A fresh set of restrictions imposed by several state governments across India amid a Covid surge is threatening the green shoots of recovery that have emerged in the country’s hotel sector over the last few weeks, driven by the growth of leisure tourism and the onset of the country’s festival and wedding season, according to a new report published by HVS.
The report, authored by Mandeep S Lamba, Akash Datta and Dipti Mohan, noted that occupancy in most major markets were showing “fledgling signs of improvement”, with leisure destinations seeing “a strong rise in occupancy” as people started to hit the road again.
As India battles rising Covid cases, several states across the country have reimposed fresh guidelines; a near-empty street before the iconic The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata hotel during an earlier lockdown in July pictured
Overall, hotel occupancy in India has improved from approximately 10 per cent in April 2020 to nearly 30 per cent in October 2020.
In the absence of corporate travel, most branded hotels were relying on the upcoming wedding and holiday season in most part to bridge their revenue shortfall, said the report. However, fresh state restrictions to curb the Covid spread is expected to dampen the spirits going forward.
While urgent action is vital to keep the virus in check, “a reasonable notice instead of rampant execution of lockdowns will certainly help the industry as well as its people to prepare for the eventuality, especially during such destabilising periods,” the authors wrote.
To back their case, they cited the example of the recapping of wedding guests by some state governments to 100 or even 50 in some cases, from the earlier cap of 200, with the new guidelines being implemented almost overnight.
“This sudden change in guidelines has left the events and its planners in disarray,” the authors wrote. “Not only are hotels woefully impacted, their customers are left with dirty laundry running pillar to post trying to make fresh arrangements – from scouting of new venues to informing their guests about the change in plans, all the while trying to cope with the nuances of the ongoing pandemic and surrounding regulations.”
They concluded: “Most of the labor-intensive sectors, including hospitality, are already highly distressed and vulnerable and these sudden changes in regulations are only adding to their woes. Coherence between central and state government policies is needed to ensure that the impact on the economy and livelihood of people is limited going forward, especially in the absence of sector specific packages.”
A fresh set of restrictions imposed by several state governments across India amid a Covid surge is threatening the green shoots of recovery that have emerged in the country’s hotel sector over the last few weeks, driven by the growth of leisure tourism and the onset of the country’s festival and wedding season, according to a new report published by HVS.
The report, authored by Mandeep S Lamba, Akash Datta and Dipti Mohan, noted that occupancy in most major markets were showing “fledgling signs of improvement”, with leisure destinations seeing “a strong rise in occupancy” as people started to hit the road again.
Overall, hotel occupancy in India has improved from approximately 10 per cent in April 2020 to nearly 30 per cent in October 2020.
In the absence of corporate travel, most branded hotels were relying on the upcoming wedding and holiday season in most part to bridge their revenue shortfall, said the report. However, fresh state restrictions to curb the Covid spread is expected to dampen the spirits going forward.
While urgent action is vital to keep the virus in check, “a reasonable notice instead of rampant execution of lockdowns will certainly help the industry as well as its people to prepare for the eventuality, especially during such destabilising periods,” the authors wrote.
To back their case, they cited the example of the recapping of wedding guests by some state governments to 100 or even 50 in some cases, from the earlier cap of 200, with the new guidelines being implemented almost overnight.
“This sudden change in guidelines has left the events and its planners in disarray,” the authors wrote. “Not only are hotels woefully impacted, their customers are left with dirty laundry running pillar to post trying to make fresh arrangements – from scouting of new venues to informing their guests about the change in plans, all the while trying to cope with the nuances of the ongoing pandemic and surrounding regulations.”
They concluded: “Most of the labor-intensive sectors, including hospitality, are already highly distressed and vulnerable and these sudden changes in regulations are only adding to their woes. Coherence between central and state government policies is needed to ensure that the impact on the economy and livelihood of people is limited going forward, especially in the absence of sector specific packages.”