Demand for hotels set to go down in Q4

New Delhi: The demand in the hotel industry will be curtailed in the fourth quarter this fiscal, at least in January 2022, as the fresh Covid-19 wave with the Omicron variant dampening sentiments, rating agency Icra said on Thursday.

With a sharp rise in infections in the last one week and several states imposing partial lockdowns, hoteliers are witnessing cancellations in January 2022 bookings and the enquiries for the next few weeks have come down, Icra said in a statement. While the situation is evolving, the rating agency said, "Until the end of last month, there was only some cut-down in discretionary business travel. Leisure travel largely remained unaffected in December and no major cancellations were witnessed".

Commenting on the situation, Icra Assistant Vice-President and Sector Head Vinutaa S said, "With the emergence of the Omicron variant and sharp rise in infections, several states have imposed partial lockdowns. This will curtail travel over the next few weeks. We are witnessing cancellations and hotel enquiries have dropped".