Ahmedabad hotel rents surge following announcement of India-Pakistan World Cup match

Hotel rents in Ahmedabad surged as much as ten-fold after ICC announced that the World Cup match between arch rivals India and Pakistan will be played in Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 15. 

Excitement about the India-Pakistan World Cup match has fuelled the surge in hotel rentals across Ahmedabad. The announcement was recently made by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup's 13th edition this time is scheduled to be held in India across 10 cities from October 5 to November 19.

The Average price of rooms in luxury hotels has now skyrocketed between Rs 40,000 and Rs 1 lakh compared to the average of Rs 8,000 on normal days. The India-Pakistan match craze has further led to the non-availability of rooms at all premium hotels in the city of Ahmedabad. Prominent luxury hotels in Ahmedabad include ITC Narmada, The Courtyard by Marriott, The Hyatt and Taj Skyline.

"With many people from outside the city visiting especially for the marquee event, there is a clear demand and supply gap with hotels in the city having a maximum capacity of 1,32,000," Nalin Zaveri,  President, Saurashtra Chamber of Commerce told ANI explaining the reason for the unprecedented price hike and demand.

"The hotel prices in Ahmedabad have risen mostly due to the demand from NRIs and upper-middle-class cricket fans from other states," the Hotels and Restaurants Association (HRA), Gujarat told PTI.

“If the hoteliers think that the demand is very high for a particular period, they will try to make some revenue because they are assured that rooms will be full despite higher rates. Once the demand drops, the room rentals will also come down," HRA-Gujarat spokesperson Abhijeet Deshmukh adds.

According to reports, the prices of budget hotels have not seen any sharp hike and continue to remain the same. The same has been attributed to the middle-class cricket fans who make last minute decisions to watch the match and those who are not planning for the same at the moment.