Adoption of cost effective green practices by Indian Hotels during Covid 19

Abstract

Covid 19 pandemic has taken the world at a backseat. Apart from taking a toll on human lives it has also affected the economy of many countries across the globe. Almost all sectors have been affected. The impact on few sectors is less but many of the industries have suffered a huge loss. Tourism being one such industry, that has been affected adversely. The Indian hotel industry has incurred a huge loss. The main reason of such a deep impact on Indian Hotel industry is, restricted inter country movement as well as intra country movement. The other reasons are change in people’s preferences and priorities because of restrictions and social distancing. Indian hotel industry had to go for a complete shutdown for around 3-4 months. With the relaxation in the restrictions, the industry is trying to open up slowly. But there are many challenges being faced by the hoteliers in terms of very low footfall, high operating cost etc resulting in low cash flow and profits. In fact this time can be utilized for proactive planning and bringing out better and innovative strategies to become more competitive and sustainable at market place. Also for the hoteliers who have surplus finance, this time can be utilized for renovation, maintenance, manpower training & future investments in green technologies and practices. Majority of the senior managers of hotel industry agree that if finance permits, this time can be utilized for making investments in green practices. Also the paper talks about the step by step approach of getting back to business in a planned manner. The proactive approach, the strategic view and the long term vision of the hotel industry will put the industry back on the growth track and will make it sustainable.