Australian hoteliers say they will close or reduce guest services over the Easter holiday due to the cost of paying their staff penalty rates.
According to a survey of 225 accommodation providers, mainly full-service hoteliers, 107 outlets said they would make a loss if they opened on Good Friday or Easter Monday and 46 would just break even.
The survey by lobby group Tourism Accommodation Australia revealed 134 outlets would close or reduce guest services because of employee penalty rates.
Affected services include restaurant, housekeeping, room service, bars and guest services (concierge).
Metro Hospitality Group chief executive officer George Bedwani said some of his hotels would need to reduce services, closing the restaurant at lunchtime, closing room service after 9pm and leaving vacant rooms uncleaned until the following day, when paying a cleaner will cost 40 per cent less.
"It's absolutely drastic how these penalty rates affect us, particularly when you've got three public holidays in one week," Mr Bedwani said.
"If I had a factory and you are giving me 1,000 suits or dresses to make I will open my factory, get people in and pay them the right amount, because I have the orders, but in the hotel industry, we don't have that luxury.
"If we run at 20 per cent occupancy, we cannot close our doors, we have to run and if you have to pay a cleaner three times the normal amount, you're running at a loss."
Mr Bedwani said penalty rates unfairly penalised people who like to work on weekends, like mothers who can have their partners look after the children on weekends.
"We're not saying we want to reduce wages but we want to have one wage so we can give the choice to the workers and so we can be much more flexible with employees."
TAA managing director Rodger Powell said penalty rates of up to 275 per cent were making it impossible for hotels to deliver the service they would like to.
"What these excessive penalty rates do is prevent potential employees, particularly casual staff, from getting work over these holiday periods," Mr Powell said.
"If penalty rates were dropped or lowered to a point where hotels could service guests and still make a profit, then hotels would employ more people to cover the jobs on those days with no disadvantage to existing employees."
Hospitality union United Voice said the criticism of penalty rates was an attack on Australian values.
"Our way of life is based on weekends," United Voice assistant national secretary Sharron Caddie said.
"Weddings, sport, barbecues, religious events and celebrations of the big things in life all happen on weekends and even more so on long weekends.
"If Australians are to get the services we expect and need, workers must be compensated for giving up all of this - whether they are hotel staff, cleaners, retail workers, paramedics, nurses or transport workers."
