GST woes: Exorbitant hotel entry, food and alcohol prices to pinch Chennaiites’ pockets this NYE

Except that it means being broke for a good period of time after the celebrations. With exorbitant entry fees and increased rates for alcohol and food, this year’s parties seem to have invoked a damp squib among eager city people. While the going rates were anywhere between Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 last year, now they have been hiked to Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 at many of these events. A ‘couple’s pass’ comes no cheaper, with most around the Rs 12,000 range.

Hoteliers, party organisers and DJs blame it entirely on GST. “It has forced us to increase ticket and entry charge, otherwise we stand to make no profit. Since imported liquor is in vogue, we have to ensure good brands are present. Similarly, guests don’t want to see a local DJ or band, so we bring in someone from Europe or south-East Asia. All these factors improve the quality of the event, but it is unfortunate that many feel it’s too expensive,” says an entertainment manager/ party planner who is hosting three events this NYE.

“There is easily a 20 to 25 per cent hike, it is quite discernible. It’s not that Chennaiites don’t have spending capacity, but many have budgets allocated for other festivals like Pongal. This is the negative impact of GST,” says pub promoter and socialite Satish Jupiter.

The emergence of several house party venues, online booking of alcohol from TASMACs, as well as several bootleggers who operate in closed circles on social media only add to the reluctance to spend so much money for a single night out. DJ Kartheban Ramasamy says that it’s going to be a quiet evening at many of these ‘exclusive’ parties. “Many DJs are unemployed for the big occasion and some events have been cancelled due to tickets not being sold. Also, there have been so many drunk driving cases around and people don’t want to risk it. Puducherry and ECR beach houses are a popular in-house option,” Kartheban explains.

He sheds light on one more huge factor: the Novex licence. “This company holds the copyright for several Bollywood songs from the likes of Zee, Yash Raj, and so on. Hotel chains and banquets have to purchase this licence before playing the music, which comes at quite a steep price. This is the reason many Bolly-themed parties have pricey entry covers as well.”