Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I have friends who are professional hosts on Airbnb. Managing a number of properties and renting them out – and you can just imagine how that business is doing now. Cancellations and refunds and nobody travelling. The people they employ have been laid off and they are sustaining massive losses. Many people rent properties and then put them on Airbnb at a mark up for a few days at a time and all of them are stuck paying their leases. If they don’t pay their rent the landlords who own the properties won’t be able to pay their mortgages and one cant imagine what that will do to the banks.
For businesses like that, a “return to work” doesn’t change things for them at all. Until people start traveling again – and decide they want to live in other people’s houses in some cases or share accommodation the Airbnb model is going to be a disaster. Airbnb was meant to list on the stock exchange later this year – that’s unlikely now and the company itself has had to borrow money.
I give this just as an example of just one business – and the many people around the world who make money out of it – that has been severely damaged by the shutdown. There are going to be many companies around the world that are not going to make it through this.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Thursday 04-Jun-20
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Comments
Tersia said:
on Wednesday 08-Jul-20 09:19 AM
That is terrible. I always thought to work in Hotel management (or something like that) you would always be secure of a job - I mean there are always people who travel and need accommodation to stay but now look at this!! This is horrible. I feel so sorry for people who are unable to open their shops / business again. I saw a few places in Nigel, one being a restaurant and another being a DVD/Video store who had to shut their doors because it was actually costing them more to TRY be open. I honestly cannot see they reason why this shut down was necessary - everything is just worse now!
Jolene said:
on Tuesday 07-Jul-20 05:19 PM
This just reminds me that the impact of this pandemic is not over yet, and it won’t be for a very long time. People around the world are losing income because of Covid-19.
Tamaryn said:
on Tuesday 07-Jul-20 02:53 PM
I know in SA there were some problems with the Competition Tribunal and Airbnb's even prior to Covid. The hotel chains were arguing that Airbnb's were cutting prices and the Regulations with which hotels had to comply were not the same for Airbnb's, as well as all the licences they needed etc. So I think, in SA that is, there was trouble brewing on the Airbnb front before Covid.
Bianca Taljaard said:
on Tuesday 07-Jul-20 02:06 PM
There is a lot of sectors still closed, so many people lost their jobs already. I really hope that things can turn back to normal soon. We need the boost.
Brenda Strydom said:
on Tuesday 07-Jul-20 02:05 PM
It is sad to see how many businesses are struggling because of the Covid 19.So many people are losing there jobs or being retrenched.
Sinead said:
on Tuesday 30-Jun-20 02:48 PM
There are so many sectors that have been affected by this lockdown. I can't imagine what must be going on with AirBnB right now. Even though travel is slightly open (for business), this type of accommodation is not.
Helen said:
on Tuesday 30-Jun-20 08:27 AM
COVID-19 is causing a slowdown in world trade, disruption in global supply chains, changing tourism flows, and pressuring Chinese economic growth.
We all are in very difficult times now, and the ones still have a job are very blessed and should be grateful.
brumilde said:
on Tuesday 30-Jun-20 07:57 AM
The leisure sector is still closed, but as with all things i think people will find a loop hole. i really hope all business can reopen and earn income and bring more money into the economy that so desperately need it
Shristi said:
on Thursday 25-Jun-20 04:53 PM
It is extremely sad and heartbreaking to see how many people have lost their jobs and incomes due to COVID-19. I cannot begin to fathom how much money Airbnb must have lost especially with all the public holidays during Easter.
I'm very grateful to still be able to work and receive an income.
Daniella said:
on Thursday 25-Jun-20 10:20 AM
Airbnb definitely suffered a big lose in April with all the public holidays that they missed during lock down - I have heard that Air bnb is open now for business travels
Prishani said:
on Wednesday 24-Jun-20 04:44 PM
It is really scary to see how quickly things can change, I can only imagine the losses they have suffered and normally at this time of the year in SA most families would have booked holidays/ weekends away because of the school holidays.
Zandelee said:
on Wednesday 24-Jun-20 03:32 PM
I cant even imagine how much money Airbnb hosts lost out on during just the easter weekend itself.
I read an article that in March 2017 Airnbnb was valued at 31 Million dollars and by the end of April 2020 it was valued at 18 Million dollars. This just shows one the impact the lockdown must have had on them,
Ashleigh said:
on Wednesday 24-Jun-20 08:49 AM
We had a few emails from staff from Flight Centre advising us that they have been retrenched as a result of the restrictions of travel. It really is so sad that now these people are in the unemployed status and what is even more sad is how would one be able to find a job in this time especially.
Colleen said:
on Monday 22-Jun-20 12:42 PM
The ripple effects of the economic consequences of the virus will affect the world for years to come. It definitely has changed the way that business is conducted and has forced business owners to think out of the box regarding their business models in the modern age.
Dasanya said:
on Monday 22-Jun-20 09:01 AM
It is sad how many businesses are struggling as a result of Covid19, especially the tourism industry which relies solely on travel. I don't think that I will feel comfortable traveling for quite a while.
Kayla said:
on Friday 19-Jun-20 04:16 PM
This pandemic has caused a tremendous amount of damage to communities and businesses, which in return has affected many households if not by the virus but financially for the households and businesses. Airbnb is just one the unfortunate businesses that got caught in this rut.
Angelique said:
on Friday 19-Jun-20 12:38 PM
Many companies and places are either going to shut down or illegally run their businesses. Its true though if they dont allow us to travel people in any case won't use Air bnb.
Melandre' said:
on Friday 19-Jun-20 11:05 AM
Many companies won't make it through this economic tragedy caused by the corona virus, companies will close and people will lose their jobs/ income. This pandemic has pushed our unemployment rate up and caused companies that we thriving to have to resort to borrowing money. This lockdown and virus has had a devastating effect on our economy.
Nicolle said:
on Friday 19-Jun-20 09:50 AM
I don't imagine that the world will ever be the same again. Is this the new normal? Do we just live differently than what we did before? I think so. Things change. Things may change back again. Time will tell.
Zindy said:
on Friday 19-Jun-20 09:22 AM
Many people are going to struggle and may never be able to get back up from this.Being and employer during the pandemic must be the hardest time ever having to deal with all the decisions they will be making to either keep operating or close business or even retrench people.
Patrick Sedutla said:
on Friday 19-Jun-20 09:05 AM
The world is a completely new place. Very soon is going to be a situation of " God for us all man for himself". The situation is bad and people are losing jobs.
Jessica said:
on Friday 19-Jun-20 08:31 AM
A lot of businesses took a very big knock during this pandemic, it has definitely not been a good time for everyone. Even flight center had to lay off staff due to this pandemic. it is very sad times.
Joyce said:
on Wednesday 17-Jun-20 12:27 PM
It is very sad what Covid 19 just did to the world. Saddening hearing that businesses lost all what they previously worked hard to achieve due to Covid 19 and its lockdown restrictions, now they have to restart rebuilding their businesses.
Chante said:
on Thursday 11-Jun-20 10:42 AM
It is quite sad how many companies, etc. have suffered due to the lockdown. Even though, the other day I heard about quite a few people who are deserted here in SA because they could not return home to their countries in time before lockdown - have been renting apartments, etc from people because what else can they do? But it is true that many companies will be drowning for a long time even after all of this is over - whenever that may be.
Claudia B said:
on Wednesday 10-Jun-20 04:59 PM
This is really sad to read, knowing a at of businesses won't go back to normal and some businesses will be closing down. we can be great-full for what we have, coming back to the office.
Natasha said:
on Wednesday 10-Jun-20 09:35 AM
It is so sad to see how many businesses have to close and how many people are losing their jobs. The other sad thing is the older people that work that is close to retiring they are the first ones to be let go, and its very difficult for them because they are working now so that they can have money for the rest of their life.It's not like after the pandemic they can just go look for something else. There time for working is over.
Michelle D said:
on Tuesday 09-Jun-20 04:51 PM
It's a very difficult decision that governments have to make at the moment, choosing between lives and livelihoods. I am very glad that they are making the decisions and not me.
melissa said:
on Tuesday 09-Jun-20 11:31 AM
This is a disaster. Many people and companies are losing income because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will take a really long time for things to get back to normal and we must get use to the fact that the virus is going to be part of our lives for a very long time
thembi said:
on Tuesday 09-Jun-20 07:14 AM
I thimnk that the Airbnb is losing a lots of money and i feel sorry for the businesses. It will damage the economy more and we will lose a lot of tourists because of this
sandra said:
on Monday 08-Jun-20 04:59 PM
I know a few people overseas that run the Airbnb and at the moment it is just terrible. They are not making money as pre-CORONA pandemic which is truly sad. So many businesses are struggling.
sandra said:
on Monday 08-Jun-20 04:59 PM
I know a few people overseas that run the Airbnb and at the moment it is just terrible. They are not making money as pre-CORONA pandemic which is truly sad. So many businesses are struggling.
Karien said:
on Sunday 07-Jun-20 09:22 PM
It is inevitable that many companies won't make it through this economic tragedy caused by the corona virus. The hospitality and tourism industry is undoubtedly one of the sectors that have been hardest hit by the lockdowns and shutdowns across the world and despite the re opening of the sector many job will be gone for good.
Megan said:
on Friday 05-Jun-20 03:56 PM
When we traveled to Cape Town last year we went through Airbnb, I wonder, thinking about it now, how those hosts are holding up right now. They travel the world together and don't stay very long in one place... Might be tough to keep that habit now.
Ziyanda said:
on Friday 05-Jun-20 03:05 PM
This is really sad, there are so many people losing their jobs and businesses closing. I really hope that they find the vaccination or cure for this COVID-19 soon.
Victoria said:
on Friday 05-Jun-20 02:43 PM
So many businesses are doing retrenchments and can't afford to open again. So sad that many people will or are already jobless, makes me grateful to still have my job.
Nicolene said:
on Friday 05-Jun-20 11:40 AM
Shame this is actually very sad. There's already a few companies that closed down and companies that are busy with retrenchments. I feel so sorry for the people that lost their jobs, but unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it. It will take a while for our economy to build itself up again, but it will never be the same.
Danielle said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 03:55 PM
It is very sand to know how many people lost there jobs during this time. There is also a lot of people that's suffering from hunger and don't know were they getting there next meal from. Its going to be a very big struggle for Businesses to get on there feet again.
Roxanne said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 03:41 PM
It is going to take a very long time for the economy to build itself up again.
Roxanne said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 03:36 PM
It is going to take a very long time for the economy to build itself up again.
Brenda Strydom said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 03:27 PM
A lot of businesses will close because of the Covid 19 .Its very sad there is so many people without Jobs.I really hope that businesses would be able to recover quickly.
Bianca Niemann said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 01:35 PM
A lot of businesses will have to close their doors due to this pandemic. It is a really tough situation and those who survive will no doubt still be very much affected in some way or another
Alexis said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 01:16 PM
Our neighbor moved overseas, i think last year. She has done such as the above and we always have new faces coming in. It is very quiet now and the property vacated due to the pandemic. The thing is though, is that travel and business will still happen and is slowly but surely picking up niw as we speak...one never knows what the future holds and only time will tell
Lourien said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 01:01 PM
Covid-19 has had a detrimental effect on so many businesses and individual people. I hope that they would be able to recover quickly.
They will have to work harder in times to come to be able to get their businesses up and running.
I also believe that during this time some businesses have also noticed how many changes they will have to implement in times to come.
Lucretia said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 11:30 AM
Yip, there are plenty businesses that are going to fold because of Covid-19. My daughter opened her own practice now in January 2020 and the lockdown has caused complete and utter stress for her. As a parent, it is worrisome to see your child stressing with having to pay accounts and rental and not getting any money in. Dipping into ones credit card to stay afloat also puts one into a very uneasy situation.
Clare said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 11:01 AM
Around the world companies are closing doors not only because each country has locked down but due to the clock down company lost alot of profit, its very sad already three people in family have lost their jobs. Times are going to be hard for everyone. Makes one think if we worried about our Jobs wonder how the current Jobless people feel already.
Sujata said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 09:55 AM
The shutdown has caused many obstructions but hopefully this wont last long. I read on the news Portugal will be opening its gates to tourists granted international travel will come with a two week quarantine. Many Tourist destination economies survive on the income brought in by tourists and this will at some point push countries to create safer travel plans and arrangements. This in turn may even bring revenue back to the hotel industry and airbnb.
Kendall said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 09:07 AM
It is scary how many people are losing their jobs. No one would ever have expected this to happen. The unemployment rate in South Africa is increasing everyday with this pandemic. There are many people that I know that have lost their jobs under these circumstances or are only getting a portion of their salaries.
Tayla said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 09:04 AM
We live in such a beautiful country, I feel for the tourism industry and the people that work in that industry.
Courtney said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 08:57 AM
The people who still got they're salaries and still have jobs are so blessed. This lock down had a huge impact on everyone.
I pray that everyone who's lost in this time get back what they had.
It's a good time to start a savings for when something similar happens again.
Michelle Smillie said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 08:57 AM
The majority of the tourism industry is feeling it, probably worse than most other industries. Their sole way of earning an income is prohibited by regulations such as travel and social distancing, and not just in South Africa. And on top of that, as you mentioned, it will then also depend on the individual persons whether they are willing to enter such places. I feel sorry for the tourism industry and the countries whose main form of income was from tourism activities and destinations. The world may very well be quite different for some time to come still.
Melissa van Tellingen said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 08:45 AM
It's certainly very difficult times we are living in. I have family members and friends that are only getting 50% of their salaries. Scary! I am extremely blessed that the lockdown didn't effect our household financially and we were still able to work.
Bronwyn said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 08:41 AM
Many companies are going through a rough patch, either they are retrenching many or people are just losing their jobs.
Mathilda said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 08:31 AM
So many businesses will be no more and so many people have lost their jobs during this time.
I'm very grateful to still be able to work and receive an income.
This is the time to reach out and help as many people as much as you can.
david said:
on Thursday 04-Jun-20 07:30 AM
a friend who lives just 4 houses away used to work at the westcliffe hotel.
used to.
jobless.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
