Hotel occupancies peak in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, surpass 90%

AHMEDABAD: In a major boost since Covid-19 pandemic, hoteliers in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar are rejoicing with good businesses.
In the run up to Defence Expo 2022, scheduled during October 18-22, occupancies across most five-star hotels are running above 90% in Ahmedabad while tariffs are touching record-high levels.
Hotel tariffs have grown as high as Rs 50,000 per room per night for four days next week, which is at least three times the normal tariff.
In fact, with rising demand, tariffs have already gone up by 1.5x.
"The average daily rates which had plunged to as low as Rs 3,500 per room per night in Ahmedabad has soared to about Rs 6,500 per room per night and is expected to rise further. The season is off to a good start with the National Games being organized here. Additionally, there is a lot of corporate traffic seen in the city even before the Defence Expo begins and this is indeed driving occupancies," said Jay Sudhakaran, general manager, Novotel Ahmedabad.
As hotel tariffs soar high and so do occupancies, hotel industry is looking at bullish times ahead. Feeble international participation, however, is the only deterrent for hoteliers.
"The demand would have been far better with the industry looking at sold out days had there been greater foreign participation out here. In the first edition of Defence Expo 2022, a lot of foreign participation was expected; however, this time around, the domestic participation is higher," said a city-based hotelier.
Hoteliers, however, are considering the event as a boon for the industry. "An event of such a scale taking place just ahead of the Diwali holidays is a boon for the hotel and hospitality industry. Our hotel which was launched about two months ago is already clocking a 65% occupancy which is expected to grow over the next week. This reflects a positive sentiment in the industry, largely driven by corporate movement," said Keenan McKenzie, general manager, ITC Narmada.