Bengaluru hotel groups plan Swiggy boycott over high commissions

A coalition of Bengaluru hospitality bodies—including the Bangalore Hotel Association, Karnataka State Hotel Association, National Restaurant Association of India, Karnataka Bakery Sweets Association and several bar‑and‑restaurant groups—has announced it will stop using Swiggy (and Zomato) from 15 August unless the platforms resolve a series of billing and transparency complaints. Hotel owners say Swiggy runs promotional campaigns and deducts advertising fees without prior consent, charges service fees on top of GST, and imposes commissions of 25‑30 % that leave less than half of a customer’s payment with the restaurant. They also allege that unauthorised “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” offers, delayed payments and unreimbursed cancelled orders are causing daily losses of lakhs of rupees.

The associations, led by PC Rao, president of the Bangalore Hotel Association, say repeated attempts at dialogue have failed and have set the 15 August deadline for the platform to address the issues, warning that a boycott could significantly impact Swiggy’s and Zomato’s operations in the city.