'Future of hotel industry is bright'

Amit Chillar, director Landmark group speaks to Syed Amir Ali Hashmi on the status and future of hotel industry. Business Buzz | Global options | Gallery of quotes | Biggest challenges

What is the present status of the industry?

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Delhi is one of the major locations for conferences and meetings, Commonwealth Games is also round the corner. All this requires a huge supply of rooms. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of rooms right now. Delhi and NCR have a huge demand and there is a perpetual lack in supply that needs to be addressed.

What is the future of the hotel industry?

With India emerging as a destination both in terms of tourism and industry, the future of the hotel industry is bright. We need good hotels that can cater to quality customers. Hotels require trained manpower to handle the high-end clientele.

How has the development of the industry affected Delhi and NCR?

Delhi and NCR are developing in a big way. We have corporates thronging these areas and there are few hotels to meet the rising demand. There are bright prospects for hotels in SEZs.

What are the issues and challenges that the industry faces?

Hotels need visibility and infrastructure to be provided by the government. The next challenge is servicing them with electricity and availability of clean drinking water. Good hotels can use packaged water for drinking but what about cooking.

Hopefully, by 2010 these issues will be addressed. Another challenge that the industry faces is retaining the workforce. The long working hours are a deterrent. One also needs to see that the salary structure is in consonance with other industries.