After the Government called for graded opening, the Hospitality and F&B industry can finally see the light at the of the tunnel as they gear up to resume their operations from a dead stop.

In the wake of Covid-19, the hospitality and F&B sector is reeling under the pressure of what the pandemic has unravelled. They are dealing with myriad issues with occupancy, employment, rent and cash inflow being a few of them. 

Difficult times have set out a barrage of struggles and without much support from the government they are left to fend for themselves. The hospitality and F&B industry expressed their disappointment as their ordeal was not addressed in the 20 Lakh crore Covid relief package announced by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman in a bid to boost and revive the economy. 

Expressing her concern, Rochelle Kapoor, founder of Chunky’s Cake Shop said, “Our Food and Beverage industry is one that’s most impacted by the pandemic worldwide and I feel one that’s most ignored, by the Government with no support or relief.”

As job cuts have accelerated, millions of people have lost their jobs. Stalwarts of the Hospitality industry are of the opinion that people will have to look beyond the hospitality sector for some time.

Due to the continuing lockdown, the Hospitality Industry has been worst hit. Various large-scale and medium-scale hotel chains have been turned into quarantine centres to help the nation battle with the pandemic. 

Giving an insight on this, Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, Co-Founder, and CEO, Zostel shared, "Our hostels are already serving as quarantine centres to help out any stranded or quarantined travellers and medical warriors. We are working closely with the local and state authorities, and also heavily investing in top-notch hygiene and sanitation measures across all our properties.”

After the gap of two months, the government has announced graded openings of Restaurants and Hotels. The hospitality and F&B are leaving no stone unturned and are looking forward to giving a brisk start to their business. 

Pradipta Biswas, General Manager of The Grand New Delhi, expressed his happiness on re-opening of hotels and extends gratitude to host guests as per prescribed protocols.

Piyush Tiwari, Director (Commercial & Marketing), DCM, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) also stated, “As we prepare to resume operations, health & safety compliance is our top priority.  Much before the announcement of unlocking the economy, we had organized a rigorous training intervention for all our employees on health and safety protocols.  As a hospitality major, the challenges we are facing is unprecedented, however, we believe the best way for us to demonstrate our commitment is to reassure and instill a feeling of well-being in the minds of our patrons. We look forward to welcoming our guests to relive the hospitality by ITDC.”

Furthermore on expressing his view about the government’s decision Vaibhav Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, FabHotels said, “We are happy to restart most of our hotels with the new relaxations. Most people employed in the hotel industry are entry-level workers and this would be a huge respite to them."

Gaurav Taneja, Corporate General Manager, Amatra Hotels & Resorts also expressed his opinion over the decision. He said, "These announcements have come at an appropriate time to ensure the hospitality sector can start preparing up its infrastructure to follow norms and once again welcome guests with all protocols in place.”

On talking about the ‘New Normal’ Dr Ankur Bhatia who is an Executive Director at Roseate Hotels & Resorts opined that ‘Regular temperature checks of hotel staff, use of Araogya Setu App, contactless services for customers in hotels be it dining or stay will become a new normal till we get vaccinated.’

Parag Sawhney, General Manager, Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, spoke about how the property is also gearing up to host weddings shortly, “Unlock 1.0 also marks the arrival of the wedding season in the city, we are prepared to host wedding events with a strong focus on social distancing and adhering to the government guidelines. Mr. Sawhney also mentioned “The hotel has introduced innovations in the food and beverage with the availability of freshly cooked and well-sanitized meals for door step delivery. To ensure overall protection, we are also considering the deployment of advanced equipment’s like electrostatic sprayers to disinfect the premises and common public areas like floors, rooms, elevators, swimming pools and is also aiming to minimize human contact through digital door keys.”