Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, May 19: Hotel Owners Association here has planned to upwardly revise the prices of food items served by the restaurants once the lockdown is lifted. The hotel owners point out that they are compelled to effect the price rise to make good heavy losses they suffered during the lockdown period.

Dakshina Kannada district has over a thousand hotels serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. Even after the hotels went without business since lockdown, many owners have paid full salary to their employees. The hotel owners say that they cannot survive if there is no enhancement in the prices of food items by 10 to 20 percent.

Several hotels have tried their hands at parcel service but many among them have failed to gauge the interests of customers and hence lost heavily in the form of wasted food. Most of the parcels are picked by online delivery companies who get a cut in the cost of food.

It is learnt that rats have proliferated in hotel premises which remained closed for about 50 days. They have eaten up wires, paper, and provisions stored in the hotels.

President of Hotel Owners Association, Kudpi Jagadish Shenoy, said that revision of prices cannot be avoided as the hotels are facing heavy losses. He said that some of the hotels may remain closed even after opening them is permitted, as they will find it hard to get back migrant workers who have recently returned to their homes.