Skift India Report: Hotel Occupancy and Room Rates Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Photo Credit: ICRA estimates premium hotels to set decade-high occupancy rates of 70-72%. Flickr / Aloft Hotels and Resorts
Skift Take
The hotel industry is flourishing and its demand has now outpaced supply. Despite skyrocketing prices, travelers are willing to pay a premium for both air travel as well as accommodation.
Hotel occupancy and room rates have bounced back to pre-pandemic numbers, primarily due to the soaring demand for the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9 to 10.
FCM Consulting’s latest Global Trends Report revealed that India had the highest occupancy in Asia in the first half of 2023 — with Mumbai reaching 101% and New Delhi at 97%. Hotel room rates also saw a steep increase as Bangalore remained the most expensive averaging at $146, Delhi at $120, and Chennai at $101 per night.
Even credit ratings agency ICRA estimates premium hotels to set decade-high occupancy rates of 70-72% with average room rates expected around $74-$76 this year.
“The government’s official holiday announcement over the G20 meet days have triggered an increase in searches for cities within drivable distance from Delhi. We have observed an increase in searches for accommodation bookings in destinations such as Sawai Madhopur, Manesar, Amritsar, Vrindavan, Agra, Udaipur, and Jaipur — with the plains dominating the search for bookings over hills,” said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip. “Both occupancy levels and average daily rates are higher than 2019 levels. One of the leading factors fueling this growth is domestic tourism where people have warmed up to the idea of traveling within India whenever possible,” K.B. Kachru, chairman emeritus of South Asia at Radisson Hotel Group told Skift. “People are now willing to use the money they would normally reserve for their international vacations on better facilities domestically,” he added. “The 200-odd
