Fuel crisis: hoteliers advised to trim menus, cut operating hours

Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav on Friday suggested that hoteliers in the State consider adopting rotational operations in view of the ongoing cooking gas scarcity triggered by unrest in the Middle East. He proposed a system of alternate day operations, under which different sets of hotels could keep their establishments open on different days.

He also advised star hotels, which often serve up to 45 varieties of dishes in their daily menus, to consider reducing the number of items offered in order to conserve LPG.

Mr. Keshav was responding to a delegation from the Andhra Pradesh Star Hotels Association and the Hotel Associations Joint Action Committee, which met him on Friday to highlight the challenges faced by the hospitality sector due to the shortage of commercial LPG.

Association president R. V. Swamy, Vijayawada Hotels Association president P. V. Ramana, and Joint Action Committee representatives P. Ravi and Chaitanyaa urged the Minister to ensure regularisation of gas supply. While welcoming the government’s decision to prioritise domestic consumers, they said commercial LPG was crucial for the functioning and survival of hotels, restaurants and catering establishments. They requested the government to ensure that at least 50% of the cylinder quota was allocated to the commercial sector to prevent the imminent closure of hotels.

Pointing out that the hotel industry was a major source of employment, the delegation said thousands of chefs, kitchen staff, suppliers and transport operators depended on the sector for their livelihood. The present crisis, they added, could disrupt services in major tourism centres such as Visakhapatnam, Araku, Tirupati and Vijayawada, where hotels play an important role in supporting visitors and pilgrims.

The delegation also suggested that hotels could voluntarily close by 10 p.m., similar to the practice followed during the Covid 19 pandemic, until the LPG supply situation improves, thereby reducing overall consumption.

The Minister assured them that he would discuss the issue with the authorities concerned and other Ministers to find an early solution to the problems faced by the hotel industry.