Hotels report buoyant bookings

With the onset of the tourist season, bookings in hotels is on the rise.

Gupta Giri, Front Office Manager of Shangrila Hotel, told Republica that the hotel has received almost hundred percent bookings for October and November. There are a total of 61 rooms in the hotel. While the hotel has received 90 percent booking for the month of October, all the rooms are already packed with orders for November. “Advance bookings of rooms are encouraging. It might be due to the tourist season,” he added. He also said that bookings for the first week of December are also being made. “It would be difficult for tourists who have not made bookings to get rooms,” he said.

Most of those who have booked their rooms in Shangrila Hotel are in groups of up to 15 to 20. Most of the tourists are from Japan, UK and the US. He also said that most of those tourists have booked rooms for two nights and three days. According to Giri, number of free individual tourists (FIT) is also in the rise. FITs mostly book their rooms online. “Since the number of online FITs booking is increasing, it would not significantly impact the occupancy of the hotel even if group tourists cancel their bookings later,” Giri said. “Advance bookings and rise in FITs have made us hopeful that this season would be a good one for the hotel industry in general,” he added.

Kamal Sherchan, marketing manager of Pokhara Grande Hotel, said bookings for October/November was satisfactory for the hotel. “Like the previous year past year, the booking for this season of this year is also encouraging. We have 90 percent booking for October and 100 percent for November,” he said. There are a total of 140 rooms in Grande Hotel. “Most of the bookings have been made by groups.

Tourists are mostly from China, Japan and the US,” said Sherchan. According to Sherchan, most of the tourists come to the hotel to stay two nights and three days.

Likewise, Atithi Resort has also 90 percent bookings for both October and November. Bharat Sharma, operator of Atithi Resort, told Republica that they will have a hard time arranging rooms for tourists who come during the season without bookings.

However, Sharma said there has been a slowdown in bookings. “There are reports that some tourists have diverted their bookings, but this has not made a big impact,” he added. He also stressed the need for separate packages to attract tourists who have diverted their bookings to Sri Lanka.

According to hotel entrepreneurs, bookings have indicated a positive outlook for the tourism business. “The presence of tourists around Lake Side here is high in recent days. Bookings are also good,” said Bharat Parajuli, vice president of Western Region Hotel Association.According to Parajuli, this season lures American, European and Australian tourists more than Indian and Chinese tourists. “Provided that there are no hurdles during this period, we can expect a brisk business this season.”

source: republica,6 oct 2014
photo: Atithi Resort (Santosh Pokharel/Republica)