Opened from July 8, hotels in state see only 10% occupancy

Hotels which were allowed to open two weeks ago after a long spell of lockdown seem to be tottering, as they are recording only 10% of daily occupancy. According

Hotels which were allowed to open two weeks ago after a long spell of lockdown seem to be tottering, as they are recording only 10% of daily occupancy. According to experts, a hotel needs to have at least 50% occupancy to sustain itself in the race.

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The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), an apex body of hoteliers, said that hotels are running into huge losses owing to the situation.

“While flights are restricted, the other modes of transport such as trains and private buses are closed for operations. Even corporates are running with limited staff. All of these factors are playing havoc and we are not getting any guests,” said Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, president, HRAWI.

Though the state allowed hotels to open from July 8, it asked owners to keep amenities such as swimming pools, gyms, playing areas and gaming arcades closed to all the guests. The government also prohibited gatherings of more than 15 people at hotels.

While majority of them chose to remain closed, many owners decided to resume as they have to provide employment to their staff.

“We are shelling out money from our own pockets but we need to keep our workers employed and also earn some revenue. So we can’t close operations,” said Kamlesh Barot, who manages Empresa Hotel at Andheri, where of the 33 rooms, only three are booked everyday.

The situation is similar at Andheri’s Radisson Mumbai, which has 111 rooms. “We have a daily occupancy of just 5 to 10 % since we opened. All our corporate clients have stopped coming to the hotel. We are running into losses, but even then need to keep the hotels running,” said Mehttab Siddiqui, chief operating officer of GHV Group, which operates Raddison Mumbai.

Hospitality sector experts said the situation is likely to remain grim for the two-three months.

“Business travellers who form the bulk of patrons will avoid travelling to Mumbai until it is absolutely essential for them and this will significantly impact the hotel sector. The occupancy of hotels will remain subdued for the next two to three months,” said Jaideep Dang, managing director, hotels and hospitality group, JLL (India).