NEW DELHI: As India prepares to host the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, luxury hotels in the national capital are facing a sharp squeeze in room availability, with tariffs at some marquee properties climbing beyond Rs 2 lakh a night ahead of the September 12-13 gathering.The summit, which brings leaders of the expanded BRICS grouping to Delhi and marks two decades since the bloc’s founding, is driving concentrated demand for high-end accommodation, with several premium hotels showing limited or no availability and others quoting rates of more than Rs 2 lakh per night, according to news agency PTI.Booking checks showed no room availability at Taj Mahal and The Oberoi in New Delhi for September 11-12, while Taj Palace had no rooms available for September 10-12. The Leela Palace, New Delhi, was also not accepting bookings for stays between September 10 and 12.At ITC Maurya, New Delhi, rooms available for September 10-13 were commanding tariffs starting at more than Rs 2.3 lakh a night.The surge comes as delegates and other visitors are expected to arrive in the capital ahead of the two-day summit and extend their stays, putting pressure on room inventory, particularly in central Delhi.K B Kachru, president, Hotel Association of India (HAI) and Chairman – South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, said the summit was highlighting the pressure on India’s hospitality infrastructure.“India is commanding global attention at a defining moment — as the nation prepares to host marquee international events and cements its position as a premier MICE destination, the world is watching how we scale to meet our tourism targets.“The BRICS Summit alone will put considerable focus on room inventory and that spotlight is exposing a hard truth: our hospitality infrastructure has not kept pace with our tourism ambition,” he said, according to PTI.Kachru said India currently has only about 200,000-220,000 branded hotel rooms, which he described as inadequate for the country’s tourism ambitions.The demand is also being felt beyond central Delhi. Rahool Macarius, Market Managing Director, Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said the summit was creating a distinct demand pattern across Delhi-NCR.“At Ramada Encore by Wyndham, Dwarka Expressway, this event-led demand is reflected in occupancy for September 12-15, currently tracking at 65 per cent, significantly ahead of the broader market demand,” he said.For tourists, business travellers and families visiting Delhi during the period, the squeeze could mean higher accommodation costs or a shift towards hotels outside central areas and lower-priced properties.
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However, hotel tariffs and availability remain dynamic and can change with bookings, cancellations and fresh inventory releases. Emails seeking comments from the hotels cited for availability and tariffs remained unanswered till the time of publication, PTI reported.
