Telangana stir: AP hotels lose Rs 250 cr

The Andhra Pradesh hotel industry has suffered Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) losses this month in the wake of the ongoing agitation for a separate Telangana state, with most of the business being diverted to the neighbouring Karnataka, said hoteliers.

"The occupancy levels in most of the hotels came down to as low as 30 per cent. Most of the meetings and conferences were cancelled due to uncertainty," AP Hotel Owners Association Secretary B Jagadish Rao told PTI.

For instance, only seven rooms of the 55 in Hotel Belsons Taj, a three-star hotel in Secunderabad, are occupied at present, he said. Last month a corporate house had booked 25 rooms in the hotel but the same was cancelled citing unrest and shifted to some hotel in Bangalore, he added.

"As it is the industry is limping due to the global recession. We had to give heavy discounts in order to sustain business. Somehow, we were slowly coming out of it and now agitations have started," Rao said.

According to Hotels and Restaurants Association of Andhra Pradesh (HRAAP), on an average at least three to five business meetings were held in any star hotel of Hyderabad. But now the situation has come to a standstill.

"The season is ripe for business conferences. But most of the corporate travelers are opting out to have business meetings in Hyderabad due to uncertainty," HRAAP secretary Pradeep Dutt said.