Particularly affected by the economic consequences of the coronavirus, the hotel sector, especially in Paris, is on the brink of collapse.
And the threat of the capital moving into a maximum alert zone for the coronavirus takes the form of a coup de grace for these professionals.
It is a sector on the brink of disaster.
If the anger is strong among the owners of bars, cafes and restaurants since the announcement of the latest measures by Minister of Health Olivier Véran, that of hoteliers is less highlighted.
And yet it is at least as strong in this private sector of clients.
Since the start of the year, 46,000 jobs have been destroyed in the hotel industry and 30,000 more are at risk by the end of the year.
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A sector on the brink of disaster
These figures are all the more worrying as they take into account long-term partial unemployment 100% covered by the State until the end of 2020. But there are still costs, such as paid holidays or even rents. , an overwhelming fixed charge.
If the provincial hotels at very low prices are those that best resist this shipwreck announced by the profession, for the Parisian establishments, it is the hecatomb: nearly one in two are still closed.
And for those who welcome the few customers who need a room, it is a real challenge.
"Many sleep in their hotel because they can not take a team for one or two rooms per evening, it is impossible", explains at the microphone of Europe 1 Delphine Prigeant, of the national group of independents.
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One in four Parisian hotels threatened
"So they have to do the day and night service, breakfast, cleaning ... In order not to sink, they are forced to live in their hotel permanently with the feeling of being in prison. But at what point? price? "
And the situation is not much better for the luxury hotels and 4-star Parisian hotels, which have a 12% to 15% occupancy rate.
According to professionals, one in four hotels is threatened in Paris and one in five nationally.
A passage in the zone of maximum alert would lead to "a social breakage"
Under these conditions, the possibility that the Minister of Health Olivier Véran announces that Paris will pass into the maximum alert zone for the circulation of the coronavirus appears to be a coup de grace for this sector.
And for good reason, this would mean the compulsory closure of all establishments that welcome the public, including hotels, except those that have a strict health protocol such as cinemas or theaters.
"If the dice are thrown by the Minister of Health, we are heading straight for a social and economic destruction," said Roland Héguy, confederal president of the Union of trades in industry and hospitality (UMIH).
"By the end of the year, we will have an additional 300,000 unemployed."
"We are not stupid, if Ile-de-France goes into the maximum alert zone, Lyon will follow, then Grenoble ... And it is the end of the profession."
So to avoid this tragedy, Roland Héguy calls on the government to let hoteliers work. "" We must leave hotels open while respecting a strict health protocol to protect customers, our employees and our businesses. "