Luxury hotel rates lead post-holiday correction

Short-term hotel pricing in leisure destinations has moderated materially since late December, with the adjustment concentrated in premium segments, reflecting the post-vacation normalisation. Data from Thurro’s platform show that in Ooty, 15-day forward 5-star room rates declined from roughly INR 23,000 in late December to around INR 7,500 by mid-February, a fall of more than two-thirds. Over the same period, 3-star pricing declined from about INR 4,700 to INR 3,100.  

The 15-day forward series for Ooty shows a clear tiered pattern. First, 5-star rates rose sharply during the year-end peak and have since retraced significantly. Second, 4-star pricing has moderated but remainsstructurally above 3-star levels. Third, budget pricing has declined gradually, with visibly lower volatility. 

The dispersion across categories is the central signal. Pricing adjustments are concentrated in higher-end inventory, where rates tend to move more dynamically with seasonal shifts in discretionary travel. Lower tiers exhibit smaller absolute moves and more stable trajectories. 

Business destinations exhibit more contained tier dispersion in hotel pricing than leisure markets. In Mumbai, 15-day forward 5-star rates rose from roughly INR 13,000 in late December to above INR 20,000 in early February before easing to around INR 17,000, while 3-star pricing moved within a narrower INR 3,400–3,900 range. 

The contrast highlights differentiated demand dynamics. Business-driven city travel tends to generate steadier booking patterns, while premium leisure destinations exhibit sharper seasonal swings, particularly in luxury inventory. 

To track forward hotel pricing across leisure and business destinations in real time, the Thurro platform provides booking-window and segment-level data for multiple cities across India, enabling comparisons across tiers, travel types, and time horizons. 

The sharp dip through 2020–2022 was largely due to unprecedented government stimulus, such as enhanced unemployment benefits, eviction and foreclosure moratoria, and broad loan forbearance, during the pandemic years.

Cover photo credit: Unsplash

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