Left high and dry

More than two weeks after the Supreme Court banned liquor sales near highways, many of the city’s top hotels have witnessed a dip in covers at their specialty restaurants and a fall in sales revenues. Many regulars feel that this will affect the city’s nightlife, where the options were not too many, to begin with. 

M Ravi, President of Chennai Hotels Association, said that a lot of luxury hotels have invested crores in their services. This move, he pointed out, will also affect the tourism industry. 

“Over 70% of the population are social drinkers. The ban, if applied to TASMAC outlets on the highways, is understandable. But star hotels cater mostly to tourists and visitors, who will mostly travel around in cabs. 

Over the last two weeks, the industry has faced a loss of Rs 275 crore all over Tamil Nadu. The business has been affected, as April and May attracts a lot of tourists. Now, with the ban, fewer people will visit India, opting for destinations such as Dubai,” said the industry veteran.

 A CRISIL report also revealed that the liquor ban has impacted 25-30% of premium segment hotels. Liquor sale accounts for 10-30% share of the total F&B revenue. The research pointed out that the impact on the revenue is expected to be higher, as it will also affect the food and beverage segment, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) segment and room demand, especially among foreign travellers. In Chennai, the hotels on the outskirts of the four state highways — SH-49, SH-49A, SH-48 and SH-114, will be majorly affected, said the CRISIL report. “

As a result of the ban, 48% premium hotels to discontinue liquor sales in their properties,” said the report.  An employee of a star hotel situated close to the highway conceded that the impact is there. “Alcohol does matter to an establishment like ours. 

The covers have declined and this has been a major concern. Though the big business – like the banquet bookings – have not dipped, the bars are shut, hitting the revenue. We hope that star hotels, at least, are given a waiver,” said the hospitality employee. 

With a few of the bars in premium hotels being shut, due to this rule, has this led to a surge in business for the other establishments? “We didn’t see a remarked increase in the crowd. It was our regulars and other in-house guests frequenting the restaurants,” said D Sampath Kumar, F&B Manager, Savera Hotel. 

“We do understand the policy but there is a need to consider classified and unclassified hotels. In addition, hotels should ensure that drunken guests don’t drive their vehicles but have on-call drivers. This will reduce drunken driving than a blanket ban,” he said. 

The city’s party regulars feel that with the limited choices available for a night out, many of their favourite haunts have been affected by this rule. “I prefer to go to a particular bar in the city which has quality music and an open-air ambience. But now, I haven’t gone out in weeks. 

A lot of loyalists of good places don’t have an opportunity to unwind. We already don’t have enough choices and now, half the places are shut. This is affecting the city’s night scene. This rule also doesn’t make sense, because if a person wants to get drunk, they would drive a few extra kilometres to the interiors, for a drink,” said Dr Santhosh Jacob, a 38-year-old orthopaedic surgeon. 

Some, like Raghavan, a member of the Cosmopolitan Club, which is also affected by this rule, said that a bar in a city’s premium club or hotel has a socio-economic role. “The fact that the bar is closed is a huge set-back. 

A number of business executives like me host our foreign visitors at clubs like these-- and that is a place to soft-sell the point that Tamil Nadu is a good place to do business in. I am all for ending drunken driving— but shutting down bars in clubs and hotels which are on state or national highways will not necessarily end drunken driving,” he said. 

Expats living in the city too expressed that this rule would be a blow to Chennai’s nightlife, which is just starting to catch up with other metros. Aine Edwards, an Irish entrepreneur living in the city, said her favourite pub in the city has been closed by this rule. 

“I feel that the scene was starting out in Chennai – there were many hotels and pubs opening up. Just when the nightlife is catching up, it is hurt by the law. Shutting down bars in hotels on roads within the city will not fix the problem. In addition, some of these pubs double up as venues for live music, giving a platform for upcoming musicians. Closing such venues will also remove an outlet for live music,” she felt.