This is the question restaurant and hotel owners are asking. While manufacturing industries are allowed to remain open, stakeholders in the hospitality sector are questioning the state government order to keep restaurants closed for dining citing Covid-19 spread. In what they call as unilateral decision-making, the owners say it will push them to the brink. At this month’s TOI Debate, they explain how shutting down will lead to irrecoverable losses for them
Nagpur: The hospitality industry needs government support to stay afloat. Explaining that it has a high break-even point, Dilip Kamdar, co-founder of Naivedyam Group of Hotels, said the upfront cost is very high and different from other sectors.
“The sector is heavily dependent on manpower. We need to take care of them. We did that so far, but with no support from government, we have exhausted all our options,” said Kamdar.
It’s a permanent loss for hotels providing lodging and boarding facility, said Tejinder Singh Renu, president of Nagpur Residential Hotels’ Association. “With business down and not many people coming to Nagpur from other states/cities due to Covid-19 fear, there is zero occupancy,” he said.
There are different dynamics involved in running a restaurant. Angadh Singh Arora, director of Centre Point Hospitality, stresses the authorities have failed to acknowledge that the hospitality sector thrives on providing an enriching experience to the customers. “If restaurants are closed at 6pm, people won’t be able to experience it,” he said.
In November last year, state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray had confirmed that the cabinet has approved industry status for hotels. Then why this new restrictions on hotels when other industries are allowed to remain open, asked Gaurav Chouksey, director of Olive Resorts.
Citing some facts, Chouksey said there are many young entrepreneurs who have forayed into hotel business which employs thousands. “Now, they are sitting on a pile of inventory,” he said.
According to Mandeep Singh Padam, director of Sanjha Chullah, the perishable items go waste if not used on time. Also, customers look at the whole experience when they visit a restaurant. “To maintain it requires a lot of investment. We have to pay taxes, water and electricity bills on time to ensure there are no disruptions. The government decision is unfortunate and will kill our business,” he said.
The panellists don’t see much business from home deliveries through online portals. “A big percentage of the order money goes to these portals. Moreover, most of the business is between 8pm and 11pm when we are not allowed to operate,” said Mandeep and added that they have to pay trained staff like chefs, who demand high salaries.
Ordering food online doesn’t give the feel of dining out and enjoying a unique experience. “It is not even 20% of total business,” said Kamdar.
For someone like Nitin Gopalani, director of Ramesons, who runs a hotel wedding destination, it’s a total loss of business because there is no online delivery.
Renu sought to know when portals are allowed to deliver food to homes, why not hotels? “Moreover, we are an organized sector. There are many delivering food in the unorganized sector,” he said.
Kamdar termed the restriction of 50 people at weddings as a “shame” and questioned the various restrictions put in place. “For example, RT-PCR not older than 15 days is mandatory for those serving at food counters. But how can one tell if a person will not turn positive a day after obtaining a negative certificate,” he said.
“If wedding are cancelled, a lot many people suffer. Those who framed these rules lack vision,” said Kamdar.
Mandeep was perplexed at the decision to close restaurants when train, bus and bus travel is allowed. “See it this way, hardly 2% of the population visits restaurants,” he said.
He expressed concern that conditions like mandatory RT-PCR and vaccination will be misinterpreted by authorities and lead to harassment of restaurant owners.
Arora demanded that authorities show them any study that proves that Covid-19 infection is spreading mainly due to weddings and restaurants. “There is curfew in the night but not in the day when there is crowd on roads. People visit markets where they can get infected. Also, people are travelling to other places for weddings,” he said.
Supporting Arora, Vinod Kanakdande, treasurer, Nagpur Lawns and Halls Association, claimed that the government is harassing this sector. “Wedding ceremonies are providing livelihood to so many people engaged in organizing them,” he said and termed the permission for just 50 people as way to target the hall owners.
He also sought to know why Covid-19 is spreading when weddings are not happening in halls.
Kamdar wanted to know why the government is not supporting the hospitality sector like in US. “Here, the authorities should consult stakeholders as they are responsible people and concerned about health of all,” he said.
Kanakdande demanded that permission should be given for 200 persons at a wedding. “This will at least help us survive the lockdown,” he said.
Adding to this, Gopalani said permission should be given as per size of the venue.
In a lighter vein, Arora said authorities have only one solution: “Lockdown karo”.
“People are coming from other states even when there is lockdown,” said Chouksey and questioned how Covid spread can be stopped just by shutting restaurants.
Citing various studies, Renu explained that there is no cure for RNA based viruses. “In this scenario, we need government support but nothing has come so far. If the government doesn’t maintain a balance between health and economy, there will be protests,” he said.