Hotel business in Bengaluru hit by COVID-19 surge and subsequent restrictions

The hotel business in Bengaluru has gone down amid the massive surge in COVID-19 cases in the state capital.

Bruhath Bengaluru Hoteliers Association President PC Rao told that due to the second wave of COVID-19 and the subsequent night curfew, the hotel business has come down in the city.

"Many hotels have been closed due to lack of business, and some five star hotels are also likely to close in the coming days," he added.

Speaking about his responsibility during the pandemic, Rao further said, "As a social responsibility, we have tied up with the hospitals. As of now, five hotels have been fully converted into covid-care centres and we will increase the number as per the requirement."

Making a plea to the government, he said, "We request the government to cut down the 50 per cent property tax, 50 per cent on our license fees, 50 per cent on electricity fixed charges. If at all available, we need some monetary benefits as well."

"As we are supporting the government by following the 50 per cent allocation guidelines, we expect the government to support us on the above demands as well," he added.

Raju, a worker at a hotel which serves fast food, told that due to the night curfew, their business is working at only around 30 per cent. "Since morning we don't have any customers and our delivery services gear up during the night times only."

On Wednesday, the cumulative caseload in Bengaluru surpassed the five lakh-mark with 8,155 new COVID-19 infections and 23 related deaths.

( With inputs from ANI )