Indian Hotels CEO eyes triple century milestone, exceeds double century with 200 operational hotels

Indian hospitality company, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) recently touched a milestone when it opened its 200th hotel Gorbandh Palace, an IHCL SeleQtions hotel in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO, Indian Hotels said, “It's a double century, so it's always good. Hopefully, very soon we will be having a triple century, because we have 80 plus hotels in pipeline and the guidance that we have given under our strategy is to have a portfolio in operation or under development of 300 plus hotels by the end of next financial year.”

Talking about this shift towards Indian destination, Chhatwal highlighted planning 2 hotels in Lakshadweep, agreements signed 10 months ago.

“In the islands of Suheli and Kadmat, and we signed those almost like 10 months ago. So the design is getting very close to the completion phase. We hope to get under construction in the next three to six months’ subject to all the planning and all the approvals that are needed.”

He added, “The endeavour or the aspiration is to get at least 200 in both of them together. And that comes with a number of villas we will do, the number of suites, we will do, a number of three bedroom properties as standalone that will do so will but we are aiming to no less than 200 for both the islands together.”

The CEO revealed ambitious plans for Ayodhya, where IHCL aims to introduce multiple brands including Vivanta, Taj, Ginger, and Seleqtions hotels over time. Chhatwal expressed confidence in the continued demand for these spiritual destinations, predicting that it will outpace supply for the next three years.

Currently, IHCL operates around 50 hotels in spiritual destinations across India, with ongoing development and expansion projects in these revered locations.

"We are adding 100 new rooms in Taj Ganges, doubling its capacity. Additionally, we are set to open another property in Tirupati in the next 6-8 weeks," Chhatwal shared. He highlighted the growing recognition of spiritual tourism, noting its resilience during crises.

The stock was trading at ₹473.70 on the NSE, up by 2.18%. It has gained over 6% in the last one month.