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With night curfews and other curbs on celebrations in several States in the wake of rising concerns around Omicron, the widely anticipated recovery of the hospitality and restaurants industry has hit a speed-breaker.
Night curfews have been imposed by Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat (in some parts), while Odisha and Karnataka have cracked down on celebrations leaving hoteliers and restaurateurs chalking up losses “expected to run into crores”.
According to Pradeep Shetty, Secretary, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, December is seen as a “good month” for the industry in terms of revenues. “But now there is uncertainty all over again. Typically, a few hundred crores go in as capital investment (for the industry) and it seems with these curbs, recovery of such investments towards manpower (new hiring), renovations, and so on will fall apart,” he told BusinessLine ; adding that “Some resorts and hotels are already seeing cancellations.”
The full impact of these cancellations is expected to be clear after December 26, a senior hotel executive said, adding that there are requests for shift in venue to areas where there are fewer curbs.
Beach destinations a hit
While resorts in and around Lonavala (in Maharashtra) and a few “party destinations” saw “some cancellations”, there is a shift in venues towards areas where there are relaxations still like Goa, the Andamans (which has achieved 100 per cent double vaccination), and destinations in the east (Gangtok and Darjeeling).
According to Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, “We have seen a significant increase in bookings for beach destinations like Goa and the Andamans in December where most hotels are almost sold out. Travellers are opting for these destinations to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Additionally, advance bookings for January-February have also seen a jump of 15 per cent,” he said.
Restaurants bear brunt
For the restaurant industry, curbs during Christmas-New Year has come as a big setback. Sagar Daryani, Vice-President, National Restaurant Association of India, said the last week of December is crucial for the restaurant industry in terms of revenues and footfalls. “The imposition of night curfew in several States as well as capacity restrictions in the key markets of Delhi and Mumbai during this festival period come as a double whammy for the industry,” he added
Daryani, who is also Co-Founder of Wow! Momos, also said that various States have different kind of restrictions causing ambiguity and hence becoming challenging for national chains to navigate through the curbs. For instance: not all States are allowing food delivery even during the night curfew period.
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