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New Delhi, Jan 26 () Hospitality firm Sarovar Hotels and Resorts is looking to open 15 more properties across India by the end of this year, adding around 900 rooms to its portfolio as part of its expansion plans in the country, a top company official said.
 The company currently manages 85 hotels with 6,500 rooms in India and three locations overseas.
 "We are optimistic that we should cross the hundred mark this year. We plan to open 15 hotels across India by end of 2020," Sarovar Hotels and Resorts Managing Director Ajay K Bakaya told .
 The upcoming hotels will be mainly under the Sarovar Portico and Sarovar Premiere brands, he added.
 The new hotels will come up at locations such as Bodh Gaya, Morbi, Katra, Dibrugarh, Latur, Udaipur, Jalandhar, Dalhousie, Jagdalpur and Rajahmundry, among others, Bakaya said.
 "We are also planning to add a very large convention centre at Rajamundry in Andhra Pradesh along with a 100-room Sarovar Premiere there, as part of our policy of developing tier II and tier III cities," he added.
 Asked about the business model the company follows, Bakaya said Sarovar Hotels and Resorts is a hotel management company and follows an asset light model.
 On the growth roadmap for the company, Bakaya said: "We have now established link between our Indian hotel software and the French international platform. We now have a global distribution system (GDS) connect. That is a major plus for us to bring more business."
 The company's investment is and will be on technology, processes, design changes as well as on people, he added.
 Commenting on the growth of the hospitality sector in the country, Bakaya said: "The issue in India still remains the cost of capital. A longer time frame of 15 to 18 years for loan repayment at an interest rate of 10 to 11 per cent will have a very positive impact for the sector."
 Sarovar Hotels' three overseas properties are in Africa -- one in Zambia and two in Kenya. AKT ABM
ABM

Sarovar Hotels to add 15 properties across India by 2020-end

We arrived at the porch of <keyword id="1428718" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Royal-Plaza-Hotel">Royal Plaza Hotel</keyword> in <keyword id="43822" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Janpath">Janpath</keyword> with a lot of expectations. As we were ushered in, a world of antiques welcomed us. The lobby of the hotel looks right from a vintage movie set of <keyword id="2370" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hollywood">Hollywood</keyword> in the 70s. There are antique statues, mural paintings and lots of metal to firm your belief. The tea lounge was beaming with crowds. We are here to review <keyword id="692942" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Royal-Plaza">Royal Plaza</keyword>’s bistro – <keyword id="4771442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="royal-brewery-bistro">Royal Brewery Bistro</keyword>, right across the pool. There’s a pool party ongoing and young people are having the fun of their life. With water getting splashed all across, we enjoyed a slice of pool party while walking towards bistro. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/This-restaurant-serves-authentic-local-dishes-along-NationalHighway-44/articleshow/54999799.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">ALSO READ: This restaurant serves authentic local dishes along National Highway 44</a> While the pool was crowded there weren’t much footfall in the bistro, though it was weekend and lots of offers were on. We gave the benefit of doubt to the timing – an early sunny evening in July. The look and feel of the place is quite vintage and retro. The furniture are of solid wood and gives you a certain ‘Great Gatsby’ high. The props include old lamp shades, railway signals and showpieces that have antique vibe. We ordered some mock tails from the menu and a plate of beer battered fish as starters. Let’s reveal you in the beginning, the service is slow. It’s really slow! And there’s not much method to it. We thought of trying some chef’s special but he was nowhere to be seen, though we asked for him a multiple times. You would need to decide for yourself because the attendants lack knowledge about the cuisine and have nothing much to share. The beer batter fish arrived almost half an hour later. The tanginess or hint of beer was lacking. Beer battered food is quite common in Delhi and there is no way you could go wrong. But they managed to. The waiters lack proper expertise and courtesy. So you may require to request for a fork, a knife, a spoon each time you can trace them. And unlike fine dining places, here you need to cry out for the waiter, although there aren’t many guests. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Is-authentic-Indian-food-becoming-the-victim-of-fancierfusion-food-serving-restaurants-We-find-it-here-/articleshow/54409088.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">ALSO READ: Is ‘authentic’ Indian food becoming the victim of fancier fusion-food serving restaurants? We find it here</a> On asked for ketchup, the waiter simply put a whole bottle of ketchup on the table and disappeared. We thought of sampling a wood fired pizza, which the place takes credit for. Unfortunately the pizza on arrival was found to be overbaked to the level where the crispiness has up. We could feel a burnt aftertaste on our first few bites. The cheese was good. When the waiters were asked about the kind of cheese in pizza, they couldn’t respond after much consultation among each other. For main course, we ordered a lamb burger with barbecue sauce and fish &amp; chips. The menu is too limited and there’s not much to try. We thought of these two as there is no way you can go wrong in making two of these dishes. Fish &amp; chips and lamb burgers are like making an Indian chicken, which should anyways taste good. But then these flopped as well.<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/House-of-Soy-has-the-best-vegetarian-delicacies-for-your-Thai-obsessed-tastebuds/articleshow/58693361.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank"> ALSO READ: House of Soy has the best vegetarian delicacies for your Thai obsessed tastebuds</a> We never imagined a fish so bland. The basa seemed like the Vietnamese one but the crispiness was nowhere. Basic thumb rule for fish and chips is crispy outside and fluffy inside and the chef seemed to have reversed the rule. The waiters wouldn’t serve it on your plate. Though the plates were heaved with leftovers of the pizza, the waiters didn’t bother to change unless we insisted. The lamb burger was worst than a <keyword id="6517640" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="QSR">QSR</keyword>. Why would someone pay Rs 755 for a burger that’s not juicy and tender! Well, searching for the answer to this question we left the place. We didn’t have the guts to ask for dessert as those didn’t look very promising. At a time when five stars are experimenting with their food and making the chef the hero of the place, hiding the creator and keeping a limited menu won’t help the place get quality customers. Making money with pool parties is one thing, but building a relationship like Radisson, Sarovars and Crowne Plazas would need some extra level of creativity.

Royal Brewery Bistro at Janpath has the blandest food ever!

&#xa0;Come April 2017, India’s dream of ‘One Nation, One Tax’ would become a reality. With GST becoming operational, all kinds of goods and services will have to pay single tax instead of several service taxes they have to pay today. In keeping with the structure of India, GST will be levied concurrently by the Centre and the states. 
 
It is being expected that GST will be kept at less than 19%, however, a final decision is yet to be reached. While most commoners feel relieved by this as they won’t have to calculate so many taxes, the travellers in the country might be adversely affected. This is because the travel industry in India is growing at an accelerated pace, and at this time, levying a GST higher than the current <keyword id="6355686" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Service-tax">Service Tax</keyword> would paralyse the sector. 
 <keyword id="3694039" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-kishore">Amit Kishore</keyword>, co-founder, Think Strawberries, a pioneer in Global Travel Products in the Indian market, told <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword>, “It’s (GST) an unknown commodity at the moment. We don’t know what the exact number would be. In normal case of GST, it is around 18-19%. But when it comes to the tourism industry, the centre has to be concessional otherwise the whole purpose of GST would be defeated. It will in fact defeat the whole purpose of promoting tourism.” 
 
“The government needs to be very realistic with the figure. There are several complex components that have to be considered in this case. But it will have to be in the single digit. Right now we have a service tax component in travel industry, which is fixed below 5%. The hotel side is different. I am just talking about the package side. Who do you pay? GST has to be paid at source. But in travel package sale, there are so many sources. Since the govt seems to be pro tourism, they will hopefully understand,” he said. 
 For example, countries which made GST operational much before anyone else like France, Italy and <keyword id="103" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Switzerland">Switzerland</keyword> have tourism tax slabs of 5.5 %, 10 % and 3.6 % respectively compared to the standard GST rates of 19.6 %, 20 % and 7.6 % respectively for other sectors. 
Most importantly, the air fares would rise an all time high. For example, even GST above 15% in domestic airlines will increase air fare for each person up to Rs 400 more, which is quite a deterrent for the sector. 
 Pradeep Kalra, Senior VP – Sales &amp; Marketing, Sarovar <keyword id="6368036" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hotels">Hotels</keyword> believes, “…as is applicable in many countries, the rate of GST for the hotel industry in India should also be kept low. GST rates for hotel industry in countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and <keyword id="3739" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Thailand">Thailand</keyword> are as low as 7 %, making these countries cost effective and popular tourist destinations. We feel a low tax rate of 5 % on the industry here for at least five years would benefit the sector and increase the tourists’ inflow, which is currently the lowest in the world considering the size of the country.” 
 
Seems like GST cap being planned is not too much of a good news for the travel sector! 
 
(Image: Pixabay)

Travel entrepreneurs are seeking lower GST rates, here’s why<o:p></o:p>

In a bid to bump-up their businesses, Indian hotel and travel companies are now offering last-moment booking services. The special deals majorly are to make-up for the current fall in the sales, discloses an Economic Times report. 
 These last-minute bookings or check-ins made within 48 hours provide 10-50% of the total hotel bookings in India. Over one third bookings made in Lemon Tree Hotel’s last-minute check-in are 20-25% of Park Hotels. <keyword id="240533" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sarovar-Hotels">Sarovar Hotels</keyword>, however, witnessed a 50-60% growth in this category in the last one year. 
 Patu Keswani, chairman and managing director of <keyword id="136437" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lemon-Tree-Hotels">Lemon Tree Hotels</keyword> says, "In the current environment, where all India occupancies are around 60 per cent, the last-minute bookings are very significant." 
 Dilip Puri, managing director (India) and regional VP (South Asia) at <keyword id="128636" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Starwood-Hotels-Resorts">Starwood Hotels &amp; Resorts</keyword> said that around 20% bookings at a hotel chain tend to be made at the last minute. "We are seeing consistent growth in the use of mobile phones to make hotel reservations," he further said. 
 Industry professionals believe that <keyword id="4758225" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Last-minute-booking">last-minute booking</keyword>s assume more significance for hotels during off-season. For instance, during monsoon, when people travel lesser and there is a drop in travel business. Last-minute booking boosts occupancy by 15-20% and here is what hotels basically do. They offer attractive deals like up to 60% discount or special packages just to perk-up occupancy. 
 "Being a perishable inventory for hotels, the revenue from room nights unsold is lost forever," said Amit Taneja, chief revenue officer at travel portal <keyword id="132652" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cleartrip">Cleartrip</keyword>. 
 
For travel portal Goibibo, 55% of hotel bookings are reserved for last-minute check-ins. "This number used to be 20 per cent a year ago," said Ashish Kash yap, group CEO, Ibibo. 
Image: indiatimes

Here’s what the travel and hotel industries are doing to attract customers

Imagine this! You are sitting at a classy restaurant; eating your favourite Bento Box of chicken in garlic sauce, steamed basa and hakka noodles and your table overlooks the magnificent <keyword id="647878" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="dhauladhar">Dhauladhar</keyword> range of the <keyword id="52569" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Himalayas">Himalayas</keyword>. Wait! The magic isn’t over yet. The restaurant floor moves in a ultra-slow pace and you can actually take a 360 degree look of the Himalayas. Well if you are intrigued by the concept, add <keyword id="168713" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="palampur">Palampur</keyword> in your bucket list. The little hill town isn’t as congested as Mcleodganj or <keyword id="67565" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="dharamshala">Dharamshala</keyword>, but gives you the comfort and experience just like any other Himalayan hill town. You can mingle with the locals, eat snacks on the roadside and shop woollen stuff. And the best part is you won’t fell into the trap of ‘over-expensive’ price tags because it’s not that ‘touristy’ in Palampur. 
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 And to dine at the Palampur’s only revolving restaurant Cloud Seven, you need to head to RS <keyword id="1318804" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sarovar">Sarovar</keyword> Portico, Palampur. The amazing hospitality, a signature of Sarovar properties all over the country, has already achieved RS Sarovar a 5-star tag on Tripadvisor. And the moment you walk into the concierge, you can feel the 5-star hospitality. The welcome drink here isn’t the red syrup, rather an extract from <keyword id="2795904" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="buransh">Buransh</keyword> flower, locally found not-so-sweet nectar. RS Sarovar Portico in Palampur boasts of four categories of rooms- standard, deluxe, junior suites and presidential suites. The rooms are spacious enough with a grand view of Dhauladhar. If you are lucky enough the clouds won’t block the snow-capped peaks from you. The full glass French windows in the rooms all work as a place for you to sit and appreciate the view. 
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 When it comes to food, RS Sarovar Portico has two restaurants- Cloud Seven and The Terrace and a bar called 360 Degree Bar. The Terrace is the ala carte restaurant with an open out area for diners to feel the chilly breeze coming from Dhauladhar when they feast on steam hot dumplings. Cloud Seven as mentioned is the revolving restaurant, which serves buffet during lunch and dinner. The 360 Degree Bar doesn’t revolve but you can get a grand view of the mountains and clouds while sipping your favourite whiskey. Chef Khem Raj is a popular TV face and if you chance to relish Khatta Chicken, Pahadi Dal and Patrod – the Himachali staples , you would soon be a fan of him. And what to do around the hotel? While the hotel seats at a distance of 4 km from the main market, Dharamshala and <keyword id="4898301" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="mcleoadganj">Mcleoadganj</keyword> are just an hour drive. Besides, you can visit the “Kangra Valley Tea” gardens at just half an hour distance. You can ask the hotel to facilitate your visit to Wah Tea garden where you can visit the tea factory and have a look around how your morning bed tea gets made. General Manager Rohit Verma believes in supporting the rural community of <keyword id="6358126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Himachal-Pradesh">Himachal Pradesh</keyword>. And so your next thing to do will be dining with local villagers. Right from a tour at a local pottery village to a picnic in the afternoon and hiking back after evening tea – this is the closest you can be with the nature. Also if you want your wedding to happen in hilltop, this place is your best choice because they have the most reasonably priced wedding offers. This weekend hop on to a Dharamshala bound bus and make the most of it.

A revolving restaurant in Dharamshala overlooking the Himalayas! Is it in your bucket list yet?

<ul><li>A survey by travel agency Agoda found wellness to be one of the top three motivations for Indians to travel in 2023. </li><li><keyword id="2808667" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="oyo" source="Orion">OYO</keyword> and EaseMyTrip shared that Gen Zs and millennials are pursuing spiritual pursuits, including trips to religious destinations. </li><li><keyword id="6357203" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="varanasi" source="Orion">Varanasi</keyword>, <keyword id="48458" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tirupati" source="Orion">Tirupati</keyword> and <keyword id="4903" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Puri" source="Orion">Puri</keyword> were some of the favoured destinations as per data shared by four different travel organisations.</li></ul>The pandemic turned the world digital but also led to multifold physical and mental health issues. Consequently, digital detox and regeneration have become <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/travel-trends-in-2023-digital-detox-regenerative-travel-and-inner-peace/articleshow/96281360.cms">increasingly</a> popular. In India, this has translated into an increased interest in spiritual and wellness tourism, including trips to religious destinations, according to travel agencies. And this interest has expanded to include GenZs and millennials. Travel agency Agoda conducted a survey and found wellness to be one of the top three motivations for Indians to travel in 2023. The survey was conducted with 10,000 travellers from across 12 countries, including India. As per Agoda, “Many (people) wish to embark on trips to recharge themselves, mentally and physically, with wellness contributing to the number two spot in the ‘reasons to travel’ ranking of Agoda’s Travel Trend survey. Countries with high inclination include India (20%), South Korea (24%), Singapore (25%) and Thailand (29%).” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Spiritual tourism no longer restricted to senior citizens" comment="subhead2" text="Spiritual tourism no longer restricted to senior citizens">Spiritual tourism no longer restricted to senior citizens</cmsannotation> For the longest time, religious destinations were considered to be low on the travel bucket list — especially for GenZs and millennials, but that appears to have changed. “With the need for spiritual connect taking priority, millennials and GenZs are setting new trends for the industry. With every passing day, spiritual and self-care travel are catching pace, and the demand is growing,” said OYO in its Cultural Travel 2022 Roundup Report. As per the travel agency EaseMyTrip, there has been a 60% increase from 2019 in people in general are opting for holy destinations or spiritual or wellness tour packages. And, women aged between 30-35 are leading the search. “We’ve observed a sharp surge of 60% in the number of tourists opting for spiritual and wellness retreat packages as compared with pre-Covid. These are closely linked with religious pilgrimages and the various festivals prevalent across the subcontinent,” said Rikant Pittie, co-founder, EaseMyTrip. “More than ever, travellers are looking within, and often they are seen clubbing this journey within - with a trip to wellness or a spiritual retreat. Tending towards slow and spiritual travel formats, travellers opt for wellness or therapeutic retreats that allow them to disconnect and rejuvenate from their busy schedules,” said a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Top favourite destinations" comment="subhead2" text="Top favourite destinations">Top favourite destinations</cmsannotation> In light of the rising interest in spiritual destinations, certain places are definitely enjoying more interest than others. Varanasi, Tirupati and Puri were among the top destinations as per data shared by four travel organisations — Ixigo, EaseMyTrip, OYO and Kayak. “Cultural destinations like Varanasi saw more than 50% rise in bookings for travel last year on our train apps. Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh witnessed one of the highest comebacks and was the most-searched spiritual hub in 2022 recording a 200% increase in train search queries,” shared Rajnish Kumar, co-founder, Ixigo. The increased interest in these destinations is also boosted by pent-up demand for travel and the availability of better facilities like hotels and good connectivity to reach the destination, said OYO in a report that was released in December 2022. Rishikesh, famous among Indians and foreigners alike, is known for its ashrams and adventure sports like river rafting. At the same, it’s home to India’s premium hotels, like Ananda wellness resort and Taj Rishikesh. Similarly, popular religious destinations like Tirupati and Puri offer luxury accommodations — Marasa Sarovar in Tirupati or the Mayfair Heritage in Puri. Ixigo and OYO also listed Mathura, Mahabaleshwar and Madurai as emerging spiritual tourism destinations in India. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/india-is-going-to-be-a-huge-paid-market-spotify-india/articleshow/98442816.cms">India is going to be a huge paid market: Akshat Harbola, head of strategy, Spotify India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/wedding-bells-ring-in-16-rise-in-february-auto-sales-2-wheeler-sales-yet-to-hit-pre-pandemic-levels-fada/articleshow/98443213.cms">Wedding bells ring in 16% rise in February auto sales, 2 wheeler sales yet to hit pre-pandemic levels: FADA</a>

Gen Zs & Millennials aid spiritual & wellness-driven tourism recovery in India

Imagine this! Expanding from 11 hotels in two cities to 7000 hotels in 2000 cities in a little more than three years isn’t an easy task. But Ritesh <keyword id="781" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Agarwal">Agarwal</keyword> of <keyword id="2808667" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="OYO">Oyo</keyword> has achieved that. Not just the growth in expansion, revenue has boomed as well. Last year at annual general meeting of the Indian Hotels Company, Cyrus Mistry, the erstwhile Tata chief admitted that going like this Oyo may be a clear ‘threat’ to hospitality space where Tata owns groups like Taj, Vivanta, Gateway and Ginger. Talking to the Economic Times, Agarwal said that Oyo will be closing $250-300 million round of funding from <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword>, which will take its valuation to over $850 million and a step closer to the unicorn club. At a time when most of the SoftBank’s investments in India are bleeding including <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, Ola and Grofers, Japan’s conglomerate is expecting a big gain from India’s hotel aggregator. Agarwal told the ET, that losses are a ‘part of investment’. What investors are looking at is also growth more than profits. They hate high burn rates but they hesitate to fund a profit making company with slow growth rate. While Oyo seems to be the dark horse of SoftBank’s investments in India, it needs to be checked how it fares in the long run. Oyo’s new initiative <keyword id="4100346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Oyo-Townhouse">Oyo Townhouse</keyword> will cater to the upscale clientele. The Townhouse model, according to ET news report, will call for investment - an estimated Rs 3.5 lakh in each room, with each property having up to 20 rooms - as the company goes about setting up 250 Townhouses over the next six months. However what needs to be seen if customers prefer Oyo Townhouse versus a Sarovar or a Lemon Tree. Agarwal told ET that Oyo has more than doubled its growth. Its burn rate has come down by as much as 60%, customer service rating is at the highest, and losses have come down from Rs 496.31 crore in March-ended 2016 fiscal to Rs 325.26 crore a year later. The venture, he maintains, has found the right momentum, has shunned incentivisation as a long-term, customer-acquisition strategy, and has the backing of its investors.

This is how Oyo is becoming the dark horse of SoftBank’s investments

So you love a wide spread of smoked salmon, lasagne and a glass of Champagne on your Sunday brunch menu? Now get ready to pay a bomb from July. If you don’t like the continental and want to indulge in chicken biryani and lamb rezala, you aren’t spared either. Government’s much awaited <keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword> (Goods and Services Tax) has brought the axe down on the business of hospitality. Both for the restaurateurs and customers, the recently declared GST rate, which would be effective from July, has resulted in devastation. Moreover, the <keyword id="6404781" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alcohol-ban">alcohol ban</keyword> on the highways has taken a toll on many renowned hospitality destinations and has crippled them to the core. The ludicrously high GST i.e. 18% for hotels charging Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 a room night and 28 % for those pegged at tariff rate of Rs 5,000-plus level and the same taxes for the <keyword id="34615" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="restaurants">restaurants</keyword> would hinder the business like never before. Stand alone restaurants aren’t spared either. Those with air-conditions and liquor license will be charged 18% and non AC ones 12%. For the ones with less than annual turnover of Rs 5 lakh, guests will be charged 5% from July 1. Compare this to the global statistics – GST charged for hotels in Malaysia is 6%, Thailand and Singapore stand at 7% and Japan 8%. The only country that goes double digit with its GST among the competition is China at 11%. Dr. Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group, which runs Roseate House in Delhi Aerocity, in an <keyword id="6370284" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Exclusive">exclusive</keyword> interview with Business Insider said, he has lost Rs 2 crore of business in last two months of alcohol ban. Losing Rs 2 crore isn’t a nominal amount and makes us ponder how the government could have actually done it better. Hotels = Jobs At a time, when the opposition parties have raised fingers at the Modi government for the inability to provide jobs to the youth, it is to be reminded, the hospitality sector provides direct employment to 5.8 million people. And when the alcohol was banned along the highways in the restaurants and hotels, nearly 1 million jobs were curbed. Hospitality industry = skyrocketing economy Besides being an essential job creator in the country, hospitality industry has a market worth of Rs 3,09,110 crore, just below Retail and Insurance. Renowned food journalist, Sourish Bhattacharya, on his portal, fears that this high GST would deter local dhaba owners and small food joints to upgrade their businesses fearing too much taxation. At the end of the day, hospitality business is one the verge of becoming service class of the society who takes the burden of all kinds of taxations without much rebate. Why is high rate of GST horrifying? “High GST is going to seriously hurt the hospitality business because international tourists will prefer Southeast Asian destinations because of the increase in tax from the current level. India as a destination will further face challenges from inbound tourists from its neighbouring ASEAN countries. When it comes to the competition with our Asian counterparts such as Japan and Singapore where the tax is much lesser, there will be a dropdown in inbound business which will affect the economy of the country,” feels V. Jaiswal, Senior VP – Sales &amp; Marketing, Sarovar Hotels &amp; Resorts. What goes in the disadvantage of the customers is most eateries will charge 12% even if they are small just to save themselves from taxmen’s red eyes. “We continue to lose to our competitors in the international market due to these activities. Unfortunately the situation does not get any better. In any case we have infrastructural issues in the country and as you know India is a far off destination and so on and so forth. We continue to face these issues,” Dr Bhatia told Business Insider. 
	
	
	
	
	
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What motives are ailing the industry? Alcohol ban impact “Liquor sale alone accounts for 20-30% share of the total food and beverage revenue. It also impacts the revenue from the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) segment, and the room demand segment and will lead to several job losses,” added Jaiswal. When will the government understand? If alcohol ban along the highways and high GST weren’t enough, there is a high level of red tapes that tends to derail the industry anytime. “The red tape bureaucrats today make things difficult by adding onto the business cost, logistics and all other functions of a business get affected. The procedure of getting a license is too long. There are too many departments to get one license cleared thus making it time consuming and delay from the department. This leaves little room for restaurant owners to focus on actually running the restaurant,” Vikrant Batra, Owner, Cafe Delhi heights told Business Insider. Also India’s millennial city Gurugram and the state that houses it has had its fair share of bad day last quarter when the state government without any thought decided to sell liquor through one distributor across the state. In this case, Neeraj Sachdeva’s Lakeforest Wines is a clear winner having paid Rs 62.5 crore bid amount. Since then, if local restaurateurs are to be believed, the liquor prices have gone up by 59% and given rise to grey market economy. Where lies the solution? While Bhatia is positive about various business bodies taking legal steps to make the alcohol ban verdict null, Batra believes,a a single window for the entire licensing process, preferably over the internet handled by the government facilitation agencies would make things easier.

You Searched For "Sarovar Hotels" and got 8 results

Sarovar Hotels to add 15 properties across India by 2020-end

PTI

Royal Brewery Bistro at Janpath has the blandest food ever!

Suchayan Mandal

Travel entrepreneurs are seeking lower GST rates, here’s why

Suchayan Mandal

Here’s what the travel and hotel industries are doing to attract customers

BI India Bureau

A revolving restaurant in Dharamshala overlooking the Himalayas! Is it in your bucket list yet?

Suchayan Mandal

Gen Zs & Millennials aid spiritual & wellness-driven tourism recovery in India

Srishti Magan

This is how Oyo is becoming the dark horse of SoftBank’s investments

BI India Bureau

Here’s why this is the worst time to be in the business of hospitality in India

Suchayan Mandal

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