Over five months before the Ram Lalla idol consecration ceremony at the sanctum sanctorum of Ram temple, as many as 4,000 Ayodhya hotel rooms are booked for the likely dates of the event in January 2024.
While the popular hotels have not jacked up their rates, the not so prominent hotels and dharamshalas have hiked their tariff for that period, people associated with the hotel trade in the temple town said.
“As compared to the ₹2500 room tariff in a prominent hotel (now), the not so popular hotels are charging ₹4000 for room bookings for the (likely dates of the) Ram Mandir ceremony,” said a hotel owner.
“Prominent hotels have a permanent flow of customers throughout the year. So, they cannot hike tariff all of a sudden for the Ram Mandir ceremony,” he explained.
The same is the case with dharamshalas in Ayodhya.
The famous Janki Mahal Trust is charging ₹800 for an air-conditioned room now and is expected to continue to do so. But the not so prominent dharamshalas are charging ₹1200 to ₹1600 for room bookings for the likely period of the Ram Mandir ceremony.
Such is the rush that some hotels have stopped both online and offline booking of rooms for the period coinciding with the likely date of the ceremony.
{{/usCountry}}Such is the rush that some hotels have stopped both online and offline booking of rooms for the period coinciding with the likely date of the ceremony.
{{/usCountry}}“We have blocked online booking. We took the decision after people started booking rooms online for January 20 to 24 even though the date for opening of Ram Mandir is yet to be announced,” said Anup Gupta, owner of Sri Ram Hotel.
“Once the date is announced, people will start cancelling bookings for extra days (days on which the ceremony is not held). In online bookings, there is a provision for refund if the cancellation is made 48 hours before the date for which rooms were booked,” Gupta added.
For now, prominent hotels in Ayodhya are daily receiving an average of 25 enquiry calls from people all across the country for room bookings for the mega ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be the chief guest at the event. Saurabh Kapoor, owner of Hotel Shane Avadh, said around 80% of the rooms have been booked.
The remaining 20% have been reserved for VVIPs on instructions of the district administration, Kapoor added.
Hoteliers are expecting a massive influx of devotees to witness the historic event. According to the Hotel Owners’ Association, Ayodhya, there are around 150 hotels in the city and Ayodhya Dham. These include 10 luxury hotels, 25 budget hotels, 115 economy hotels, 35 unrecognised guest houses, 50 dharamshalas and 50 homestay/paying guest houses, accounting for a total of 10,000 rooms in the district.