Couples plan getaways for V-Day weekend
Love is in the air, and so is the threat of a virus, this year. But the pandemic can’t put a dampener on Valentine’s Day plans of couples, who are eagerly planning the perfect weekend getaways.
“More than 70% of bookings for the weekend starting February 13 have been made for couple-friendly hotels. This is only expected to go up as V-Day approaches. Goa, Jaipur, Digha and Manali have emerged as the popular destinations. We are playing Cupid by offering access to safe, hygienic and cost-effective couple-friendly options,” says Sunil Suresh, group chief marketing officer of a travel portal.
A trend indicates that nearly 70% of the bookings for couple-friendly hotels are finalised a day before the date of travel or on the day of check-in. Rahul Upadhyay, who runs a hotel in Manali, says, “Couples inquire on call about room availability and precautions we’re taking amid the pandemic. The payment is done on the same day or at the time of check-in.”
Given that V-Day falls on a Sunday this year, bookings have surged, says Devendra Parulekar, founder of a private vacation homes chain. “All our couple-friendly properties were sold out in the last week of January itself,” he adds.
And couples, on their part, are leaving no stone unturned in planning the perfect V-Day. Delhiite Payal Aggarwal, who recently got engaged, plans to spend the day at Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh. “We were supposed to get married in March last year, but it got postponed due to the pandemic. We can at least spend some quality time on V-day. Booking was hassle-free, we even got a couple discount,” she says.