“India’s hospitality industry is at a turning point. The market is changing and is growing in the wake of the pandemic, and we hope to be at the forefront of this opportunity,” Gaurav Bhushan, global CEO of Accor’s lifestyle and leisure brand, visited the global CEO of Ennismore Hotels in India this week. Mint.
As the market continues to grow, the French hotel giant’s luxury portfolio has also accelerated sharply, and now it is mainly domestic travelers driving demand. “When we first started developing our top luxury brands in India, such as Fairmont and the raffle draw 7-8 years ago, we expected at least half of the demand to come from international travelers.
Today, however, this has changed dramatically, with 80% to 90% of demand now coming from domestic travelers. This tells you the growth of the market. Indians were willing to pay for high-quality luxury hotels. ”
“Domestic demand today is everywhere – from economics to ultra-luxury travel, travelers are looking for experiences,” he added. Last month it opened a 440-room Fairmont hotel in Mumbai.
He said the rise in hotel prices across the industry reflects consumers’ ability to pay for high-quality hotels. “India has many boutique hotel concepts, many of whom are charging ₹Bhushan added: “20,00-40,000 per night, travelers are willing to pay for it.
He said Accor’s intentions have about 40 brands in its global portfolio over the next decade or so. Today, the country has become the top 5-6 markets for the company worldwide, and Bhushan said the country could be the top 3 markets worldwide in the next decade.
Over the next five years, the organized hospitality industry in India is expected to grow from 200,000 branded hotel rooms to about 300,000 by 2030.
Accor is the most popular brand in India, Novitel, one of the few companies to invest in the hotel market in the country. It invested with Interglobe Aviation to create an entity in 2004, with InterGlobe Hotels aiming to develop budget hotels under the IBIS brand.
This is a significant development because in most international hotel management companies (with a few exceptions), the company usually only appears as a hotel operator and is not inclined to invest. “India is now our global priority. We have a tried and true relationship with Interglobe, and it’s time to put all of this together and put it into practice. Indigo has also changed a lot with the airline’s identity over the past two decades.”
The two have an allocation of investments in real estate at 60:40 and have 70:30 investments in operations, most of which come from ACCOR. Another hotel company investing in India is the owner of Hyatt Hotels Company entering the Juniper Hotel in India. Mint Last month, Marriott International will also invest in domestic player concept hospitality.
Newer brands come
In the future, it will also bring its Ennismore lifestyle brand and restaurant concept to India, part of this driving force. This is a global lifestyle hotel company that Accor acquired in 2021.
“The brand and a bunch of hotels also have restaurants, and these concepts will be brought here,” he said. In the same complex as Fairmont Mumbai, Accor also plans to open its Morgan Originals property with about 110 rooms, which is located under the Ennismore Portfolio. Next, it will add brands like Mom Shelter and Hoxton, all lifestyle hotel brands from around the world.
As part of its expansion in the budget and mid-market space, ACCOR and INTERGOBE are working with Treebo to host a new entity, which will be hosted by Bhushan. While the company itself will continue to focus on developing large hotels in the main I markets, Treebo will expand smaller franchised hotels under the Mercure and IBIS brands under the Mercure and IBIS brands in Level 2 and 3 cities. “We will focus on large assets at major locations. While Treebo has bandwidth and expertise, it is possible to buy smaller hotels on the tier 2 market in the tier 2 market. So it is very complementary.”
ACCOR currently operates 72 hotels in India, 30 of which have 13,000 rooms along with Interglobe. It has 40 more in the development pipeline. Ennismore will also be part of the new InterGlobe Accor Venture. To be sure, all its brands in India will be managed by the joint venture.
