Hospitality companies are looking to open new hotels and enter into management contracts with standalone hotels to meet rising demand after the end of the third wave of the COVID pandemic. Apart from preferred business destinations, hoteliers are also focusing on leisure destinations as well as tourist attractions in Tier 2 and 3 cities.
Hilton, Lemon Tree Hotels, Aspire Hospitality and Pride Hotels have announced new projects for FY23. Earlier this week, Indian Hotels Co Ltd said it plans to expand its portfolio to 300 hotels by 2025. In FY23, Lemon Tree has already signed two hotels for management in Jaipur and Mumbai, and is in talks to close four to five such. deals by the end of the second quarter, compared to just five in fiscal 2015.
“We have seen an increase in owners of standalone hotels, especially in tier 2 and 3 cities, who have started approaching us as they now understand the importance of hotel management companies and want to capitalize on brand recall, sales and distribution. Huh. platform, and the loyalty member base that we offer. “We can attribute a part of this growth to venturing into the franchise and management franchise space, where we did not exist,” said Vikramjit Singh, President, Lemon Tree.
Aspire Hospitality Group, which owns Six Senses Fort Barwara and mid-market chain Country Inn Hotels and Resorts, will launch its luxury boutique resort brand Zana this year. According to Chief Operating Officer Akhil Arora, it will sign resorts in Goa, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, and plans to launch them in the next 12-24 months. Pride Group of Hotels, which has 44 properties, plans to open 100 hotels by 2030, including six by the end of FY23.
In March, The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts expanded its footprint in Kerala, with one property in Kovalam and the other in Ashtamudi, while Marriott International announced the signing of an agreement with Ceres Hotels Pvt. Ltd. to rebrand Leela Goa as St. Regis.
Mandeep S Lamba, President, South Asia, HVS Anarock, said, “With demand recovering faster than expected after the second wave, hotel companies beat the Covid blues and accelerated their expansion plans in 2021. ” “Brand signing by keys in the first quarter of 2022 was about 20% higher than the same period last year,” Lamba said.
Jaideep Dang, managing director of Hotels and Hospitality Group for India at JLL, said the first quarter of FY22 is the best time to open new hotel properties in the last 3-4 years, including the time before the pandemic.