TIRUCHI
April has indeed become ‘the cruellest month’, as the lockdown to stem the spread of COVID-19 takes a toll on the once bustling hotel industry in the city, with zero occupancy and worries about recovery gaining credence.
“We are stuck in unfortunate circumstances and all are equally affected; money is short supply as nobody is in business. It seems our time is not right,” Guru Ranganathan, president, Tiruchi District Hotel Owners Association (TDHOA), told The Hindu .
With around 150 TDHOA members, and another 200 hotels and restaurants outside the body affected by the lockdown that took effect on March 25, Mr. Ranganathan estimated that around 20,000 jobs are at stake in the industry due to the pandemic alert.
Paying salaries to employees in a no-revenue month would be difficult, said Mr. Ranganathan. “We will have to borrow heavily from banks to manage payments. Besides this, we also have to take care of hotel maintenance. I don’t think anyone has that kind of liquidity to tide over the crisis,” he said.
The lockdown has muted the beginning of what used to be the school vacation and domestic tourism season in the delta region. “Everyone in the hospitality sector works for the entertainment of holidayers. The nationwide closure and the fear over the pandemic’s spread have put a stop to this,” said M. Pon Ilango, of Jenneys Academy of Hotel Management. “The placement of our latest batch in local hotels is over, but we still don’t know if they will get their jobs back when the lockdown is lifted,” he added.
Migrant workers from north-east India and Nepal who are employed as chefs and service staff in Tiruchi’s eateries and hotels, are struggling to stay on in the city, said industry sources. “While the local staffers can return to their hometowns, these people have been held up in Tiruchi, and have to rely on their employers for handouts to sustain themselves,” said a hotel owner.
But even as most hoteliers said they needed anywhere between six months to a year to recover from the loss of business in the present lockdown, many were stoic about its possible extension.
“We have to observe the rules for our own safety, so if the lockdown is extended, we are mentally prepared for it,” said Sriee Ariya Kamban V.S, general manager, Grand Gardenia Hotel. “The fear has to stop for us to bounce back. Until then, business is secondary,” he said.
