300 new members in 2 years
In a tete-a-tete with , Garish Oberoi, the new President of Hotel & Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI) chalks out strategies of the association for next two years.
MEGHA PAUL The
regional chapter of Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI) is currently the largest regional chapter of FHRAI. Elaborating on the initiatives of the association, Oberoi reveals, by removing the defaulters and non-serious members in the last couple of years,” the newly elected President states.
Addressing concerns of the full infrastructure status for the hotel industry, he opines, “The hospitality industry has been demanding infrastructure status for a while ing the investment horizon for the entire sector.”
According to Oberoi, the announcement in the last budget was a half-hearted one. “The list of infrastructure status has only included ‘three-star or higher category classified hotels located outside cities with population of more than one million’. This unreasonable restriction also limits the intended beneficial impact of this policy initiative by excluding a majority of our industry from within its purview. The association will continue to pursue the infrastructure issue with the government in the coming budget as well,” he laments. Another roadblock in the industry is the presence of multiple taxes. Thus, the need of the hour is a rational tax structure regime, he adds.
A long-term plan for the association to work on is also on the anvil. “The plan which has been compiled by the Working Group of HRANI will be published after taking suggestions from the members of the association. We have circulated the bullet points of the paper to our members and are awaiting their recommendations,” he points out.