With travel restrictions eased and overseas travel limited, the rural hospitality industry is set for recovery.
Hotels, motels and caravan parks have high occupancy rates, essential after COVID-19 induced lockdowns and border restrictions.
The hospitality industry need to maximise economic opportunities but excessive hospitality rates are not in the industry’s long term best interests.
Maximising financial returns in an equitable manner is best achieved by the ‘user pays’ principle.
The means of applying a cost to goods and services was historically by coin payments, declining as credit card use increased or inclusive of service costs in other fixed charges.
However, for small low value transactions coin payment is the easiest and least expensive to implement, resulting in resurgence of coin timers on caravan park and swimming pool showers, room air conditioning, laundry equipment, tennis court and playing field lighting etc.
Now, small credit card, or combined credit card and coin controllers are also available.
Users are accepting the ‘user pays’ principle for services provided, recognising the need for the hospitality industry to recover and that COVID-19 has changed many of the accepted practices.
‘User pays’ is a waste minimisation measure, but if direct payment is unacceptable then time control of facilities may be sufficient. This can be applied to air conditioners, barbecues, tennis court lighting and showers. For showers, push button controllers can be set to include a short off period as well as the on period.
Economic recovery and sustainability requires thoughtful control of
facilities.
Find out more at: abberfield.com.au
