Marriott has had a lot to celebrate this past month with their Courtyard by Marriott brand completing 30 years since inception, and India getting its fifth JW Marriott property in Aerocity Delhi. Speaking about the company’s journey in India so far, Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President (South Asia), Marriott International called the growth pipeline in India one of the most robust, with a strong presence in 12 cities in the country.
“We have 10 Courtyard operational in India. It is best positioned in 5-star entry level in India. JW Marriott is the second fastest brand. We have four Marriotts, one Renaissance, one Marriott executive apartment and one Fairfield in Bengaluru. Today, we have 20 operating hotels in five different bands across the country, with an active pipeline of another 47 hotels under construction. With the 47 projects, we are looking at having an inventory of another 10,000 rooms by 2016-17. We will have an inventory of 5,500 rooms by end of this year. Of the 47, we have 19 more Courtyard by Marriott establishments and 12 or so Fairfield properties under construction, and then rest of the portfolio spread between JW Marriott, Renaissance and Marriott. JW Marriott in Kolkata is under construction and we expect this hotel to open sometime in early 2015,” he stated.
Looking at our future growth, Menon revealed that Marriott sees a strong distribution across India. In the first six months of 2014, the company will open Courtyard by Marriott in Vilaspur and Courtyard by Marriott in Agra. In addition, they have upcoming properties in Lucknow and three hotels in Guwahati, Siligiuri, Shillong, Jaisalmer. By 2017-18, Marriott expects to have 100 hotels in India between operating and singed, he added.
When asked about the year so far, Menon said, “Because of the slowdown and supply, industry RevPar is down by 4 per cent. However, Marriott, as a stable portfolio, Revpar has seen close to 5 per cent growth. We see reasonably profit growth in this environment. In 2013, we will end of with 70 per cent occupancy. Rate correction in India is going since last three to four years. It is reaching a stability point. Rates have gone way below than our expectation in certain market. In certain market, rates are static. We see some opportunity in rate growth in 2014 and we see bigger potential in 2015.”
Speaking about the domestic v/s international bookings at their hotels, Menon commented that today, Marriott is predominantly focused on Indian market. “Five years ago, 65 per cent of our business was from overseas market. Today, 60 per cent of our business comes from the domestic market,” he concluded.
