The influx of record number of nomination-seekers to participate in the 11th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) election along with their supporters has given a big boost to the business of residential hotels in the capital, sector insiders said.
The operators of hotel in some selected locations have been experiencing the sudden rush of guests in the last couple of weeks, which has taken their occupancy rate to the highest level in recent months, according to them.
A large number of leaders and activists are coming to the city from various corners of the country to collect and submit nomination forms to secure party tickets and contest in the upcoming general election. They are their main customers these days, they added.
After visiting a number of residential hotels in Gulistan, Mogbazar, Topkhana Road, Purana Paltan and Fokirarpol areas in the city, most of them were found packed with guests in full or near full.
Few hotels were also found displaying 'no vacant room' notice at the desk of reception, while few others, allegedly, hiked their room rent taking advantage of the rush.
Rafiqul Islam, manager of Mogbazar-based Green Tower Residential Hotel, told the FE: "There are 65 rooms of different categories in the hotel. All rooms are booked here, but customers are still coming."
He said they have been enjoying good turnout of guests from the last half of October, when political parties were allowed to hold rally in the capital.
During the conversation with him that lasted for 15 minutes, two more guests came for accommodation, but were denied.
Talking to the FE, one of the customers -- Kamrul Islam, who came to Dhaka for business purposes, said he visited four hotels including Green Tower, but could not manage a room.
Md. Younus Miah, manager of Hotel City Star in the same area, said their business was not that good even a month ago. It started getting better once the political programmes were allowed.
"Now, this is the best time, as the occupancy rate is 100 per cent for the last three days, which I've never seen in my seven months of service here," he added.
According to the hotel sources, the demand for room having double bed is top on the chart. Mid-level leaders are renting rooms charging between Tk 500 to Tk 1,200 per day, while senior leaders have been seeking accommodation in three-star hotels.
There are also allegations of increasing room rent by some hotel management to make some windfall profit by cashing in on the rush of guests. But hotel authorities dismissed the allegation.
Abdul Hye, manager of Hotel Samrat in Topkhana Road area, said many hotels reduced their room rent to attract more guests a couple of months ago, and now they are readjusting the rate.
"We charged Tk 800 for a single room in September instead of its actual rate of Tk 1,000. Now we're charging the actual rate. So, the allegations of rent hike are not true," he added.
Md. Shahidul Islam, manager of Hotel Karnaphuli, said he has been in the service for the last 15 years, but he has never seen such a mad rush of nomination-seekers and their supporters.
Expressing optimism, he said the number of customers might increase further in the next few days, as BNP, a major political party, has decided to take part in next polls. BNP starts selling nomination papers from today (Monday).
According to Bangladesh Awami League, over 3,200 nomination forms were sold in the first two days of the sale. This is a new record for the party.
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