HRAWI expects 25-40% hotels to open in the first week in Maharashtra

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), a part of national body Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Associations of India (FHRAI) said it expects about 25 to 40 % of hotels across Maharashtra to re-open in the first week of the goverment allowing hotels to resume operations at 33% capacity outside containment areas from June 8.
HRAWI said it has asked its members to adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as outlined in the COVID-19 guidelines specifically designed for the hospitality industry. The association said with travel restrictions still in place and with a lot of hotel staff unavailable, the initial phase after re-opening may remain subdued.

“The decision to allow hotels to re-open has brought the industry a big relief and we thank the government for it. Our member hotels are geared up to welcome guests and have been prepared for over a couple of months with the trainings provided to them based on government SOPs. It can’t be said enough, the hospitality industry and its staff has been at the forefront of the pandemic and they are the real Corona warriors," said Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, president, HRAWI.

"Hotels have served people from day one of the lockdown by way feeding the needy and providing rooms for the quarantined and health workers. At the moment, we are just glad that the stagnation has ended and things will begin to move. We have also made a strong case for restaurants to open too and hopefully sooner than later, we will be allowed to do so,” he added.

Pradeep Shetty, vice president, HRAWI, said many hotels are facing shortage of staff and are also low on working capital. "This will be the biggest challenge for hotels as they decide to open doors to their guests. So, our estimate is that only about 30 to 35 % of the total hotels in the state may immediately re-open and others will gradually join. There are many hotels which have been very hard hit and these may not re-open at all," he added.

On the back of travel restrictions, HRAWI expressed apprehensions about actual bookings that hotels might receive. With most offices also adopting the work from home policy and with people gatherings not allowed, it anticipates the MICE segment and corporate bookings to be next to nil.

“Other than staff deficiency and liquidity issues, the factor which will influence a hotel’s decision to re-open will be the amount of bookings it receives. Demand is anyways very low due to travel restrictions and restricted activities in general. We are still in the midst of a pandemic. People are generally wary of everything and experimenting will not be the first thing on their minds. Despite the fact that hotels are fully capable of managing footfall during this phase, it will be a wait and watch game,” Shetty added.

HRAWI members range from smaller restaurants and hotels to hotels up to 5-Star deluxe categories. It says the bulk of its members constitute restaurants and budget hotels in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu and Silvassa.