Coronavirus fears: hotels become ghost towns
In the overall run of things, a steady blast of chatter buzzes over the lobby of the Pan Pacific Sonargaon, as the upscale hotel in the heart of Dhaka hosts a lot more than five events a day.
The lobby, however, was wearing a deserted look yesterday as there have been no events like marriages or business conferences occurring at the hotel -- a cascading effect of coronavirus outbreak that has taken over virtually all sectors.
"The occupancy rate of our hotel has plunged to below 30 per cent. The outbreak has taken an enormous toll on our business," said Md Alamgir, managing director of Hotels International, the owning company of Sonargaon hotel.
In the last six days, Sonargaon, which includes about 278 rooms, has not witnessed a single event in its ballroom.
Similar scenarios are prevalent at almost every luxury hotel in Dhaka as the pandemic has led to the cancellation of several events and flights in addition to travel restrictions.
The global death toll surged past 5,000 yesterday, with the full total number of confirmed cases worldwide having crossed 140,000.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia earlier informed that it would suspend all international flights for 14 days in order to stem the outbreak while US President Donald Trump on Friday declared the situation a national emergency.
Europe is currently being considered the epicentre for COVID-19, according to the World Health Organisation.
Sonargaon's losses were amplified manifold when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled his plans to go to Dhaka and attend the 'Mujib Borsho' celebrations on March 17. Around 100 suites have been booked for just two days to host the Indian premier and his entourage.
Bangladesh's hospitality industry was late to realise what sort of impact the novel virus would leave.
"This week alone, occupancy rates dipped to 30-40 %," said Md Mohsin Hoq Himel, secretary of the Bangladesh International Hotel Association.
"In Bangladesh, business hotels will be the worst hit because of the on-arrival visa cancellations," he said, adding that occupancy rates must have been about 80 % to 90 per cent during this time period of the year.
Since mass gatherings are discouraged amid the lingering threat, restaurants at luxury hotels in Dhaka are also dealt a serious blow.
"We had to temporarily stop our regular buffet lunch but anyone can have lunch if they make orders as the buffet dinner continues to be on," said an official of the InterContinental Dhaka hotel.
Similarly though, the 226-room hotel's occupancy rate has dropped below 30 %.
Only 10 to 15 rooms were booked each day within the last five days at the Renaissance Dhaka Gulshan Hotel, another upscale hotel in Dhaka with 211 rooms, according to the official of the hotel.
"The crushing impact of the coronavirus on the travel industry has had a devastating effect on hotels in Bangladesh," said Abu Hanif Bari, company secretary and head of admin at Sena Hotel Developments which owns both Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden and Radisson Blu Chattogram Bay View hotels.
The 200-room Radisson Blu Dhaka currently boasts a 45 % occupancy rate. Usually, the hotel witnesses the average occupancy rate of 80 % this time of the entire year, he added.
Meanwhile, the Radisson Blu Chattogram's occupancy rate is now just 30 %.
The somewhat dire situation for the hotel industry may continue as flight frequency of both domestic and international airlines have dropped significantly.
"Qatar and Turkish airlines' crew members regularly stay at our hotel in Dhaka. However, this almost never happens anymore as a result of all of the flight cancellations," Bari said.
He also urged the federal government to supply cash incentives and slash the VAT and supplementary duties to greatly help the country's hospitality sector stay afloat.
The global travel sector is likely to lose about $820 billion in revenue, according to a worldwide Business Travel Association survey that was published on Tuesday.
The Six Seasons Hotel, which has 85 rooms that are mainly reserved for foreign clients, already lost Tk 1.5 crore since the outbreak began.
"The majority of our guests result from China, Japan and Italy and these countries are the worst hit by coronavirus," said Md Al Amin, general manager of the hotel, adding that the business enterprise will suffer the most between March and June.
The occupancy rate at Amari Dhaka sank to just 10 %, said its chairman Ashok Kejriwal.
Kejriwal believes that the business enterprise will not recover until August as a result of upcoming Eid festivals as few foreign guests go to the country throughout that time.
"The impact of the virus will only enhance the woes."
The hotel regularly provides lodgings for Air Arabia crew members. However, that too has been on hold at the 134-room hotel because of the epidemic.
Occupancy rates at Le Méridien Dhaka have dropped from 90-95 % to about 60 per cent, according to officials of the hotel, which includes 304 rooms.
Flight crews of Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways and Emirates regularly stayed at the hotel but following the coronavirus outbreak, almost all the airlines cancelled their bookings as there have been fewer flights going in or out.
"Since the virus is spreading around the world, business at the Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort is deteriorating," said Shahid Hamid, executive director of the hotel.
The occupancy rate at the 220-room hotel is currently at 30 per cent, he added.
If the virus continues to spread, it will force the hotel industry to lessen jobs, according to industry leaders.
"When hotel owners will need to pay staff wages for the month of March, they'll face a harsh reality. I have no idea how they will pay the wages without reducing workers," said HM Hakim Ali, president of the Bangladesh International Hotel Association.
