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Operating bars at hotels and restaurants has become unviable due to higher licence fee and mandatory requirement of minimum liquor stock irrespective of sale volume, Federation of Himachal Hotel and Restaurant Association said on Wednesday. Members of the hotel body met here to discuss various issues related to the industry. Hotels have limited clientage and the profitability of the bar totally depends on the guests staying in the hotels. Moreover, there is a complete ban on drinking and driving in the larger interest of the safety of general public and therefore local clients rarely visit hotel bars, the association said in a statement. The hotel industry business in Himachal Pradesh is seasonal and therefore the licence fee for bars should be less and there should not be the mandatory quota for liquor stock for hotels having bar facilities, said Gajendra Thakur, president of Federation of Himachal Hotel and Restaurant Association. Bar operators also suggested creating different .
Representatives from Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday and sought granting of infrastructure status to the hospitality industry in the forthcoming Budget. Currently, hotels built with an investment of Rs 200 crore or more have been accorded infrastructure status under the RBI infrastructure lending norm criteria. The association has requested that this threshold be brought down to Rs 10 crore to give a fillip to budget segment hotels. This will enable hotels to avail term loans at lower rates of interest and also benefit from longer repayment periods. It has also requested for hospitality to be classified as an industry that's applicable across the country and create a corpus which compensates states for any notional loss, the association argued. "FHRAI put forth to the minister specific requests with special emphasis on granting infrastructure status to the hospitality industry," a release stated. The ...
The Indian hotel industry is likely to witness 23 per cent growth in revenue this fiscal over the pre-pandemic level, driven by a strong recovery in business travel and continued traction in leisure travel, according to a report. Higher average room rates (ARRs) and occupancy will help the hotel industry log a strong improvement in profitability to around 34 per cent this fiscal compared to 24 per cent in the pre-pandemic period (fiscal 2020), Crisil Ratings said in a report. Revenue, on its part, will increase 23 per cent over the pre-pandemic level, riding on a strong recovery in business travel and continued traction in leisure travel, it added. "Leisure travel had gained traction post the Delta wave last fiscal, while business travel has started picking up steadily after a much milder Omicron wave in January 2022. This has been fuelling demand in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and events) segment," Crisil Ratings Senior Director Mohit Makhija said. Crisil Ratings .
Over 70 per cent of hotel rooms in the tourist destinations of northern West Bengal are booked for the Durga Puja vacation, an official said on Saturday. The economy of the region, which boasts of some picturesque Himalayan destinations such as Darjeeling and Kalimpong, and forests of the Dooars, was battered by the pandemic as tourists stayed home amid the lockdowns. As coronavirus cases subside, businesses are hopeful of an effervescent festive season with tickets of trains to New Jalpaiguri -- the gateway to the region, sold out and hotel rooms fast getting filled up. Federation of Bengal Hotels assistant secretary Ujjwal Ghosh said the region saw a good footfall during the summer holidays this years, and the hoteliers expect even a better festive season. "Over 70 per cent of hotel rooms have already been booked in the Hills and in Dooars, and we expect the rest to be filled up soon," he said. The homestays are also witnessing a huge demand with most expected to be fully booked