Cricket fever propels Indian hotel, media stocks before World Cup

A frenzy around the world’s most-watched cricket tournament is lifting India’s hotel and media stocks, thanks to soaring room rates and higher advertisement spend.

Shares of Chalet Hotels Ltd. climbed as much as 7.1% to a record high ahead of the Cricket World Cup 2023, with a note by Jefferies analyst Prateek Kumar saying hotel fares have shot up by 150% on average for India match days. Lemon Tree Hotels and EIH Ltd. also traded higher.

“Occupancies for match days are already running high which has resulted in rates rising sharply and rates are likely to mostly increase further closer to match dates,” Prateek wrote. Rooms are completely sold out for multiple days in small cities like Dharamsala, he added.

The international cricket tournament, held once every four years, is returning to India after 12 years. Matches start from Oct. 5 and will go on till Nov. 19 across 10 cities.

Cricket enjoys a strong following in India and the games are expected to give consumption and leisure-related stocks in the country a lift. The event this time also coincides with a local festive season, which would help keep hotel occupancies higher for a prolonged period.

Other stocks that are deemed to benefit from the tournament include airlines and media firms. Shares of media company TV18 Broadcast Ltd., owned by Mukesh Ambani, rose as much as 6.4%. Television service provider Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd. jumped 4.3%.