Hotel bookings in kolkata drop after border conflict but ceasefire brings hope
Times of India | 11 May 2025
123456 Several luxury and budget hotels in Kolkata saw their room bookings cancelled since the escalation of conflict at the Indo-Pak borders across the northern frontiers on Thursday night.The ceasefire on Saturday, however, rekindled hopes of a revival, though it may take some time, according to industry sources.Leisure and business travel were hit, said hotel authorities and travel agents. While a five-star luxury hotel had a block booking cancelled, several others faced sporadic room reservation cancellations, and conferences and business meetings scheduled over the next week were postponed."We are significantly impacted by the situation. So far, we had 140 room-nights reservation cancelled since a conference, that was to be held at our hotel this week, got deferred. That apart, around 40 individual bookings, too, were cancelled. These were mostly visitors from north and west India that are now affected. Thankfully, we get few foreign travellers at this time. But a few travelling from abroad cancelled bookings, too," said Lalit Great Eastern General Manager – Development Kamal Raza.He added that luxury hotels were looking ahead anxiously at the next fortnight. "We have more business meetings and conferences lined up for the latter half of the month beginning May 15. This remains a matter of concern though the situation should ease out now. Individual travellers, who have not yet cancelled reservations, have been calling up to enquire about the situation in Kolkata. We have assured them that things are fine. But everything will depend on how things unfold at the borders," added Raza.Royal Orchid and Regenta Hotels, too, had reservation cancellations, said Kunal Banerjee, Assistant Vice-President – Eastern Region. "There has been a significant impact across our properties in north India. In Kolkata, too, bookings were cancelled and if the situation doesn't improve quickly, it could worsen. We expect the ceasefire to turn things around," said Banerjee.Several star hotels, however, received new bookings on Sunday following the ceasefire. Lalit Great Eastern, ITC Sonar, and Royal Bengal were among those, along with some other luxury hotels on EM Bypass and in New Town.The hospitality sector has been one of the first casualties of the conflict, said Hotel and Restaurants' Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) President Sudesh Poddar. "Both leisure and business travel were hit. People are wary of travelling since flights were being cancelled and airports shut. As pictures of air and missile strikes are being beamed, there was obviously an air of fear and apprehension that discourages travelling. With the ceasefire taking effect, we expect a quick revival now," said Poddar.At Park Hotels, there were some cancellations after the conflict escalated on Thursday night, and we had our fingers crossed. "But over the last two days, we received new bookings, while our banquets and rooms are now significantly busy. With the ceasefire happening, things should improve," said Kaushik Chakrabarty of Park Hotels.Travel agents in Kolkata felt things would normalise soon unless there were major ceasefire violations. "Kolkata-bound travellers have been wary since the city is close to the Bangladesh border. With the summer vacation starting, outbound travelling from Kolkata, too, has been hit. Many are now switching to nearby destinations and opting for weekend staycations rather than travelling to north India. But if the ceasefire continues, things will return to normal in a few days," said Travel Agents' Federation of India (TAFI) National Committee Member Anil Punjabi.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Mother's Day wishes, messages, and quotes !