Nagpur: Banquet halls, lawns and hotels say they are almost at a financial breaking point due to clients asking for refunds and landlords refusing to negotiate rent. With local administration clamping down on weddings, calls for refunds have risen in the already cash-strapped industry.
Almost everyone is offering to “carry forward” the deposit to a new date.
Dilip Kamdar, director of Naivedhyam, says, “Weddings are planned minimum three to six months in advance and deposits are given to book venues. No businessman sits on that cash for six months, waiting for that wedding party. Money is infused into the business as capital investment, overheads etc.”
Kamdar says that earlier, weddings were cancelled from the client’s side. “Either due to death in the family or because of marriage being called off. This is the first time that the government is calling off the entire event, but our fixed expenses remain the same. Majority of businessmen are offering credit for the event to be held at a future date,” he adds.
Vinod Dande, a member of Nagpur Halls & Lawns Association, feels that their industry is being hammered from all sides. “Clients want a refund for deposits they gave a couple of months ago and the majority of us are not in a position to even pay for overheads. Those caterers who leased lawns/halls have been the worst-hit. They are paying lakhs per month in rent, electricity bills and maintenance with no income in sight,” says Dande.
Jasbir Arora, director, Hotel Centre Point, says the sector in Nagpur is the worst-hit in state. “In Pune, weddings were allowed with higher capacity as compared to Nagpur, right up till March 26. There were relaxations in restaurant timings too in Pune and Mumbai. Somehow in Nagpur, it seems the most stringent rules are always for the hospitality industry,” says Arora.
Dande adds, “Cash flow has stopped for us and savings are being wiped out. We are struggling to retain workers as they seek greener pastures in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In such conditions, how can lawn owners be expected to shell out refunds for events that got called off for no fault of theirs.”
Kamdar says the next couple of months may break the back of the hospitality industry. “April to June is the peak season for weddings in Nagpur and we have 30 auspicious dates as well in this period. But if the government forces us to remain shut then it’s all gone. For every 500 guests at a wedding, 100 people found direct or indirect employment. So consider that scale at a city level and understand the negative economic impact,” he explains.