Bengaluru: Food Price Surge as Hotel Rates and Delivery Charges Hit the Middle Class; Consumers Demand Curb

Rising hotel food prices and high online delivery charges are burdening Bengaluru’s middle class. Consumers are demanding government intervention to regulate hotel rates, curb delivery fees and expand affordable food initiatives.

Unchecked price hikes in hotels and online food delivery services are placing a heavy financial burden on the city’s middle-class families, triggering growing demands for government intervention to regulate food prices.

Across Bengaluru, the cost of snacks, tea, coffee and meals in hotels has risen sharply. While consumers acknowledge that food prices naturally increase when the cost of LPG cylinders, electricity, milk and essential ingredients such as rice, pulses, vegetables, oil, curd and ghee rises, they argue that hotels fail to reduce prices when these input costs decline. This perceived imbalance has led to widespread dissatisfaction among customers.

Hotels Accused of One-Sided Price Hikes

Customers allege that even marginal increases in the price of milk, sugar or coffee powder result in immediate hikes in hotel rates. A cup of coffee often becomes costlier by ₹2 to ₹3, snacks by ₹5 to ₹10, and meals by ₹10 to ₹20. However, when the prices of these raw materials fall, hotels rarely pass on the benefit to consumers.

Despite reductions in GST on several food-related items over the years, not a single hotel has reportedly reduced the price of any food item, further fuelling public anger.

Online Food Delivery Charges Add to the Burden

The issue is compounded by the high charges levied by online food delivery platforms that operate through gig workers. In many cases, delivery fees alone exceed 30 per cent of the original food price. Customers are also demanding regulation of misleading discount offers, alleging that platforms attract users with promotional announcements only to overcharge them through delivery fees and surge pricing.

Remembering Devaraj Arasu Price Control Measures

Public voices are now recalling the tenure of former Chief Minister Devaraj Arasu, during which strict measures were introduced to curb unregulated pricing in hotels. A law was enacted to fix food prices and also to specify the size and weight of food items, ensuring fairness for consumers.

At the time, Sriramulu, then MLA from Gandhinagar and serving as Labour Minister, played a key role in reducing snack prices in hotels. He reportedly calculated the cost of preparing food at his own home to arrive at reasonable rates.

Later, Chief Minister R. Gundu Rao introduced a classification system for hotels into A, B, C and D categories. This allowed A-category hotels to continue charging higher prices, while keeping rates affordable in lower-category establishments.

Renewed Demand for Government Price Regulation

With memories of past price control measures resurfacing, there is now a renewed demand for the government to step in and regulate hotel and food delivery prices. Citizens argue that just as meals were once available for as little as ₹1, similar welfare-oriented interventions are needed today.

Many are urging the government to expand initiatives such as Indira Canteens, not only to provide subsidised meals but also to offer tea and coffee at affordable prices, thereby easing the financial strain on the urban middle class.