Ever since the World Cup 2023 schedule has come out, cricket lovers have gone into a frenzy trying to figure out how to get tickets for the matches and much more. There is one particular match though that people are mostly looking forward to, which is the India-Pakistan game that will be held on October 15 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Fans are absolutely hyped about it and based on scores of tweets that have been posted, one can safely say that almost everyone wants to catch a glimpse of this iconic match live. It is going to be like witnessing history and cricket lovers are all game for it. However, to catch the match at the stadium, one will have to travel to Ahmedabad for at least a day.
Getting travel tickets from any part of the country whether via train or flight to Ahmedabad will not be easy for October 15, which is a Sunday. One will have to get their tickets done in the next two weeks, considering there are only 100 days left for the World Cup to commence. While 100 days might sound like a long time, in terms of the grand World Cup, it is not.
Coming to the staying arrangements, a lot of media reports have said that several hotels could charge up to Rs 50,000 per day for a single room around that time. How much of this is true?
Devam Patel, Director of Absolute Leisure International, a travel company based in Ahmedabad, said, “We have already started booking rooms in 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star properties from our end. I have 5-10 rooms on hold in properties like Taj, and once people start booking, I will give them to my clients. I have had to pay 30% of the booking amount for these rooms and the rest I will be clearing in instalments.”
Talking about the rates at various hotels, he said, “It is easily going to be around Rs 30,000- Rs 40,000 for a day if the bookings are done at the earliest, but if people start taking longer then the rates are likely to go higher.”
Another travel agent based in Ahmedabad who requested complete anonymity stated, “Rs 50,000 for a night is nothing. The prices are likely to go much higher than that. If people want to come in for a week then they need to start booking as early as possible so that they can get hotels at cheaper rates. If they do it later then, mark my words, it will be a lot.”
Nishit Shakkarwal of LD Holidays in Ahmedabad said, “Not just basic hotel bookings, my agenda is to come up with a solid travel package around the World Cup so that people who will be travelling from outside Gujarat can not just enjoy the match but can also take a slice of Ahmedabad with them while going back.”
Quite a few travel agents had a similar opinion that while hotel bookings are going to be expensive, it is the car and cab bookings that will “burn a hole in the pocket”. The stadium is quite far off from most hotels in the city and so the cab fares will skyrocket at that time.
How Much Do You Have To Pay For Online Bookings?
While a lot of hotel rooms are still available on sites like Trivago and MakeMyTrip, there is a recurrent message that pops up, saying, “Few rooms remaining.” This is happening even for hotels that are 2-star to 4-star.
For a proper 5-star property like Taj, there are no rooms available for October 15 on different online travel portals, and it is the same for other properties of the same price range.
The rates of the rooms and hotels that are available currently will go off the charts by the coming week, according to several offline booking agents.
This Hotel In Ahmedabad Is Off-Limits For Everyone
ITC Narmada, which is one of the most premium properties in Ahmedabad, is not taking any bookings from the general public at the moment. When booking agents in Ahmedabad reached out to the hotel, they did not book any rooms for them either. The hotel is completely sold out on online booking portals too.
Devam Patel says, “The Indian cricket team will probably put up at ITC Narmada for their match on the 15th, but we are still not sure about it.” While many other booking agents too believe this, some of them feel that the team could be staying at The Leela Gandhinagar.
Comments
0 comment