Vishal Lonkar

General Manager, Business Development, Renest Hotels and Resorts

Looking back: After being trapped indoors for almost two years and surrounded by uncertainties, 2022 has been about revenge travel, where people were looking for ways to relax and unwind. People had a stronger desire to be outside than ever; thus, demand for destinations close to nature and spiritual destinations rose dramatically. Renest Hotels and Resorts, present in different locations, namely Haridwar, Shirdi, Tirupati, Jaipur, Gandhidham, and Manali, saw tremendous growth in almost all locations. As for the occupancies and ARRs, the industry was able to touch the pre-pandemic levels, and considering the wedding and the festive season, the business undeniably did exceedingly well.

Strategies for growth and survival: 2022 had been a year of domestic tourism, and people were constantly looking for ways to rejoice and relax simultaneously. It became imperative for the industry to capture the domestic and inbound market, and our strategies included capturing the potential guests’ at various touch points. OOH advertising was an important part of our strategy. We relied heavily on digital media to reach our target audience. We even organise various regional and international food festivals from time to time to capture the local market.

Moving ahead with fresh New Year perspectives: Ever since the pandemic began in March 2020, the hotel industry needed help managing its statutory and capital expenditure obligations. While the reports suggest that the business will fully recover by 2023, it is reasonable to state that the hotel industry till now has made significant progress. 2022 has been a great year in terms of business recovery. We are certain that the coming year will bring prosperity, and the businesses will continue to flourish. With great learnings from the past years, we at Renest Hotels and Resorts are ready to take on the world and strongly believe that ‘2023’ will be OUR time to rise and shine.