A New Delhi luxury hotel's room rate of Rs 2.2 lakh per night listed just as the capital prepares to host the high‑profile Global AI Summit has ignited a fierce online debate raising concerns over steep price surges across the National Capital Region.
An X user, Rattan Dillon, shared a screenshot showing a room at The Leela Palace New Delhi priced above Rs 2.2 lakh, saying he had been planning a short medical trip but had to reconsider after seeing the inflated tariff. He said that even government-run hotels were charging nearly Rs 80,000 a night without meals, questioning why such mega-events were not hosted in states with greater capacity such as Rajasthan.
Dillon wrote, "This is crazy! I was planning to visit Delhi for a doctor's appointment, and just look at this Rs 2,23,000 for a hotel room! With No meals Included Even a basic government hotel is charging around Rs 80,000."
"I appreciate the AI Summit 2026, but Delhi is already so overcrowded. Why not host it in Rajasthan instead? Bigger properties, more space, and far better capacity to handle such events. Looks like I'll have to reschedule my appointment dates now!," he added.
Hotel prices across the NCR have soared unusually high ahead of the summit, scheduled from Feb 16-20 and expected to draw thousands of delegates, CEOs and global policymakers.
While a user took to social media to express frustration and "I am postponing my visit to Delhi due to this. I have to go urgently but this kind of hotel rent I can't afford, others reiterated the significance of the AI summit. He wrote, "It's the AI summit, the heads of state and all big names in AI are coming and it's happening at Bharat mandapam. Every hotel room is booked and traffic is strictly restricted, best to come after the 25th."
The AI Impact Summit opened to packed halls and long queues on Monday, as tech moguls, industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and technologists thronged the venue for the conference, where India is set to push for widening access to AI and seek international agreement on global AI commons.
Organisers said registrations exceeded expectations, reflecting accelerating interest in AI infrastructure, enterprise adoption and sovereign compute capabilities.
The summit offers India not just a chance to showcase its vast tech-savvy population and engineering talent but also to push for democratising AI access to the global south. Besides wider access to AI, New Delhi may also seek international agreement on 'global AI commons' or a repository of use cases for AI in key sectors that can be shared.
The UK hosted the first AI Summit in 2023 that focused on AI safety and extreme risks. The next edition in France in 2025 saw trumpeting big investments in the tech sector.
ALSO READ: India Considers Three-Tier Press Note 3 Structure to Streamline China-Linked Investments
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.