Covid-19 coronavirus: Some Tauranga accommodation providers could be 'crippled' by level change

Hospitality New Zealand accommodation sector Bay of Plenty chairman and 850 Cameron Motel owner Tony Bullot. Photo / File

A move up in alert levels will be "crippling" for Tauranga accommodation providers and there "will be casualties", a motel spokesman says.

On Tuesday morning, Tauranga motel and hotels were sitting comfortably with occupancy levels high. However, come Wednesday morning they were pretty well empty.

Now as alert levels move, Hospitality New Zealand accommodation sector Bay of Plenty chairman and 850 Cameron Motel owner Tony Bullot said the future would be bleak for many.

After a bumper few months, things were looking good for the industry and accommodation providers were just getting back up on their feet, he said.

Domestic tourism had boomed and having corporate travel rolling again had been beneficial for the city, he said.

But with new changes to alert levels, Bullot said "there will be casualties" in the sector.

"It is a lot harder to come back a second time.... this will be crippling for some."

Mount Maunganui's Beachside Holiday Park manager Mark Hales. Photo / File

Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park manager Mark Hales said they were "waiting to see what happens" but the amount of support they had in the last few months would make all the difference when moving alert levels.

He said their numbers had been "well ahead" in July and August than previous years with more than 2600 visitors in July alone.

This would put them in good stead if there was to be an abrupt alert level change, he said.

The holiday park continued to operate in both level 3 and 4 and could take people in self-contained caravans throughout.

A worker at Durham Court Motor Inn said the alert level change had turned their situation from a "feast to a famine" virtually overnight.

She said it had a big impact on them and she thought many others would be in the same boat.

Bookings would take a hit but she said the key was to remain positive at this time.