Booster dose: Hotel sector bounces back in Hyderabad

However, this year as the fear over the Covid virus has reduced, business has improved.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo | EPS)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo | EPS)

HYDERABAD: After witnessing dull business both in terms of guests and restaurant customers alike, the hotel sector in Hyderabad has bounced back with occupancy levels improving in many star and budget hotels across the city. Be it the wedding season or post-Covid normalcy leading to a tourist flow from other parts of the country, hotels, restaurants and lodges are brimming with customers. Some hotels are even reporting pre-Covid-19 occupancy levels. Bookings and occupancy was more in hotels located in Begumpet, Banjara Hills, HiTec City and Gachibowli compared to rest of the city.

Speaking to Express, the managing partner of Taj Mahal Hotel in Secunderabad and Narayanaguda, Praveen Rao said that budget hotels are performing well. “Compared to room occupancy, there is a lot of improvement in business for banquet halls and restaurants. Visitors are looking for facilities like adequate parking space, good food and maintenance of hotels. Lodges which used to witness zero customers are registering almost 50 per cent occupancy. When there was no Covid-19, room occupancy used to be up 75 per cent in budget hotels and now it is around 45 per cent. There are around 3,000 budget hotels in Greater Hyderabad,” he said.

Even after restrictions imposed during Covid-19 were lifted, customers were wary to eat out in restaurant and tourists weren’t too keen to book rooms in hotels. However, this year as the fear over the Covid virus has reduced, business has improved. Weekends crowds at cafes, restaurants and fine dining restaurants are a clear pointer.Hyderabad Hotels Association president Ashok Reddy said that bookings and occupancy will touch pre-Covid-19 levels by the end of this financial year. “In medium range and budget hotels, the occupancy is around 75 per cent. The prices of all commodities have increased. But we have not hiked the pieces so as not to discourage customers,” he said.

Records 64% growth

As per JLL’s Hotel Momentum India Q1 2022 report, all six key markets for the hotel sector including Hyderabad witnessed revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth in Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021, due to strong recovery in leisure & business travel, post the third wave of the pandemic. According to it, Hyderabad registered the second highest growth of 64 per cent in RevPAR in Q1 2022, after Mumbai when compared to over the same period last year. “The Finance Ministry in Budget 2022 extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) up to March 2023 and earmarked an additional Rs 50,000 crore for hospitality and related sectors. Online travel platforms like Yatra and Cleartrip announced their partnership to offer wider hotel inventory to customers,” the report highlighted.

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