.”
Getting staff to come in to work was more complicated owing to the travel restrictions in place. However, the industry was navigating its way through operational issues with suppliers and refurbishments while ensuring customer safety and cooperation with the government.