New Delhi hotel charges Rs 2.2 lakh per night amid AI summit, viral post fuels online debate

A 5-star hotel in Delhi-NCR was priced at Rs 2.2 lakh amid global AI summit.

Hotel tariffs across New Delhi and the wider NCR have surged sharply ahead of the Global AI Summit scheduled from February 16 to 20, triggering widespread discussion online. With thousands of international delegates, CEOs and policymakers expected to descend on the capital, room demand has spiked, and so have prices, with luxury hotels quoting figures that many users have called staggering.

The debate picked up pace after an X post showed a room at The Leela Palace New Delhi priced at over ₹2.2 lakh per night. The post was shared by Rattan Dillon, who said he was planning a short visit to Delhi for a medical appointment but was forced to rethink after seeing the rates. He claimed that even government-run hotels were charging close to ₹80,000 a night, despite the absence of meals, and questioned why such large-scale events were not hosted in states like Rajasthan, which he said had more space and better capacity.

Viral post sparks debate

As the post went viral, several users weighed in with suggestions and counterpoints. Some advised travellers to look beyond central and south Delhi, pointing out that business hotels and four-star properties in Gurugram and other NCR locations were still relatively affordable compared to the capital’s premium zones.

Others defended Delhi as the only viable host for an event of this scale, citing international flight connectivity, security arrangements and the availability of large convention spaces in and around the NCR. According to these users, the real issue was not infrastructure, but the surge pricing adopted by hotels once demand peaks, particularly when foreign delegations are involved.

The steep rates were not limited to luxury properties. One user claimed that even budget chains such as ibis were quoting around ₹35,000 per night, while another noted that most four-star and five-star hotels had already been fully blocked by top executives and official delegations.

Some users argued that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, no other Indian city could realistically accommodate nearly two lakh visitors for a single five-day event, especially when security and hotel inventory are taken into account.