Category Archives: Hotels

Marriott International has opened the Port Muziris, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Kochi, the first ever Tribute Portfolio hotel in South Asia. The hotel marks the fifth Marriott International property in Kochi located at just 300 meters away from the Cochin International Airport. Commenting on this launch, Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President, South Asia- Marriott International, says, “The addition of the Tribute Portfolio in Marriott International’s brand footprint for South Asia reinforces our continued focus on providing a diverse collection of prime, distinctive properties across high potential markets in the region. Port Muziris, a Tribute Portfolio hotel is set to exemplify the brand’s vision, offering travelers a unique blend of old-world charm and contemporary amenities, topped off with signature Indian hospitality. The hotel presents guests with the opportunity to spark connections and experience the taste of surrounding communities in the state of Kerala.” “Port Muziris is going to add to the efforts to make Kerala a world-class tourism destination. I believe that it is where Kerala starts. The property’s uniqueness is visible through the soulful art spread across the property, the homely local food and the untypical rooms that bring out the vibrancy, vigor, and life of Kerala. At Twenty14 Holdings, we strive to keep our peerless hospitality growing by ensuring that each of our hotels is unique in its identity, intent, and immersion,” said Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director of Twenty14 Holdings. Port Muziris, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel features 54 artistically designed rooms, including three Executive Suites. The hotel design evokes grandeur and is reminiscent of the heritage residences found in Kerala. The hotel offers an exciting range of dining options, each with its own unique flavours and identity. With …

OYO Hotels & Homes has announced that it has agreed to acquire Amsterdam-based @Leisure Group. @Leisure is a leading vacation rental company in Europe and manages holiday homes, holiday parks, and holiday apartments. @Leisure Group, through its Belvilla, DanCenter, and Danland brands, offers more than 30,000-fully managed holiday homes across 13 countries in Europe and through its Traum-Ferienwohnungen brand, offers a subscription-based home management service with over 85,000 homes across 50 countries. This represents a total inventory of 300k+ rooms. @Leisure Group has the unique ability to offer varied collections of managed homes across Europe to customers from across the world. The acquisition helps OYO move a step closer in realizing its vision of becoming a global real estate brand while maintaining leadership in the hospitality industry.

International tourists’ spend on hotels in India expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 14 per cent by 2022, as per a latest study by KPMG and Google. Indian players currently enjoy a 55 per cent share of revenues in the accommodation industry. This is expected to reduce to 50 per cent by 2022 as international players plan to expand aggressively into Tier I and Tier II cities in India. Accommodation providers in these cities are set to witness influx of international travellers. Cities like Manali, Ooty, Gangtok are gaining popularity. Tier I and Tier II cities see the majority of leisure travel spending (approximately 87 per cent of overall international tourist spending is for leisure purposes). The accommodation market in these cities is dominated by several small and unorganised Indian players. Indian players have tapped into the opportunity through tie-ups with multiple sales representation companies for lead generation, global promotion campaigns and loyalty programmes. Promotional activities are supported by comprehensive marketing campaigns globally. Select large players have set up hotels overseas whereas smaller players depend on international travelers visiting India as it is challenging for these players to operate internationally without the desired scale. Online travel aggregators play an important role in organising the fragmented market and bridging the accessibility gap for international travelers by creating a transparent ecosystem.

After a bumper 2018, more hotel mergers and acquisitions are expected this year. The focus is shifting towards more private deals with smaller platforms. The top hospitality brands only account for around a third of hotel rooms around the world, making more acquisitions in 2019 likely. Tony Ryan, Managing Director of Global Mergers & Acquisitions in JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group says, “Most of the larger platform deals have already been done, so the big operators are now seeking out unique concepts and locations to complement existing product offerings – particularly as consumer demand changes. Those transactions will occur primarily in Europe and Asia, where there is greater opportunity for consolidation.” On the revenue side, having a global reach enables hotel groups to provide customers with the type of accommodations they want, where they want it. The purchasing power of a bigger operation can also mean significant cost savings, says Ryan. “Bigger players have more buying power than a standalone hotel, and so are able to pay lower commissions to distributors such as Expedia or Booking.com.”   With aggregation among the industry’s big guns more or less complete, the major global brands are turning their attention to smaller, niche players that can help them build out a full presence in every part of the accommodation market both geographically and by sector – in particular luxury, wellness, lifestyle, and entertainment. All the major brands are seeking to enhance their luxury offering, says Ryan. “That has a halo effect on the rest of the company. Given the room rates that luxury properties achieve, it can also be highly lucrative.” Examples include AccorHotel’s acquisition of FRHI Holdings (parent of the Fairmont, Raffles and …

Sarovar Hotels has announced the signing of a new hotel in Poovar, marking the group’s further foray into Kerala. One of the fastest growing hotel chains in India with over 80 operational hotels across 50 destinations in India and Africa, this will be Sarovar’s fifth hotel in  Kerala ,adding to its impressive presence in Vayalar, Thekaddy, Kochi and Thiruvanthipuram. Pooovar is a well-known tourist destination due to its unsurpassed natural beauty, unspoilt beaches and beautiful rivers. It is an ideal destination for relaxing and cherishing the exotic beauty of beaches. A trip to God’s Own Country will not be complete without a visit to the famous Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The hotel to be operated in mid-2019 will offer 90 beautiful rooms with a nature view, spa to rejuvenate oneself, bar, restaurant, Swimming pool and banquet facility for the social together and meetings.  Situated 35 km from Trivandrum Airport, this unique hotel can be accessed both by road and boat.   Commenting on the development, Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said” We are delighted to expand our presence in the state, adding one more leisure destination in our portfolio. We look forward to further growth and remain committed to further expansion in key markets of South India.”

India is one of the priority markets for the brand Fairfield by Marriott. With 14 open properties, including the recently opened Fairfield Goa Anjuna, another eight are in the signed pipeline and are expected to open in the next 2-5 years. One of Marriott’s fastest-growing brands, Fairfield expects to grow its footprint by 30 per cent over the next three years.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has 3400 rooms in India. Ignace Bauwens, Regional Vice President for the Middle East, Eurasia and Africa at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, says, “If you look at India as a market and its evolution, the middle class is travelling more. What we need is more mid-scale hotels of quality. That’s why I strongly believe that the brand that will be successful in India will be Wyndham Garden. This brand has the potential for growth in this market. We are still in discussions; the product is very specific, so we are looking for the right location. We have four brands that are active in India – Ramada, Ramada Encore, Howard Johnson, and Days. We are looking for sites to develop 20 Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham for Eurasia mainly India.”  

According to a recent report by HVS ANAROCK, 2018 has seen growth in performance over 2017 in almost all major markets across India, with the momentum carrying into the first quarter of 2019, where performance of January & February 2019 is a stellar 11% higher in RevPAR performance than same period last year. The impact of elections on the industry combined with a strong growth in hotel supply in the year. Given the headstart that 2019 has received coupled with the general momentum that has built over the last two years, we are of the opinion that RevPar’s will grow.

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has opened its latest property in Chhattisgarh. The 52-room property is located in the city-centre and is in close proximity to the Raipur Airport. This would be the first property by Clarks Inn in Chhattisgarh. S N Srivastava, President & Co-founder, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “We are ecstatic to announce the newest addition, Clarks Inn Suites Raipur, to our ever-expanding portfolio. We are particularly thrilled to debut in the fast-growing hospitality market of Chhattisgarh with such a wonderful and top-of-the-line hotel property. We expect this property to be the most sought-after hospitality address of Raipur and will also strive hard to leverage our presence here to put Raipur and Chhattisgarh on the tourism map of the country.” Exuding old-world-charm with its heritage style architecture, the property has on offer the latest in amenities and world class guest services. For corporates and social occasions, the hotel boasts huge event space, as well as several F&B outlets, lounge and bar, health club, spa and more. Srivastava added, “Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has made giant strides as a hospitality chain and has emerged as one of the most admired and fastest growing hotel companies in the South Asia region. Today, we have established our presence in over 20 states of India and Nepal with a slew of developments to unfold in various parts of the country and overseas in the South Asia and ASEAN region in the coming months.”

Ramesh Daryanani, Vice President, Global Sales – Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China), in a recent interview to Tourism Breaking News, said, “India is a very important market for us. Across all our brands, the luxury ones are performing well. The performance of JW, Ritz Carlton, Sheraton Grand are robust and Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru are our top performing markets.”