Hospitality boom in Vijayawada city - TeluguPeople.com News

VIJAYAWADA: The increasing number of visitors to the city post-bifurcation leading to severe shortage of accommodation has thrown up new opportunities in the hospitality sector and at least four 'star' players are out to cash in on the boom.

The city has been witnessing a steady increase in the number of businessmen, industrialists, officials and politicians besides the general public visiting it over the last couple of months.

But they are facing problems due to lack of proper accommodation. Especially, there is severe shortage of high-end hotels in Vijayawada. Against this backdrop, many players in the hospitality sector are planning to start new hotels and increase luxury accommodation.

Vijayawada, being centrally located in the state, has come as a boon for the hospitality industry. Be it government departments or business establishments all are selecting Vijayawada as venue for holding high profile meetings. Amid capital talk, even official meetings are being organised in the city of late. But, the existing hotels are unable to cater to the new visitors.

The demand for hotel rooms is so encouraging that despite a price hike of 12 per cent on accommodation, the hotels here are witnessing a huge rush.

'There is an increase of 10 per cent in the hotel business over the past two months as most of the high-end customers are opting for 'star' hotels for their meetings and stay,' said Shabul Hassan Mohammad, sales and marketing manager of the Gateway Hotel.

At present, there is one four-star hotel, 10 three-star hotels and more than 35 medium and small-scale hotels in the city. As many as 900 rooms are available in 'star' hotels and another 1,200 rooms in deluxe category ones.

Vijayawada Hotel and Restaurants' Association president K Pattabhiram said that after bifurcation, there is a 20 per cent rise in occupancy of hotels. Hence, there is a dire need for 1,000 more rooms in 'star' hotels.

'Four new projects are being taken up in the city soon. The Novotel Group is already developing a property, while the Marriott Hotels and Resorts is also planning to set up its local branch at Benz Circle. The Sarovar Group and Keys Hotels Group are exploring lands for establishing new hotels in Vijayawada,' informed Pattabhiram.

As there is a need for growth in the hospitality sector, the Vijayawada Hotel and Restaurants Association is preparing a proposal to seek lands for hospitality industry on the lines of IT sector. Within a month, the state-level association, Andhra Pradesh Hotel and Restaurants' Association will also set up its headquarters in Vijayawada.