The NSW Government is providing targeted support for the state’s accommodation sector to ease the pain of lost bookings over the winter school holiday period.
The cash-flow boosting funding will enable eligible accommodation premises that have lost room nights between 25 June and 11 July inclusive to apply for grants up to $5,000.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said this $26 million initiative was critically important for accommodation providers with occupancy rates plummeting over the past month.
“It is heartbreaking that this recent outbreak of COVID-19 occurred right on the cusp of the winter school holidays, meaning Sydneysiders, NSW residents and interstate visitors were not able to fulfil their travel plans across the State,” Mr Ayres said.
“The sector has reported a dramatic decline in occupancy rates, with some Sydney properties reporting only two per cent occupancy in July 2021.
“This program is for all eligible accommodation premises across NSW, as the current restrictions not only affect Greater Sydney operators but also those in regional NSW who lost their main source market from metropolitan Sydney or interstate.
“There are more than 38,000 accommodation providers in NSW – from hotels and motels to holiday home rentals. I encourage all businesses to look at the Service NSW website for more information – including detailed eligibility criteria - as it’s published in the coming weeks.”
“The $5.1 billion support package, including up to $4.1 billion from the State Government, announced by the Prime Minister, NSW Premier and NSW Treasurer yesterday will come as a huge relief to many businesses involved in the State’s visitor economy, allowing them to keep staff on and doors open in preparation for our recovery.
“Now it is up to all of us to stop the spread of the virus so we can get back to travelling and enjoying our state’s experiences and attractions as soon as possible, which is what businesses really need.”
There will be two tiers of grants available to accommodation premises through the initiative:
- Tier 1: For accommodation premises that have had a cancellation of 10 room nights or less, there is a grant of $2,000
- Tier 2: For accommodation premises that have had a cancellation of 11 room nights or more, there is a grant of $5,000
To be eligible, businesses must be registered for GST and/or hold an ABN, be located in NSW and the accommodation premises must be an entire property, i.e. not holiday letting of a spare room in a residence.
Where an owner/operator owns multiple accommodation premises (identifiable by differentiated street addresses), each accommodation premises is eligible for the grant.
Accommodation providers can apply for this grant and other support measures such as the COVID-19 Business Grant and business and employee support program. Details of all support initiatives are available on the Service NSW website.