Cricket News: Ahmedabad hotels' tariff skyrocket ahead of World Cup 2023

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) released the schedule for the ODI World Cup 2023.

Last year's finalists England and New Zealand will square off in the tournament opener on October 5 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.

This will be the first 50-over World Cup to be staged entirely in India. The cricket-crazed Indian fans are expecting that their team would be able to overcome their seemingly never-ending jinx in ICC knockouts.

Australia and England, which receive good support when they tour India, are also among the favourites to win the 10-nation competition.

Notably, hotels in Ahmedabad have been performing exceptionally well recently. The largest cricket stadium in the world, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, will host some of the tournament's most important matches. After hosting England and New Zealand in the tournament opener, Ahmedabad will play home to archrivals India and Pakistan on October 15.

Another high-profile match will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium on November 4 when Ashes rivals Australia and England square off. The competition finals will also be place at this location. As a result, it's no wonder that hotels in Ahmedabad are knocking it out of the park.

There are still 99 days until the first ball of the tournament is bowled, but industry sources indicate that base category rooms at five-star hotels are already going for Rs 50,000 per night. These rooms would normally cost between Rs 6,500 and Rs 10,500.

"There is also great traction for the match between India and Pakistan, likely on October 15. Bookings have already been made for the October 13-16 period and hotel rooms in the city are expected to be sold out on most match days,"

Keenan McKenzie, general manager, ITC Narmada, was quoted as saying by TOI.

Not only Indian fans, but also international cricket clubs, fans, and sponsors, are in discussions with hotel officials in the hopes of obtaining accommodations during the showcase event. The majority of the city's five-star hotels have 60-90% of their rooms reserved for the match days.
"About 80% [rooms] for the match days are sold. For the opening ceremony, and the first match between England and New Zealand, bookings have already been made by travel agencies from England and major corporations,"

said Punit Baijal, general manager, Hyatt Regency Ahmedabad.

According to industry sources, base category accommodations cost roughly Rs 52,000, while premium category rooms cost Rs 1 lakh or more.

"We are already sold out for two of our properties on October 14-16. At least 40-60% of our inventory is booked on most match dates and we're anticipating a few more sold-out days,"

said Atul Buddhraja, vice-president (operations) of the Sankalp Group that is in charge of running Taj Group properties.

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