Seymour Motel manager Rishi Kandel is dreading the latest lockdown,which will be another major setback for his accommodation business.
But he supported the decision to bring back restrictions as the number of coronavirus cases soared in Melbourne.
![Manager of the Seymour Motel Rishi Kandel.](https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_300%2C$height_150/t_crop_auto/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto/4b7d4153a170bef5bddf701b4b210d0cc563966c)
Manager of the Seymour Motel Rishi Kandel.Justin McManus
"It has to be done. I do understand that,"Mr Kandel said.
"But as a business we do suffer heavily under lockdown."
He kept the motel open during the previous lockdown to accommodate essential workers and others,including tradespeople,allowed to continue working.
During that time his revenue fell to about 20 per cent of its usual level,he said.
The motel lies just north of the Seymour township in Mitchell Shire,which was included in the lockdown alongside the rest of Melbourne.
On Wednesday,there were eight active cases in the shire.
The motel has 20 rooms and sleeps 36 people.
On Wednesday,only four of the rooms were booked – all for tradespeople.
Mr Kandel said tradespeople provided his greatest income stream and often stayed at the motel while working in Seymour or other surrounding towns.
In the previous lockdown,bookings plummeted but the motel was never completely empty. Mr Kandel said it was up to him to ensure appropriate hygiene and physical distancing measures were maintained.
"It’s on us to do our own policing."
Mr Kandel toldThe Age he received $10,000 in financial assistance from the state government but that barely covered his costs for two weeks.
He said overheads remained substantial because rooms still needed to be maintained and cleaned to prevent them from falling into disrepair and to keep out insects.
Mr Kandel,who has run the business for almost five years,said both the federal and state governments had generally done well in navigating the pandemic.
However,he believed they should provide more targeted financial support for the tourism sector and accommodation providers.