ICC World Cup date change may spark hotel cancellations

While the situation is evolving, some hotels are preparing for a rise in distress calls from customers this coming week. Reports suggest the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may advance the match date to 14 October, as Navratri festivals will begin across most states on 15 October.

However, any alteration to the match date could be challenging for Pakistan as it faces Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on 12 October. Besides, two matches have already been scheduled for 14 October: one between New Zealand and Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, and the other featuring England and Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

A hotel chain, which runs three properties in Ahmedabad, said it is yet to receive any cancellation requests, but should it occur, it plans to consider advancing bookings by a day. However, the final action will depend on BCCI’s official announcement. It is also considering shifting non-World Cup related bookings to more distant hotels, its general manager said. Its room rate for the match date is around ₹75,000.

A month ago, when World Cup schedule was announced, most hotels, including homestays, had taken an over 100% price hike in their asking room rate. Prices of 5-stars hotels had gone up from ₹5,000-8,000 a night to ₹40,000 to ₹1 lakh for 15 October. The India-Pakistan match will be held at Narendra Modi Stadium, which accommodates 100,000 spectators. The tickets for the match will be available for ₹3,000- ₹3 lakh.

According to a senior BCCI official its decision on the date change will be announced on Wednesday.

As of 26 July, one-way flights between Delhi and Ahmedabad in economy class start at ₹24,000. Flights to Ahmedabad from Mumbai and Kolkata, are available for ₹13,000-15,000.

It also doesn’t help that the match falls right in the middle of festivities in India, when airfares traditionally tend to be higher. Airfares may rise even more if the date of the match is changed. According to Airport Authority of India, Ahmedabad is the seventh busiest airport in India, ferrying around 5.67 million people in FY22.

In FY22, Ahmedabad had a supply of 3,586 hotel rooms, across Marriott, Taj, ITC Narmada, Hyatt and Lemon Tree Hotels, a report by hospitality consultancy Hotelivate said.

Chander K Baljee, chairman and managing director of the Royal Orchid Hotels said the match day, though, is unlikely to make or break fortunes. While occupancies are high around this time for many of its hotels in cities where World Cup matches are, like Dharamsala, Ahmedabad etc., one date change may not have a significant impact on a hotel’s balance sheet.

Santosh Kumar, country head for the Indian sub-continent and Indonesia Booking.com said since this is a developing topic and the industry and most cricket fans are still awaiting clarity, the final decision of the cricket board will be awaited. “Sports and entertainment events in general have a direct impact on the tourism industry. We are witnessing a surge in demand around the match dates in October as compared to the same time last year. Given this is one of the most anticipated matches it has a significant impact on the entire city’s occupancy and availability leading to a spike in room rates as well as demand,” he said.

Updated: 26 Jul 2023, 11:32 PM IST