Completely Dejected Today; We Will Continue Knocking On The Doors: Dr. Jyotsna Suri

The hotel industry is a major contributor in Indian economy. Therefore, when no financial support was forthcoming in the recently concluded series of sector-specific economic stimulus and measures announced by the Central Government, eminent panelist from the hospitality industry participating in an engaging webinar organised by BW HOTELIER 'Getting Indian Hospitality Back... Hear The Leaders', expressed their surprise and shock. 

Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson and Managing Director of Bharat Hotels Ltd (The Lalit), said in her opening comments: “I cannot understand why this industry is being overlooked? This industry is definitely going to be the front runner for kick-starting the economy.”

Suri repeatedly emphasized on the support that government could provide to this sector. Stating an example she said that the United Kingdom government is bearing 80 per cent of the salaries so that the hotels may remain closed but the jobs they offer remain intact. “We are requesting, not demanding. We need some sort of support on the lines of what some of the developed countries are doing. The payroll is becoming a huge issue for us because there has been absolutely no generation of income whatsoever. How long can we sustain?” she asked. 

“We were looking for some support from the government…at least to give us some per cent (relaxation) or whatever they can. But it has not happened,” she said. 

Debunking a myth that those in the hospitality sector are among the elites in India, Suri said, “The policymakers do think that hotels are all luxury. And there is a feeling among them that hotels are the elitist, they are all luxury, 5 stars and that they have a lot of money and we can cope up with this situation. This is absolutely not correct.”

We were looking at the moratorium this morning announced by Dr Shaktikant Das, the RBI Governor. He has extended the moratorium by another three months. “It is again a bit of a joke. Because the first three-months are over and the lockdown is still intact. Our industry is not going to get back anywhere close for another year,” she explained.

Suri said she was hoping for some kind of support from the State Governments now because they have these mandatory payouts that we make whether it is lease rent, tax, or license payments. “The states need to come up and support us and so should the center,” she said. 

Suri hoped that the manner in which some of the guidelines on lock-down are being left to the states that are actually relaxing them as per the ground situation, it may be matter of time when the situation may improve for the hospitality sector too. 

“We are people-centric. It is all about service, warmth, and smile. We do want to look after people and make them feel happy and comfortable. That is the essence of the hospitality business,” said Suri adding that the industry would keep knocking on the doors and keep multi-tasking, being sustainable, responsible in order to bring back the ‘feel good’ factor. 

“We will come out of this like winners. We can never be socially distant, it is just the physical distancing that will not last for long…I vote for the human touch to be back again,” said Suri.