Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to open 29 more hotels in India by 2025
Manikis observed that there is an enormous opportunity for inbound tourism in India that will see phenomenal growth in the next five years with better infrastructure.
Bullish about its expansion plans in India, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which is the world’s largest hotel franchising company in terms of properties, will open nearly 29 more hotels in the next two to three years in the country, according to a senior company official.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has around 9,000 hotels in 95 countries across the world. Present in the economy and midscale segments, it has a network of more than 810,000 rooms. Its portfolio comprises 22 hotel brands, including Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, Microtel, La Quinta, Baymont, Wingate, AmericInn, Hawthorn Suites, Trademark Collection and Wyndham.
In India, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts currently has 50 hotels. Talking about the expansion plans, Dimitris Manikis, president, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa), told FE that there is an enormous opportunity for growth in India.
“We have an extremely strong pipeline at the moment. We have executed about 29 hotels that are due to open in the next two to three years. We have a plan to introduce more brands and increase the number of properties,” Manikis said.
“Our presence in India is related to the number of people we hire, the investment we make and we do believe franchise in India will be a huge opportunity for us in the next two to three years,” he added. The combined employee count for all the properties of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in India is more than 4,000.
According to the company, its RevPAR (revenue per available room) has been fluctuating between (-)7% and (+)5% on a year-on-year basis in India in CY 2022.
Besides, the occupancy rate at hotels has been consistently over 60% since mid-February, with ADR (average daily rate) for rooms being over $50 (Rs 3,797).
HVS Anarock said in a recent report that the Indian hotel sector ended CY 2021 with a country-wide occupancy of 42-45%, up 10-13 percentage points year-on-year, which resulted in a 24-27% increase in RevPAR to Rs 1,800-2,100. The firm expects countrywide occupancy to improve to 66% in CY 2022, which along with a 28% increase in ARR (average room rate), will push RevPAR to Rs 3,731 during the year.
Manikis observed that there is an enormous opportunity for inbound tourism in India that will see phenomenal growth in the next five years with better infrastructure.
“I believe that the more infrastructure you develop in India, the more tourists from Germany, the UK, the US and other countries you are going to get here. I think it is a real untapped opportunity for India,” he added.
Although Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ business in India will remain substantially domestic, Manikis noted that association with an international brand brings more opportunities. The company has more than 92 million enrolled members in its Wyndham Rewards loyalty programme.
“When somebody wants to come to India, it is highly likely that they are going to stay at one of our properties because they are a member of our Wyndham Rewards. They feel comfortable with us and the kind of services we provide,” he said.