"It is an economic disaster that comes at the worst time," commented Patrice Seguin, president of the association of Hoteliers de Saint-Martin, during a press conference on Skype.
“It was almost a normal season after Irma. The hotels were full, ”he continues.
The Coronavirus health crisis is hitting the establishments which are now all closed in part in France with the exception of the hotel "Hommage" at Nettle Bay, which has remained open to accommodate "disaster tourists" if necessary.
"All hotels are closed, all customers have been escorted and all employees have been put into partial activity, except those who take care of maintenance, green spaces, etc.", confirms Patrice Seguin without giving any figures.
"The consequences are not easy to measure today because we do not know how long it will last and how it will evolve," he conceives.
In the meantime, the hotels benefit from the partial activity scheme for their employees and are currently negotiating with the banks to postpone the deadlines "as far as possible". "We must allow time for time ... We will also have to be vigilant on loans at 0,25%, to ensure that they are indeed applicable overseas, on guarantee loans: the State guarantees 90 % but the remaining 10% may be important for establishments, ”says Patrice Seguin.
A situation that hoteliers had already known after Irma. “That was managed on a case-by-case basis. However, the crisis is different. We are not in a context where everything is to be rebuilt, damaged. We are in a more peaceful situation, ”he agrees.
The president of the hotel association wants to remain "positive". "We have a future on the territory, there is potential," he says. Compared to the post Irma situation, "all the Caribbean islands are concerned", so Patrice Seguin considers that we must already think and prepare for the next high season. “When the market reopens, all the islands will be on the starting line. It will then be necessary to stand out ”. (Soualigapost.com)
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