Chennai: Hotels and restaurants resumed dine-in services from today, after a break of 70 days in Chennai and other parts of Tamilnadu in view of the Covid-19 induced lockdown.

According to sources, hotels are unlikely to increase prices in Chennai as of now. However, it is said they are mulling a 10 per cent increase in prices in the next couple of weeks.

Hotel owners said they have put in place stringent social distancing and sanitising norms, as per the rules of the government. Officials have called for disinfection five times a day, necessitating closure of hotels five times.

A hotel owner said that it would take a minimum of six months for them to bounce back. “We have to pay rent, power bill and salaries of workers although only half the capacity can be filled at restaurants,” said a hotel owner.

With the government allowing only 50 per cent of total seating capacity to be available for dine-in services, seating arrangements have been made accordingly in most of the hotels.