Music festivals and marriage season from November to January send hotel tariffs soaring by two to five times.
With the wedding season kicking off today and a string of national and international concerts and events happening in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, hotel prices have jumped by two to five times from November 2024 to January 2025.
Airfares have also seen a significant increase on certain days, with prices soaring by four to five times for flights to Ahmedabad. For example, on 25 January 2025, one-way flights from Mumbai to Ahmedabad have spiked to over Rs 20,000.
Travel agents in Ahmedabad say fares for January 24, 2025 are equally high. This surge is due to the British rock band Coldplay performing at Narendra Modi Stadium on January 25.
Travel agents weigh in Prashant Madlani, Chairman of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Gujarat, told Mirror, “With the wedding season underway in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and the rest of the country, demand for rooms in five-star, four-star and three-star hotels is rising.”
“This leads to a sharp rise in hotel room tariffs from November to January. However, this time, even flight fares have increased by as much as five times on certain days due to musical concerts and events of national and international level,” he added.
Hoteliers echo concern
Narendra Somani, President of the Hotel and Restaurants Association of Gujarat (HRA-Gujarat), agreed.
“During the off-season, five-star hotel rooms are available for as low as Rs 5,000 per night. However, due to high demand, tariffs have skyrocketed on certain days leading up to January.”
He explained, “This is partly because of wedding season demand, as families prefer their guests to stay in star hotels. But with Ahmedabad becoming a destination for major events, many of them clash with wedding dates, leading to a further hike in hotel tariffs.”
Surge in bookings
Vikas Sood, General Manager of The Leela Gandhinagar, said, “There is a surge in enquiries and room demand because of high-profile events, the wedding season, and the announcement of concerts like the Coldplay concert in Ahmedabad, which is a momentous development for the city and underscores its importance as a global city.”
He added, “We witnessed a significant surge in inquiries and room bookings on the very day the show was announced. We are optimistic that the excitement will grow as the event draws closer and contribute to the growth of the hospitality and tourism segments.”
Online booking sites reflect trends
Hotel and flight booking websites show a clear trend of price escalation on certain days in November and January.
While one-way airfares from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on January 15 range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 2,000, they go up to Rs 22,000 on January 25.
Similarly, on January 25, five-star hotel rooms are ranging from Rs 45,000 to Rs 93,000 per night. On January 15, the same rooms cost between Rs 7,000 and Rs 17,000 per night. This shows a substantial price jump on these two dates in the same month, just 10 days apart.
There are also other specific dates when hotel and flight prices are higher than normal.