Holiday rush: Most top-end hotels sold out for the year end despite rise in overseas travel

Popular leisure destinations across India are continuing to attract hordes of travellers for the year-end holiday season with an uptick in both occupancies and room tariffs over last year. This is despite the growing popularity of international travel especially to short-haul locations in Southeast Asia.

The Raffles Udaipur is sold out for New Year’s Eve as a business tycoon in India has booked the entire luxury hotel for his family’s year-end celebration from December 30-January 2. Mementos by ITC Hotels, Ekaaya, Udaipur is nearly sold out too. Nearly all properties of Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) in Rajasthan are also close to getting booked to capacity for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, a phase that leads to blackout dates in the sector.

“Strategically, we decided to not accept wedding bookings around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but we are still seeing properties getting booked to capacity. Rates for IHCL's palace properties in Rajasthan are up 25% over last year, and occupancies are 8% higher than last year for the year-end season,” said Ashok Singh Rathore, area director, operations for Rajasthan at IHCL and the general manager of Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. IHCL has around 26 properties across segments in Rajasthan.


The hospitality chain of the Tata Group is also expecting its properties in Goa, among India’s top leisure destinations, to perform better than last year.

“December looks quite healthy, and we are expecting our average daily rates to be 4-5% higher than last year. We are expecting a better October-December quarter than last year,” said Ranjit Phillipose, senior vice president, operations, Goa, at IHCL. The company has 35 properties across segments in Goa.

A spokesperson for ITC Hotels said in the leisure segment, Storii properties are seeing “high interest” in bookings across segments including Dharamshala and Goa. “Welcomhotel Chail, Amritsar, Jim Corbett, Shimla, and Welcomhotel Pahalgam are on similar trajectory. ITC Grand Goa, ITC Mughal and ITC Rajputana are all registering impressive occupancies,” the spokesperson added.

For Radisson Hotel Group, average room rates are about 10% higher than last year in leisure locations such as Kashmir, Udaipur, Lonavala, Karjat, Goa and Pondicherry, said Nikhil Sharma, MD and area senior VP for South Asia at the chain. "The revenue per available room will be about 10-14% higher than last year for some of these markets," he said.

Lemon Tree Hotels’ properties in leisure locales such as Goa and Bandhavgarh are expected to perform better during this year-end holiday season compared to last year, said Vilas Pawar, CEO, managed and franchise division at Lemon Tree Hotels.

Leisure Hotels Group is also experiencing a ‘significant’ rise in Christmas and New Year bookings this year with several properties particularly those in hill destinations nearing full occupancy, said Shahzad Aslam, head of sales at the chain. "Booking trends suggest that all properties are expected to sell out as we approach the New Year," he added.

As per MakeMyTrip, the most booked domestic holiday packages are for the Andamans, Kerala, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. Rajesh Magow, cofounder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip said the trend towards premiumisation is becoming more pronounced as travellers are willing to spend more on hotels for a memorable holiday.

Despite higher airfares and hotel tariffs, customers are displaying an increased appetite for destinations such as Kerala, Kashmir, Goa and the Northeast, said Rajeev Kale, president and country head for holidays, MICE and Visa at Thomas Cook (India).

Jaspreet Singh, general manager at Six Senses Vana said a growing number of travelers are seeking solace and rejuvenation and are opting for the property's wellness retreats and programmes for the upcoming festive season.

At Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan, the suites have been “fully booked” ahead of New Year's Eve, said commercial director Rajat Gera. "Our rates and occupancies are higher than last year and the demand for the festive season remains robust," he added.

SD Nandakumar, president and country head for holidays and corporate tours at SOTC Travel Limited said the company has seen a tangible uptick in interest from customers over the past year, particularly among India’s Gen Z and millennials, for travel to spiritual hubs like Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Prayagraj for the upcoming Kumbh Mela festival, as well as cultural festivals like the Rann Utsav and Bikaner Camel Fair.