Hotel occupancy in Delhi is anticipated to reach a decadal high of 70–72% for the G20 Summit.

Most dates between September 6 and 11 are already fully booked at the city’s most upscale lodgings, including the Taj Mahal, Taj Palace, ITC Maurya Sheraton, Le Meridien, Shangri-La, The Lalit, Imperial, Oberoi, and Leela.

All five-star hotels in the nation’s capital of Delhi experience 100% bookings and a 400% increase in costs as the dates for the eagerly anticipated G20 leadership meeting with prominent dignitaries in attendance approach.

On September 9 and 10, the 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will be held in New Delhi in the freshly opened, cutting-edge conference centre at Pragati Maidan. The conference will also include visitors like US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Chinese President Xi Jinping in addition to PM Narendra Modi.

A sharp increase in bookings

Most dates between September 6 and 11 are already fully booked at the city’s most upscale lodgings, including the Taj Mahal, Taj Palace, ITC Maurya Sheraton, Le Meridien, Shangri-La, The Lalit, Imperial, Oberoi, and Leela. According to a search on websites like booking.com, other hotels including The Claridges, Eros, and Pride Hotel are reporting 100% bookings from September 8 to 10.

“Eros Hotel will be reporting 100 percent occupancy during the G20 meeting dates,”

According to Atul Upadhyay, Executive Vice President, Pride Hotels Group, the G20 meetings scheduled for September have significantly increased hotel reservations. There are presently approximately 500 rooms reserved expressly for this event, including both confirmed and tentative reservations. In contrast to the hotel’s recent occupancy rate of 75%, Upadhyay anticipates a G20 conference period occupancy rate of above 95%.

As preparations for the mammoth final summit have begun, hotel occupancy rates in Delhi have already begun to rise. This growth is mostly attributable to G20-related activity. According to Aashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality, occupancy rates during the G20 meeting will be close to 30–50% higher month over month.

During the G20 meeting, hotel charges will rise from the normal Rs 15,000 to Rs 60,000.

Almost all upscale hotels have seen their room rates double, but many others are seeing prices spiral up to four times what they were previously.

According to Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-Founder of EaseMyTrip, Delhi hotel occupancy is anticipated to reach a decade-high of 70-72 percent, up from about 60 percent in 2014-15. Delhi has led the occupancy charts this year with a 75% increase in demand, primarily because of the G20 summits that were conducted throughout the nation.

For example, available rooms in Le Meridien are priced at Rs 60,000 per night for single occupancy when the rate for the same room in August end is less than Rs 15,000, according to him. There are also just a small number of rooms available at very few high-end hotels. Even at Taj Palace, accommodations start at Rs 25,000 plus taxes during the first week of September. The identical room is offered after September 13 for Rs. 15,000. Overall, accommodation rates have increased by 3–4 times, and this is true for practically all 5-star hotels in the Delhi–NCR region.

During the G20 meetings in Delhi, Pitti predicted that average room prices (ARR) would rise by 40–50%.

Room charges at 3 and 4 star hotels will also increase.

In addition to 3 and 4 star hotels, other luxury properties are also experiencing an increase in bookings, which has led to an increase in room rates.

“It is a straightforward supply-demand issue. According to MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General of Hotel Association Of India (HAI), demand has skyrocketed while supply remains flat.

“It is a straightforward supply-demand issue. The supply is the same, but demand has skyrocketed, according to MP Bezbaruah, secretary general of the Hotel Association of India (HAI).

Numerous spill-over reservations are anticipated for hotels in Aerocity and other NCR locations, many of which will be for media teams visiting Delhi, he continued.

As the summit dates get closer, inquiries at the Southern Group of Hotels property in Delhi have increased by at least 30%. Alapati Krishna Mohan, the group’s managing director, noted that “we have received 30% more inquiries for the first week of September, which indicates a strong demand for accommodations during the G20 meetings.”

He continued by saying that between September 6 and 12, practically all of the rooms in Delhi’s five-star hotels had either been sold out or barred by the government.

Recovery aiding the struggling hospitality sector during Covid

The COVID-19 epidemic had a particularly negative impact on the hospitality sector.

The economic study 2022–23 noted that the average hotel occupancy rate had stayed between 33 and 36 percent throughout 2020 and hotels had drastically lowered their prices to attract business, bringing down Revenue per Available Room to a pitiful low of between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 1,800.

“The G20 has, however, provided a chance for the nation and hospitality players to make up for the setbacks they endured. Yes, the major players will reap large gains, but it is only appropriate given that they also suffered sizable losses during the lockdown, said Bezbaruah, Secretary General of HAI.