Hotels in Germany, since 2 November....have been shutdown. Officially, tourism right now in the country is stalled-out and most Germans would remark that they don't expect anything to happen until mid-spring (say April-May timeframe).
Last week, both state and federal government folks met and finished off some details....basically saying a Christmas season would occur (like you need the government to sanction this)....but the federal folks hyped that the idea of opening hotels for a limited period (for relatives to travel and be in the local area of their parents or children) was out. Several state said 'no'....the hotels would be open in their states.
Today, out of Berlin....Chancellor Merkel went back to harsh criticism of opening hotels, and doubling down.
You see.....as much as the federal government perceives they are in charge, the sixteen states of Germany have proven they exist and have the power to counter Merkel and the federal apparatus.
It's a stupid topic to use as an example, but the hotel topic is proving Merkel to be limited in power.
How many folks would actually travel around the country, into hotel-friendly states? Unknown. No one....even from the travel industry, can state a number. It might be 1,000 customers only. It might be 10,000. It might even go up to 250,000 German travelers.
If you were one of these people....could you even go out and eat at a restaurant? No. Restaurants and pubs are still on the closure list. You could go and do a pick-up at some restaurant....bringing the food back to the hotel. Or you could simply go to the home of relatives you are visiting....eating off their table (making the most sense).
The week after the holidays....if the virus infections hype-up? Well....the Chancellor and crew will say it was the stupid fault of the state governments in allowing travel. If the numbers don't hype-up....the state governments will knock the Chancellor and crew for the criticism.
The hotel response to all of this? Most are in some economic spiral and are counting the weeks of survival left, before they have to permanently close. The more successful places will survive....the smaller hotels which needed the summer and ski seasons to thrive....are problem hard-hit right now. Opening for a lousy ten-day period doesn't really mean much. You might be sitting there as a manager in Heidelberg with a 70-room hotel, and this Christmas open-season deal might only mean 20 of the rooms rented for a week.
It's a crazy discussion to be on the plate and considered a top-ten topic for the week.
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