But the venue still has some catching up to do after COVID-19.
“It is very hard to say what normal is,” he said.
“Every month has become a challenge for us.”
Over the summer, Mr Sharma said the venue's patronage was “up and down”. November and December, the restaurant was fully booked, people were travelling to Shepparton to visit family and friends, and the venue hosted a number of Christmas parties as businesses wrapped up the year.
“It was busy with Christmas parties, staff parties and the restaurant was full every single day,” he said.
The new year brought a drop in business again, but Mr Sharma said February onwards was “looking very positive”.
“A lot of events are coming up in March as well, and school holidays are back again,” he said.
According to Choice Hotels Asia-Pacific, Shepparton is one of the regions in Victoria that is seeing a spike in hotel bookings, among other destinations such as Seymour, Bendigo and Horsham.
The franchise reported more than 70 per cent of Australians opted for intrastate travel and road trips.
“Australians are looking to use this window of freedom to take some much-needed time away from their everyday life,” Choice Hotels chief executive Trent Fraser said.
“With so many great locations throughout Australia, it’s no wonder Aussies are embracing the chance to escape for a short break to somewhere local.”
Mr Sharma said this was what his team had experienced at Parklake.
“A lot of families have been travelling, and a lot of couples,” he said.
“Business is looking positive.”
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