Category Archives: Hotels

Showing the way forward, speaking at the 2nd session of the second Digital Conclave held by TravTalk, Arjun Sharma, Chairman, Select Group, said, “My suggestion to travel agents is to focus on packaging experiences, experiential travel can also be a luxury. Travel agents need to first build their database and then identify the potential clients and then create packages for them.” He also added that travel will not stop, but it will just take some time for it to build up again.

According to an HVS report, the overall revenue of the Indian hotel sector is set to decline by anywhere between $8.85 billion and $10 billion this year, reflecting an erosion of 39-45 per cent compared to the previous year. The report also shows that besides actual business loss, hotel owners will also incur losses due to fixed operating expenses, debt repayments, interest payments and several other compliances required to be undertaken. It is important to note that the magnitude of the impact can change drastically if the outbreak is not contained immediately. In such an event, these scenarios will turn invalid.  

According to Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI, the industry has witnessed a decline in revenues to the extent of 60-70 per cent as compared to the previous year’s figures. He says, “In stocks alone, the industry stocks have taken a beating of over 51 per cent. While retaining jobs of workers seems like a noble thing to do, job losses are inevitable. Almost 50 to 60 per cent of the total jobs are in danger if the sector is not revived.”

The Fern Hotels & Resorts spreads the message of being sensitive during trying times. Be it providing food to the needy during these times of national crisis or ensuring there will be no pay cuts across its 72 hotels or displaying light hearts on the facades of various hotels to exude positivity, The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India’s leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain is trying to spread the message of being sensitive.   From Mumbai to Pune, from Rajkot to Sarnath, the hotels are acting as good Samaritans and spreading the message of being sensitive. All the necessary precautions which include wearing gloves, masks and social distancing are taken care of when these exercises are on. The CEO of the company, Suhail Kannampilly said,” We as a company are doing our bit to contribute during this time of crisis. Quite a few hotels are offering food to the needy in Mumbai and other parts of the country.”   In other measures adopted by the company he said,” hotels are exhibiting light hearts on their facades as a symbolic gesture. The idea is to exude positivity, confidence and optimism among the society and express our gratitude towards the frontline fighters”. Expressing belief in the fundamentals of the company he said,” The Fern Hotels is strong enough to come out of any crisis. Our team members are some of the sincerest and focused individuals in the industry.   I believe in the long-term vision of the company as well as the strength of what India as a country has to offer. “ He assured his employees that the company will not be reducing any salaries. “the Labour ministry’s advice on not reducing any salaries is clear and we …

In a recent report by HVS, a few suggestions have been made to the government to battle the ongoing crisis which includes Policy support, Monetary support, Fiscal support and Direct support to revive demand. In ‘Fiscal support’, the report recommends to provide a 12-month corporate tax holiday to travel, tourism & hospitality sector. It also suggests to defer all statutory dues such as advance tax, custom duties, exercise duties, PF, bank charges etc at central and state level for 12 months.

The branded segment is expected to witness a revenue loss of US$ 3.55 billion to US$ 4.1 billion in 2020 and the second quarter of the year will be the worst hit, says Mandeep S Lamba, President – South Asia, HVS ANAROCK. “The overall revenue of the Indian hotel sector, including both organised and unorganised segments, is set to decline by anywhere between US$ 8.85 billion to US$ 10 billion, reflecting an erosion of 39-45 per cent compared to the previous year. Hotels will be unable to drive rates and may even seek to attract business at deep discounts,” he adds. With new confirmed cases being reported daily, the penetration of the COVID-19 virus in India has caused mass hysteria, the reverberations of which are expected to continue well into the second quarter of the calendar year 2020.

Cross Hotels & Resorts is hosting an introductory webinar on Friday, March 27 at 3.30 PM for the travel trade fraternity to educate them on the brand and its offerings. Cross Hotels is one of the fastest growing brands in South East Asia with 24 properties across Thailand, Vietnam and Bali. For more information and to register, please contact Harish Chhetri at 9650196521 or email to sales@crosshotelsandresorts.in.

According to a recent report by HVS, the overall Occupancy in branded hotel segment in 2020 is estimated to decline by 16.7-20.5 percentage points over 2019, while ADRs are estimated to decline by 7-8% for the year. As a result RevPAR, will witness a significant decline of 31% to 36.2%. The report also mentions that the hospitality industry is undoubtedly one of the biggest casualties of the COVID-19 outbreak as demand has declined to an all-time low.

Calculating the risk of COVID-19 on the Indian hospitality sector, Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels, says, “We were sailing till February just fine but as soon as this pandemic broke irrevocably, our industry was the first one to get hit. For March, the RevPAR of Sarovar has gone down by 50%, April will decline by 100% and for the calendar year 2020, we are anticipating a dip of at least 12-15%. This of course is subject to change according to how situation folds itself in the coming months.”

InterContinental Hotels Group provides a business update in light of the rapidly evolving situation regarding Covid-19.Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer, IHG, said: “At this unprecedented time, our top priority remains the health and wellbeing of our guests, colleagues and partners, and ensuring that in light of such a significant impact on the global economy and, in particular, on the travel industry, we take the right steps to protect the long-term health of our business. Demand for hotels is currently at the lowest levels we’ve ever seen. IHG has a robust business model and the measures we are announcing today to reduce costs and preserve cash give us the capacity to manage the business through this unique environment and to support our owners during this incredibly difficult time. These were not easy choices and we are mindful of the impact these decisions will have on our colleagues and shareholders. However, we believe that these are essential to ensuring that we come out of this as strong as we possibly can and ready to capitalise on what remains an industry with excellent long-term growth potential.”