IHCL SIGNS ITS THIRD HOTEL IN INDORE, MADHYA PRADESH

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, today announced the signing of a SeleQtions branded hotel in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The currently operational property will be rebranded SeleQtions.

Commenting on the signing, Ms. Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President - Real Estate & Development, IHCL said, “The signing of this hotel further strengthens our presence in the strategically important state of Madhya Pradesh. Indore, its financial capital lies in proximity to major industrial hubs and is home to several large IT parks. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have three of its brands in the city, which is in line with its commercial potential. The hotel is slated to open this fiscal after the quick conversion. We are delighted to partner with Winway Group for this project.”

The 125-keys hotel is situated in the heart of Indore’s commercial hub. Guests can enjoy a variety of global and local cuisines at the all-day dining restaurant, bar, and specialty restaurant. Recreational facilities will include a swimming pool and gym. The hotel will also offer state-of-the-art banqueting spaces spread over 6,400 square feet.

Mr. Sahil Wadhwani and Mr. Vansh Wadhwani, Partners,, Winway Group said, “We are delighted to bring the SeleQtions brand to Indore in partnership with IHCL. We believe this will transform the hospitality landscape in the city.”

Indore, on the banks of Kanh and Saraswati rivers is the most populous city in Madhya Pradesh. It has been consistently declared as India’s cleanest city. It is a major transit point for pilgrimage to Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain.

With this addition, IHCL has ten hotels across Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta and Ginger brands in Madhya Pradesh including three under development.

About Winway Group

The Winway Group has interests in Real Estate, Residential, Corporate and Hospitality Projects in Indore. Promoted by the Wadhwani family, Winway Group has completed multiple projects such as WOW Hotel, Winway Hotel, real estate developments such as Winway World Offices, The Ambiance by Winway, The Winway Centre and Heaven Homes to name a few.

IHCL ANNOUNCES RECORD FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR Q4 AND FY 2022-23

IHCL ANNOUNCES RECORD FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR Q4 AND FY 2022-23

• FY23 REVENUE AT INR 5,949 CRORES, UP 85% YoY

• FY23 EBITDA MARGIN AT 32.7%, UP 1523 BPS YoY

• FY23 PAT AT INR 1,003 CRORES, OFFSETS COVID LOSSES

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, reported its consolidated financials for the fourth quarter and full ending March 31st, 2023.

Commenting on the FY23 performance, Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO, IHCL, said, “IHCL achieved a record setting year with a number of significant accomplishments including the highest ever full year consolidated revenue, an all-time high and industry leading EBITDA margin and PAT of over INR 1,000 crores a historic first for the company. This performance was enabled by consecutive four quarters ofsustained high demand, additionally bolstered by IHCL demonstrating RevPAR leadership across its brandscape in all its key markets.

IHCL crossed 260+ hotels in its portfolio including 36 signings at a rate of 3 hotels a month and 16 openings or a new hotel every three weeks in the year. IHCL’s vast footprint now covers 31 States and Union Territories in India. We were also able to achieve an optimal 50:50 mix between our owned/leased and managed hotels.”

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

TAJ REACHES LANDMARK 100TH HOTEL MILESTONE

• The iconic brand Taj has reached a portfolio of 100 hotels and has more than doubled its room inventory over the past five years

• Key signings under the brand:

  • Taj Dhaka, a 230-room hotel in the capital city of Bangladesh

  • Taj Riyadh, a 205-room hotel in the heritage city of Diriyah in Saudi Arabia

  • Two Taj resorts in Lakshadweep, 110 room resort each on Suheli and Kadmat islands

  • Taj added to its presence with a hotel each in key cities of Chennai, Bengaluru and Cochin

  • Taj marked its entry to the state capitals of Raipur and Gandhinagar with a 150-room hotel and 118 room resort and spa respectively

• Opened three new Taj hotels across Kolkata, Wayanad and Jaipur and an addition to its palace portfolio with Sawai Man Mahal, Jaipur

• Taj continues to retain the dual honour of World’s Strongest Hotel Brand and India’s Strongest Brand as per Brand Finance Hotels 50 Report 2022 and India 100 Report 2022

RECORD PORTFOLIO GROWTH & ACHIEVES BALANCED PORTFOLIO

• With a record signing of 36 hotels in FY 2022-2023, IHCL portfolio now stands at 260+ hotels

• Achieved industry leading performance with 16 new hotel openings this fiscal. This included four hotels each under Taj and SeleQtions brands, three Vivanta and five Ginger branded hotels.

• In line with its initiative to restructure its portfolio under Ahvaan 2025, IHCL has attained a balanced portfolio mix between its owned/leased and managed hotels

REIMAGINED AND NEW BUSINESSES

• Ginger hotels has reported a turnaround in FY 2022-23, led by a 50% Lean Luxe portfolio, the company achieved Revenue of INR 307 crores, EBITDA margin of 37.4% and a PBT of INR 48 crores

• TajSATS captured a market share of 58% in FY 2022-23, clocking a Revenue of INR 641 crores a 53% growth over pre-Covid, EBITDA margin of 19.7% and a PBT of INR 107 crores

• Under the new businesses, Qmin has now grown to 34 outlets with a presence across 24 cities and amã Stays & Trails has witnessed a 42% growth in portfolio this fiscal reaching 114 bungalows across 50+ locations

DRIVING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

• Paathya - IHCL’s ESG+ framework, key highlights for the year include:

  • IHCL’S FLAGSHIP TAJ MAHAL PALACE, MUMBAI IS NOW 100% GREEN

  • 310 EV charging stations across 129 locations in India

  • 32.5% renewable energy and 42% water recycled usage across operating hotels

  • 20 hotels equipped with bottling plants to eliminate use of single use plastic bottles

  • 16 skilling centres across the country with a presence in Gwalior, Lucknow, Jaipur, Jamshedpur among others

Six Taj hotel staff test positive

At least six staff members of the Taj group of hotels in Mumbai have been hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19. The Taj Mahal Palace, The President, Taj Lands End, Taj Santacruz and Ginger Andheri have offered their premises to the medical fraternity and health workers.

The Taj staff were admitted to Bombay Hospital and are reported to be stable. Dr. Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician at the hospital, said they had very mild symptoms.

Approximately 500 of our employees who are at work in our Mumbai hotels have been tested. Those who have tested positive mostly were asymptomatic, showing absolutely no signs of illness. However, staff testing positive and symptomatic were duly hospitalized and others who were in contact with them have immediately been put in quarantine in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) norms and guidelines issued by the local Government authorities

South Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace does not have any guests and is working with minimum staff in areas like housekeeping, security, maintenance and staff dining to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the hotel.

IHCL has been supporting the Government with various humanitarian initiatives by offering its hotels to the medical fraternity, health workers, supporting certain States with quarantine facilities and also providing almost 4 lakh meals till date to doctors, health workers and migrant workers

India's top hotels will now deliver meals at lower rates amid lockdown

With social distancing becoming the new normal, hotels such as Indian Hotels, Marriott, Grand Hyatt and Accor Group Hotels are ensuring their meals reach the doorsteps of guests. For an industry that counts heavily on the overall experience, a personalised touch and ambience to pamper its guests, this is a first.

Guests can choose their favourite cuisines from a specially curated compact menu at a tad lower price than what they would have paid when dining at the hotel restaurants.

 The owner of Taj hotels is offering confectionary and gourmet hampers and a hamper for spa at home

Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain, too, is pulling all plugs for its guests to beat the lockdown blues. Its brands including JW Marriott, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, and Four Points are giving the guests an option for a take away or home delivery.

The hotels have introduced a compact menu of their signature dishes and are already seeing a positive response from local residents in their vicinity, she said. Stringent checks and safety measures are being taken while preparing, packaging and delivering these meals across homes.

Impact of "New Business Model" by IHCL on Investors →

Investors in IHCL seem to be betting on its asset-light strategy.

Step taken by IHCL for Hotel Industry brought lot of changes in Market a major shift from Traditional Strategy to Asset Light Strategy focus on Equity Investment on those where an organization's expertise achieves the best return for investors.

Benefit of this Strategy are:

• Positive impact on investors

• IHCL and EIH Ltd have outperformed the Nifty Midcap Index on a one-year horizon

• Higher Returns on Investment (ROI)

• Ebitda (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) rose by 16% after the implementation of Indian Accounting Standards -116 norms

• Higher operating performance implied costs are being in control.

• “Traction in new signings continued with addition of 1,257 rooms in Q1FY20 (April-June) across seven cities, which took the pipeline to 4,500-plus rooms (FY19: 4,000 rooms)."  According to Edelweiss Securities Ltd.

• Seven new contracts in Q1 added

• Occupancy rates in the industry moved up by 3% points to 69% year-on-year in FY2019, according to data from ICRA Ltd.

• UK & US business remain in cloud .

• Earnings Per Share (ERP) Increase by 35% average compounded rate due to Margin Expansion and Lower Capex Intensity.

source : ET

IHCL Partners With Essec Business School To Launch Full Scholarships For Deserving Employees Annually

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), South Asia’s largest hospitality company has today announced the launch of a scholarship in partnership with the ESSEC Business School in France as part of its continued commitment to bolstering learning and development for its employees. As part of the initiative two deserving IHCL employees each year would be sponsored for a 21 month long fully paid MSc in Hospitality Management at the ESSEC Campus in Paris. This initiative is launched for a three year period and may be renewed further.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL said, “We have always believed in creating a strong talent pipeline by enabling and empowering our employees with the best of learning and development initiatives. Our collaboration with ESSEC Business School is a vital step in that direction and in line with our vision to create future leaders for the global hospitality industry in general and build a talent pipeline for IHCL in particular”.

A pioneer of business-related learning since 1907, ESSEC is rated amongst the top business schools in the world.

Professor Peter O’Connor, Academic Director, Essec Business School said, “We are delighted to collaborate with a prestigious company such as The Indian Hotels (IHCL) for the initiative, which brings in a fitting blend of Indian hospitality and international standards of excellence. We look forward to a brilliant partnership aligned with ESSEC’s mission to respond to the challenges of the future.”

The program is a mix of rigorous academics and hands-on field experience which includes various areas such as E-Commerce, Real Estate & Development, Entrepreneurship and Luxury Services Management. Besides the full tuition fees, IHCL would also cover the accommodation and living expenses for the two selected employees.

IHCL targets 30% growth in next few years

Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) on Thursday said it is expecting to accelerate its growth to 30% in the next few years on the back of positive industry sentiment and expansion.

"We intend to significantly increase our footprint in India, driven by '3R' (restructure, reengineer, and reimagine) strategy and achieve our aspiration of doubling the room keys and expanding the operating margin by 800 bps over the next five years," N Chandrasekharan, Chairman, IHCL told shareholders at the company's AGM here.

"Our journey of growth has already commenced, marked by the sharpening of Taj, Vivanta and Ginger brands as well as launch of a new collection called 'SeleQtions'," he added.

Chandrasekharan said IHCL will also take initiatives to work together with other Tata companies.

"The company is growing at a rate of 8-10%, which we plan to increase to 30% in the next few years," he added.

The country's favourable demographics, with a large and growing middle class coupled with rising income levels and spending patterns have been triggers for growth, which remain extremely favourable to the company, he said.

Chandrasekharan said the travel and tourism sector is expected to grow at 6.9% per annum, on healthy growth in the aviation industry and robust government-led initiatives aimed at stimulating the sector, including promoting the expansion of e-visa scheme. Moreover, the hospitality sector has been witnessing growth in the recent years.

"As a cumulative result of all these factors, demand growth in the hotel industry has been clearly outpacing that of supply, leading to a surge in occupancies and RevPARs," he added.

The company is looking forward to open eight new hotels this year, he added.

IHCL, he said, has turned profitable for the first time in six years, recording INR 101 crore profit with a total revenue of INR 4,165 crore.

The company's overall consolidated debt has also been reduced to around INR 2,400 crore from a peak of INR 5,800 crore, he added.

(Source: moneycontrol)

Indian Hotels Company signs new Vivanta in India

The Indian Hotels Company has signed a new Vivanta hotel in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir, India with Delhi-based DMG Group.

The DMG Group's existing hotel in Katra has 80 guestrooms spread over eight acres of land. The property is close to the Jammu airport, the Holy Shrine, the Trikuta Mountains, Patnitop, Nathatop, Mansar Lake, Shivkhori, Nau Devi, Baba Dhansar and Sanasar Lake. DMG Group will invest approximately Rs10 crore to convert the hotel under the Vivanta brand by early 2019. 

“We are pleased to partner with DMG Group in bringing the Vivanta brand to Katra. This announcement is aligned to our strategy of expanding our footprint and driving growth across popular pilgrimage and tourist destinations,” Suma Venkatesh, EVP of real estate and development at Indian Hotels Company, said in a statement.