Akl’s Level 3 shift does little says Hospitality NZ

Hospitality New Zealand says Auckland’s shift to Level 3 for two weeks will do little to ease the pain being suffered by hospitality businesses.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday afternoon that Auckland will move to Alert Level 3 at 11.59pm on Tuesday 21 September and will remain there for at least a fortnight, with the settings to be reviewed on October 4.

Special temporary rules have been put in place for an area of the Waikato where three new cases were detected Sunday night, while the rest of the country remains in Level 2.

Jacinda Arden also announced a relaxation of Level 2 rules, with a maximum of 100 people allowed to gather, including inside hospitality venues.  

Hospitality NZ Chief Executive Julie White says despite the level shift for the country’s biggest city, it’s getting tougher for businesses to retain staff and keep the lights on.

“Some in Auckland will open, mostly cafes and traditional fast food, and that’s great for them, even though business will be way down. But many are telling us fewer of them will open than in previous Level 3s because they they’ve exhausted their reserves to keep running.

“That’s what Level 3 means for many of them – not opening means money not coming in, but opening is actually money going out the door.”

White says the government has acknowledged that Level 3 is still very restrictive, and now Auckland has least a further two weeks of it.

“When you add that to the 34 days of Level 4 lockdown, that means the majority of Auckland hospitality and accommodation businesses would have gone at least 48 days with zero revenue,” says White.

“Allowing businesses in the rest of New Zealand to have 100 people indoors makes a difference for some, though larger venues will still struggle.”

Julie White says it’s clear to see the hospitality sector has been hard hit by the Delta outbreak and Hospitality NZ continues to call for more support for businesses.

“That’s why we need a targeted payment on top of a continuation of the wage subsidy and an extension of the Resurgence Support Payment for those who meet the criteria through Level 2.”