India’s largest hospitality company, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), has announced the expansion of its portfolio with the signing of 11 hotels and opening five new hotels across destinations in the first quarter of this year.
In Q1 FY23-24, the company opened one Taj, two Seleqtions, one Vivanta and one Ginger brand property across the country apart from signing four Taj, three Seleqtions, three Vivanta and one Ginger hotel. With its current portfolio of 270 hotels, the company said it remains ‘well poised to achieve’ its vision of 325+ hotels by 2025.
Commenting on IHCL’s growth, Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President – Real Estate & Development, IHCL, stated, “Maintaining its industry leading growth, IHCL executed 11 agreements across all its brands in the first quarter. Taj, rated as India’s Strongest Brand 2023 by Brand Finance further strengthened its presence with a 400-room hotel in Delhi and a 120-room hotel in Kochi and entered new markets like Raichak in West Bengal and Dhaka in Bangladesh. Leading in the leisure segment, IHCL signed a SeleQtions in Kumbhalgarh and Naukuchiatal. Vivanta and Ginger, having added new locations to their network are growing at a healthy pace. This sustained expansion is a testament to the strength of our brands making IHCL a preferred partner.”She added, “In line with Ahvaan 2025, IHCL has achieved a balanced portfolio, enabling maximisation of operating leverage from its owned/leased hotels and enhancing margins from the fee-based managed hotels portfolio. IHCL will continue to pursue responsible profitable growth with a combination of select investments, operating leases and management contracts. Currently 70 per cent of our pipeline is fee based, 7 per cent is owned and balance 23 per cent is under operating leases for the Ginger brand.”
The list of hotels that have successfully formed alliances with brands through Noesis’ includes Lemon Tree Premier Malad West, Bloom Saki Vihar in Andheri East, Bloom Suites near the domestic airport, Ginger in Goregaon East, The Fern resorts in Badlapur and Palghar, Adiva Beacon (Fern) in Grant Road, among others. Noesis is also engaged in 12 ongoing and upcoming hotel projects across the MMR region.
Deepika Rao, Executive Vice President – Hotel Openings and Corporate Communications, IHCL, said, “Keeping pace with signings, IHCL opened five new hotels in the quarter taking the total operating hotels to 191 across brands. IHCL added to its wellness offering with Taj Gandhinagar Resort & Spa and forayed into the temple cities of Jammu and Bhubaneshwar. Kerala’s commercial capital, Kochi will now bring the Ginger experience to a new micro market at MG Road and India’s sunshine state, Goa with multiple IHCL brands will now offer yet another location in Anjuna.” This fiscal, IHCL will be stepping into Gangtok in Sikkim, Tawang in Arunanchal Pradesh, Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and adding to its portfolio in Mumbai, National Capital Region (NCR), Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Srinagar, Tirupati, Ranthambore among others.
