New Delhi: From shrinking occupancy to losing loyal customers, budget hotels in north Delhi's Karol Bagh have been severely hit after the new safety norms kicked in banning kitchens on the premises, the hotel managers say. Officially designated as guest houses, a number of these economy hotels in the vicinity of the famous Karol Bagh Market were shut after a massive fire in February at the the five-storeyed Hotel Arpit Palace in the area killed 17 people.
For Swati Hotel, which is adjacent to Hotel Arpit Palace on Gurudwara Road, it's not business as usual. "We reopened about two months ago. But kitchen is not allowed on hotel premises. So our guests, who are used to order food through room service, are now looking out for restaurants. This has really affected our business," said an employee on the condition of anonymity. Pointing to a nearby restaurant, he said, "Most of our guests dine there now, it's a big loss for us."
Madhurendra Singh, the manager of Royal Holidays, a four-storeyed hotel on a narrow lane between Ajmal Khan Road and Gurudwara Road, said he has lost his loyal customers because of the "kitchen factor". "Our customers would prefer to order food through room service as it helped them get a consolidated bill. Because of the inconvenience, they are choosing to stay at other places, so our occupancy rate has dropped," Singh told PTI.
The manager at Hotel Intercity, opposite Royal Holidays, has a similar story. "Of course, we are losing loyal customers. People have read about kitchen closure in newspapers and
are not coming to Karol Bagh
for budget hotel stay. We can't even keep catering utensils," he said.
"While our hotel was shut, we suffered a huge loss. The kitchen staff and waiters had to be laid off," he said.
Hotel Intercity reopened about a month and a half ago, after complying with all safety requirements mentioned by the fire department, including provision of battery-operated emergency lighting in case of power outage during a fire incident, the manager added.