"WE ARE living through a global pandemic with far-reaching consequences—it has endangered lives as well driven the economy into a recession. Each day comes with its share of uncertainties," says Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder and Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts while sharing his views on the pandemic and the expectations from the government.

"WE ARE living through a global pandemic with far-reaching consequences—it has endangered lives as well driven the economy into a recession. Each day comes with its share of uncertainties," says Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder and Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts while sharing his views on the pandemic and the expectations from the government.

Excerpts:

What is it that Cygnett hotels have done to support COVID -19 situation—whether it is supporting the community you work in or the employees?

 Our top priority has always been the safety and wellbeing of our employees. We have taken several measures to ensure their comfort:

* Sterilize and disinfect all public areas in the hotel such as the elevators, lobby, washrooms, restaurants, etc. every two hours and the complete air-conditioning system at least once a week.

* A hygiene check station at the entrance and exit to ensure each and every individual entering and leaving the building use hand sanitizers. Also, all guests, partners, vendors are requested to have their temperatures checked and hands sanitized at check-in.

* All staff members have been educated on the protocols to follow for personal sanitization and hygiene as well as to ensure guest sanitization.

* Any staff member with a body temperature of above 37.5º Celsius or flu-like symptoms is quarantined and provided with medical attention immediately.

* Only preventive maintenance staff is appointed at the units, rest everyone is sent back to home during this lockdown.

We also support our partners and extended community every step we can.

What will be your strategy to garner business once this is over? Which revenue streams will be your focus?

We already had a focused strategy for 2020 in place before the pandemic hit. The plan now is to review our current procedures and the progress we’ve made so far; See what’s working and what’s not and make changes accordingly. The main focus is to plan for the post-COVID period. We are in the process of working out the nitty-gritty of our strategy. Create communication and marketing plans that will provide a transparent view of our undertakings to potential customers; Help customers plan economical holidays, provide effective holiday packages, etc.

What are you expecting from the government?

We are thankful that the government is pro-actively taking steps to support the economy. RBI’s three-month moratorium is a welcome relief. Furthermore, we are hoping that in the coming months, the Government introduces schemes/reforms that enable liquidity. In fact, to aid us with these tough times, we have requested the Government for the following:

* An extension of an additional 6 months to the moratorium on all working capital principal, interest payments on loans and overdrafts without categorizing the companies as NPAs, thus ensuring business continuity.

* Double existing overdraft limits for the industry enabling immediate ease of cash flow, thus helping avoid mass employee lay-offs.

* 12- month deferment of all statutory dues such as GST, Advance Tax payments, PF, ESIC, customs duties (Central government), excise fees (State government), taxes, and power & water charges.

* Deferred renewals periods for all permits, licenses, bank guarantees & security deposits across the tourism, travel, hospitality & aviation industry.

* TCS exemption in line with GST holiday granted to airline and hospitality sector.

* Roll back the new provision proposed in Budget 2020—TDS under the GST law that enables travel agents/tour operators/OTAs to withhold 1%/5% TDS while remitting payments to airlines, hotels, etc.

* Also, the appointment of a special committee, dedicated to T&T to draft necessary policies and measure to revive the sector.

We are also hoping that they introduce short-term interest-free loans to help us rebuild the business.

Every crisis has its cons but also its pros… or learnings for the industry. For a situation like this, what would the cons be, and what are pros.

At the industry level, I think the aspects will be -  

Cons – The massive loss of human life is the biggest I can think of. Business and financial stability could be achieved with time, but life can not

Pros - This situation has given us time to reflect on our lifestyles and our callous attitude towards nature and everything around us. Coming out of this, Hygiene & sanitization and sustainability will be a key priority.  This pandemic has also reminded us to be on guard for the worst always.

What sort of changes do you see yourself making in the way you live life in the wake of this crisis?

Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. On a personal front, this lockdown has given me more perspective on how to take a break from work and monotony of life.

* Manage time and spend more time with my loved ones and reconnect with them. 

* Developing habits such as eating try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid junk food, which a few days back were like unimaginable. Professionally, it has made me more aware in terms of planning—we always need to assume a worst-case scenario and have a plan in place to tackle that. This has also taught us how to work from home and give Earth space to breathe and relive. For example, though the disease originated in China, thanks to our foresight, we have been able to contain it much better than the first world, developed countries.