Hilton Worldwide, one of the leading global hospitality companies with a portfolio of 13 brands is all set to introduce 20 more hotels in India. Recently, the company introduced its Conrad brand in India with the launch of Conrad Pune on March 10, 2016.
Speaking about their further development plans in India, Rupert Hallam, Vice President, Sales-Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide said, “India is a strategic market both for our development and for sales; there is a huge amount of outbound business here. Earlier Indian travellers used to prefer traditional destinations like South-East Asia, Australia, and the Middle-East. But now Indian customers are travelling to all the unexplored destinations. We have 4600 hotels with a presence in 101 countries; and we have hotels in most of the unexplored destination which the Indian travellers are seeking to go.”
“In the Asia Pacific market we have over 150 properties. The pipeline is looking extremely strong. We have got around 20 hotels in the pipeline for India in the next couple of years. We have also launched Conrad Pune on March 10. It’s a fantastic property, located very well for the corporate base. In the next two years, we are looking to open Hilton Goa, Hilton Garden Inn Lucknow, and Conrad Bangalore. As India is a very strategic market for us, we will surely grow in this market. But we are looking at a sustainable approach; we carefully launch the right brands in the right locations with the right partners.”
Recently, Hilton hosted the Hilton Worldwide 2016 India Showcase with representation from more than 100 hotels and resorts located in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Australia. The three-city, five-day event held in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore drew more than 500 interested partners from the travel industry.
Hallam said, “This week we are connecting with the Indian travel trade to showcase all our properties. We have got representation from Middle-East, North America, UK, Europe, Edinburg, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji , South East Asia, Japan, to name a few. We have realised that in India it is all about partnerships. B2B is one of the most important segments in India. With 13 brands across the globe, we have got something for every traveller. The way to manage Indian business is to reach out to the travel trade. During the Showcase visitors can interact with hotel representatives and gathered insight into the range of offerings ideal not only for business and leisure travel but also for hosting conference and incentive groups as well as grand weddings and other social events.”
Speaking about the overall growth in the APAC market, Hallam added, “South- East Asia is a strong growth area for Hilton. Recently, we launched new properties in Manila, Malaysia, and Myanmar. China is again a large and strategic market for us, just like India. We will open around 17 hotels in China, next year. Globally the media is reporting that there can be a downturn in Hospitality segment. But Asia Pacific is looking great as of now.”
Hilton Worldwide has a total of 13 Brands globally, but in India only five brands are present. Hallam said, “In Asia Pacific, the brands which we are focusing on are; Hilton, Conrad, Double Tree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, and in china particularly Hampton by Hilton. Likewise for India, we will focus on growing these brands. Most of our brands are American centric, so as of now we don’t have any plans to introduce new brands in India.”
Globally, Hilton is also known for successfully managing airport hotels and convention centres. In India the company is yet to debut in the latter segment. Hallam said that the company is waiting for a right opportunity to manage a convention centre in India. Hallam said, “Overall there are plans to come up with a convention centre in India, as a convention centre attached with a hotel works very well in terms of business. MICE hotels and airport hotels are big business anywhere in the world. We will wait for the right opportunity and introduce it here.”
