Luxury hotel operator My Humble House Hospitality Management Consulting Co (寒舍餐旅) incurred losses of NT$300.12 million (US$10.01 million) last quarter, compared with a profit of NT$6.03 million three months earlier, or losses per share of NT$3.28.
The poor results came as Taiwan’s spiking COVID-19 cases and lingering border controls thwarted expectations of a business rebound, the Taipei-based company said on Friday.
Food and beverage sales dropped 41.63 percent, while guestroom operations tumbled 22.23 percent from the previous quarter, it said.
Photo courtesy of Humble House Taipei via CNA
Daily COVID-19 case numbers soared in May, prompting Taiwanese to stay at home and avoid gatherings.
The self-imposed quarantine took a heavy toll on the tourism sector and My Humble House proved no exception, the company said, adding that the recent launch of Humble Boutique Hotel (寒居酒店) in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) did not help.
Humble Boutique helped boost overall revenue, but failed to trim net losses due to higher food and personnel costs, it said.
The company also runs Le Meridien Taipei (台北寒舍艾美酒店) and Humble House Taipei (寒舍艾麗) in Xinyi District (信義), Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel (台北喜來登大飯店) near Taipei Railway Station and hot spring resort Mu Jiaosi Hotel (礁溪寒沐) in Yilan County.
Things improved this quarter after the government on July 15 introduced a fresh round of travel subsidies to energize private consumption, the company said.
Occupancy rates at Mu Jiaosi have since the middle of last month returned to 70 percent on weekdays, it said, adding that nearly all of its guestrooms have been booked on weekends.
However, full recovery would not arrive until authorities lift border controls and end quarantine requirements, it said.
Overall, the company reported net losses of NT$294.09 million in the first half of this year, or losses per share of NT$3.21, compared with losses per share of NT$3.67 a year earlier.
Revenue in the first six months increased 8.11 percent to NT$1.34 billion from NT$1.24 billion a year earlier.
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