There
is new fear in the air. Many prefer to err on the side of caution. Now with the
second wave making its presence felt in the UK and with new arrivals from UK to
Goa testing positive will Goa do what neigbouring Maharashtra did, impose
curfew at night. Karnataka withdrew a similar order following a strong
backlash
This
being the festive season there will be a percentage of people who are fed up
and tired of staying home and would like to go out and party. Will they come
over, or will it a case of staying home?
Nilesh
Shah President TTAG said a large number of people who had planned would come
but he also admitted that people from Mumbai had canceled because they were not
keen on going through the phase of isolation for a couple of days. He however
said hotels had a high percentage of bookings and there was a great deal of positivity
in the state. The second wave in England meant a large number of Goans who
visit the state during the festival season were stuck leaving a large number of
travel agents in the lurch. Nilesh said “Tickets were issued for incoming and
outgoing and now nothing is happening. People are coming to the hotels and I
hope more come. Yes, people want to be safe and they are reading of
developments in the UK, South Africa and they realize precaution was the key.
Overall I am told hotels are experiencing 80 percent occupancy from this
weekend to the next weekend. In Panjim I know 4 and 5-star hotels have good
occupancy. In Calangute and Baga the hotels are doing fine. Yes, only 27,000 of
the 46,000 room nights are operational. The smaller hotels have not started
because the foreigners are not coming and their blue-collar staff has not
returned”.
Miransha
Naik the owner of a resort in Benaulim said he had guests from Maharashtra many
of whom had driven down. Bookings from Bengaluru he said had been
canceled after the government imposed a midnight curfew. People he said were
worried about returning and facing some sort of repercussions. The rate he said
had not been increased and he had no plans to do so in the near future.
An executive
from a heritage hotel in Tirocol who was not authorized to speak to the media
said business was very good with guests coming in from Pune, Mumbai, and even
locals checking in. He said they expected business to remain stable in January
too.
Another
resort has not opened full as yet but the desk executive said they had bookings
for almost all the cottages that were open. They have around 28 huts of which
half are open. They were answering calls from people from Mumbai, Bengaluru and
other cities for bookings. The business she said was fine but could be better.
She said they expected good bookings to continue well into the New Year.
Another
resort in Benaulim has all its 70 rooms full. The executive who answered the
phone said they were getting calls from all over the country but were making it
clear to everyone they were not organizing and parties or dinners over the
festive period.
Bit all agreed that those who are already here. Including locals will still
party hard on New Year’s eve.
Jacob
John GM operations of a property in Candolim said they had around 80 percent
occupancy and he expected them to be doing similar occupancy till the first
week of January. Later in January, he already had 60 percent occupancy. He
said, “Yes people are scared, and to keep themselves safe, they will have to
follow the rules”.
Another
GM of a star hotel said the star properties had reduced rates and had created
packages for guests and it was working very well. Everyone he said was covering
costs and said he could confirm he was making a profit. People he said would
continue to come to Goa but they would have to follow all the rules.
However
Serafin Cota President Small and Medium Hotels Association said it was not a
great time to be part of the industry. He said “ No one is coming in from
Europe. The domestic traveler is worried. Those who are here are here.
There are no bookings coming via the internet. It is dead. In spite of all the
business that will be generated over the Christmas weekend, more hotels will
shut after January 2nd. I am talking specifically about small and
medium hotels. The five stars are doing ok because many of them have slashed
rates. I don’t think they are making profits. I hope we all survive these
really bad times”.
The
truth may be lies somewhere in the middle. Times are tough and hotels are
barely hanging in. However, the paying customer will come but will have to
follow all the rules and regulations. In that lies the future of this
industry.
