With the Indian team sealing a semi-final berth in the Cricket World Cup after the 302-run win over Sri Lanka on Thursday, hotel room rates in the two venues – Mumbai and Kolkata – have already started escalating.
Room rates in Mumbai, where the first semi-final will be held on November 15, are up between 13% and 80% across categories, while Kolkata, where the second semi-final will be held on November 16, have seen per-night room rates increase by 10-66% across categories.
For instance, the Taj Santacruz, near the domestic airport in Mumbai, is charging Rs 19,000-20,000 per night during the November 14-15 period, according to booking platforms. While Taj Land’s End in Bandra is charging over Rs 20,000-25,000 per night and The Oberoi at Nariman Point is also in the Rs 20,000-25,000 plus bracket.
According to hospitality industry executives, the average room rate for five stars in Mumbai is around Rs 15,000-16,000 per night currently. Two- and three-star hotels, on the other hand, have jacked up prices to around Rs 5,000-18,000 per night during the semi-finals, from Rs 3,000-10,000 now.
Ahmedabad, which is the venue of the final match of the Cricket World Cup, is seeing hotel room rates increase by a whopping 75-100% as India continues its unbeaten run at the tournament.
Cricket experts say that some of the other teams that are likely to make it to the semi-finals include South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The final match will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
“Our trends reveal a strong travel appetite from our customers across metros and tier 1 & 2 cities for the Cricket World Cup. A surge in tariffs for hotels are a consequence of that. At the same time, our corporate Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) segment is seeing a unique opportunity to motivate and reward their top performers. This is catalysing demand further for the Cricket World Cup and therefore travel and hospitality,” Rajeev Kale, president & country head, holidays, MICE, Visa – Thomas Cook (India), said.
Daniel D’Souza, president and country head, holidays, SOTC Travel, says that apart from hotels, cricket buffs are also seeking out apartments and homestays in the vicinity of the match destination.
“India’s passion for cricket remains unswayed despite increased airfares and hotel tariffs. We are witnessing an impressive upswing of over 100% in travel demand among cricket enthusiasts spanning across diverse segments during the October-November period,” D’Souza said.
For those who are not traveling for cricket matches, it is attention on their television and mobile screens during the Cricket World Cup that has excited the official broadcaster Disney Star.
Media industry sources say that 10-second spot ad rates for the semi-final matches on television have doubled to `30 lakh from `15 lakh for last-minute buyers. While the 10-second spot ad rate for the final match, if India makes it to the final round of the tournament, will be closer to Rs 40-45 lakh per 10 seconds.
Disney Star on Thursday said that it saw 80 million concurrent viewers tune into TV to watch the India versus New Zealand match on October 22. Quoting Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data, the broadcaster said that this was the highest peak concurrency garnered for the 2023 edition, followed by the India vs Pakistan match on October 14 registering 75.5 million concurrent viewers.
“In addition to the peak concurrency, the tournament has garnered a total of 182 billion minutes of watch-time, indicating a 22% growth compared to the 2019 edition,” the company said in a statement.
The broadcaster further said that total viewership for the live broadcast of the World Cup had crossed 400 million viewers in the first 26 matches of the tournament.
(With inputs from Bindu D Menon)