The hotel industry in Mysuru is staring at a bleak future with many hotels even being put up for sale. Though the sector tried to reinvent itself by providing isolation facility for COVID-19 patients and entered into an MoU with private hospitals, it has not really helped.
The MoU was perceived to be a win-win solution for both hotels and hospitals, but more than a month later the response remains muted. C. Narayana Gowda, president of Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association, said they had signed an agreement with Mysuru Association of Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Clinics and Diagnostic Centres, as per which the hotels were to provide rooms for quarantine or isolation and the hospitals were to provide medicare and nursing. The MoU paved way for the release of 3,500 rooms for quarantine and most of the rooms were from the budget category hotels as it was perceived that not many could afford the higher room rents at star category hotels.
The rates varied from ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 for each room, and they included room rent, food, and medical and nursing charges. But over a month after the MoU was signed, only about 35 rooms in budget hotels have been used for isolating COVID-19 patients, said Mr. Gowda.
The situation has turned desperate for many entrepreneurs, and as many as 45 hotel properties are up for sale. Furthermore, a significant number of hotels running on rented premises are exiting the business, according to the hotel owners’ association.
The stakeholders in the hospitality sector have submitted a list of demands to the government, including waiver of fixed charges on electricity and water and renewal of trade licence for a year without fee. But none of the demands have been conceded by the government.
