The year 2021 was shaping up to be a record-breaking snow season for Cliff Wallis, booked to the brim at the Sundeck Hotel at Perisher in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains.

But a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state has resulted in a predominant Sydney clientele being forced to cancel their trips.

With Sydney's lockdown extended, some businesses are now urging the NSW government to provide financial assistance in order to survive the winter. 

"I think everybody was looking at a record season. We had the best bookings in 30 years," Mr Wallis said.

With 90 beds, or just one per cent of all beds in the national park, Mr Wallis said the overall losses could be multiplied a hundredfold.

The federal and NSW governments have announced a combined COVID-19 support package which will provide payment assistance to eligible businesses outside of declared hotspots.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is also urging landlords to provide rent relief to business and private tenants who are struggling to pay during the lockdown.

Mr Wallis says the NSW government is technically his landlord and he wants it to do the same for him.

He pays approximately $1,800 per bed as rent each year to the government in order to operate within the Kosciuszko National Park over the peak winter season.

"To date they've [NSW government] been pretty hard-nosed on rent relief and they're refusing to reduce municipal charges," he said.

A ripple effect

Over in Thredbo Village, businesses are experiencing a similar downturn. 

Secretary of the Thredbo Chamber of Commerce, Gregg Quinn, said the financial losses at the slopes this winter are having a ripple effect on communities abroad, like Jindabyne, Berridale, and Cooma.

The difficult season is on top of attempting to bounce back from a challenging 2020 snow season and managing the impacts of the COVID outbreak over the 2021 winter season, along with dealing with a housing crisis.

But not all hope is lost, with businesses receiving inquiries from Canberrans, regional NSW residents, and even locals to fill the cancellations from Sydneysiders.

Mr Quinn said the extension to the financial assistance package may help dampen the blow, but spirits are down. 

"It's feeling quite devastating," he said.

"Some operators are producing 30 per cent of their revenue in the two to three weeks of the school holidays. So they've almost completely, utterly lost that.

NSW Deputy Premier and Member for Monaro John Barilaro, NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean, and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife service have been contacted for comment.