KOCHI: Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association’s (KHRA) move to stop accepting food orders from December 1 through the online apps like Uber Eats, Swiggy and Zomato failed to create an impact among the public with several other hoteliers continuing to accept orders through the food delivery apps. Though the apps featured fewer active hotels and restaurants, the public didn’t face any difficulty in getting the food after placing an order through it.
“I didn’t have any idea about the ban being imposed by the association. Like other days, I placed an order through the app and the food got delivered within 30 minutes. There were some restaurants which were not on the list. But I didn’t face any issue while placing an order as several hotels were ready to accept the order,” said Anil an employee working with a private organisation.
The Kochi chapter of the association’s move to announce a 10-day-long token strike came against the steep commission and GST rates charged by the food delivery companies. It is reported these firms were charging 30 per cent commission from hotel owners and 18 per cent GST for every food order.
There are around 4,000 hotels under the association in Ernakulam, out of which only 50 per cent take orders from online apps.
“I have added some hotels into my favourite list. But when I opened the app to order, these were offline. But I could place food order through other hotels and it got delivered as normal. I don’t think all the hotels participated in the strike,” said a housewife on condition of anonymity.However, the association claimed that 95 per cent of hotels stopped taking orders through the app on day one of the strike.
“We have 95 per cent of the hotels and restaurants going by the norms and conditions placed by the association and are ready to move with the ban. There was also some confusion among the workers as they had no clue about the ban,” said Azeez Moosa, president of KHRA, Kochi“However, there are bakeries which are not part of our association and they have delivered the products,” he addedHe also said the companies tried to establish their presence by deploying the delivery boys in front of the hotels.
“We are getting support from even outside the state. The ban will become stronger in the coming days. A 30 per cent commission for every delivery by the online app companies is illegal and a burden. If the companies are not ready to initiate a talk we will continue the ban,” added Azeez.