Austrian hoteliers are facing a flood of costs – Austria
The summer after two and a half years of the corona pandemic is only a short breather for Austrian hoteliers. A flood of costs awaits the companies in autumn.
Because in autumn the taxes for which the companies have been granted a payment delay due to Corona will be due. At the same time, the Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV) complains that the state is late in paying financial compensation for the official closures of the accommodation facilities. Furthermore, the energy crisis is causing a surge in costs.
Domestic hoteliers face a flood of costs in autumn
“It’s an extremely dangerous cocktail. If that happens, some companies will collapse,” fears ÖHV Vice President Alexander Ipp, referring to discussions with managing directors of corporate groups with several locations. After two and a half years of the pandemic, the hotels are facing massive cost increases anyway.
“Instead of sending invoices to companies in dire need, the federal government should set itself a deadline of September 30th and transfer all outstanding compensation by then,” criticized the industry spokesman on Monday.
Compensation for March 2022 is still pending
The government will “make the deferred taxes and duties due on September 30 for the companies hit by the crisis”. At the same time, however, compensation for the first wave of closures in March 2020 is still outstanding.
In the midst of the worst economic crisis in a long time, “political mistakes” exacerbated the financial situation. In addition, according to the ÖHV, “rightly received corona compensation” should be repaid.
Ipp locates “enormous need for action”
With regard to the compensation of companies for the massive loss of income due to the officially decided lockdowns and bans on entering, Ipp sees an “enormous need for action”. The Supreme Court (OGH) has determined that business premises rents for lockdown times only have to be partially paid. “However, a corresponding decision by the OGH on lease payments is pending,” emphasized Ipp.
ABBAG law prescribes equal treatment of lease and rent
Nevertheless, the ABBAG law prescribes that lease and rent are treated equally, meaning that lessees and tenants alike are not entitled to fixed cost reimbursement – although some pay in full and others do not. Since in many cases the lease makes up the vast majority of the fixed costs, there is a lot at stake for the companies concerned: “It’s all or nothing, to be or not to be.” If this is not repaired quickly, we will run open-eyed against them Magic wand. Politics must finally get going,” said Ipp.
Seidl: There is a threat of a domino effect for local hoteliers
“There is a threat of a huge domino effect here,” agrees NEOS tourism spokeswoman Julia Seidl. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have warned that the unclear provisions of the fixed costs subsidy will lead to an avalanche of procedures and costs for companies. But the ÖVP and the Greens didn’t want to hear anything about it,” she said in a broadcast on Tuesday.