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Luxury hotels recovering thanks to local guests
PHOTO: PRABIR DAS
AHSAN HABIB and SUKANTA HALDER
Luxury hotel businesses in Bangladesh are on the path of recovery to pre-pandemic levels, with local customers playing a vital role in renting rooms, holding a large number of events and seeking food made by their restaurants.
People’s inclination to avoid crowded areas, high incomes of a section of society and social media are propelling local customers towards availing hotel services.
All four listed companies having hotels saw better performances year-on-year in the July 2021 to March 2022 period, especially centring the two annual Eid vacations.
Non-listed companies also experienced a better occupancy rate, higher number of guests at restaurants and a large number of events.
“In some cases, we rebounded fully, say, like in restaurant business, but we are yet to rebound to the pre-pandemic level in every sphere,” said Shahidus Sadeque, director of marketing and business promotion at InterContinental Dhaka.
Foreign travellers are still not arriving in the same numbers as in 2019 but domestic consumption soared, so 30 rooms to 40 rooms are occupied daily with local guests and it rises on the weekends, he said.
“We have created the demand by offering attractive packages and that worked well,” he said.
Social media also influenced local guests into booking rooms and dine at the higher-end restaurants, he said, adding that a huge number of rooms were occupied during the Eid holidays.
Bangladesh Services, the company owning InterContinental Dhaka, InterContinental Dhaka Balaka Executive Lounge and Bangabandhu International Conference Center, logged a profit of Tk 24 crore in the July-March period of fiscal 2019-20.
In contrast, it had incurred a loss of Tk 81 crore in the same nine months of the following fiscal year.
However, in the nine-month period of fiscal year 2021-22, its business slightly improved with the loss reducing 8.4 per cent to Tk 74 crore, says its financial report.
Worldwide, the hospitality and tourism sectors are two of the worst-hit sectors of the pandemic.
Due to lockdowns, restrictions on people’s movements, international flights and holding events, the business of the hotel was hit hard in the year, it said.
Mohammad G Jisan, manager for sales of Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden, said their business has picked up considerably.
At the beginning of the pandemic, room occupancy was at only 40 per cent. In the last two Eids, all 200 rooms were fully booked for four days to five days in a row.
Following Eid-ul-Azha, the occupancy is now at 70 per cent, said Jisan, adding that the number of local guests rose during the pandemic.
“As Cox’s Bazar alongside many tourism sites were shut down during the pandemic and many people wanted to avoid crowded areas, people chose us,” he said.
“If we talk about the overall recovery of the business of hotels, it is not complete yet,” he added.
“In the meantime, inflation has increased significantly in different countries of the world. That has an impact on our business,” he added.
As taka depreciated, room rent and foreign travel costs rose. So, they either shortened their stay plans or tried completing their work online, he said.
Among the listed hotels, the profit of The Peninsula Chittagong soared 55 per cent to Tk 8.55 crore in the first nine months of fiscal year 2021-22.
In the same period, profits of the Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa dropped 15 per cent to Tk 12.22 crore.
The Unique Hotel and Resorts, the owing company of The Westin Dhaka and Sheraton Dhaka, secured a profit of Tk 88.54 crore in the period whereas it incurred a loss of Tk 9.63 crore in the same period of the preceding year, shows data of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).