For over a month since demonetisation, hotels and restaurants in the city have witnessed a major slack in business and are hopeful of making up for it during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. With the New Year Eve being just a few days away, hotels have started gearing up for celebrations to try and make the best of what is left of the year. However, the industry is still awaiting permissions from Police for the extension of relaxation of timings for celebrations.
Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) said, “It has been a dull couple of months not just for hoteliers, but for everyone in the city. We are now appealing to the authorities to give early permissions for New Year Eve Celebrations.”
The association has written to the Police Commissioner to provide an early permission so that the hoteliers can make the best arrangements and guests are able to enjoy a great evening.
“The Christmas and New Year celebrations are perhaps the biggest of all social celebrations in Mumbai. However this year we are both sceptical and hopeful about how it will turn out for us. With demonetisation effects still lingering, there is uncertainty about how things will pan out. At the same time, the industry is also hopeful because this is the one time of the year that hotels and restaurants get to capitalise on the celebrations,” he says.
Datwani added, “We want to make sure that we are fully prepared at our end and leave no card unturned to ensure a great evening for our guests. Hence, we have requested the authorities to grant us relaxations in timings of operations on the 31st of December, 2016 at the earliest. We are hopeful that the authorities would be little more considerate and grant us the permissions. The city could do with a bit of cheer in these wintry times.”
