Latest news with #RajeevMenon
Skift
3 days ago
- Business
- Skift
Marriott's Strategy for Its New Series Brand: Why It Started in India
Sure, Marriott had the scale, but it lacked a midscale brand in India — until now. With Fern and the launch of Series, it's finally filling the gap and going all-in on India's fastest-growing hotel segment. When Marriott International introduced its newest global brand — Series by Marriott — it chose India as the launch market and took the unusual step of making an equity investment in its local partner, Mumbai-based Concept Hospitality. Asked if this is the hotel company's first equity investment in the Indian hotel sector, Rajeev Menon, president of Asia Pacific (excluding China) at Marriott International, said, 'You could say that. Marriott will only invest for very strategic purposes. And we see this as a very unique opportunity.' It's a notable move for the hotel giant, which traditionally expands through franchise and management contracts and typically launches brands in Western markets. 'For the 24 years that I've been with Marriott, very rarely do we make investments,' said Menon. 'So you can understand t
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Marriott International eyes major India expansion, targets 90 cities by 2026
Rajeev Menon, APEC President of Marriott International, says India is a cornerstone of the company's global strategy. They plan to double their presence in the country by next year, expanding into 90 cities. The company sees strong potential in India's rising middle class, secondary and tertiary cities, and growing religious and business travel. It is also leveraging AI to boost operational efficiency and expects robust demand heading into the summer travel season.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
'India saw maximum hotel projects under development in Jan-March 2025 in Asia Pacific region'
This is an AI-generated image, used for representational purposes only. NEW DELHI: India saw the highest number of hotels under development in the Asia-Pacific region during Jan-March 2025 quarter, according to consultancy firm Lodging Econometrics. With a 'new record-high project and room count of 693 projects/88,884 rooms, up 19% by projects and 27% by rooms Y-o-Y,' the country's hospitality industry is booming mainly on the strength of robust domestic tourism as international inbound remains sluggish and is yet to return to pre-Covid levels. 'India is shining, and the growth story is all domestically driven for reasons like the amount of infrastructure investment by the government that is creating accessibility and frictionless travel. Indians are acquiring wealth, and there's a growing aspiration to travel & stay with brands. The potential to grow in India is boundless,' said Rajeev Menon, president Marriott International (Asia Pacific excluding China). The number of branded hotel rooms in India crisis segments could rise by almost 50% in the next 4-5 years, meaning less than 2 lakh since independence and the next half in a mere five years! 'US has well north of 50 lakh hotel rooms. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like News For Jack Nicholson, 87, He Has Been Confirmed To Be... Reportingly Undo Japan, with a population of 13 crore has 17 lakh plus hotel rooms. India still has 3-4 lakh hotel rooms (branded, estimated to be less than 2 lakh). That's why the opportunity for growth is immense. Eventually, it will land in millions as the economy continues to grow. As it transitions to the third-largest economy per capita. People are clearly prioritising travel over other expenses,' Menon said. About Jan-March 2025 'hotel development trends', Lodging Econometrics says: 'Vietnam follows (India) with 251 projects/90,738 rooms, up 5% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY, and Thailand at 170 projects/43,730 rooms, up 6% by projects and 18% by rooms YOY. Indonesia follows with 170 projects/29,797 rooms, and Japan with 164 projects/27,572 rooms. These five countries combined account for 70% of the projects in the region's total pipeline. ' The Indian traveller is fast coming of age. While pre-Covid China had 15-16 crore outbound travellers, India is at 2.5-3 crore but the latter is growing very fast. 'India is still way off from taking that number one spot. But India is well on its way and is all set to take the number four or five spot. Also, Indians are big spenders,' Menon said. Not surprisingly, all hotel brands, Indian or foreign, are out to make the most of this trend. Marriott has the highest number of rooms in India at over 30,000 across 158 hotels across 17 brands. It has 20,500 rooms in the pipeline across 112 upcoming properties, which will open within five years. It recently Tata's Taj Hotels has a portfolio of well over 25,000 rooms in India across 381 hotels that includes 134 under development globally. ITC Hotels currently has over 13,300 rooms in 140 hotels. At present, ITC Hotels has over 50 properties under development with more than 4,500 rooms. By 2030, it expects to have 220 hotels with over 20,000 guest rooms. 'India is witnessing a growth cycle that is positioning new Tier II and Tier III cities on the national tourism map. With hotels opening each month across new markets and sub-locations, the branded rooms availability in the country is expected to double (from the present 195,000 rooms) over the next 5-7 years. There remains a very good potential for new brands, new product segment based on the choice of the Indian traveller. Domestic Travel has been on the rise and ITC Hotels recognises these market trends. We continue to work with the Owner community to open hotels from the midscale to luxury brands, expanding our footprint across various geographies,' said Anil Chadha, ITC Hotels Ltd MD. Oberoi Hotels' parent EIH Ltd has a pipeline of 21 properties to be completed by 2029, of which 12 are in India. Leela has 13 operational hotels in India and will open seven more by March 2028, including at Ayodhya, Ranthambore and Srinagar. Radisson Hotel Group, which currently has 131 hotels with over 14,000 rooms, has 77 properties with over 8,600 rooms under development. 'Over the next 5-6 years, we expect to add around 300 new hotels, which would take our portfolio to nearly 500 hotels by 2030. This growth will be fuelled by expansion into unexplored destinations as well as deeper penetration into metro. The demand for quality accommodations is rising not just in the major metros but also in smaller tier 2 and tier 3 cities, thanks to improved infrastructure and a booming domestic travel market. Equally, we're witnessing appetite for all categories of hotels – from upscale and luxury to midscale,' said K B Kachru, Radisson Hotel Group chairman (South Asia). Not surprisingly, leading chains are adding new brands to their portfolio here to cash in on the Indian growth story. Marriott International recently partnered with CG Hospitality, the hospitality arm of CG Corp Global, to launch 'Series by Marriott', a new collection focused on midscale and upscale travellers. This partnership will see The Fern portfolio integrating into Marriott's global ecosystem. The Fern portfolio, currently comprising over 84 hotels, will be added to Marriott's India portfolio, making it one of the largest multi-unit deals in the country's hospitality sector. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
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Business Standard
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
We go from 42 cities to 90 with Series by Marriott launch in India: Menon
This is one of the soft brands we have launched. In India, we have 158 open hotels and another 112 are under construction. These are spread across 42 cities and they represent 17 brands, Menon said Mumbai Listen to This Article Marriott International, the largest hotel in India in terms of inventories, has launched, with an exclusive partnership with CG Corp Global's Concept Hospitality, a global brand 'Series by Marriott', a midscale and upscale lodging segment. Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International, in a face-to-face interview with Roshni Shekhar highlights the significance of the new brand and the deal (with Concept) to boost the hotel's leading position in India. Edited excerpts: What does the global launch of 'Series' signify for Marriott's long-term brand positioning in India and globally? This is one of the soft brands we have launched.
Mint
22-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Marriott invests in India's Concept Hospitality to start a new hotel brand
US hospitality chain Marriott International Inc. has acquired a minority stake in India's Concept Hospitality, which operates brands like the Fern Hotels and Resorts, to launch a new hotel series, it announced on Thursday. It will first integrate The Fern into its new brand and could later include the Concept's other brands as well. The Mumbai-based company, which has 84 operational hotels, 31 hotels in the pipeline, and 8,000 rooms in total, will continue to manage these hotels. Mint first reported in April that the US hospitality giant had earmarked about $15 million for the deal and valued Concept Hospitality at $100 million. Concept Hospitality—backed by the Nepalese multinational CG Corp Global, which also owns the Wai Wai noodles brand in India—operates 84 hotels across the country under six brands, including The Fern and The Zinc. Marriott International, the company behind hotels JW Marriott, Westin, W and other brands, is the largest hotel chain in India by the number of rooms, according to a 2024 report by the hotel industry consultant Hotelivate. As of August 2024, when this report was written, Marriott had more than 24,000 rooms in India. Its closest rival, Indian Hotels Co. Ltd (IHCL) of the Tata group, had over 21,000 rooms. The report added that around 35% of the country's branded hotel supply, or branded hotel rooms like these, comes from publicly listed firms. While Marriott International itself is unlisted in India, it partners with listed hotel owners like Chalet Hotels Ltd and Samhi Hotels Ltd in India. It had earlier announced it planned to increase its room count to 50,000 over the next three to five years, aiming to operate 250-300 hotels in the country. In 2024, it signed contracts for 42 new hotels in South Asia, including India, adding about 7,000 pipeline rooms. The company operates about 171 hotels in South Asia, with 158 of them in India, which now have close to 30,000 rooms. The new brand will have no-frills rooms—'well-priced' lodging with a focus on essentials and basic, clean stays, the company said. It will also become a part of Marriott Bonvoy, the company's loyalty programme. Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International, told Mint that this growth will help the company expand into the secondary and tertiary markets. 'This is a one-off exception deal, in the sense that Marriott does strategically invest in companies and has only a handful of hotels around the world where we have some kind of investment. We had done this in the past with our Autograph Collection Hotels elsewhere in the world and built some hotels which we later sold.' 'We see an incredible opportunity for growth here and not just necessarily in premium or luxury brands, but in the space where it's approachable, accessible,' he added. 'This will allow us to amplify our reach as The Fern brand is expected to benefit not only from the loyalty programme and a global distribution system, but also from strategic growth opportunities,' added Binod Chaudhary, chairman of CG Corp Global. The hotel giant is also in talks with hotel owners in regions including the US, Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East about adding more properties to this new brand. The new partnership is being seen as a move to scale operations more quickly in India's competitive and fast-growing hospitality market, where demand is rising for mid-scale and upscale hotels. India has about 200,000 branded hotel rooms, and the number is expected to grow to 300,000 by 2030, according to a report by hospitality consultancy Horwath HTL. This investment marks a change in strategy for Marriott in India, where international hotel companies have generally focused on managing rather than owning properties. Other than Marriott, only a few international hotel groups, including the owners of Hyatt Hotels and French hospitality major Accor, have acquired direct stakes in Indian hotels. Hyatt Hotels holds a stake in India through Juniper Hotels, which went public in 2024. Accor and InterGlobe Enterprises together started InterGlobe Hotels in 2004.
