Fog turns off-season into peak season for hotels

NEW DELHI: There are season rates and off-season rates. And now there are fog rates, too, in 5-star hotels. Thanks to the dense fog, and the increasing number of stranded airline passengers in the Christmas season, hotels in the capital and national capital region are making good money even though it’s off-season for business travellers.

As against a 40% discount on rack rates that hotels typically give to airlines, these days this has been reduced to 30%. Hotels point to the high occupancy rates that range between 70% and 80% even in the Christmas week.

So, the overall inventory of rooms available for airlines is much lower than last year. Hotels are not letting go of this peculiar opportunity to make a few additional bucks. Though business travel dips during the Christmas week, and most 5-star hotels have adequate inventory, the 30% jump in room rates over the last one year means airlines now have to fork out anywhere between Rs 7,000 and Rs 9,000 for each passenger. This usually includes pick up and drop service from the airport, and a meal, apart from giving out regular flight information to guests.

However, reeling under the impact of fog that disrupted flight schedules out of the capital for major part of last week, there is increasing pressure from stranded passengers for accommodation.

Some hotels are giving out rooms for six to eight hours to passengers who are stuck due to delays at around 50% discount. “In this case, we try to use the room twice over in a day,” said GM of a 5-star hotel situated near the airport. Five-star hotels point out that it is the international carriers who usually enter into long-term contacts, while most domestic airlines head for hotels on a need basis.

“There are no fixed rates for offering layover services to airlines and it all depends on demand and supply situation of the day,” said Sandeep Gupta, managing director, Qutab Hotels & Apartments. Most hotels have staff at the airport who are in touch with different airlines to assess their requirements. “At times, hotels have to join hands to accommodate large groups,” said an airline executive.

With fog expected to play havoc with airline schedules at least over the next couple of weeks, many 5-star hotels have re-activated their marketing efforts to woo stranded airline passengers.