Luxury hotels in Bangladesh struggle as daily losses exceed Tk100cr
The country’s five-star and luxury hotel industry is navigating troubled waters due to impacts of the quota reform movement, and the ongoing situation has become a shock to the sector quite similar to the Covid-19 crisis.
Due to the unrest and curfew, no domestic and foreign tourists are visiting luxury hotels. Foreign buyers are a no show as well. In addition to the cancellation of bookings by foreign guests, domestic events and programmes are also being cancelled or postponed.
But expenditure in the sector continues. The industry entrepreneurs must pay utility bills, staff salaries and interest on bank loans despite no income. This in turn is causing over Tk100 crore in losses across the industry every day.
The government too is also losing a large amount of revenue as businesses shut down operations. The longer the situation persists, the worse condition the sector will be in. The industry entrepreneurs have expressed serious concerns over the ongoing crisis.
Industry insiders say the capital's five-star and luxury hotels are now almost empty of guests. Advanced booking of rooms and events are being canceled one after another. Even corporate events such as seminars and workshops in these hotels have stopped.