The recently-concluded municipal and general elections coupled with the buzz that the new capital of residuary State of Andhra Pradesh would come up between Guntur and Vijayawada has come as a shot in the arm for the hospitality industry in the city with the occupancy ratio in the hotels registering a steady rise since the last six months.
“During every election, there is an upsurge of 20 to 25 per cent in occupancy and this time also the same trend continued,” explains Vijayawada Hotel Owners’ Association president K. Pattabhiram.
Flurry of activityHoteliers say ever since the election code came into force, a flurry of activity is being witnessed with politicians, senior bureaucrats and other officials booking the hotels in connection with poll-related works and meetings.
Marriage seasonAccommodation was provided to these ‘special guests’ in star hotels only after making bookings in advance. Adding to it, marriage season has also contributed to the increase in occupancy ratio.
“It’s been quite hectic for us for the last six months due to the flow of customers. We are happy the flow helped us improving our revenue,” says a hotelier on condition of anonymity. Most guests, who had visited the city during elections preferred a double occupancy executive room for Rs.3,000 per day, while a few others had opted for a suite costing Rs. 5,000.
As speculation is rife that the new capital city would come up between Guntur and Vijayawada, businessmen, industrialists and other stakeholders, especially from Hyderabad, are visiting the city regularly to enquire about availability of land and other investment opportunities.
These industrialists are staying at least for two days in hotels to collect more details about the upcoming capital. According to sources in the hospitality industry, Krishna district has a four-star hotel - D.V. Manor in Vijayawada and 10 three-star hotels.
