Bangalore/Mumbai: Freebies like complimentary breakfast and airport transfers, which were scrapped last year, have checked-in again. Some 5-star hotels are even throwing in complimentary lunches or dinners.

Free room upgrades, on-the-house laundry, discounted spa treatment and beauty salon vouchers are also on offer.

"Given the current situation, we have been forced to roll back our earlier adopted strategies. Corporates are seeking benefits like complimentary breakfast, airport transfers to renew their contracts with us," says the GM of a leading 5-star hotel in Bangalore.

Ranjan Kapoor (name changed), a restaurateur, was in for a surprise recently when a Bangalore 5-star hotel he had checked into upgraded him to an executive suite. A room that could have cost him over Rs 28,000 a night went for a mere Rs 8,000. "Hotels make these exceptions as the first-timer has the potential to be converted into a regular. This helps, more so during bad times, as hoteliers want to fill up rooms with the hope that guests would return," says a Mumbai-based hospitality expert.

Uday Rao, manager, Four Seasons hotel in Mumbai, says, "At Four Seasons, upgrades are done on a case-to-case basis. If we exhaust the inventory of a particular room category, then we look to upgrade some of our highest paying guests."

The ITC Maurya in New Delhi, has baked a mouth-watering recipe at their super premium wing, the ITC One. The luxury hotel has dropped their room rates in this wing by a whopping Rs 12,500 or 50% compared to last year's rate of Rs 25,000. "In order to retain foreign guests and widen the base of Indian guests, hotels are offering the moon to customers," says Taposh Chakraborty, CEO of Boutique Hospitality Consultants.(TNN)