India vs Pakistan World Cup fever reaches Ahmedabad hospital beds

Private hospitals in Ahmedabad have been inundated with bookings from October 14 to October 16, all for “full body checkups”. There is a twist though.

Reportedly, hospital bookings are being done by NRIs (non-resident Indians) and people from other states who are visiting the city for the blockbuster India versus Pakistan ICC World Cup 2023 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 15. (The dates might change though, as per latest reports).

The cost of this unconventional mode of hospital stay ranges from Rs 3,000 to Rs 25,000 with an all-inclusive package of food and a full-body medical examination.

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Noticeably, the extreme surge in hotel prices in Ahmedabad and neighbouring cities has led to the demand for booking hospital beds by cricket fans.

“The twin-sharing hospital rooms that allow a patient and an attendant to stay together, make it a pocket-friendly alternative for the people coming to watch the Indo-Pak cricket match. However, it’s a hospital, so people are asking for a full body check-up to get admitted for the dates around the match. Most of these booking requests are coming from NRIs who are visiting Ahmedabad and they are willing to pay for any kind of room ranging from twin deluxe to suite,” Bharat Ghavi, President of Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes, Gujarat, said.

“Multiple private hospitals have received such bookings in Ahmedabad. However, the hospitals have been requested to take such bookings judiciously as our priority is patient care,” he added.

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Hotel tariffs skyrocket

Most five-star and four-star hotels in Ahmedabad and neighbouring cities Vadodara, Gandhinagar and Anand are completely booked from October 14 to October 17 owing to a huge influx of people coming to Gujarat for the match.

Following the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) announcement of the fixtures for the ODI World Cup, the hotel room rates skyrocketed to as much as Rs 1 lakh in Ahmedabad for that weekend. The prices of various hotels on booking websites showed a sharp surge in their usual room tariff.

For instance, a deluxe room for two in Pride Hotel, a four-star hotel in Ahmedabad, has surged from Rs 6,000 to 9,000 to Rs 40,000, and to Rs 60,000.

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A booking portal showed that while the price of one deluxe room for July 10 is Rs 5,699 at Fortune Hotel, Ahmedabad, the price of the same room has surged to Rs 71,999 on the day of the India-Pakistan match.

In five-star hotels like JW Mariott, ITC Narmada and Double Tree by Hilton in Ahmedabad and Vadodara, rooms are being sold at Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh. Despite the extreme surge, ITC Narmada, Courtyard by Marriott, Hyatt, and Taj Skyline Ahmedabad, all five-star hotels in the city have their rooms sold out from October 14 to 16.

Most cities see surge

The price surge has not been limited to Ahmedabad alone. With hotels in Ahmedabad being sold out, neighbouring cities are also experiencing a surge in hotel rates. Vadodara, about 90 kilometers from Ahmedabad, is witnessing an extreme price surge this week with hotel booking fares escalating by six to seven times their usual rates in October.

Abhijit Deshmukh, an official of the Gujarat Hotels and Restaurants Association, said, “The price hike is a result of bookings done mostly by NRIs and cricket enthusiasts coming from other states. If the hoteliers think that the demand is very high, they will try to make some revenue as they are assured that rooms will be full despite higher rates. This is the norm in the industry.”

Match could be rescheduled

Amid the huge demand for hotel rooms, the ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are yet to announce the dates for the sale of tickets for World Cup 2023 matches. Also, there were reports on Wednesday (July 26) that said the India-Pakistan game could be rescheduled to another day owing to the opening day of the Navratri celebrations on October 15.