Omicron Variant Risk Fails to Stop Holiday Bookings

The spread of the virus comes as the industry is recovering from the severe effects of two waves of the pandemic since early 2020 that have forced the closure of many hotels and restaurants.

While hotel companies still have to report mass cancellations due to the new version, live events and parties are already seeing some scaling back as restaurant chains fear new restrictions on large gatherings.

Companies say holiday bookings have remained strong so far despite Omicron’s rapid spread along with Christmas and year-end festivals.

Vipul Prakash, Chief Operating Officer, MakeMyTrip said holiday bookings for Christmas and the end of the year have increased since the news about Omicron first surfaced.

“People are back to actively planning and booking road trips to driveable destinations. Unserved destinations such as Karjat, Mashobra, Pahalgam, Shimoga and Mukteshwar registered a boom in bookings. From Christmas weekend to New Year’s, homestay booking has also improved a lot in the last few days. It is also interesting to note that as people rush to tick-off their year-end travel plans, the advance booking window has narrowed with people booking closer to the travel date,” he added. .

Others say consumers’ appetite for the holiday is strong, as families want to avoid overcrowded gatherings in big cities. Pranav Maheshwari, co-founder of holiday home and villa rental company, Vista Rooms, said the company has recently seen a spurt in booking requests till December 31 after Section 144 was imposed in Mumbai, which prohibits mass gatherings.

This year, most of Vista’s properties are fully booked by January 5, a sharp improvement over last year when it reported 60% occupancy. “Since New Year’s Eve falls over the weekend, we see guests planning a two-day celebration instead of one night. We didn’t anticipate bookings would be close to 100% at many of our properties this year. People Want to celebrate in private villas that are within driving distance, and we expect to be completely sold out in a day or two,” Maheshwari said. He said Vista Rooms has not suffered any business losses due to Omicron.

Nazir Rah, managing director of Rah Hotels and Resorts, said all its rooms for Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Kashmir have been sold out.

Meanwhile, dinner and lunch packages and gigs at restaurants could face disruptions in cities as states shut down large gatherings. As a result, restaurant and bar owners said, they have withdrawn the elaborate gatherings and are likely to follow the COVID-19 protocols.

On Saturday, musician AP Dhillon’s concert in Delhi’s Aerocity area was canceled by the District Disaster Management Authority citing violation of COVID-19 norms.

Ajit Shah, partner at White Panda Hospitality, which runs high-end restaurants such as Tera Vita, Kiko-Ba and Dadel in Delhi, said the chain elaborate plans to include live musicians and celebrity DJs on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. making cuts. ,

He said consumer sentiment has improved steadily since July, but the last two to three weeks have discouraged many from stepping out. “We had a lot of bookings and inquiries for Christmas and New Year events, but we are slowly seeing cancellations as people are stopping from attending public events during this festive season,” Shah said.

The food service firm will adhere to 50% seating capacity to avoid large gatherings. Unfortunately, this will hurt business, Shah said.

Ankit Mehrotra, CEO and co-founder of dining out and restaurant tech platform Dineout, said that although the mood is a bit cautious, demand for live event and festive season bookings is back to 2019 levels. Dineout also has a live-event vertical, which Mehrotra said has not canceled any of its 150 events in the last three months.

“December is shaping up to be really well for us – this December will be three times our pre-Covid numbers,” Mehrotra said. He said the company is getting a “great list” of restaurant and bar packages for Christmas and New Years. Eve said a lot could change in the next one week.