Hotel room prices in New Delhi have shot up as the city gets ready to host the India AI Summit from February 16 to 20, 2026. With global tech leaders and thousands of delegates expected to arrive, travellers are facing shockingly high room tariffs across the capital. Several are now asking the central government to step in and control room rates.
During the summit days, some five-star hotel suites in New Delhi are expected to go up to ₹20 lakh per night, according to Fortune India. While the event is expected to put India in the global technology spotlight, the rising costs are leaving many visitors struggling to find affordable accommodation.
Demand grows for a government cap on hotel prices
LocalCircles survey released on February 10, 2026, showedstrong public support for government action to stop unfair pricing by hotels. The survey received responses from more than 34,000 people across 307 districts in India. Of these, 67% were men and 33% were women.
The responses were collected through the LocalCircles platform. The LocalCircles survey shows that most travellers are unhappy with the way hotel prices are being set during peak events.
When asked how hotel pricing should be regulated in India, 74% of respondents said they want a government body to be appointed to handle complaints related to profiteering by hotels.
“To sum up, 74% of consumers surveyed indicated that they are in favour of a government body being appointed to resolve complaints related to profiteering by hotels,” the report said. However, not everyone agreed. Around 26% of the 11,324 respondents felt that the government or any regulator should not interfere in hotel room pricing.
Call for a price ceiling and watchdog review
The survey also found that 22% of respondents believe the government should look at introducing a ceiling structure on hotel room prices. They also suggested that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) should examine complaints related to alleged overpricing.
According to the report, 57% of the 11,628 respondents said they have faced at least one instance where a hotel charged them what they described as an “exorbitant price.” The data further shows that “7% of respondents said they paid steep rates in 75–100% of their hotel bookings. Another 19% said they paid higher-than-normal rates in 50–75% of cases. About 12% faced this issue in 25–50% of their bookings, while 19% said it happened less than 25% of the time.”
Consumers say hotels are profiteering
Last year, hotels near Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, where Coldplay performed, charged up to ₹5 lakh for a three-night stay, according to consumer complaints. During the 2023 Cricket World Cup, hotel tariffs in host cities jumped three to five times above normal rates.
At present, five-star hotels in Central Delhi are charging more than ₹60,000 per night. Even four-star hotels, which usually cost around ₹6,000, are now listing rooms for over ₹30,000. According to a recent PTI report, people from over 100 countries are expected to attend the summit. The event has already recorded more than 35,000 registrations, which has led to an unusually high number of hotel bookings in the capital.
India is hosting the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from February 16 to February 20. The event is expected to draw massive global attention.