2016: The curve goes up

With the first six months of 2016 faring well as hotels garnered more business through conferences and meetings, hoteliers are upbeat about the rest of the year too

More occupancies, more conferences and the curve of growth has steadily been going up. The year began well for hotels. Some hoteliers give their opinion on the upcoming trends, citing Delhi-NCR as a buoyant market, travellers preferring midscale hotels and government initiatives such as increase in FDI and ‘Make in India’, a much needed boost has been given to the industry. Excerpts:

Rajindera Kumar Director Vivanta by Taj, Ambassador

I think despite the room inventory which has become enormous, the first six months of 2016 have been good as far as occupancies are concerned in Delhi-NCR. This is due to some conferences that came along. We are hopeful that September, October will look up.

Anil Madhok MD Sarovar Hotels and Resorts

With the economic and business environment on a growth trajectory, there was greater movement in corporate travel and MICE business as well. Sarovar has had a good year so far. We expanded to newer destinations and opened Kalyan Hometel in Vandalur-Chennai and Seyfert Sarovar Portico. Sarovar also became the early bird to set footprints in the Republic of South Sudan taking over the management of a hotel in Juba which has now been rebranded as The Panorama Sarovar Portico, Juba. Our leisure as well as business hotels have done good business with good occupancy rates.

The first six months of 2016 have been good. This is due to the conferences that came along. We are hopeful that September, October will look up

The rest of the year is likely to be more bullish for the next season, our hotel rooms have already filled up with a lot of MICE movements

Barun Gupta Account Director (Global Sales), Starwood Sales Organisation, Starwood Hotels and Resorts

The rooms are increasing year-on-year, but we have been able to save the revenue. Revenue has not gone down, it is increasing, ADR has taken a hit but at the same time, they are stable. Market has become stable as compared to 2015. The market is bullish, it is increasing and it’s going to increase further with a whole lot of new MICE movements that are going to come in, generated by the local corporate and a lot of social groups. A lot of foreign travel is also happening at the corporate level, at the mid segment as well as senior levels. Internationally this year is a fantastic one, both in terms of MICE and FITs. There are a lot of big ticket MICE movements that have happened in places like Bali this year. There is a lot of moment that I can see in terms of Central Asia, like Kazakhstan, where there are a whole lot of Indian tourists who are visiting. There is a good traffic that has gone to Europe this year. Overall this is a very good year for the India travel trade. Also in terms of domestic market it has increased. The rest of the year is likely to be more bullish for the next season our hotel rooms have already filled up with a lot of MICE movements. Big MICE movements are likely to be in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru. Kolkata is buzzing this year because there are a whole lot of medical conferences lined up there.

Roger Wright General Manager Hyatt Regency Gurgaon

There has been a significant boost in business travel and the increase in occupancies in multiple markets is testimony to this. The main contributing factor is the rise in businesses related to Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE). The Hyatt Regency Gurgaon hosted some successful conferences and MICE events over the past few months and continues to see strong traction for the remainder of the year. The hotel has also witnessed a remarkable growth in transient corporate travellers which is a direct result of increasing business in Manesar.

Manu Sharma General Manager Vivanta by Taj – Gurgaon

The ‘Make in India’ campaign has visibly driven foreign investments across a gamut of sectors resulting in a steady increase in corporate travel. Most major cities have, as a result, seen a growth in both volumes and consumer spends. Gurgaon is, and will continue to be, one of the most buoyant markets in the country. We have entered into our fourth year of operations this year and have been able to create a niche for ourselves in the upper upscale segment. With an average occupancy better than last year and ADRs moving upwards, our constant endeavour has, therefore, been to steadily increase our market share.

Sunder Advani CMD, Advani Hotels and Resorts (India)

It has been a very good six months from January to June 2016; our hotel sales have gone up by 10 per cent in these last six months itself compared to last year. The reason I feel is that because of the issues abroad, people feel that it is safer to stay in India and holiday here instead of going overseas. MICE has also done extremely well as well in the first six months and it has been mostly domestic MICE.

Gurgaon is, and will continue to be one of the most buoyant markets in the country. We have entered into our fourth year of operations

Sidharth Gupta Co-Founder Treebo Group of Hotels

The first six months of 2016 have been terrific for Treebo Group of Hotels on all fronts. There was not a single month when we did less than 70 per cent occupancy (despite the market average being much lower). In fact we did as high as 77 per cent occupancy in May. We achieved this while maintaining healthy ARR of 1,800+ (excl. taxes) and RevPAR of 1,350+. On the inventory side too, we have grown stupendously. We entered the year with 34 properties and 1,000 keys. Today we have almost tripled that number with an inventory of 100+ properties and 2,700 keys.

Aashish Vyas GM Four Points by Sheraton, Jaipur

Coming to the micro level, January, February, March and April were phenomenally good for Jaipur, reason being that we had an influx of everything put together. We had inbound, MICE, weddings, number of large scale, all-India level conferences happening. Another impetus that has taken place in Jaipur is that there are now a lot of international experiential events, such as the Jaipur Literature Festival, The Jaipur Art Festival and Jaipur Dramatics Festival. Nationwide the hospitality segment is a little upbeat because of the FDI coming in, thanks to the PM’s well talked about international trips. Representation of India in bigger economies is also having a little effect on people coming and travelling back for investment. There have been some big ticket investments in some start-ups in India.

Representation of India in bigger economies is having an effect on people coming and travelling for investment