Optimal time to open, grow hospitality brands in India: ITC Hotels MD
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Heightened investor interest and evolving customer needs have made it the optimal time to open and expand new hospitality brands in India , said Anil Chadha, MD, ITC Hotels "India is going through a phase, and it's not just large corporates and big-ticket investors who would be able to afford hotels anymore. A chain like ours straddles across segments to cater to all kinds of customer needs, as they changed post the Covid-19 pandemic," Chadha told ET in an interview. "You could build a 50-room or a 30-room hotel depending on the brand and your propensity to earn in a city. If somebody came to us three years ago and said I want you to manage our 30-room hotel, we would have said no. But today, we see a need," he said.Cigarette-to-soap conglomerate ITC's hotel business was demerged effective January 1, spawning a separate listed hospitality entity. Shares of ITC Hotels started trading on the stock exchanges on January 29.Chadha said ITC Hotels is exploring opportunities to take its famed Bukhara dining brand overseas. It is also in talks to enter the branded residences segment."With our quality of service, we can add value to the branded residences space, and we are in discussions. It's not just about the luxury segments," he said."For instance, we also have our boutique brand Storii as a concept, and we are exploring if we can build Storii villas around a Storii property. In the Welcomhotel space, we are exploring opportunities for residences," he added.ITC Hotels reported consolidated revenue from operations of '816 crore for the quarter ended June, up 16% year-on-year. Profit surged 54% to '134 crore.Chadha highlighted the company's improving operational performance. "This applies to occupancies, average room rates, and commanding a much better revenue per available room. For domestic owned hotels, our occupancies have improved from 62% in quarter one of financial year 2024 to 73% in quarter one of financial year 2026," he said. "In terms of our revenue per available room performance across markets, as per CoStar data for year to date May 2025, for our domestic owned hotels in the luxury, upper upscale and upscale segments, ITC Hotels is commanding a premium of 34% over the industry."New ITC hotels will be opened in locations such as Kochi, Jaipur, Gwalior, Bhopal, Bodh Gaya, Udaipur, Rishikesh, and Wayanad this year. Chadha said the newly-opened ITC Ratnadipa in Sri Lanka has received a positive response, and that the company is now getting offers for more hotel opportunities in the island nation. "We have a small Fortune hotel in Nepal, and have signed another Welcomhotel about seven months ago. We are also exploring opportunities in the Middle East," he said.He said ITC Hotels has a very strong zero-debt balance sheet, and is open to both inorganic growth opportunities and acquisitions.
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