LIMITED HOTEL SUPPLY AND THE CHALLENGES FOR CORPORATE TRAVEL PROGRAMMES
When a sales team travelled from Delhi to Lucknow a couple of years ago, they were in for a surprise.
They had only decided to go there the night before, so they hadn't booked any rooms – pretty common for the team, who often made last minute trips.
This time, their luck ran out. The usual hotel was fully booked, and so were others. They quickly identified the problem: there was a big wedding with 3,000 guests coming in from other parts of India.
Sounds familiar? This once unusual cautionary tale might become more commonplace.
India's economy is booming. A recent report has found that 17 of the top 20 fastest growing cities in the world are in India.
While there are already measures to improve the infrastructure of these cities, the reality is that it takes time.
Meanwhile, as travel managers and arrangers, it will be worthwhile gaining a strong understanding of the situation: what do travellers do when they can't find hotels, what challenges do you need to deal with, and what does the future hold?
