BUDGET hotels are finding it difficult to operate at full capacity due to insufficient manpower, the Malaysian Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) said. 

Its president Emmy Suraya Hussein said that since interstate travel was allowed some of the budget hotels have resumed operations. 

“But, there are some who couldn’t open for business as they are facing a shortage of staff. 

“Also, existing budget hotels cannot operate at 100%, which means if they have 100 rooms, they can’t utilise all of them,” she told The Malaysian Insight. 

Emmy said currently some budget hotels are able to operate only at 60-70% capacity. 

“Budget hotel businesses are dependent on their staff strength.

“With limited employees they can only operate based on the available manpower.” 

Malaysia is now in the phase transitioning to Covid-19 endemicity, with the government further relaxing virus curbs since April 1.

There will be no more restrictions on the movement of the unvaccinated, opening hours of business premises and mass gatherings.

The tourism industry was arguably the most hard-hit economic sector in the past two years.

Emmy said MyBHA initially had about 2,360 members, but the pandemic had forced some of them to shut their businesses, either temporarily or for good.  

She, however, was grateful that the Hari Raya festivities saw a pick-up in hotel room bookings.

“During the festive season we saw an increase in customers, especially at the resorts and in the rural areas. 

“We expect to get more bookings until the end of the month, because people are still travelling for Hari Raya.”

As for foreign tourists, she said with the opening of international borders, MyBHA expects to see an increase in business volume. 

“Some budget hotels in Kuala Lumpur have already started receiving bookings from overseas. 

“Mainly from Indonesia, Thailand and Brunei. We expect to see a gradual improvement in business by mid-May.”

Emmy added that budget hotel proprietors expect that the industry will require at least a year to recover because of manpower availability and cashflow difficulties. 

MyBHA national deputy president (legal and information, communications technology bureau chairman) Sri Ganesh Michiel said the budget hotel industry is seeking solutions to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

He hopes the government will help address the issues faced by the industry that could affect their livelihood. 

Ganesh said they were caught off-guard by the recent implementation of the RM1,500 minimum wage rate by the government, which was done without consulting industry players.

“We are not against efforts to look after the welfare of our employees but it must be implemented with a win-win mechanism for all parties, and in this situation this has not been the case at all.”

He said with the new minimum wage rate, the hospitality industry will be burdened with increased business operating costs.

He added that MyBHA will request for the government to temporarily suspend the implementation of the new minimum wage rate in order for the industry to find its footing again.  

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on March 19 announced that the government had agreed to increase the minimum wage from RM1,200 a month to RM1,500 a month from May 1. However, implementation of the minimum wage rate for employers with fewer than five employees will only take effect on January 1, 2023. – May 15, 2022.