‘From one to 150 hotels in 25 years & on track to have 250 in India soon:’ Marriott Intl’s Ranju Alex
NEW DELHI: From one to 150 in 25 years: That is the story of one of the fastest growing hotel chains in India. Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, has opened its 150th property in India — at Katra, Mata Vaishno Devi, — as it celebrates 25 years of presence in the country. The American hospitality giant has another 83 hotels in the pipeline that will open over the next 3-4 years, taking its room count from current 28,000 rooms across 17 brands in 40 plus cities to over 40,000 rooms.
“The best coincidence is that our first hotel was the Goa Marriott Resort and Spa in 1999, which was a resort. And our 150th also happens to be Marriott Katra Resort and Spa, 25 years later. We have signed 31 properties in the last 14-15 months. Currently, as we speak, we have 83 hotels with about 12,300 rooms in the pipeline. Almost 77% of the hotels signed in 2023 have been in the premium and luxury brands. We’ve seen an equal demand for both premium and luxury hotels,” Ranju Alex, Marriott International (south Asia) area VP, told TOI.
Like the overall industry, the hospitality major is seeing an upsurge in revenue in India thanks to the massive travel rebound here post Covid. While revenue per available room in 2023 was about 30% higher than the previous year, so far in 2024 the increase over 2023 has been over 12%. “2023 was breakout year for us in India. Marriott India portfolio crossed the toppling of a billion dollar last year. This year we are looking at $1.3-1.5 billion.”
What are the trends Marriott is seeing in India? “One clear trend is spiritual tourism. We have hotels in Amritsar, Mahabalipuram and Katra. We’ve we’ve signed a hotel in Ayodhya. Then we are signing a lot of hotels in the Tier II, III and even IV cities. This shows the growth of India as an economy and how five-star hotels are now required across all cities. This year we will be opening 13 hotels in India,” she said.
Last year the group’s top leadership was in the country and had called on PM Modi. “We had given a commitment to the Prime Minister that we would have 250 hotels open by 2025. Happy to report that we are well within our range to achieve the target,” she said.
The group employs over 30,000 people in India and this number will keep increasing as more hotels open. “We are a very people-centric company that offers career growth because of our sizeable presence here. Twenty-five years back this (hospitality) was not a preferred industry for people to come in. But now we see a paradigm shift.”
Regarding the 150th Marriott in India, at Katra, Alex said: “As we celebrate the milestone opening of our 150th Hotel in India, we acknowledge not just our prominent presence in the country, but also the unique and enriching experiences our hotels provide through their distinctive architecture and design, world-class food and beverage offerings and curated amenities that provide exceptional, one-of-a-kind stays. We continue to have confidence in the resilience of our brands and our teams, and remain steadfast in our commitment to advancing our growth through a strong pipeline of hotels”.
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