The Maharashtra government has graded five levels of unlocking and Mumbai falls in the third level, which gives a little bit of space to the hotel companies to function.

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Patanjali Keswani, CMD, Lemon Tree Hotels, Anjan Chatterjee, CMD of Speciality Restaurants and Anurag Katriar, the President of National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on June 7 discussed the Maharashtra government’s unlock plan and its effect on the hospitality industry.

“We did not expect the lockdown to open so soon. Even if it is partial and actually not necessarily relevant to us at this point in time in Maharashtra, or even in Bengal, Benagluru, or Delhi where it is all partial, there is slight hope that all of us have got,” said Chatterjee.

This quarter is somewhat similar to the first half of last year, said Keswani. “Surprisingly this second wave of COVID-19 has not been worse than last year,” he added.

“My broad view is that by October or latest by December when enough people in India have been vaccinated, there will be a big bounce back in demand,” Keswani further stated.

NRAI’s Katriar said, “In the second wave, the mortality rate is a little more subdued than the first wave because people were little more prepared this time than they were when the pandemic hit us for the first time. There are lots of small players, who will be winding shops but it will be in single percentage points in my personal view.”

For the entire conversation, watch the accompanying video

(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)

First Published:Jun 7, 2021 3:22 PM IST