After brisk December, hotels face biz loss as Omicron drives cancellations

Large-scale weddings and corporate events in Jan called off or postponed; banquet-driven hotel chains most impacted with some seeing cancellations running into lakhs in a single day

In a bad start to the new year, hotels are counting their losses again. Weddings and corporate events for this month have either been called off or postponed.

The blow has throttled the nascent recovery which had kicked in around August. It is primarily hurting the banquet-driven hotel chains, some of which are seeing cancellations running into lakhs for a single day.

The reason is the re-imposition of restrictions, particularly on large gatherings, by numerous state governments in light of the Omicron-fuelled third wave.  

“The MICE (meetings, incentives, conference, events) have come to a stop. Local conferences have been called off and corporate