An image of a hotel room.
Hotels and restaurants have been flooded by enquiries for room and table bookings as Indians celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14.
From a special dining night to staycations, hotels have been preparing for higher demand and expect double-digit growth in business because of the day dedicated to romance and love.
“The situation is improving for the hotel industry and the hotel occupancy rate has been seeing a gradual uptick since the end of last year. This year’s Valentine’s Day should be in line with the momentum and because it is a weekday, businesses may witness a surge of approximately 20 to 40 percent of revenues,” said Pradeep Shetty, Executive Committee member at the, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).
This year, with the waning of Covid-19, there has been a shift in preferences, with couples seeking unique and experiential holidays, said Sarbendra Sarkar, founder and Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts.
“We expect a 15-20 percent increase in occupancy during Valentine’s Day week.”
Hospitality chain OYO said that it has seen nearly 35 percent increase in bookings for Valentine’s Day, despite being a weekday. Budget-friendly properties remain the go-to accommodation option for majority travellers, while some consumers are willing to spend extra bucks for premium properties, said OYO.
Extended staycations
Couples are mostly opting for an extended weekend staycations at nearby destinations as Valentine’s Day has fallen on a weekday this year, said Abinash Manghani, Chief Executive Officer, WelcomHeritage Hotels.
Domestic resorts are in demand across India for staycations, said Mohammad Shoib, Director of Sales and Marketing, JW Marriott Bengaluru Prestige Golfshire.
According to booking data on OYO, Vrindavan has emerged as the most booked destination with 2x increase year-on-year (YoY) in bookings. It has surpassed popular leisure destinations on Valentine’s Day such as Goa and Manali.
“With the wedding season currently in the run, there are honeymoon couples signing up for holidays as well,” said Manghani.
Travel operators like Thomas Cook and SOTC have experienced a 35 percent surge in demand for travel.
“This being India’s wedding season, there is an uptick from the honeymoon segment in addition to demand from couples. Also, as Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, India’s couples are displaying high interest for an extended weekend getaway to nearby destinations to celebrate the occasion of love,” said Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India).
MICE is short for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions.
Exploring nature, wildlife resorts
When Covid was raging, couples had generally not been willing to travel, preferring to stay home to celebrate Valentine’s Day, pointed out Manghani.
“But post-Covid especially this year, couples are planning more experiential holidays and staycations. It is a reason to explore nature, wildlife, and history across India.”
Hills are being preferred more than beaches. “There is 1.5x increase increase compared to last year for hills versus beaches this Valentine’s Day as majority of travellers are opting for hill stations over beach destinations.,” said OYO. It added that the average duration of stay has also increased from 2 days to 4 days in 2023 versus 2022.
While there have been more than the usual number of requests and demand for room reservations for Valentine’s Day at The Den Bengaluru, the property is sold out due to the Aero Show, said Vinesh Gupta, General Manager.
But he said that there has been a massive increase in the number of table bookings at its restaurants. “We have sold out all our spaces way faster than our expectations. Budgets have not been a constraint for celebrations this year around for Valentine’s Day.”
F&B outlets
Valentines’s Day is traditionally a very busy day for Food and Beverage (F&B) departments, restaurants and banquet halls as romantic partners seek to wine and dine out, said Akshay Varma, Director of Sales, Courtyard by Marriot Bengaluru Hebbal.
“Our F&B outlets are flooded with queries,” he added.
Business hotels are more busy as Valentine’s Day has fallen on a weekday and this day sees higher demand for F&B outlets at hotels, said Prestige Golfshire’s Shoib.
He added that guests were giving more importance to personal time than during the pre-Covid times, which is why demand on special days is higher for hotel rooms and F&B.
“Celebrations are coming back to pre-Covid levels, but customers’ focus is on experience now more than before. So, hotels are taking more efforts for special occasions like Valentine’s Day,” said Marriot’s Varma.
