BHUBANESWAR: With the beginning of the holiday season and New Year, hotel rates and occupancy have witnessed a huge surge in the Twin City. Hotels are getting booked to capacity and interestingly, a majority of the guests are locals.
As the trend of staycations is catching up, people of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are booking hotels within the cities that are hosting zero-night celebrations, New Year brunch and gala dinners.
Hoteliers said locals irrespective of the age groups are now willing to spend money on staying in hotels within their cities and enjoying the New Year events that mostly comprise live music and dance shows, food festivals and other fun activities.
Currently, hotels in the Twin City are witnessing an occupancy rate of 80 per cent which is expected to go up by the New Year’s Eve. “If one looks into the booking trends, it is mostly higher for local guests than those travelling from other districts or states. The crowd is usually high from December 30 to January 1. On these three dates, the occupancy will be 100 per cent,” said Bikram Debata, manager of a star property in Bhubaneswar.
Owing to the increasing demand from people for spending their New Year in hotels, the average rates have gone up by 20 to 30 per cent compared to the previous year, said head of Hotel and Restaurants Association of Odisha JK Mohanty.
He added that luxury hotels which are also hosting such parties are selling above Rs 20,000 per night at present while the others are selling at Rs 11,000 to Rs 15,000 a night.
Ticket prices of zero nights have also gone up. Last year, zero night events that included live music, dance and cocktails sold between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000. This year, the tickets are selling at Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 onwards.
“Mandaps having lawns, malls, amusement parks and banquet properties are also hosting theme-based zero night parties like ‘winter wonderlands, ‘vintage hollywood’. At hotels where zero nights are accompanied by gala dinners, unlimited snacks and beverages, the price of tickets are starting from Rs 4,000. Some of the parties in Bhubaneswar which have midnight firecracker shows and gift hampers for guests are selling at Rs 5,000 and beyond,” said Geetanjali Parida, an event manager.