 "Sunjae Sharma, Hyatt")
Sunjae Sharma, managing director, India and Southwest Asia, Hyatt India Consultancy.
Global hospitality company Hyatt Hotels plans to expand its footprint in India by opening seven new hotels and adding 1,115 keys across leisure and city destinations in 2024.
The chain behind brands like Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Place currently operates 49 hotels in Southwest Asia and is considering expanding it to over 55 hotels in 2024, including one new property in Bangladesh.
The company saw 33 per cent year on year (Y-o-Y) growth in RevPAR (revenue per available room) in 2023, driven by strong occupancy and rise in average daily rates. The company’s leisure and wedding segment witnessed a Y-o-Y growth of 50 per cent in 2023.
“I attribute this growth to the change in the mindset of the consumer, which is mainly the Gen-Z and millennials. People are travelling more and that is the silver lining of the pandemic. Increased and improved connectivity, too, is helping boost tourism in the country — particularly domestic tourism,” said Sunjae Sharma, managing director, India and Southwest Asia, Hyatt India Consultancy.
“The consumer increasingly is leaning towards new experiences and that is what our focus is going to be. We have identified five cornerstones for growth – luxury, loyalty, leisure, lifestyle, and wellness,” Sharma said.
On the back of this boost in domestic tourism, the company debuted JdV by Hyatt – its ninth brand in the country – in February 2024.
“We aim to have a balanced portfolio in the country. It is not just about putting a flag everywhere. We want to thoughtfully expand our presence and go where the customer is going,” Sharma said.
“We don’t want to be the largest hotel chain, but the most preferred. These are very encouraging times and I see a lot of growth in the next five to seven years, with India becoming a big global player in the industry,” he added.
Going forward, the Hyatt Regency brand will enter a new destination with the slated openings of Hyatt Regency Kasauli and Hyatt Regency Ghaziabad, while the Hyatt Place brand is expected to enter three new locations – Aurangabad, Haridwar and Dhaka (Bangladesh). Hyatt Centric will expand its portfolio with expected openings in Hebbal, Bengaluru and Ballygunge, and Kolkata.
The company also plans to introduce its Unbound Collection in India in 2025. The Noor-Us-Sabah palace in Bhopal will undergo extensive refurbishment before the 60-room heritage hotel opens its doors to the public.
Hyatt has witnessed robust growth on the back of experiential packages it offers to guests – from culinary experiences to spas to overnight camping, and action-packed sports events – curated by an eight-member experience team. India is one of the largest footprints for Hyatt globally, after America and China. Hyatt’s loyalty programme, which currently has more than 1.5 million members from India, has seen a strong double-digit growth in new memberships since 2021.
First Published: Mar 14 2024 | 6:15 AM IST