From fancy hotels like Taj and Oberoi to budget chains like OYO, Lemon Tree & PK Group of Hotels, everyone in Indian hospitality has been waiting for 'Revenge Travel'. The term gained popularity in China, after people having been stuck in a lockdown, started travelling within the country, just to get out of their homes. 

With Covid 19 cases dropping regularly in India, Revenge Travel has started in Tourist sectors like Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerela, Rajasthan & Uttrakhand. Hotels in Goa sales in December 2020 has been higher then December 2019 on Year on Year Basis. With most foreign travel still closed for Indians, Indian customers are tired of being stuck at homes for approximately a year and thus there has been a rapid manifold rise in hotel occupancy in tourist cities.

However the Hospitality sector in corporate driven cities like Bengaluru, Noida, Gurugram, Hyderabad & Pune is still suffering. As Corporates still have a no travel policy for there employees, hospitality sector in cities is bleeding. With almost all Hotels being operational the supply is back to PreCovid Levels however the demand in nowhere in cities.

The major beneficiaries of Revenge Travel are luxury and chain hotels located in blissful tourist areas like Taj Hotels, ITC, Oberoi, Leisure Hotels etc. as major of there Hotels are located in Tourist Areas with there major clientele being Tourists.

However the major downside being faced are with City Hotel chains who were completely dependent on Corporates as there major clientele like PK Group of Hotels, Marriot & Accor Group.

Oyorooms has been neutral as it has major inventory both in cities and tourist locations. However Oyorooms hasnt been able to fulfill its commitments to Asset owners as it has levied the Forcemajeure clause after lockdown. Thus OyoTownhouse which is the only good sophisticated brand of Oyorooms has been affected the most as they were on leased model and most of them have started there own venture.

One OyoTownHouse Sector 135 Noida, after the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted broke its ties with Oyorooms and has started its business as YouTurn Townhouse. Its name clearly suggests the mood against Oyorooms of TownHouse Asset Owners who have completely showed there backs to Oyorooms & Townhouse.

With most of the Oyo TownHouse not operational, Oyo is left with there Oyo Smart properties where quality and service have always been an issue. So major client base of OyoRooms paying Room Rent Rs. 1,200-/- or more have shifted to Independent Hotels however others paying Room Rent Rs. 1,200-/- or less are still very much loyal to Oyorooms.

Speaking to Mr. Rohanpreet Singh, General Manager, PK Group of Hotels - A regional hotel chain having its presence in Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad & Delhi "Our PK Group of Hotels brand has been very badly hit by the pandemic as most of our corporates arent traveling. Most of the Fortune 500 Companies in India are on strict no travel policy because of COVID-19. We are focussing on local markets with Weddings & Events being are major focuss. Most of the inventory in cities had come on the back of major corporate movement and with Work from Home becoming the new normal, We don't expect corporate travel to come back to PreCovid levels atleast till January 2023. We as a Hotelier have realised its very important to hedge your markets in the future so we are ourselves expanding in Tourist Markets. We are starting new Hotels in Corbett, Uttarkhand and Palampur, Himachal Pradesh have 30 & 50 Rooms respectively. However as making Hotels is a time consuming process so these new Hotels will be operational only by 2023 January. So by then hopefully the Hospitality Industry would have come back to Normal.