JAIPUR: Night curfew restrictions have shaved off 50-70% of the December 31 business this year as hotels are not allowed to hold any new year parties, discounted room rates, and lower occupancy. Farmers’ strike also added to uncertainty as some people postponed travelling to the state fearing road blockade.
Due to home department order, hotels could not take in city residents who wanted to avail food and drinks services without having a room booking. The average occupancy also fell to about 50% which used to be about 90% in previous years, said many hoteliers TOI spoke to. Similarly, the average industry business is estimated to be lower by 60% this time compared to December 31 last year.
Harimohan Dangayach, owner of a group of branded hotels, said, “Why should people come to a hotel if there is no celebration? The night curfew restrictions meant that the hotels also lost the business from city residents who in previous years contributed significantly to the December 31 business. Compared to last year, the business is down to 20-30%.”
However, Dangayach said they expect the industry to revive from March onwards. “Given declining trend in new corona cases and the vaccination drive that would be starting soon, we expect the industry to be reviving from March onwards. But to come back to normalcy, we have to wait till September,” added Dangayach.
With demand falling far short of the rooms on offer, the room night tariffs also remained much lower than last year. “Rooms were cheaper by about 30%. Lower occupancy coupled with discounted tariffs had impacted revenues,” said Pankaj Gupta, general manager of a leading hotel.
Gupta said that generally, hotels organize multiple events and offer various services on occasions like December 31 which was absent this year due to the restrictions and the social distancing norms that needs to be followed.
But some properties said they desist over commercializing events liked December 31 and but offer decent and elegant experiences to guests who want to savour the beauty of our property and ambience.
Jean Luc Benheim, owner of a resort in Kukas, said, “We do get good business on December 31. But we are averse to over commercialize the services we offer. The core of our property is so strong that it does not need too much artificial extravaganza. So, we are not disappointed this time. Our resort has 60% occupancy for December 31 and we are happy with that.”