X'mas, New Year bashes low-key in Mumbai hotels; bookings dip

Hotels in the metropolis are seeing a slump in bookings for this holiday season compared to Christmas and New Year last year due to negative sentiment prevailing in backdrop of the economic meltdown and the terror attacks on Taj and Trident here.

"There has been a 30-40% dip in bookings in Mumbai hotels this time because of the terror attacks. Big hotels have suffered more as they have more rooms to fill," Hotels and Restaurants Association, Western India, Secretary General S M Korde told PTI.

Many luxury establishments in the financial capital as well as in Goa, famous for its New Year bashes, witnessed shrinking occupancy rates following the 60-hour long terror siege on the iconic Taj and Trident hotels on November 26.

Ratan Tata-owned Taj and Oberoi Group-run Trident reopened their respective tower wings on December 21 after three weeks of restoration works.

Taj had an occupancy rate of 56%, with 150 of the 268 rooms being checked into on the first day, while the 550-room Trident registered an occupancy of over 16%.

"We had 95 rooms checked into on Christmas eve (December 24)," a Trident spokesperson said, adding occupancy may have touched 110 rooms by midnight. "We expect room bookings at 20-25% for Christmas day," she added.

The sea-facing hotel, like most of its peers, is going to keep Christmas and New Year celebrations low-key this time.

"We have stopped everything this time, firstly because of the tragic incidents (attacks) and also there is hardly any crowd who feels like partying," Anand Bhatt, General Manager, Ritz Hotel, located at Churchgate, said.