Hotel demand surges in September as BRICS, corporate travel fuel bookings across India

New Delhi: It’s not just BRICS. September is turning out to be a busy month for hotels in key markets in India, thanks to greater corporate travel and official government movement. The pickup is also seen in some other metros and large tier-two cities.

Bookings through the platform of RateGain Travel Technologies rose 36% by numbers and 82% by value in the first eight days of this month compared with the same period of August, said founder and managing director Bhanu Chopra.

RateGain’s booking engine powers direct bookings on hotel websites.


Chopra said each booking was worth more than it was in August, and that shift towards larger, longer bookings is where conference and exhibition demand shows up.

For CoTrav, a travel and hospitality management company for companies and events, there is a 20-30% increase in corporate events, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and travel activity from existing clients through the year into September, said cofounder and chief technology officer Vinod Kumar Sah. Activity by new clients has increased 50% this month. “Overall, our September business is up by over 70% compared to September 2025,” he said.

Occupancies in the first ten days of the month for Ibis and Ibis Styles properties in India are up 8-10% while average daily rates are up by 16-18% over the same period last year, said commercial head Animesh Kumar.

The increase is seen in markets with a strong business and events calendar. “Mumbai has been one of the stronger markets, with the Global Fintech Fest 2026 from September 8 to 11 adding to room demand. Delhi is also expected to see a similar increase around Semicon India 2026 from September 17 to 19,” he added.

ET was the first to report about demand and rates going up substantially in Delhi due to the BRICS Summit this weekend.

As per online travel agency Cleartrip, luxury hotel rates have climbed 59% year-on-year in Delhi, while four-star properties saw rates spike by about 113%. Pallavi Saxena, chief marketing and revenue officer at the company, said even budget bookings in the national capital are up by 138% from a year earlier.

Bharatt Malik, senior VP, air and hotel business at Yatra Online, said commercial expos and MICE events in Mumbai were driving demand with core hotels witnessing an around 5% increase in booking volumes.

Gajesh Girdhar, chairman, governing council and founder member of the Network of Indian MICE Agents, said overall MICE rates in India were up by 10-15% year-on-year. “A lot of events have stayed in India as people are less interested in hosting events overseas. Destinations such as Udaipur, Jaipur, Srinagar, Mumbai and Bhubaneshwar and even Goa are likely to see an uptick in rates due to greater MICE demand,” he added.

The LaLiT New Delhi is looking at a sold-out situation during the peak BRICS Summit period, but the impact is not limited to event dates, said general manager Vishal Sharma. “Compared to several other months, September is expected to perform strongly in terms of occupancies and rates supported by international business travel, government and corporate movement and the overall calendar of events in the capital,” he said.