Hospitality industry sees signs of revival in September

Chennai: Hospitality has started seeing early signs of month-on-month recovery in occupancy with gradual revival in domestic leisure travel. However, occupancies are still down 60 per cent compared to last year levels.

Average occupancies in hotels across India moved up 10 to 12 per cent from the August levels to 24 to 26 per cent in September.  Average daily rates too have improved 2 to 4 per cent to Rs 3400- Rs 3600 per night. Revenue per available rooms grew 12 to 14 per cent month-on-month to Rs 815 – Rs 935, as per the data from HVS and Anarock.  

Leisure destinations such as Goa and Jaipur have been witnessing a noticeable improvement in occupancy as people have started travelling for a change of pace, albeit to destinations closer to their cities. Domestic air passenger traffic also has improved by 39 per cent in September compared to August. However, corporate travel continues to remain subdued.

On a year-on-year basis hospitality remains one of the worst affected by Covid-19. Occupancies were down 60 per cent last month compared to September 2019. Revenue per available rooms was down 72 per cent and average daily rates by 30 per cent.

Some of the key markets in Asia have made significant recovery in September. Hotel occupancies in China were down 2 per cent, Singapore 8 per cent and Malaysia 38 per cent. However, Thailand occupancies are still down 65 per cent.

Going ahead, festive season is likely to boost demand for travel and hotel stay. As per a consumer survey by Payback, since the first unlock, nearly 40 per cent of the respondents have either gone back to their hometowns or for a weekend getaway. In the festive season, more than 20 per cent respondents are planning a vacation with nearly one third respondents in South and North India planning their trips. Nearly three-fourth of respondents chose domestic holidays, mostly a weekend or short getaways to nearby destinations. Long vacations and international holidays are off the table for the rest of 2020.
 

Booking-com finds that almost 62 per cent Indian travelers favour a trip they could afford in the short-term rather than saving for a dream trip. Almost 57 per cent of travelers are opting for a discounted trip to a place they wouldn’t have otherwise chosen.