Radisson Group checks into tier IV, V cities
The multinational hotel chain is set to open 12-15 hotels each year for 5 years
Radisson Hotel Group has embarked on an aggressive expansion plan for the Indian market as it seeks to make deeper inroads into tier IV and V, the company's top official said. The Minnesota-based multinational hotel chain claims to be the first international hotel chain to identify tier II, III and midsegment markets as the growth engine and venture into them. Thr group draws half of its revenue from this segment.
Radission joins host of other hotels chains --- Indians and multinationals including Hyatt Hotel Corp, ITC Hotels, IHCL, East India Hotels, among others, that have been adding hotels to their portfolio at an aggressive pace even as the hospitality sector is in the midst of an unprecedented slowdown due to the travel restrictions and work from home trend.
As part of the expansion plan, the hotel operator will add 15 hotels this calendar year and 60 hotels --12 to 15 each year for the next five years, said Zubin Saxena, managing director and vice president-operations, South Asia at the hospitality firm. The addition will take the total number of hotels operated by the group from the current 100 to 175. The plan also includes adding six upper scale and upscale resorts in high demand leisure destinations in 2021.
"A few days back we opened our 100th hotel in Bhopal. Its a huge milestone for us. If you were to plot India from east to west and north to south, you will find a Radisson every five hours," said Saxena adding that the firm plans to continue the growth trajectory and will be coming up with "brand defining experience."
The hospitality sector, he added, is seeing a swift recovery in demand since the second wave of the pandemic ebbed. If there is no third wave, the occupancies will come closer to the pre-pandemic levels of 75 per cent for the hotel. Presently, it is 48 per cent.
The hospitality industry in India witnessed a growth of 84.7 per cent in revenue per available room (REVPAR) during the second quarter of 2021 (April-june) as compared to Q2 2020, according to property consultant JLL India.
However, on a pan India level, there has been a decline by 53.9 per cent in Q2 2021 REVPAR as compared to Q1 2021, because of the restrictions imposed due to the second wave of the pandemic.
A few destinations where Radission is set to operate the hotels include Kufri, Rewa, Pahalgam, Nashik, Pondicherry, Nathdwara in Rajasthan to name a few. The expansion will be a combination of brownfield and greenfield. It will also include standalone hotels that are willing to sign up and be a part of the hotel chain.
Meanwhile, the owner of Radisonblue, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson among other brands is also looking to spruce up its F&B business with a pan-india expansion of Meetha, the brand it launched in November marking its entry in the branded Indian sweets segment. It recently inaugurated a flagship store in Mumbai and will subsequently expand to Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. It has also forged an alliance with Massive restaurants as a step towards strengthening F&B capabilities and creating its hotels as ‘Social Hubs’.
“A FEW DAYS AGO WE OPENED OUR 100TH HOTEL IN BHOPAL. IT'S A HUGE MILESTONE FOR US. IF YOU WERE TO PLOT INDIA FROM EAST TO WEST AND NORTH TO SOUTH, YOU WILL FIND A RADISSON EVERY FIVE HOURS”
ZUBIN SAXENA
MD, Vp-operations, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group