Hotels make hay as F1 revs up Greater Noida economy

As Greater Noida gears up for the Formula One weekend at the Buddh International circuit (BIC), it is the local hoteliers who are all smiles.

As Greater Noida gears up for the Formula One weekend at the Buddh International circuit (BIC), it is the local hoteliers who are all smiles.

Jaypee Golf Spa and Resort, the official abode for F1 drivers and other VVIP visitors, usually charges a person Rs. 11,000 a day. But in the F1 season, when hotel rooms become rarely available, Jaypee has more than trebled the tariff to Rs. 37,000 a day for one person.

“The F1 event is a shot in the arm for the economy of the two cities,” SM Azmat, senior joint president at Jaypee Hotels, said.

Hotels depend on local vendors for several commodities, thus creating opportunities for all, including the youth. “Hotel businesses invariably are linked with the local economy since we must source vegetables, milk and other commodities from nearby markets,” Azmat said.

Before the first F1 event three years ago, hotels in Noida and Greater Noida used to be second options for foreign visitors, behind those in Delhi. The number of five-star hotels doubled in three years.

“Crowne Plaza and Raddison Blu have recently opened up their properties in Greater Noida. Two more — Sheraton and Hyatt — are likely to open properties next year,” a Greater Noida authority official said.

“Greater Noida has become an important destination for international events. The India Expo Centre at Greater Noida too has contributed in the increase in volumes of customers at hotels during conferences and expos held there,” said Greesh Bindra, general manager, Crowne Plaza, Greater Noida.

“Like every year, we have an overwhelming response from the F1 event,” said Sonica Malhotra, director of the MBD Group, which manages the Radisson Blu in Noida.

The hoteliers shrugged off concerns that the F1 event may not return to the country next year. “The international business conferences that regularly take place at the Greater Noida Indian Expo Centre will keep us going,” Azmat, of Jaypee hotels, said.