Matter of survival: Hospitality associations across Maharashtra including the FHRAI, HRAWI, NRAI and AHAR organized statewide silent protests recently.
The Indian hospitality sector is a worried lot as the recent spike in Covid-19 positive cases is curtailing the green shoots gained in the domestic market. With destinations like New Delhi imposing a night curfew and Maharashtra announcing lockdown-like stricter curbs, business sentiments have nosedived.
Rohit Vig, Vice President Development, StayWell Holdings and Managing Director, South Asia, StayWell Hospitality said, “Our industry is slowly opening up and we have seen a good pickup in the last five months till February 2021. This has all come from the domestic market and has given us confidence that things shall be back to pre-Covid times soon. The virus has again shaken up the entire ecosystem due to the rising cases and recent restrictions imposed by the government. Over the last couple of weeks, we are witnessing cancellations and loss of business due to these restrictions which has caused major demand disruptions. This has had a tremendous effect on the overall health of our industry once again.”
India on Wednesday reported a record single-day rise of 1,84,372 new Covid-19 cases with more than a thousand deaths in the last 24 hours, as the country reels under the second wave of coronavirus.
“Whenever there is a rise in Covid-19 cases, the hospitality industry is targeted and victimized. We operate in the safest of environments and follow all the mandated compliances. A majority of the establishments have mounting debts and face threats of insolvency. With a fear of losing jobs like last year, many workers have begun to leave for their homes again. After last year’s lockdown, the hospitality industry is in turmoil and is just not in a position to bear any more losses,” said Sherry Bhatia, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI).
Hospitality associations across Maharashtra including the FHRAI, HRAWI, NRAI, AHAR and other local associations organized statewide silent protests recently against the state government’s Break The Chain order. Organized under the United Hospitality Forum of Maharashtra (UHF), the associations initiated campaign #MissionRoziRoti to highlight the hospitality industry’s desperate bid for survival.
A large number of restaurants participated in the silent protest with their employees standing outside the establishments holding placards.
In spite of the current challenges, a section of the hospitality players remains positive about the business prospects in the future.
Kush Kapoor, CEO, Roseate Hotels & Resorts said, “The rising Covid cases are definitely a source of concern, more so for the hospitality industry which is still reeling from the impact of the last lockdown. While our hotel business will definitely be impacted by the second wave, we are confident that this time recoveries will be sooner due to the active vaccination drive.”
However, a New Delhi based hotelier on the condition of anonymity said that his hotel has started seeing cancellations of banqueting business.