Kolkata: Global hospitality group Accor on Wednesday announced the launch of its luxury brand Raffles in India with the signing of two properties, one each in Jaipur and Udaipur in Rajasthan. Accor is looking to add 24 hotels in India in the next three years and adding around 4,000-5,000 people to its workforce.
Accor is not alone, leading international hotel chains like Marriott, Starwood, Carlson Rezidor, InterContinental Hotel are on an expansion mode in India. All of them are scaling up their operations, possibly at a faster rate than the national hotel chains, and increasing the number of properties in the country. And that’s not without a reason. The demand for hotel rooms is expected to increase between 12 per cent and 15 per cent over the next few years, while supply will expand at a slower pace. And that’s the trigger, analysts said. Accor’s expansion plan is just a case in point.
“Currently, we have 51 hotels in India having around 10,000 workforce across all our properties. With the expansion to 75 properties, we are expecting to add another 4,000-5,000 people to our workforce in the next three years," said Accor Chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin. Accor currently has 4,800 hotels with 300,000-strong workforce across the world.
The unveiling of Accor’s expansion plan coincided with that of another leading global hospitality chain-Radisson Hotel Group. Radisson Group said it has lined up plans to double its portfolio of hotels in India to 200 by 2022. It now has 94 properties in operation and 49 in the pipeline.
“India is a very important market for us. It is the biggest single country within our portfolio... There is a lot of growth in India. It is a very high growth potential market," said Radisson Hotel Group President-Asia Pacific, Katerina Giannouka.
The Accor Chairman, on his part, said: "India represents only 1 per cent of our total portfolio now, which is way too small. After the pipeline, it will go up to 2.4 per cent, which will be getting better. We should grow bigger in India. Globally we have 38 brands and we are looking at opportunities and the right partners to bring in more brands, including Banyan Tree, Mama Shelter, Delano, Mondrian, Tribe, among a few, in the next two-four years."
Significantly, while its expansion in India will be mostly with its mid-scale and economy brands like Novotel and ibis, the hospitality group is also planning to expand its luxury and lifestyle brands in the country. Raffles brand, for instance, is a hallmark of luxury and sublime service.
