Hotels close, tens of thousands of jobs at risk in Romanian hotel industry due to COVID-19 pandemic- Profit.ro

Hotel Mercure, Bucharest
Hotel Mercure, Bucharest

Tens of thousands of jobs in Romania’s hotel industry are at risk with up to 40% of hotels facing closure as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic hit the hospitality industry.

Industry captains say 10 percent of Romania’s hotels have already closed, and predict many others will be forced to do the same due to the crisis, Profit.ro reported.

Ninety of Romania’s 900 permanently open hotels closed after events were canceled and restaurants were ordered shut nationwide after a set of extraordinary measures were enforced on Monday.

President Klaus Iohannis decreed a state of emergency to enable authorities to fight the spread of the virus which has sickened 260 people in Romania.

Even before Monday’s development, restaurants, hotels, clubs, bars and cinemas had reported a sharp downturn in business.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said: “It’s clear that in transport, the hospitality industry (and) event management, the impact of the epidemic is very big.” He said the government would offer aid to support companies and employees.

The Hotel Industry Federation said hotels such as the Iaki hotel in the upscale Black Sea resort of Mamaia owned by soccer legend Gheorghe Hagi, and the Ramada Parc in Bucharest have shut, the site reported.

The Aro-Palace in Brasov, and the Rozmarin in the mountain resort of Predeal have also closed as clients stayed away.

Federation chairman Calin Ile told Profit that 450 hotels would be closed for at least three months at the end of March, as occupancy rates plunged from 64% for the first week of March to  22% for the same period this year.

Ile told the site there there are currently 140,000 employed in the hotel industry, predicting 70,000 would be made redundant in the next two months.

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