Incredibly expensive India!

TRAVEL: Steep hikes in hotel rates are set to push India from 'overpriced' to 'unaffordable'.

Don't be surprised if you end up paying almost 50 per cent more for a five-star hotel room in Delhi when the "season" starts in October, and the city ushers in its steepest hike ever in hotel rates.

The dent on your pocket could be somewhat lower though, if you are booking the room through a tour operator (since they get special rates).

The story is pretty much the same at other major cities across the country. The rate hike in south India's numero uno city "" Bangalore "" is projected at 25-30 per cent over last year's season rates, which means the five-star hotel rates will breach the $300 mark.

For a prime property like Leela Palace, the rate is expected to touch $500 a night. This jump is due to the non-softening of rates in the off-peak season (April-September) in the city. In fact, some hotels actually did the unheard-of "" they jacked up their summer rates by $40 a night.

But there is a limit to which demand will sustain at these rates. Sunirmol Ghosh of Indo Asia Tours informs that they have lost quite a few clients owing to such steep increases in rates.

Even as a preferred conferencing destination, India is becoming expensive due to the high cost of accommodation, feels Rajeev Kohli of Creative Travel.

Financial hub Mumbai will also see an increase of 15-20 per cent, but don't be deceived by what seems like a smaller increase compared to the other cities.

This is coming on a higher base, since rates in Mumbai are already 20-30 per cent over other metros. Chennai and Hyderabad also face a similar situation.

The scene in the tourist destinations "" Agra, Jaipur, Kerala "" is a bit better. There is a 15-20 per cent increase in these cities, comparatively less than their metro counterparts, though there are some exceptions.

EM Najeeb of Air Travel Enterprises says that there are some popular five-star hotels in Kovalam and Kochi which have increased their rate by about 50 per cent.

The steep increase in hotel rates was also brought up at the recently concluded Overseas Marketing Meet of the tourism ministry. The directors of the India Tourism Offices abroad complained about the hike, which they said is generating negative feedback.

A good five-star in Delhi today costs anything between $200-300 a night. A similar one in Kuala Lumpur would be between $100-110 while in Bangkok it will be about $100.

"Outpriced" is the word many have already started using for India. The peak season hikes threaten to push the country into the "unaffordable" category.