Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Night curfew in the state may shave off business by 70% specially on New Year eve, hoteliers told Free Press on Saturday.
Earlier, the only restriction was to ensure that guests were fully vaccinated, but the night curfew has come as a bolt from the blue for the industry, leaving it shattered, they added.
There are more than 800 hotels in the city that will be affected due to the night curfew on New Year eve. The liquor business worth Rs 2.5 crore will also be affected due to night curfew, said hoteliers.
Vardan Nigam, the owner of a restaurant cum lounge in MP Nagar area, said, “The average industry business will be lower by 60% this time compared to New Year celebrations before Covid struck. The youngsters come to the lounge to party all night on New Year's Eve and leave only after 2 am. Though we don’t book space for a private party, we offer several discounts on group entries and family entries on New Year eve.”
“Why should people come to a hotel if there is no celebration? They would rather host house parties. The night curfew will encourage people to travel outside the city and celebrate, and that will impact the restaurant business during the day as well. After the two years of lockdowns and curfews, people were looking forward to heading out and celebrating. A lot of places had planned promotions and entertainment options. All that will now have to be called off," said Tejkul Pal Singh, president of Bhopal Hotels and Restaurants Association.
“New Year celebrations boost liquor sales. We would lose business of about Rs 2.5 crore this year. We do a month’s worth of business in the period from December 24-January 1 every year. Our industry is shattered. We urge the government to allow us to open the restaurants and hotels at least till 12 at midnight on New Year eve,” he added.
Few hoteliers, however, remained unaffected with the decision as they never had planned all-nighters, curfew or no curfew. Pradeep Khare, the manager of Minto Hall Rooftop restaurant, said, “We have never hosted late night parties at our restaurant. We usually keep the restaurants open till 11 pm, even on New Year eve. So, shifting the closing time to 10.30 was not that big a deal.”
Going out on New Year eve? Follow corona protocols:
Keep double vaccination certificate handy
Wear a mask
Keep sanitiser
Maintain distance
Avoid large groups
Get home by 11 pm before curfew starts
