Northern business owners seize ceasefire: "Time to get back to work"

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect, preparations have begun in the communities of the Galilee and Golan—those close to the border and those farther away—for the return of the much-awaited routine. It is still unclear what this routine will look like and how long it will last.

Among the voices of evacuees who are afraid to return home, and the discussions about the gradual return of the education system, there is also the voice of guesthouse and hospitality center owners. Like those in Gaza envelope areas, many in the north have suffered from the closure of their businesses in the past year.

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"I’m naturally optimistic, but I don’t feel any return to routine yet," admits Eitan Lindenberg, owner of the vacation complex and cabins Eitan Wooden Cabins in Sde Eliezer. "I have a family business with seven cabins, operating since 1991, and I’ve never experienced a crisis like the one we faced this past year and in this war. Right now, I’m not preparing for a return because the upcoming bookings I have are for August 2025. People have been calling and inquiring in recent days, but no one wants to book a cabin for the near future because no one knows how long this ceasefire will last, and they’re afraid to take the risk."

"In the Second Lebanon War, when the first shell fell in the north, my business closed for just one day, and by the next day we were back to regular operations, with the complex always full. This time, only two families are renting cabins from us, and they’re evacuees from Kiryat Shmona and Metula, trying to decide whether to go back home or move to the center. It’s an uncertain situation, and I still don’t know how to process it. It’s a tough situation, and I hope, no, actually I believe, things will be fine soon."

"October 7, 2023, hit us while we were fully booked with guests for the Sukkot holiday. People started leaving because of the pressure and fear," recalls Shimon Michael, manager of the Boutique Elrom hospitality center in Kibbutz Elrom in the Golan Heights. "After that, we hosted some soldiers, and eventually, we had to close the place completely for more than a year. Our team, most of the employees and managers, including myself, were called up for reserves, and a few young receptionists stayed behind, but they left the kibbutz due to the shelling, so we had to shut down entirely. There was no staff to operate the place, and no one wanted to come to the Golan Heights until just a few days ago. We kept thinking about reopening, but it didn’t seem right. It’s a beautiful place, and it’s disheartening and unsettling to close it."

What changed in the past week?

"Suddenly, from the moment they started talking about the ceasefire, and especially when it actually took effect, we saw a drastic change. There’s been a lot of interest from people wanting to book with us. The interest has jumped from zero to 100 in just a week. We haven’t resumed operations yet, but right now I’m organizing the place. Next week, I’ll start recruiting workers and preparing the site, and we plan to open for guests in two weeks. I predicted this change. I felt that once the ceasefire happens, this would take place. Many of the people calling say they want to stay with us as a way of identifying with us. This is our time to step on the gas and get back to work."

Are you optimistic about a prolonged return to work routine?

"This ceasefire needs to last a while. We haven’t worked for a year, and it’s difficult. One of the problems in the Golan Heights is that although we were in the heart of the war, we’re not evacuee communities, and we’re not treated as such. So when it comes to compensation, we had to deal with the crisis on our own. We must return to work because we have no more money to keep the place going. If we don’t return now, it might be dangerous for the future of the business."

Bookings Have Started Rolling In

The Oleah hospitality center and cabins in Rosh Pina opened in 2021 by Tel Aviv entrepreneur Yoni Kantor, with the intention of bringing a fresh approach to tourism in the local council of Upper Galilee. "At the peak of our third year of operation, the war broke out, and we didn’t expect it to last so long," Kantor admits.

"On October 7, we closed the place to the public, and the next day we turned it into a hospitality center for reservists, with refreshment stations for fighters and a command center for equipment. Even when we were closed to clients, we worked to maintain the place, improve it, renovate, clean, and be ready for the moment we could open. Since Rosh Pina is in the rear line of the war and up until four months ago there were fewer sirens here than in Tel Aviv, the place wasn’t physically damaged. But we didn’t have bookings because the atmosphere wasn’t right. After all, when you hear the sounds of explosions in the background, it ruins the vacation. So we had to close because there was no demand. During this time, we took care of our workers financially, gave them other jobs in the place to avoid harming them. We tried to maintain maximum readiness because we didn’t want to waste time when we could finally open and have to train the place again."

Similar to Michael, Kantor reports a surge in bookings over the past week: "Even before the ceasefire was officially announced, bookings started coming in from people who want to reserve for places—already in a week and a half. I felt that we were starting to operate again like a hospitality center. People even booked for the upcoming Passover, and we began preparing accordingly. If I were, for example, a guesthouse owner in Margaliyot or Metula, I would speak differently because there’s nothing to rely on in the coming months. I have friends who manage hospitality centers there, and they know they’ll have to stay closed for a while and take the hit, despite the ceasefire. Personally, I would be willing to absorb more losses if it meant we could bring back the hostages from the north first and close the ceasefire in the south. But as a business owner, I must also take care of my employees."

Do you think the ceasefire will last for a long time?

"Listen, anyone in this field, in tourism and business, must be optimistic by nature. I don’t know any hotel or hospitality business owners who aren’t optimistic. In the end, we sell a good time and spread optimism."