KATHMANDU, March 5: Room occupancy in five-star hotels has sharply fallen to around 45% as travelers cancel or postpone their trips due to fear of coronavirus.

“With worldwide travel constraint, the number of travelers has dropped drastically,” Shreejana Rana, president of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), told Republica on Wednesday. “The pre-bookings have been either postponed or canceled.” 

Five-star hotels in the country have reported 20%-45% room occupancy. Average room occupancy at the same time last year was around 80%, according to hoteliers.

Not only the room occupancy, banquet business of five-star hotels has also been affected as the government has asked people to avoid crowds.

The effect of coronavirus outbreak is starting to surface in the hospitality industry as hotels are getting fewer bookings for rooms and banquet services.

 "The occupancy rate at Marriott hotels averages 45% at present. It should have been around 80% at this time of year," Sumit Kumar Agarwal, vice chairman of MS Group that operates Marriott Kathmandu Hotel and Fairfield by Marriott, said. “The situation was not that worse till last week as were enjoying good occupancy till mid-February.”

He said most of the pre-bookings have been canceled. 

With very few guests staying, many hotels have started sending their staffers on leave. “Hotel employees have been asked to use their pending holidays. 

Likewise, hotels outside the Kathmandu Valley have are allowing their staff take leave,” Rana said. 

A five-star hotel employs 350-400 staff members, according to Rana. “Nepali hotel industry is heavily dependent on Chinese and Indian tourists. Not only have the number of Chinese tourists decreased, the presence of Indian tourists is also depleting,” she added.

Hoteliers are worried that low occupancy will affect their repayment plan. 

"This is where the government should come in,” Rana told Republica, adding: “The government should step in by reducing interest on bank loans and provide subsidy in fuel and electricity."

Hotel entrepreneurs say that the government should develop a strategy to deal with the situation by closely working with the private sector. 

 
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• COVID-19