Budget tourists, those appearing for interviews in towns, traders from villages and students who go to universities for contact classes will be affected badly by the Centre’s decision to bring hotels offering rooms below ₹1,000 a day under the ambit of the GST.
Hoteliers said they were taken by surprise and had no inkling of what was in store at the last GST Council meeting.
A hotelier in Chidambaram said many students stayed in non-AC rooms that would cost ₹500 a day for 10-15 days at a time and with their small budgets, they would be hit hard by the decision. “Hotels cannot bear this increase and will have to pass it on to customers. At a time when everyone is recovering from the lockdown due to the pandemic, especially the hotel industry, this decision is very inappropriate,” he said.
