IHG’s new brands on the anvil
Sudeep Jain, Managing Director, South-West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, shares his experience of 2021 and also what entails for the hospitality in 2022, including new brands suited for the Indian market. He expressed hope that the growth momentum will continue across key markets in India.
Wrapping up year 2021, Sudeep Jain, feels that the last year showed mixed kind of business. “Given that the COVID-19 situation in India continued to vary throughout 2021, the business was mixed with lows during the second wave of the pandemic and significant recovery once the situation stabilised. Effective roll-out of the vaccine and easing of travel restrictions have helped in return of consumer confidence and hotels across our portfolio register a noteworthy increase in bookings and occupancies across key destinations such as NCR, Goa, Jaipur, Agra and Chennai. In markets such as Delhi and Mumbai, many of our hotels have recorded over 80 per cent occupancy at the peak of business, which is a marked improvement from last year,” he says.
Business recovery
He claims that after the second wave started settling, situation improved further. “Starting June 2021, as the situation started to stabilise, we have also been receiving a considerable number of bookings for weddings and social events. We have seen an encouraging 30 per cent jump in the wedding APC (Average per Cover) and over 25 per cent surge in residential weddings. The leisure destination travel demand has also bounced back almost fully. Our InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort recorded occupancies close to Q1 2020 levels in Q3 2021, along with a higher ADR. In fact, our business performance has been quite strong in Q4 2021, with occupancies in some cases reaching above 2019 levels. Although the rates are still slightly reduced, we have witnessed a substantial surge in overall GOP (Gross Operating Profit),” he adds.
Growth continues
Jain shares that given the attractiveness of the tourism and hospitality sector, their owners have continued to show confidence in them. “We have progressed with our growth plans in the country. This year, we opened Holiday Inn Zirakhpur Chandigarh and Holiday Inn Goa Candolim. We signed Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Jalandhar to strengthen our footprint in Punjab and debuted Holiday Inn Express in Jaipur in October. In addition, we announced the debut of our world-renowned extended stay brand, Staybridge Suites in India with signing of Staybridge Suites Bengaluru Thanisandra. We also recently launched our first Six Senses hotel in India in Rajasthan,” he reveals.
Indian market
When asked about the major developments in the industry in the last one year, he says, “The Indian market has always been driven by domestic tourism, however, in the last couple of years with restrictions on international movement, domestic travel has gained even more traction. Quick weekend getaways, staycations and intercity vacations have emerged as key trends as travellers increasingly look for a break from their routines.
“Also, the concept of ‘intimate weddings and social events’ have played a crucial role in helping the industry move towards stronger recovery. In addition, with F&B being an important part of our business, we started offering home delivery service to our guests along with in-hotel dining options. This segment of F&B has seen rapid growth since last year. We incorporated healthier options with focus on immunity building food and overall wellness.”
Plans for 2022
Jain shares that in this year, they are looking at stronger recovery. “We expect domestic travel demand to continue to rise in 2022 and expect further easing of international movement in the coming months. With accelerated vaccination drive across the country and people resuming work from office, we are optimistic about a stronger return of corporate travel in the coming year. Besides, we are also enthusiastic about the emphasis on GOP for the owners as the hotel investment trading volume increases in the coming quarters,” he reveals.
We expect domestic travel demand to continue to rise in 2022 and expect further easing of international movement
“We also expect to continue with our growth momentum across key markets in India. Our mainstream portfolio will continue to drive this growth in line with market demands. However, we also see potential of debuting our global brands such as Regent, Kimpton and the recently launched Vignette Collection,” he concluded.