Facing between R7m (€358 900) and R8m (€410 000) in debt due to overhead costs, owner of the historic Cathedral Peak Hotel, William van der Riet, has taken to social media for support to keep the 80-year-old hotel from closing.
Van der Riet is one of over 500 businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector who have had their Business Interruption (BI) insurance claims denied by major insurance companies, despite them having the policy extensions required for a notifiable disease.
The claimants – with a total of R3.5bn (€179m) to R4bn (€205m) BI claims against several insurance agencies – are represented by loss adjustment firm, Insurance Claims Africa (ICA).
With overnight leisure travel not allowed in South Africa under Advanced Level Three lockdown regulations – imposed by the government to stop the spread of COVID-19 – the hotel has been standing empty for over four months.
With no certainty as to when domestic leisure travel (let alone international travel) will resume, the hotel has just under five weeks to continue operating before it will be forced to close.
The hotel is located in the KwaZulu Natal Drakensberg region and employs over 1 000 staff members. Plus it has been providing between R20 000 (€1049) and R30 000 (€1573) worth of aid to the local community in the form of clothing, food and education.
NOTE – What is your Business Interruption insurance story?
Tourism Update would like to highlight the personal stories of those tourism and hospitality sector businesses who are facing dire straits because their claims have not been paid out. Please send your story to adelem@nowmedia.co.za
