Indian Hotels on an Aggressive Expansion Plan to Open One New Hotel Every Month in FY21

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The Indian Hotels Company, one of Tata Group’s oldest companies, shared key strategy updates on its five-year business strategy on February 24. Aspiration 2022 is a five-year programme where the company will focus on exploring new markets, expanding existing properties, monetising non-core assets, optimising costs and simplifying the group structure to grow the bottom line while leveraging the digital channel to strengthen the brand and generate more revenue. The company, as a part of its Aspiration 2022 promise, has a lot of strategy and planning and is on an aggressive expansion plan that entails the opening of one new hotel every month in FY21.

Indian-Hotels-Expansion-Plan-For-New-Hotels

Key Highlights of FY 2019-20

The company has signed 50 new hotels in the last two years, and this growth momentum has helped them reach a portfolio milestone of 200 hotels with an inventory of over 25,000 rooms (including those under development) in over 100 international and domestic locations. The company has opened 12 hotels in 11 months at a rate of over one hotel a month. Brand ‘Ginger’ reaches a milestone of 50 hotels in operation with 18 hotels in the pipeline. 

Aggressive Aspirations for FY 2020-21 

In its aggressive strategy to open one hotel every month in FY 21, IHCL’s first areas of the announcement include Goa, Bengaluru and Mumbai. While the company is on plans to build a 371-room Ginger flagship hotel in Santacruz, Mumbai, it is already rejoicing the open of Taj Hotel & Convention Centre, Goa on March 1, 2020; adjoining Cidade de Goa, will offer the 60,000 sq.ft largest convention facilities in the state with a combined inventory of 500 rooms. So, if you have any travel plans to Goa anytime soon, don’t forget to check the offerings provided by the new property. 

Aspiration 2022 Strategy: Re-engineer, Re-structure and Re-imagine 

While Re-engineer is all about margins, cash flow, EBITA, balance sheets, profitability etc., Re-structure and Re-imagine are strategies which relate to the consumer, brands, expansion and the luxury hospitality and tourism eco-system. Let us have a look at what a consumer can expect from the Re- strategies of structuring and imagining. 

Re-Structuring: 

The Ginger in Santacruz will open in April 2022. The company is working on becoming Future Ready by developing talent with new skills to take on opportunities generated from scaling the portfolio. For those travellers and luxury lovers, keep an eye on the below-listed areas as these will house some of the new properties in the coming year. 

Places of significant business interests: Delhi, Ahmedabad, Navi Mumbai, Kalinganagar

Places of significant travel and leisure interests: Trivandrum, Darjeeling, Shillong, Gangtok, Bhubaneswar, Wayanad

Re-Imagining:

The company says, the diverse brands it holds helped it to transform from a hotels business to a hospitality eco-system. Infact, this is true, as there are many sub-brands which the brand houses under its umbrella.  

Property/Hotel Brands:

A re-imagined Vivanta prototype will be launched in Bengaluru in March housing the new logo of the brand. The company says it has unlocked value by rolling out a new brand of named collection of hotels – SeleQtions. The company has repositioned Ginger in lean luxe segment with 20 percent of its portfolio reflecting the new design. amã Stays & Trails expanded its footprint, and now has a collection of 20 heritage properties in unique and experiential locations across India. 

Service Brands:  

The company has strengthened its individual service brands. The Chambers – Taj’s exclusive business club was relaunched with enhanced features and added over 100 new members. It also announced an extension in London. The company launched niu&nau, a chain of salons to capture the growing beauty and grooming segment. 

Food & Beverage Offerings: 

The company has tied up with AB InBev, the world’s leading brewery, for an industry-first on-site chain of microbreweries. IHCL announced a partnership with the globally acclaimed Italian restaurant chain, Paper Moon.

After Milan, Istanbul, Manila, Doha and Hong Kong, it will open the first Paper Moon in India at Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa which is India’s first luxury beach resort that opened its doors in 1974. Spread over 42 acres, Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa is built on the ramparts of a 16th-century Portuguese fortress. 

Paper Moon Goa’s design is warm, clean and simple. The comfortable furniture and mood lighting is interspersed with natural greenery inspired by the local Goa vibe. The restaurant will offer authentic Paper Moon flavours, combined with a wide selection of the finest wines.   

Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL, also mentioned the impact on operations due to the deadly coronavirus will be felt in the next quarter.

“We have had some cancellations due to the outbreak but still the outlook for the year remains good with demand expected to outpace supply. Supply of new rooms would grow by 6 percent and demand should be more than that,” he said.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), South Asia’s largest hospitality company, and its subsidiaries bring together a group of brands and businesses that offer a fusion of warm Indian hospitality and world-class service. These include Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta, Ginger. 

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