Many took the opportunity to relook at the business. “The Leela took this opportunity to rationalize our costs and bring in synergies across the portfolio rather than cut back,” says Anuraag Bhatnagar, Chief Operating Officer, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts. “Operational efficiencies, rightsizing of manpower and cost synergies have been the focus in order to get permanent savings. From contactless check-in to mobile keys to e-butlers to e-menus – we have seamlessly integrated technology as an enabler of experiences allowing the choice for guests to interact as much as they are comfortable doing.”

MICE and corporate business have been most affected during this period, especially for a segment like ours which has a large base of corporate business and smaller meeting spaces primarily meant for corporate events, points out Singh. Agile changes included offering intimate weddings and other social gatherings, and converting meeting spaces into co-working spaces. While guests sought seclusion, many hotels focussed on staycations. “Usual MICE business will certainly take time to come back to its normal levels and in the meantime, the best way out is to be agile and change the focus and strategy to cater to the type of demand out there in the market and be able make use of available space in the best possible manner.”

A vast number of hotels and restaurants also started, of which many projects were delayed and stood to make greater losses by remaining closed. Many leading hospitality chains expanded to new markets, most notably the Leela opening three hotels in a year for the first time, while Taj Hotels and ITC too saw a flurry of openings in the latter part of the year. Among the high-profile launches were of Raffles and Six Senses brands, both of which opened their first hotels in Rajasthan.

As we enter 2022, the economy is in line to revive, and it will continue to give a strong impetus for travel, Singh elaborates. “Limited penetration of rooms will continue to present development opportunities for the industry.  Intra India economy has been historically strong and will continue to be the foundation of our growth. There is no doubt that there is a dire need to ease global travel restrictions to promote mobility of goods and services and tourism. This will fast track us back to pre-Covid performances. Having said that, it is critical that the third wave is effectively contained. The government has to draft policy and drive governance to become catalysts to manage such events. So, despite a very positive outlook, we must remain cautiously optimistic to ensure that we head towards a sustainable recovery and prevent further erosions in balance sheets.”

As Puneet Dhawan, Senior VP Operations, Accor India & South Asia, put it, “It is still hard for anyone to predict when our industry will completely recover. Just like we witnessed encouraging signs of recovery after the first wave, the recovery after the second wave has also been reassuring. We believe that the primary target for the industry as a whole right now is bringing back consumer confidence and placing a magnified focus on safety and hygiene.”