Why do I have to pay in $ instead of INR

I am a NRI visiting India in September. When I try to book a room at hotels like Taj, KTDC etc., I am always asked "Are you a resident of India." Depending on what I say they proceed to give me a price in $ or INR. Manytimes the hotel rate in $'s is higher than the amount converted into INR.

what is the reason for this. Is this a legalized form of discrimination or is it a ploy to make me spend more the amount in $. Or is it that Non residents will be offered the better rooms as a result of the higher prices paid and the resident indians offered the inferior rooms.

What is the reason ?

It is legalized discrimination, and you will probably get a better room. Have you tried insisting on paying in rupees? I don't know if that will work. You can also have someone in India book the room for you--in rupees.

The airlines work in similar ways. It's common in India and not altogether unreasonable. A visitor's spending power (if he/she holds dollars, sterling, or Euros) is considerably stronger than someone who lives in the rupee economy. These dual price schedules only exist at the high end of the market. If you are looking to check into a three-star hotel (which may be an international chain and pretty nice), you can pay in rupees--or have your credit card charged a price in rupees. Even at the luxury end of things, the dollar price is often less than it would be for comparable accomodations in New York, London, or Dubai.

FWIW, and I'm a white guy, I never book rooms ahead in India. When are dealing with people face to face, it's much easier to get what you want and not be suckered by some bogus policy. India's hotel capacity is vast--there's always a room for you somewhere.

Also, NRIs do complain to the government about having to pay higher fees for things, arguing that Delhi ought be to be bloody glad they're bothering to return to the country at all. I suspect the dual fee structures won't last much longer.

Unless your accent is perfect non-Indian, I mean you dont have even a bit of Indian accent in your talk, no body asks about the NRI issue. Just Book as if you were in India. Give a local Indian relative address. I am not telling you to lie. If they ask specifically about your residency, you can state that too. Still you can insist on paying in rupees. Then you can pay in indian rupees even with a foriegn credit card. I did this in 2002 and never was problem. As far as the better rooms are concerned, I dont think there are any. They may give an upgrade to a bigger room etc probably.

hi,
most of the online booking stuff sniffs your ip, and redirects you to either a $ or Rs. based web pages. So if you can spoof it, you can just go to Rs. based pages.

good luck
dan

This same thing happened to my husband and I on our trip last January. He is an NRI but I guess my NRI label is dying fast as I left India when I was a small small child.

Ddevadatta is on vacation but I love the way he describes this. He said something like "India is a capitalist when it needs to be and socialist when it needs to be"...something to that effect, not quoting directly. The Indian govt. thinks that NRIs and Foreigners have the dollar/euro power to, in essence be charged more than Indian citizens. There has been alot of discussions about this subject in various forms. If you do a search of say the Taj Mahal you get alot of these queries.

DO I agree with it? Not really...maybe because I am the one paying extra hehe. Do I try to get around it and pay in Rupees? Honestly yes, sometimes. My accent is very American but I can easily switch to more of an Indian accent.(this wont work for our foreign friends unless they have a residential permit because physically they dont look "indian") So sometimes they assume I am a Indian citizen and have gotten hotels that way. But sometimes I feel its wrong to do that, and I do pay the dollar rate, for hotels and all. I dont think the rooms are different at all. Case in point, husband and I stayed at the Taj Resort in Kovalam, Kerala. He gave his address as his mother's place which is three hours away. The offer was something like 15,000 Rs for two nights + 3000Rs meal credit+tour in AC car included. It was the Indian rate yet we were given an excellent beach facing deluxe room. Dollar or Rupee rate, the rooms are the same. But if you are staying in a hotel and then leaving for the airport (from that same hotel), your hotel might come to know you are NOT living in India, just by looking at your luggage tags and all.

To avoid all of this for Flights, go to a travel agent in India. Travel agents in India, get you the rupee rate. Even if you are a foreigner they dont bother, they will charge you the rupee rate. But if you decide to buy your tickets with a Non-Indian credit card, they have no choice and charge you the Dollar rate. So for travel agents in India, I will pay in cash. Online like at Jet Airways.com etc I couldnt without that information.

In some ways, I feel bad telling you how to get "around" the system and in some ways I dont..hehe. Its up to you, its your call.

BBC claims it is only $500/year (2003) (BBC Country Profiles: India )

CIA report for 2003 claims it was $3000/year

CIA report for 2005 claims it is $5000/year

WHICH of these is right?

from April 2005:
capita-wise in nominal terms it is 678$/capita.

from IMF:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/...MP=0&x=52&y=11

in PPP-terms it is 3,262$/capita

from IMF:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/...MP=0&x=44&y=15

If you have an Indian passport you should be ok.

i've gotten indian prices at heritage spots by letting my indian girlfriend do the talking and tell the ticket seller that i am her husband and that we live locally. seems that when someone marries into the family they are treated like family- down in the South at least.

Boy livin, I never have that luck. White face means mucho dinero and that is that no matter how many of my relations accompany me..

"Why do I have to pay in $ instead of INR ?"

Simple...$ is sweeter than INR and you are an eager India lover who would rather pay than leave....

Sounds bad? Well that's the way it is...

"Is this legalized form of discrimination?"
Even worse....An authorised, legalised screw-your- A##-because-you can't -help-it-once you-land-here business

Yeah! Screw them back...

yup it works.. RBI requires the hotel to collect foreign currency from foreigners. Untila few years ago, foreign currency could be converted in the black at a more favourable rate. the govt did not want foriegners to convert their currency in the black.

The rate differential (between Rs and say $) was the establishment's attempt to price to market. foreign tourists typically pay more than indians without complaining. (may be management noticed that extremely generous tip you gave the driver. hey, if the driver was worth X than the room is definetly worth more). Plus, the establishment received additional monetary benefits for foreign exchange earnings -- hence an incentive to charge more

Any mention of paying in dollars has me heading for the door every time!!
Legalised robbery and the old you've got money your'e a rich "gora" just doesn't hold any water.
Indians who can afford to think about staying in a place like the Taj Resort or fly are a lot richer than me and find themselves being susidised by the unwilling western tourist, lucky them.
The people who least need it are getting cut rate prices why?????

show your encashment receipts. it works . . . usually.