Hotels to roll out the welcome mat, cash in on G20 presidency

India's year-long presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) brings along a big business opportunity for hotel chains, which are vying to offer the best deals on rooms for dignitaries and media crew during meetings in key cities. Top industry executives said the G20 presidency, which India holds till November 30 next year, will bolster the fortunes of the country's hospitality sector, which was among the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Vikramjit Singh, president at Lemon Tree Hotels, said as an immediate impact of India holding the G20 presidency, there has been a spike in demand for rooms across the markets of Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Punjab, Guwahati, Chennai, Chandigarh, Aurangabad, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata, Pune, Surat, Udaipur, Gangtok and Hyderabad.

"Across all hotel chains, we are looking at a demand of approx 100,000 room nights (200 events x 200 rooms per events x 3 nights minimum) for delegates and almost 150,000 room nights for media crew and others," he said.

"Lemon Tree Hotels has already blocked room nights in various hotels in Delhi/NCR, Rishikesh, Aurangabad, Patna, Siliguri and Gangtok. The demand has primarily come from the ministry of external affairs (MEA), embassies, media and local political parties," he said.

As per the G20 calendar, upcoming events and meetings over the next two months would be held in Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai.

The Le Meridien hotel in Delhi has been asked to hold on all the inventory for September next year. "Plenty of heads of state would be coming for these meetings. We understand quite a few rooms would be taken from us and this is all in the process of being finalised," said COO Tarun Thakral.

Nikhil Sharma, regional director for Eurasia at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts EMEA, said this is a 'golden opportunity' for the hospitality industry. "Given the sheer volume of meetings announced at different locations, India will play a vital role in hosting international delegates from 20 participating countries," he said. "It will open great business opportunities in the long run."

Zubin Saxena, MD and VP, operations for South Asia at Radisson Hotel Group, said the country is expected to host over 200 meetings at 56 locations and the chain is prepared to welcome delegates across its portfolio of over 100 hotels at more than 60 locations.

A spokesperson for Roseate Hotels & Resorts said the chain has received queries from various ministries for rooms. "They are inspecting various hotel sites."

Rajan Malhotra, commercial director at Conrad Bengaluru, said the property has submitted its pitch for the G20 events.