Hotels make a killing during Make in India Week

Luxury and premium hotels in the suburbs have increased room rates in the range of 40-188% while budget hotels are all but sold out

Hoteliers from the suburban parts of Mumbai have nearly doubled their room rates as the city prepares to welcome VIPs and corporate honchos for the Make in India week that kicked off on Saturday.

Luxury and premium hotels such as Taj, Sofitel, Trident, Hyatt, which have properties closest to the venue, have increased room rates in the range of 40 to 188 per cent for the most basic room, during the duration of the event.
 
The week-long event is happening inside the Bandra Kurla Complex (a central business district), which houses offices of many premier companies such as ICICI, Wockhardt, SAIL, Shell India to name a few.

 

Nearby hotels based in Andheri, Santacruz and Juhu have witnessed improved demand for rooms over the last few weeks. These hotels not only have close proximity to BKC but are within one to seven kilometres from the airport.
 
Taj Lands End, the Arabian Sea-facing hotel, is charging Rs 26,000 per night as compared to its normal rate of Rs 9,000, a jump of 188 per cent. Moreover, it is disallowing stay for a single night. The guest will have to pay for three nights (February 15-17), with average Rs 22,000 per night.

The rates charged by Taj Land’s End are much higher than the iconic Taj Mahal Palace in Colaba, the group’s most luxurious and expensive property in India.  

But the two hotels that are set to make a killing during the week are Sofitel and Trident, both of which are opposite the venue and a stone’s throw from the US Consulate.  

Accor-controlled Sofitel is charging $305 (Rs 20,731) per night including taxes, or twice its usual price of $162 (Rs 10,243). The 302-room luxury property, partially owned by realtor Shree Naman Group, is sold out for Tuesday.

EIH-controlled Trident, which is next to Sofitel but is much bigger, has also hiked rates for the week. The 412-room hotel is running a special offer for the ‘Make in India Week’ with rooms at Rs 23,740 per night (including breakfast), which is a sharp markup from its usual rate of around Rs 10,000.

Even basic hotels are raking it in for the duration of the event. Some hotels that run under OYO Rooms, a budget hotel aggregator brand, have declared a ‘sell out’ on February 15, 16 and 17. An OYO Room Apartment in Kalina, Santacruz, does not have any vacancies through February 18.

In addition, rooms under OYO, which are usually available for around Rs 1,200 in this city, have more than tripled rates to Rs 4100 a night during the event week.

The Make in India Week-2016, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will see the participation of 1,000 international and 8,000 domestic companies along with heads of state of half a dozen countries.

The venue will have 27 pavilions spread over 220,000 square metres, with participation from companies focused on defence, aerospace, automobile and auto components, chemical and petrochemical, construction equipment, materials and technology, food processing, infrastructure, textile, MSME, industrial equipment and machinery, IT and electronics.