Although its clientele is mainly made up of people who come to Lanzarote for a few days for work, it is not easy for the hotels in Arrecife to survive the Covid pandemic. And, according to them, their occupancy is between 10 and 15 percent when, in other years, it exceeded 80.
"We stay open, but at a loss," agree the three hotels that remain open in the capital: Lancelot, Miramar and Diamar.
The Hotel Miramar was "one of the first hotels on the island to open, if not the first", after the state of alarm decreed in March last year. "We opened in June and we were coping with the issue until the end of August, beginning of September, when the cases increased on the island, which was very noticeable. And then, well, badly, holding on until the island was at alert level 4, which was a total and absolute disaster," says its director, Mercedes Medina.
According to her, they decided to open in June because they were receiving calls from "work teams" who "had nowhere to stay". In fact, its director points out that if they hold on it is "a little because the clientele is mostly fixed". However, she says that their number of clients has decreased and that their occupancy does not exceed 15%.
Therefore, although the nine workers on the staff have already "joined" their positions, some "are still in partial ERTE". "If the commercial representatives come to visit stores and there are no stores or businesses, everything is a fall. They are not coming either, because many are working online or there are many fewer stores that they have to visit and some already come in the morning and leave in the evening," says Mercedes Medina.
Looking ahead to Easter, she points out that for the hotels in Arrecife "it is not the strong point" usually "precisely because of that, because the usual client does not come, which is the one who comes to work". However, she points out that, after the restrictions that have been imposed, they have also had "some cancellation".
"The truth is that there are days when you wake up with optimism, but others... It's been many days and it's costing a lot", adds Mercedes Medina, who believes that the hotels that remain open are "like Don Quixote facing the windmills". "Because we are facing something uncertain, that nobody can predict what is going to happen"
In fact, she acknowledges that on some occasions they have considered closing. "That is always around and it is normal for the owners to consider closing, of course. It is also hard for them, who are the ones who have to contribute. I think that the closure is in everyone's mind, although then there is the other part, the one of thinking to see if it picks up. And also that here an investment was made to prepare to receive customers with all the security measures", says the director of the Hotel Miramar, with the hope that the health and economic situation will improve. "But if the aid does not arrive, we are all doomed to closure", she concludes.
Hotel Lancelot: "It's about losing as little as possible"
"We are staying more or less and costing, obviously, because you don't arrive. You are almost, almost, but you don't get to cover the expenses", says Carlos Cruz, director of the Hotel Lancelot, an establishment that reopened its doors in July, after having taken advantage of the state of alarm to reform the facilities.
"Until September we were more or less with an occupancy of 20 or 30 percent, which is not good, but regular. But already in January, with level 4, we went down much more, to almost 15%, and that is what we are working with currently", explains Cruz, who sees "very complicated" that the situation improves. "Until the number of vaccinated increases and we walk towards community immunity, it will be difficult", he adds, also showing his "discontent" with the pace of vaccination.
According to him, the clients they receive are people who come to the island "one or two nights, from Monday to Thursday, to work" and "on weekends some sports team, but little more". "Of tourism, zero", points out the director of the Hotel Lancelot.
Thus, in this case there are still workers in ERTE. "We have been adapting according to the occupancy", indicates Carlos Cruz. Specifically, he explains that of a staff of 32 employees, it opened in July with 17, remaining so until January. However, at the end of that month, he extended the ERTE and stayed "with nine people to maintain that average of 20% of rooms".
"To avoid closing, you have to keep it to a minimum", adds the director of this establishment, who believes that "it is preferable" to keep it open than to be "closing and opening". "Because it is a tremendous cost, preparing the machines, starting up, putting in place, and closed hotels are also a handicap. So, more or less it is about getting or trying to lose the least possible, that if closed you lose, open you lose but a little", he concludes.
Hotel Diamar: "We are subsisting, but little more"
For its part, the Hotel Diamar did not reopen its doors until January 11. "More than bravery, almost kamikaze", says its director, since then began to increase infections on the island. "From being at level 1, in just two weeks we went to 2, to 3 and to 4 and that stopped the reservations", points out Rafael Gómez.
Now, he says that they survive "very hard, at a loss and with a superhuman effort" and an occupancy of between 12 and 14 percent. "With that we are subsisting but little more. In the short and medium term it looks bad", says Gómez, who does not believe that at least until September or October things can improve.
And, he points out that precisely this Thursday he had a meeting "with agency managers" and that "the prospects from here to July are very low". The director of the Hotel Diamar explains that in other years "the average occupancy in March was 84%" and that "the average occupancy in Arrecife was around 87 or 88 percent annually", figures very far from those that have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic.
In addition, although in his case he has a terrace where he now offers daily menus of Canarian food in order to attract people who do not stay at the hotel, he points out that the restaurant service is "outsourced" and that "it helps a little, but not too much", since they only have four tables on the terrace. "In the end, the important thing is the rooms", he indicates.
This establishment has a staff of 15 employees, to which are added six from the restaurant company, and half are still in ERTE.