The usual year-end festivities won?t script happy news for hotels this time, with their food and beverage (F&B) business witnessing a dip ranging from 15% to 40%?thanks to the recent terror attacks in Mumbai and the global recession. Although there is no dearth in a la carte arrangements for guests for Christmas and New Year eve by hoteliers, in addition to special security arrangements, there doesn?t seem to be many takers.
?Almost all hotels and clubs have cancelled celebrations this year. There are no New Year and Christmas parties happening, though some of the hotels have come up with special menus. The mood is subdued,? says Anil Madhok, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts managing director.
?November and December are the months when the F&B segment picks up, but that is not happened this year,? he adds.
Around this time, hotels are flooded with non-resident Indians (NRIs) and other foreign travellers, which are encapsulated by locals who turnout at hotels around Christmas and New Year eve for gala buffets and parties. However, this year, the hotels are going empty as NRIs and foreign travellers? turnout has gone down significantly due to the recession and the recent terror attacks. Even locals are also not that keen on spending, explains Madhok.
Adds Gagandeep Singh, director (F&B), Renaissance Mumbai, ?The global recession has not only dented the industry but also the average spend of a guest has gone down by 15-20%.? Hotels do around two-third of their businesses starting October which this year came into the clutches of global recession and the terror attacks. The hospitality industry is expected to close this year 25% lower compared to last year. ?The industry, in Mumbai in particular, will not fair well till the first quarter of next year. Post that, things should brighten up,? opines Singh.
The sentiment is echoed across hotels in Mumbai and elsewhere in the country, with hotels like Radisson White Sands Resort, Goa, looking at wooing locals by revamping its fine dining restaurant into a Goan cuisine with food such as served in the shacks in Goa, albeit in a five star restaurant. This is in a bid to make up for the lower room bookings at the hotel. The prices are as low as Rs 200 to Rs 250 per person, taxes extra.
Even The Leela Kempinski Kovalam Beach, Kerala, that expects to do around 20% more revenue in F&B this year compared to last year, does not rule out the fact that there has been a slight decrease in the number of non-resident guests visiting their restaurants. ?Local guests from Technopark IT companies and other corporates are not spending and dining out as much due to the current financial scenario,? says Anand Ramankutty Nair, F&B manager at The Leela Kempinski Kovalam Beach, Kerala. However, the hotel plans to go ahead with its original festive plans and sees this step as a signal of normalcy to all the international guests who have been apprehensive of travelling to India in the wake of the recent terror attack and global recession.
?The feel-good factor that would otherwise prevail in this time of the year isn?t evident amongst guests. Hence, there are only muted celebrations,? says Anuraag Bhatnagar, general manager of Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai. The hotel has seen a 25% to 30% fall in F&B as a result of the global recession.