- November 9, 2021
- Comments: 0
- Posted by: admin
They did have a good number of orders as well, but the rains threw a spanner into their plans.
Published: 09th November 2021 05:11 AM | Last Updated: 09th November 2021 05:11 AM | A+A A-
People wade through a waterlogged road following heavy rains at Vyasarpadi in Chennai. (Photo| Debadatta Mallick, EPS)
CHENNAI: Incessant rains have delivered a body blow to the city’s hotel and hospitality industry, which was picking up the pieces during this festive season after sustaining severe losses during the pandemic.
The industry had pinned its hopes on the extended Deepavali holidays.
They did have a good number of orders as well, but the rains threw a spanner into their plans. Situation is no better for the travel agencies as well. Many suffered over 60 per cent cancellation of bookings, according to sources.
“I had over 40 bookings on Sunday for temple visits to places like Tiruchy and Thanjavur. Almost 70 per cent of the bookings were cancelled owing to the rains,” said Rama, manager of Prompt Tours and Travels, a car rental agency in Chennai.
The hotel industry said it was caught off guard by the heavy rains as they had not received any proper warning regarding the same. “Demand for sweets was really high this Deepavali. Keeping that in mind, I made additional quantities of sweets, believing they would be purchased by those visiting relatives during the weekend, but my stock was wasted after the rains crippled the city,” said Sunil Agarwal from Velachery.
Similar was situation with restaurant owners, who expected good footfalls during the weekend. “Had we received any warning about the rains, we would have cooked less food,” said M Sridharan, manager of a Guindy restaurant.
“Almost 50 per cent of bookings in hotels have been cancelled in the last two days. A few hotels are also facing logistics and waterlogging issues and not even able to cater to takeaway business, too,” said M Venkadasubbu, president of Tamil Nadu Hotels Association.
Moreover, with the rains showing no signs of letting up and the chief minister requesting people to postpone their travel plans to the city, there is no immediate relief for hotels in Chennai, said M Ravi, president of Chennai hotel association.
O
P
E
N
Disclaimer : We respect your thoughts and views! But we need to be judicious while moderating your comments. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks. Try to avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines.
The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of newindianexpress.com or its staff, nor do they represent the views or opinions of The New Indian Express Group, or any entity of, or affiliated with, The New Indian Express Group. newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time.
Cruise drugs case: Witness Prabhakar Sail appears before NCB vigilance team for second day
Chennai floods: Madras High Court warns city corporation of suo motu case
‘INC-I need commission’: BJP’s jibe at Congress on Rafale row
Runaway teens of Kerala’s Alathur had plans to visit Goa
Verdict next month in trial of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi: Source
Bengal women plant mangroves to bolster India’s cyclone defences
Copyright – newindianexpress.com 2021
The Morning Standard | Dinamani | Kannada Prabha | Samakalika Malayalam | Indulgexpress | Edex Live | Cinema Express | Event Xpress
Contact Us | About Us | Careers | Privacy Policy | Search | Terms of Use | Advertise With Us
Home | Nation | World | Cities | Business | Columns | Entertainment | Sport | Magazine | The Sunday Standard