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India-Pakistan WC match: Ahmedabad hotel rents surge upto ₹1 lakh on Oct 15
India-Pakistan ODI World Cup match on October 15 has caused the hotels rents in the city to surge upto 10 times the normal rates on that day.
Following the International Cricket Council's (ICC) announcement of the fixtures for the ODI World Cup on Tuesday, which showed that India and Pakistan would face each other in Ahmedabad on October 15, the hotel room rates skyrocketed to as much as ₹1 lakh in the Gujarat city for that day.
The prices of various hotels on booking websites showed a sharp surge in room tariff, which may have been a result of the unprecedented demand as crickets fans will flock to witness the highly anticipated match between arch-rivals at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Room rentals surged nearly 10 times, with some hotel prices showing close to ₹1 lakh while others were already sold out for the day. This exceptional demand has caused the normal day room rent of an average ₹5,000 to ₹8,000 to go up to ₹40,000 in luxury hotels and upto ₹1 lakh at some places for October 15.
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Booking portals showed that while the price of one deluxe room for July 2 is ₹5,699 at Welcome Hotel by ITC Hotels, the same room costs ₹71,999 on the match day.
Similarly, Renaissance Ahmedabad Hotel on SG Highway showed a surge of ₹90,679 for October 15 but about ₹8,000 on any other given day.
Pride Plaza Hotel on SG Highway, the Cama Hotel on Sabarmati Riverfront among others, also showed similar trends with prices surging close to ₹30,000 when they are otherwise considered affordable.
Meanwhile, ITC Narmada, Courtyard by Marriott, Hyatt and Taj Skyline Ahmedabad, all five-star hotels in the city, did not have any rooms available for the match day, the booking portals showed.
Officials of the Gujarat's Hotels and Restaurants Association (HRA) told news agency PTI that the price hike are a result of bookings done mostly by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and fans living in other states. “If the hoteliers think that the demand is very high…they will try to make some revenue as they are assured that rooms will be full despite higher rates. Once the demand drops, the prices will come down,” HRA-Gujarat spokesperson Abhijeet Deshmukh told PTI.
He also said the budget hotels in the city are yet to witness such a surge.
(With PTI inputs)
