‘Hospitality industry can become more operationally efficient, policy-wise stronger, better governed’

The hospitality industry has been struggling for far too long due to the pandemic and there has been no definite answer for the sector’s revival. With minimal support from the government, the hotel owners have been raising their concerns over a plethora of issues that the industry is facing. Ashish Jakhanwala, MD & CEO, SAMHI added that there has been a lot of directional guidance coming from RBI, but transmission to businesses is next to nil, at least for the hotel sector. Raising another important concern, Sanjay Sethi, MD & CEO, Chalet Hotels informed the hotel industry is always clubbed and gets lost in the whole tourism framework.

Moreover, after analysing the current situation, Arun Saraf, MD, Juniper Hotels pointed out that most of the large events including banqueting, F&B business, and buffet restaurant will have to be minimized for times ahead. Furthermore, Dr Binod K. Chaudhary, Chairman, CG Corp Global & CG Hospitality informed on the adjustments his chain of hotels is going through. “We have been reducing guest to staff ratio, looking at multitasking, significantly cut down on staff,” he said.

The speakers were discussing at the BW HOTELIER’s sixth episode of Breaking The Pandemic WebBlast: ‘Overcoming Challenges: Hotel Owners’, organised in association with Hotelivate, where the industry stalwarts talked around seven major subjects: product, policy, banking, human talent, lobbying as an industry, F&B (Food and Beverage) and banquets, and relationship with brands. The session was anchored and moderated by Manav Thadani, Founder Chairman, Hotelivate, who steered the conversation around the seven talking points. During the discussion, he pointed out that they have always focused only on tax-reduction policy-wisefor the hospitality sector, and maybe it’s time to focus on other areas.

Opportunity in Adversity?

Chaudhary looking ahead stated, “We can use this situation as an opportunity by bringing a larger component of wellness factor to instil a greater degree of confidence in our guests.” Even on a more positive note, J.B. Singh, President & CEO, InterGlobe Hotels gave his view: “You have to have an eco-system driven by policy that resonates with the agility.” He argued if the policy were made more efficient, there is a possibility that almost 30 per cent of inefficiencies that sit in the development side of the business will be wiped out.” Addressing the licensing process, Arun Saraf shared, “If you look at the situation in Mumbai, except for the excise licenses, which are quite cumbersome, rest of the stuff is quite straightforward. There is BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) Approval for Health and safety. There are numerous licenses but they are not out of line in comparison to any reasonably large city.” 

Along with this, industry experts also agreed that more aggressive structural changes need to be made to completely change the game for the hospitality sector. For example, Sanjay Sethi argued for having a Minister of State for hotels. He stated, “Within the tourism ministry, the hospitality sector deserves a place given that the employment we create coupled with the contribution to the state exchequer, the sector deserves a place in the centre.”

Similarly, Dr Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director of Bird Group, opined that the Indian system needs to get streamlined, and there has to be consistency across policies. He explained with an example – “The central government allowed operations of hotels from 8th June but even after more than ten days they have no clue about what is going to happen and when the hotels are going to open in the national capital region.”

Among other topics, the session witnessed on-the-point discussions around the moratorium of three months offered by RBI (Reserve Bank of India), which most industry experts believed is not enough and is only a temporary solution. The speakers not only raised the issues with existing policies but also provided solutions which can be adapted for better functioning of the industry.

Almost every panellist agreed, which was strongly reiterated by Sanjay Sethi that there is a need to focus on the larger and longer-term good for the hotel industry. He even put the idea on the table about the industry needing a single hospitality body in the country. Speaking about the products, Saraf stated, “We have to use this opportunity to become more efficient with our physical product. In terms of sizing of the public spaces, room, and how our customers will interface with us (our employees).”