The hospitality industry might see its best boom post-Covid with Ahmedabad expected to be flooded with cricket fans, as it hosts five of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 matches beginning next month.
While hotels have increased their room tariffs up to 10 fold, even the Airbnb website shows rates for properties as high as 20-fold for October 14 when India plays Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.
For instance, an apartment hosted on the Airbnb website claiming to be ‘250 m’ from the stadium is listed as ‘Motera cricket stadium home furnished 6 bed-2 BHK’, available for Rs 81,000 a night.
Rishav Poddar, one of the hosts on the website offering a ‘weekend getaway living on the periphery of Ahmedabad’, told The Indian Express that he is also providing free transport facility from the stadium to the place. ‘It takes around 45 to 55 minutes from the airport to the property, a weekend villa. It is a 6,000 sq yard property, has three bedrooms and other rooms to accommodate people,’ he added.
According to the website, the property is up for Rs 35,000 per night. But if it has to be booked on the same day as that of the match – October 14 – one would have to shell out Rs 1,21,500.
Jainam Shah, who has hosted a villa in Sanand on the Airbnb website, plans to sell it for Rs 55,000 per night on October 13 and 14, in place of the usual Rs 19,371 per night. ‘We work on dynamic pricing, which adjusts itself according to demands and searches on the website,’ he said.
Ahmedabad is hosting an ICC event for the first time and the biggest matches in this year’s World Cup. England faces New Zealand on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium – to be held after the opening ceremony. The next match to be played at the stadium is India vs Pakistan on October 14, which is the only confirmed match of India in the city, unless the team reaches the finals.
Other matches to be played at the stadium included England vs Australia on November 4, South Africa vs Afghanistan on November 10 and the final on November 19.
Apart from the bed and breakfast facilities, hotels have also hiked room tariffs by nearly 10-fold for the India-Pakistan match.
The 49-room Hillock Hotel located at Vaishnodevi circle between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, has a regular tariff of Rs 7,000-15,000. But on the match days, it will sell each of its room for Rs 50,000-55,000. On India-Pakistan match day, the rate will be double.
Niraj Gewali, general manager of The Hillock Hotel, said: ‘Unless India gets to the final, except for the India-Pakistan match, there isn’t much excitement. There have been many inquiries online, by foreign travellers and corporate houses, but the leads are not turning into confirmation as many people haven’t got their hands on tickets.’
‘Although we have 20 per cent occupancy on match days at the moment, we will reach 100 per cent occupancy,’ Gewali said. The Hillock Hotel has an occupancy rate of around 65-75 per cent on a usual day.
Vivek Vyas, general manager of Hotel Apricot in Motera, said they have started receiving confirmed bookings from the day the World Cup schedule was made public, but are yet to be sold out. ‘Some government officials have taken 6-7 of our 21 rooms… those are currently on hold. Other than that, all other rooms have been booked,’ he added.
Hotel Apricot sells each room for Rs 3,500 on a usual day. However, on match days, it has sold rooms between Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 as well, Vyas said. He added that bookings for the India-Pakistan match was not affected – despite the match date being advanced from October 15 – as most bookings were done for October 14 and 15.
Asked about the price hike, Vyas said, ‘People are saying this is the only time to recover… the hotel business isn’t doing that great… so hotels are looking at this opportunity to recover money and end the year with a profit. Even post-Covid, I haven’t seen tourist or foreigner footfall (as it was before the pandemic).’
Hotel Apricot is a boutique luxury hotel, located 3 km away from the Narendra Modi Stadium. The usual occupancy for the hotel is around 60-70 per cent, said Vyas.
Narendra Somani, who owns The Grand Bhagwati in Bodakdev on SG Road – 13.5 km from Motera – said the hotel is completely sold out on October 14. ‘We sold rooms for Rs 7,400 each. It doesn’t make sense to price it any higher… for two days, if we increase the prices even more, our annual GST slab will increase to 18 per cent.’
Somani, the Gujarat president of the Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, added: ‘It is a luxury (to watch the World Cup). During Covid-19 pandemic, 5-star hotels sold rooms for Rs 2,000… at that time nobody came to help us. When they can sell tickets for Rs 1 lakh, why can’t we sell rooms for higher rates as well?’
The Grand Bhagwati with 37 rooms has a usual occupancy rate of 70-80%, as per sources in the hotel.
Prakash Bhojan, manager of Hotel Rudra Palace in Thaltej, said: ‘I have barely received any inquiries for the World Cup matches, but we are following the usual Rs 1,500 per night rate. It might go up to Rs 2,000 depending on the need. I don’t believe in overcharging, as many people will get their hands on the tickets late and last-day bookings will be made at hotels like mine.’ The hotel’s usual occupancy rate is around 40-50 per cent, as per sources in the hotel.
Meanwhile, on the Airbnb website, while a 2 BHK ‘spacious golf villa farm stay’ in Ahmedabad costs Rs 7,500 on a usual night, on the day of the India-Pakistan match, it has shot up to Rs 50,000 per night. ‘Serene Getaway’, located near the bustling Law Garden area and hosted by Uteliaa Homestay, usually sells for Rs 4,309 per night but on October 13 and 14, it costs Rs 73,500 per night.
Hareet Shukla, Secretary (Tourism) in the Gujarat government, told The Indian Express that there was no formal regulatory authority for managing hotel tariffs. ‘They pay GST and take permissions from the municipality. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Before the 2000s, four and five-star hotels in Ahmedabad could only accommodate around 400 to 500 people. But now you have to accommodate a crowd of one lakh (for the World Cup). The demand is much more than supply.’
‘Gujarat is well-ready for conferences and events like Vibrant Gujarat but no city in India can have that kind of resources ready for events like the World Cup, which happens once in four years,’ he added.
