The new HVS Ana’Rock’?
A look at how the structure of HVS has changed over time, with Hotelivate par ting ways and ANAROCK joining hands with HVS
Mandeep Lamba has taken over as the President of HVS ANAROCK South Asia. He discusses about his new job role, how he is planning to grow the brand in India, and how different the new association is from the previous one!
How different is the new association from the previous one?
In terms of structure, it’s a JV, but of course, both the partners are extremely strong. ANAROCK is a substantial real estate consulting company and HVS is a global leader.
So, with the two companies coming together, there couldn’t be a better merger of opportunities in the real estate and the hospitality sector, and that’s why it’s going to be different from the previous venture. The strength of the two companies merged together is going to be substantial.
The earlier joint venture was between HVS and an individual in his own capacity. This one from that perspective makes it look very different because both the companies are extremely solid in their own space.
Tell us about your new role at HVS ANAROCK.
I have taken over as the President of HVS ANAROCK (South Asia). ANAROCK Property Consultants has recently partnered with HVS, and as a new business vertical of the ANAROCK Group, HVS ANAROCK will focus on brokerage, feasibility studies, operator searches, appraisals, executive search, and other hospitality consulting services throughout South Asia. My new role is to take over, help build, and grow what has already been an iconic brand in India.
Also, my role is like any other CEO who leads a company - grow the brand in India. HVS is well-known in the country and has one of the best equities in terms of its branding.
ANAROCK is relatively new in the real estate consulting and advisory space, but has had a substantial growth story in the last two years. Its listed among the top 50 real estate companies in India. My job is to bring together the strength of both these companies and take HVS to a much higher level and become the undisputed leader in the hospitality consulting world.
What kind of hospitality trends do you foresee for 2019?
The hospitality industry is evolving both in
India and globally. I think, one of the biggest shifts that has been observed post the Marriott and Starwood merger is that there is a lot of consolidation happening.
I see this going forward as a trend globally. More and more mergers and takeovers are going to happen.
In India, I see renewed interest from global investors coming into India, as the performance of this sector has shown consistent improvement and there’s enough reason to believe that we are heading towards a bull run. So, we are going to see increase in investment opportunities coming to India.
Also, we are going to see increased transaction space getting occupied over the next couple of years and of course, we are going to see lots of new entries coming in terms of new players and investment in the boutique luxury sector.