Online booking sites hit Kasauli hoteliers hard

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, December 14

Online hotel booking sites have severally affected the business of established hotels in the Kasauli Planning Area (KPA).

These   portals  pre-purchase  a sizeable number of rooms in various hotels and then sell  them at much lower prices than prevailing in the market. Hotels which are either new or are being run by inexperienced staff often opt for these options. 

These portals categorise hotels and offer a room at prices ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500  as against Rs 6,000  per room in a ITDC or HP State Tourism Development Corporation categorised 3 star hotel. 

Gurpreet Singh, general manager of Kasauli Resorts, said with no check on these portals, 15 to 20 per cent of their business had been affected.

He said OYO, a top hospitality company, had been selling rooms for an unauthorised hotel, near Kumarhatti, which was recently sealed by the district administration for the lack of approvals. 

 He said home stays  and the bed and breakfast scheme, which were bereft of taxes, had also affected their business. Tourists preferred to stay there as their rentals were comparatively low.

Rocky Chimney, president of the Kasauli Hoteliers’ Association, said talks had begun with their association in Mumbai and they were hopeful of some solution.

He said issues such as displaying  the complete breakup of pricing, delisting unauthorised hotels, apartments  and bed and breakfast units from the portals, end to predatory pricing, reduction of commission charged by the portals as well as putting a minimum and maximum cap and  end to self-rating of properties by them were raised with MakeMyTrip by the regional association of hoteliers at a  meeting in Mumbai recently. 

 He said since online portals offered discounts ranging from 15 to 25 per cent, some hoteliers preferred to route their business through them in hope of assured returns. 

Offer rooms at lower prices 

• These portals  purchase  a sizeable number of rooms in various hotels and then sell them at much lower prices than that prevailing in the market.
• Home stays  and the bed and breakfast scheme, which are bereft of taxes, have also affected business. Tourists prefer to stay there as their rentals are comparatively low, rue hoteliers