In Delhi, the AI boom comes with a $33 000 hotel room fee

Next week’s India AI Impact Summit has kicked up a frenetic chase for something more prosaic than computing capacity or genius researchers: hotel rooms. The capital’s most exclusive suites are now commanding prices of more than $30 000 per night.

The event will be one of the best-attended to date by leaders of the AI world — Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc., Sam Altman of OpenAI, Jensen Huang of Nvidia Corp. and Dario Amodei of Anthropic PBC are among the headliners — alongside heads of state, policymakers and entrepreneurs. With thousands of delegates descending on the city, demand has exploded, sending rates soaring to peak levels 15 times higher than usual.

The crown jewel of Delhi hotel stays, the Presidential Suite at the Taj Palace, was snapped up at $33 000 a night. A spokeswoman for the Indian Hotels Company, which owns the property, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The Oberoi’s top-tier luxury suite isn’t far behind at $27,600, while ITC Maurya’s Chanakya Suite — which has in the past hosted Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, on separate occasions — is priced in the same stratosphere. A spokeswoman for ITC Hotels Ltd. did not respond to an email asking for comment.

All three hotels are at capacity, though the Taj Palace does list the last of its so-called regular rooms at $3,500 each. The cost to merely be in town rivals the extravagance of Aman at Sea’s upcoming 2027 Mediterranean cruise with prices in the thousands of dollars.

Delhi’s top options are not mere hotel rooms. The Chanakya Suite comes with bulletproof glass, prized art on the walls, a private gym, marble-floored bathrooms and diplomatic-grade security. The Taj Palace’s Presidential Suite is opulently decorated and comes with a 12-seat dining table, a fully stocked pantry and a master bedroom with its own garden — plus a butler on call.

With thousands of participants, seven marquee events and dozens of panels, the AI summit is drawing leaders from more than 100 countries, including a dozen heads of state, several dozen ministers or country representatives and chief executive officers of 40 global and Indian firms.

© 2026 Bloomberg

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