Pride Group of Hotels is expanding on an asset-light model and also planning for room expansion at our units in Nagpur and Pune. S P Jain, Managing Director, Pride Hotels, shares the performance and expansion plan of his group :
The Pride Group of Hotels that currently boasts of 4,400 keys generates 40% of its revenue from F&B, MICE, and Weddings. The hotel chain expects a turnover in the range of Rs 225 -250 crore in 2022 -2023.
How has the performance been for Pride Group of Hotels in Fiscal 2021 and what is the expectation from 2022 in terms of average occupancy, ARRs and RevPar?
The Pride Group of Hotels has performed much better in 2021-2022 in comparison to 2020-2021. We have almost doubled our turnover. The ADR and occupancy have gone up from 43% to 65% for the current year 2022-2023. We expect to perform again with similar growth in 2021-2022 and do a turnover of INR 225- 250 crore.
What is your current operational profile and future expansion plan? Which cities are on the radar for the expansion? What is the focus: business or leisure? Which segments: mid-market or upscale is you focus?
The Pride group presently has a presence in around 44 great locations and boasts of over 4,400 keys. The group will expand its portfolio to 50 hotels by 2022. Once the new openings are complete Pride Hotels will have 50 properties and over 5000 keys offering unique guest experiences across various geographical regions on a Pan India basis. The new portfolio includes resorts and hotels in the cities of Nainital, Jim Corbett, Bharatpur, Jabalpur, Daman, Rishikesh, Aatapi, Surendranagar, Dwaraka, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Alkapuri, Manjusar, Agra, Somnath, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Neemrana, Rajkot, Bhopal, Aurangabad, and Haldwani. The Pride Resort in Aatapi is an amusement park plus a resort located in between Vadodara and Kewadia (famous for the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest monument). Most of these upcoming properties will be located in popular tourism & pilgrimage circuits primarily in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Where do you see Pride Group of Hotels by 2027?
Our vision is to establish Pride Hotels as the best Indian Hospitality Chain. We have currently set a target of 50 hotels by 2022 and 100 hotels by 2030.
How would you like to fund the expansion?
We are expanding on an asset-light model and have a plan to open 50 hotels by the year ending of 2022. We also planning for room expansion at our units in Nagpur and Pune, which will be financed by internal accrual.
How are you improving your service offerings?
The Pride group has already set a high standard of good service to the guest, and we are using various software to comply with the guest requirements within the time limit. We are regularly training our staff members to improve standard service to our guests.
What is the contribution of F&B, MICE and weddings segment in your overall business?
Pride Hotels exemplifies a luxurious brand with its banquet and conference facilities, reinforcing itself as the one-stop destination for MICE. We our pan India presence we generate 40% revenue from F&B, MICE, and Weddings.
What new safety measures you have adopted to instill confidence among travellers keeping the pandemic in mind?
We want our guests to feel safe when they walk through the doors of our hotels. All our staff is fully vaccinated. In order to make it possible we need to be transparent with them on the further steps, we’ve taken in the areas of cleanliness and hygiene. We rolled out the Pride Safety Assurance initiative with enhanced technological measures like contactless check-in & check-out services, a contactless billing facility, a touchless dispensing center for the sanitizers, and a mobile-friendly dining menu. Other measures that have been taken are the usage of biodegradable trays for the in-room dining, marking the floors in the lobby area for people so they always maintain social distancing, and all the key touch-points areas in the hotel are sanitized every half an hour. To provide our guests with an enhanced safe and hygienic environment we have deployed technology at every aspect of our services.
What is your marketing and promotional plan? How important is digital marketing for you?
We believe in an equal balance of online and offline media. This includes digital too. We’re in 2022 and digital marketing can’t be ignored. We’ve tried and ensured reaching our audience through the platform. Pandemic has given us the experience of keeping our media plans agile and flexible.
What kind of CSR activities you undertook during the pandemic?
During the unprecedented time of the pandemic, Pride Hotels has contributed to various initiatives. The foodservice team of the Pride Group of Hotels prepared meals for the Doctors, Nurses, Service experts, Police officers, medical practitioners, Hospital support staff, and Civil service personnel who are leading from the front. We supported the Government of India by offering our rooms at various properties for hospital use. We also hosted medical staff throughout the pandemic at major locations besides sponsoring a vaccination camp in Mumbai.
