Hotel
Industry Jubilant Over Government’s Move To Cut Red Tapism
Mumbai: In
what can be called an epic move, the Ministry for Tourism (MoT) announced certain
revisions for the hotel industry that the industry sees as a first of many more
to come as envisioned by the Prime Minister for the revival of tourism in
India. The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has welcomed
the provisions while congratulating its members for the efforts put in over the
years, in voicing out the industry’s concerns.
The Minister of
Tourism and Culture Shri Shripad Yesso Naik announced two major revisions in
the guidelines for the classification of hotels.
- Simplified the hotel classification and
re-classification procedure by not seeking re-presentation / submission of
the licenses and clearances which are already issued to them by various
Local, State and Central Government authorities for operation of hotels
and;
- Classifying 4-Star, 5-Star hotels in non-heritage
sector and classic category hotels in heritage sector without insisting on
the presence of a bar that serves alcohol on the premises
“Henceforth, at the
time of classification/reclassification, hotels will only be required to
furnish a current and valid Trade license and Bar license, if applicable. Prior to this announcement, it was mandatory for
the applicants to submit all the licenses and clearances including the land
utilization certificate, building completion certificate, coastal zone
regulation clearance, forest and environment clearance, pollution control
clearance, police clearance, fire safety clearance, airport authority
clearance, health and sanitation clearance. The procedure has been simplified
by eliminating the need to submit multiple documents,” explains Mr. D.S.
Advani, President, HRAWI.
The classification
or reclassification will remain valid only if the hotel has all licenses and
clearances that are required under various Acts, Rules, Regulations or
Guidelines issued by the Local, State or Central Government Authorities for
operation of the hotel, current and valid. The
Ministry would be securing an affidavit from the hotel owner that the
establishment is operating after obtaining all necessary licenses and
clearances. Failing in which its
classification or reclassification would cease to be operational with immediate
effect.
“At present the MoT
classifies various hotels on voluntary request in the categories of 1 Star, 2
Star, 3 Star, 4 Star, 5 Star and 5 Star Deluxe in non-Heritage sector and in
the categories of Basic, Classic and Grand in the Heritage sector. Under the
guidelines of the Ministry of Tourism till now, alcohol service was essential
for Hotels seeking classification under the categories of 4 Star, 5 Star, 5
Star Deluxe, Classic Heritage and Grand Heritage. However, henceforth, hotels
in the categories of 5 Star and 4 Star in non-Heritage sector and classic
category hotels in heritage sector can now be classified as ‘5 Star with
alcohol service’, ‘5 Star without alcohol service’, ‘4 Star with alcohol
service’, ‘4 Star without alcohol service’, ‘Classic Heritage with alcohol
service and ‘Classic Heritage without alcohol service’. This is a very sensible
and practical revision that the ministry has made and we feel very optimistic
for the sector in the years to come,” says Mr. Gurbaxish Singh Kohli,
Vice-President, HRAWI.
The provision will render flexibility to hotel owners and management to
take considered decision on whether to provide alcohol service or not in their
units. However, to protect the customer’s interest, the MoT has made it
compulsory for all the classified hotels to make their precise classification
status shown on the opening page of their (Hotel’s) website and also declare
such status clearly on their (Hotel’s) promotional and marketing material
without any abbreviations.
“The announcement has come at a time when the hotel industry had begun
to feel that bureaucracy was eating into a lot of its time and efforts that
could be better invested in improving services. These announcements coming from
the ministry have provided hoteliers with the much needed affirmation that the
industry will see a change in the government working model. We are jubilant
with the developments and are excited to know that there may be more in the
pipeline. We wish to thank the government for providing us with the hope that starting
with this simplification exercise. The new government shall tread towards a
facilitator role from a regulatory role, bringing in the much needed
dis-banning of archaic rules, regulations and licensing to usher in the new era
of tourism growth in India,” says Mr. Kamlesh Barot, immediate past President, HRAWI.
About Hotel &
Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI)
The
Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) is a 64 years old Association
of Hotels and Restaurants in Western India. Its members include Hotels up to 5-Star
Deluxe categories like The Taj, Trident, Hyatt, J.W. Marriott and The Leela who
are some of the prominent members of our Association. With around 1300 members
across Western India, HRAWI covers Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Goa and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu & Silvassa is
considered to be the voice of the Hotel Industry. The association is part of
the national body of Federation of the Hotels & Restaurants Associations of
India (FHRAI), located in New Delhi, which was originally founded in Mumbai in
1950 by the late Mr. J.R.D. Tata.
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