Indian Hotels revenue 30% above pre-COVID times riding on IPL, wedding and corporate bookings

The hospitality industry's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a recent note by UBS that says there is no sign at all of the momentum slowing down. In an interaction with CNBC-TV18, Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO of The Indian Hotels Company indicated that the total revenue of the company is currently 25-29 percent above pre-COVID levels.

“As far as Indian hotels are concerned, we are higher than 2019-2020 on occupancy levels. We are operating at more than 100 percent and as we reported at the end of Q3, we were far ahead on average rate,” said Chhatwal.

Chhatwal also highlighted that the occupancy visibility for the next eight weeks is higher, and the upcoming Women’s IPL, G20, Men’s IPL, and the wedding season will further support the growth of the hospitality industry.

“The business on the books and the outlook for the next six weeks or eight weeks is quite positive because after the conclusion of the women's IPL now we start with the IPL on 31st of March, then we have G20. The wedding season starts to come back. So I think all in all, very pleased with the way the business on the books, as well as the year-to-date figures, look like.”

He also mentioned that the domestic corporate segment is back to pre-COVID levels, and domestic leisure is much ahead of pre-COVID which is a significant achievement for the industry.

Another significant point mentioned by Chhatwal was that foreign tourist arrivals are expected to cross pre-COVID levels in the second half of FY24.

Furthermore, Chhatwal indicated that rates will not exceed in Q1 compared to last year. “April, May, June, it wasn't as strong so there is nothing that we know of today, which would make me say that the rates and the occupancy should not exceed the April of last year or the May of last year.”

The Indian Hotels Company also has an industry-leading growth pipeline, and Chhatwal shared that they are planning to open 40 hotels in the next 24-28 months. He also stated that the company is halfway through the clearance of Sea-Rock Development, which is another positive development for the industry.