Finding ways of survival

The three-month-long lockdown has already created a deep hole in our economy with every sector and individual being hit.

Even though India has entered phase Unlock 2.0 allowing the most business establishment to resume operations, minimal cash inflow, restricted spending limit, and lack of trust in consumers are some of the reasons why it may take businesses more than expected time to be back on track.

Finding the ways of survival and looking for opportunities to channel revenues, various businesses have started venturing into other services that are considered 'essential' during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The hotel industry is hit the hardest after travel. The prognosis for its revival does not look promising as nobody knows when the restrictions on travel will be lifted and they start getting bookings through which revenues start coming in.

To sail through these difficult times, many luxury hotels have started offering services that were earlier not listed in their portfolios. Apart from delivering gourmet food at your doorstep, five-star properties have started delivering laundry services and online sales of their in-house store.

Roseate Hotels & Resorts to utilize its capacity to the fullest has re-started Launderette in Unlock 1.0 to offer its patrons 24 hours laundry service.

"We have recently restarted the laundry services wherein the best state-of-art appliances and cleaning products are used for each wash of couture. Presently, Launderrete is delivering within a 15 km radius of Aerocity. There are also special offers customers can avail on bulk laundry and membership," said Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director of Bird Group that owns Roseate Hotels & Resorts.

Amatra Hotels & Resorts has also started the service to "compensate" for the losses during the lockdown. "Hospitality sector is slowly getting back on its feet in India and we expect the sector to start improving August onwards once restrictions related to minimum stay and requirement of Covid-19 negative certificate is removed. To create new streams of revenue generation, we are also looking to begin offering laundry services to neighboring areas in our properties in Rishikesh and Haridwar," said Gaurav Taneja, its Corporate General Manager, Amatra Hotels & Resorts.

Roseate Hotels & Resorts also launched 'Upstage Collect' – which is an online extension of the in-house store The Upstage Roseate House. It features homegrown as well as international brands that offer a fine collection of luxury lifestyle apparel, textiles, home, jewelry, skincare, and accessories. "The initiative is to keep up with the prevailing times and need for an online platform for customers to buy their favorite lifestyle brands with a swipe on their screens," said Bhatia.

Travel aggregator MakeMyTrip recently jumped into a completely different domain of food delivery looking at the high demand for the service during the lockdown.

"As the world adopts life-altering measures to adjust to the new order, customers are seeking options that can help them with familiar experiences in a safe and hygienic environment. Our new online gourmet delivery initiative is a step towards ensuring that food-lovers continue to enjoy their in-city fine-dining experiences by bringing their eating-out adventures to their homes," Deepak Tuli, Chief Business Officer, Emerging Businesses at MakeMyTrip has said..