Corporate chef Vinod Singh Pundeer started his career from hotel the Claridges Corbett Hideaway India as a job training from 1997 and then industrial training with premier hotel in Delhi (ITDC) Ashoka Hotel as a general cook. Moving to next level Chef Vinod also worked in Dubai and Sheraton Hotel Kuwait Bukhara Restaurant Fine dining restaurant and back to home country in 2007 and stared his career on Moti Mahal Deluxe Fine Dining Restaurant as a Corporate Chef till present..Chef Vinod Singh Pundeer was working at Moti Mahal restaurant for the past few years, catering to various organizations including diplomatic missions, dignitaries, etc.Chef vinod has been awarded with the “Popular chef – North Indian Cuisine” Award by The Times Of India. He also wrote a cookery book named “Maa maya kitchen.”
The negative effects of covid 19 affected the hospitality industry before disturbing other industries. It made 2020 the most distressing year for the industries around the globe as they suffered massive losses due to the sudden lockdown imposed to control the spread of coronavirus.
Since the first unlocking in June the struggling hospitality industry showed some signs of recovery as the industry found some footing as it saw a revival in demand since August. Post the record decline in Q1 (first quarter) of FY 2020-21 of 23.9%, the Q2 of the FY witnessed an alleviation in GDP contraction to 7.5% which was first estimated to range between 9% and 11%. And since October 2020 there was witnessed to be more improvement in the numbers as everything began to ease out. The RBI also disclosed that the Q3 and Q4 of the FY 2020-21 could witness a positive growth in the GDP. The industry has also been experiencing an upward curve of the GDP for FY 2020-21 and is projected for the FY 2021-22 from the estimations made before.
The demand for leisure travel added up to the growth of the hospitality industry as disposable income increased with visiting destinations in close proximity. Goa, the most preferred destination for leisure travel witnessed an increase in occupancy levels and almost touched 55% in November 2020. There was also witnessed to a revival in F&B industry as the restaurant bookings increased 9 folds in between June to November 2020 across the country. The hospitality sector also noticed growth in domestic air passenger traffic by +21% since June 2020.
Investment
Investments in the hospitality industry was paused as the pandemic hit. The hotel industry liquidity plunged to more than 60% as compared to the levels in 2019. With nearly 50% of all transactions terminating within the first 3 months in the year of huge financial crisis it became challenging to navigate through an impecunious flow environment. But there were signs of positivity of re-evaluations as the investors started to look closely at deals. The smart investors are now looking forward to investments in the hospitality industry which is forecasted to drive growth in the next 2 years.
The institutional investors, high net worth individuals (HNIs) and private liquidity groups took advantage of the situations and the assets that were made available in 2020 and it drove liquidity by accounting 54% of the total volume. Even the resort investments are seeing an upward growth of 35% from the levels in 2020. As the hospitality industry is redesigned with the new and emerging technologies, it is expected to drive consumers in increasing the market value in the near future.
Hospitality Industry outlook
The hospitality industry suffered greatly in the year 2020 and had low occupancies the same year, however, the hospitality industry saw a ray of light since last October. The industry was again impacted by the second wave of the pandemic causing a loss of the momentum gained and the booking of the hospitality sector started to decline.
To recover from this downfall the hospitality industry has enabled the Survive-Revive and Thrive approach to see the experiences and flow of the industry before the pandemic broke out. The restrictions imposed on the international travel has caused a negative downturn on the hospitality industry, however, the industry has seen a bridge between revival and survival.
The industry saw signs of positivity in the month of November as leisure demand had escalated the growth, as people began to travel to drivable destination that is close proximity within the cities the weekend getaway was in demand. Goa being one of the greatest destinations point also witnessed a rise in room night demand and crossed the market occupancy level by 55%.
Many Indian tourist visit global tourism hotspots in India, this creates an opportunity for the hospitality industry mainly the hotels sector to provide exclusive quality experience to the domestic travellers. As the vaccine procedure has already begun in India, the traveller’s confidence to travel again will boost up soon opening many more opportunities for the industry to grow in.
Since the investors have already firmed up to their investment decisions, the performance cycle would see a rise. And as many investors don’t wish to miss out the good deals, they have begun to re-evaluate the good quality assets in the hospitality market. Also, as the demand for travel increases through revenge travels and outings the hospitality sector is expected to drive the recovery.