A top business software firm has said jobs and profits are under threat in our communities as competition between businesses intensifies. Amateo believes hotels and guesthouse must become more innovative to weather the storm when things get tough.

Matthew Maxwell, the firm chief executive, said

current business for hotels in the south has already suffered duue to the foot and mouth disease crisis and the recent turn of events has been the final nail in the coffin to many hoteliers in what has been a dire year for the hospitality industry.

The terrorist attacks are said to have compounded the misery piled on the tourist industry from the foot and mouth disease outbreak.

But John Erskine, president of Portsmouth and Southsea Hoteliers Association (PASHA) said there have been no discernable effects from the current crisis.

can keep up with the amount of people who want to stay here I am still full every night he said.

Mr Erskine said feedback from other members of the association, which has nearly forty members, is also positive, with no reports of a dramatic slowdown in recent weeks.

He added, all full because of the number of hotels that have disappeared locally in the past few years when people have retired and turned them into flats.

However, software company chief Mr Maxwell added

on hotels in the south are currently being offered at up to 70 percent. The result is they are getting bodies through the door, but they are still barely breaking even.

Discounting will raise these occupancy levels to an extent, but it will not provide sufficient revenue to survive in the long term. Many hotels and guesthouses are struggling to cover costs with the spate of cancellations and drop-off in bookings.

Published in The Central News- October 23rd 2001

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