Bangalore hotels are costliest on first three days

Bangalore hotels are costliest on first three days
The Times of India

Bangalore: Avoiding the city the first three days of the week could help you save a few dollars. Bangalore is at its costliest on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the occupancy of five-star rooms is the highest with 98 per cent, 100 per cent and 95 per cent respectively.

In 2005-06, the average room tariff at star hotels was Rs 11,000 plus taxes. The tariffs shoot up to over Rs 15,000 plus taxes per day on the first three days. It dips from Thursday (80 per cent occupancy), Friday (75 per cent) and Saturday/Sunday (65 to 70 per cent). Hotels are able to offer better rates in the range of Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 on these days.

Though the average amount spent staying in Bangalore is very high, it comes with hospitality and services that impress foreign visitors, say hotel industry analysts. All hotels in the city include breakfast, airport pick up and drop (which costs above $50 in cities like Paris and London). If the visitor is a state guest, they get suites or club floor with happy hours in the evening for snacks and drinks.

The food & beverage and laundry rates are comparatively lower here. But what worries the industry is fighting the high tax structure in Karnataka, which imposes 12.5 per cent VAT.

Tourists coming into Bangalore have doubled. Consequently demand has increased. But with transportation desperately inadequate, many visitors opt to stay around the Central Business District.

And there are hardly any hotels outside the CBD area.

Hospitality industry sources say about 1,000 additional passengers land in Bangalore per week after the introduction of direct flights by British Airways and Air France and stepped up flight frequency by Lufthansa German Airlines.

But the peak rates are a temporary phenomenon, say hoteliers.

New additions

• The city has a total of 1,500 rooms, and another 1,500 are expected to come up in the next two years.

• Topping the list with the most number of rooms to accommodate guests are Leela Palace, Oberoi, Windsor Manor and Taj West End, which alone account for 600 rooms. But they are not sold out on all days.

• Chancery-II is coming up on Residency Road.

• Ishta is coming up at the old Lido Theatre (off M G Road). It will be a multi-purpose commercial complex shopping mall with spa.

• The Leela Palace is adding 100 rooms.

• Shangrila is expected to be operational with 250 rooms initially (next to Windsor Manor)

• J W Marriott will be located at UB City.