The two India-Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup, of which one was abandoned owing to inclement weather, tell us so much about what fans have been missing. Bilateral series between the archrivals aren’t possible anymore, which means they meet only in rare ICC events.
The anticipation of the ICC World Cup match between the two on October 14 in Ahmedabad has consumed fans to the extent that they, unable to find hotel bookings, which were expensive too, started seeking accommodation in hospitals.
Latest reports claim that demand for homestays as well as heritage homes has shot up, as fans are making desperate bookings in these places.
Cashing in on this unique opportunity, Amdavadis have begun listing their properties on the state government’s homestay website and online portals, a national daily reported.
It claims that a search query on the homestay listing platform Airbnb for a stay in Ahmedabad from October 13-16 reveals that there have been bookings for properties listed as apartments or villas.
The report adds that the tariff ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs 60,000 per room per night.
Mahipal Singh, founder of a hospitality services firm, told the daily, “We have double rooms available upwards of Rs 7,000 at service apartments and those listed as homestays for next month.
“The demand is high and there are inquiries for listing new properties as homestays as well. We onboard properties only when the residential society where the apartment or villa is situated has no objection.”
In the middle of July, the base category rooms across five-star hotels in Ahmedabad
were retailing around Rs 50,000 per room per night, the report said, highlighting the official websites of several hotels.
A month ahead of the match, some hotels are sold out while the rest are retailing base category rooms for as high as Rs 1 lakh per room per night.
On regular days, base category rooms sell up to Rs 10,000 per room per night in addition to taxes.
Rajesh Magow, Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, was quoted as saying, “We observe a clear increase in hotels and homestay bookings across cities for the cricket festival, with Ahmedabad demonstrating maximum traction followed by Chennai and Dharamshala for India matches.”
Heritage properties in the city are retailing rooms in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 60,000 per room per night, which is double their regular rates.
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