US-based Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is ambitious about the growth in India's hotel industry on the back of increasing spiritual tourism and infrastructure development in the country.
The hospitality chain, which has hotels across the globe, is betting big on India, one among the three fastest markets for the company.
"We cannot miss the opportunity that India represents for the world today. Wyndham cannot afford to not pay attention to the opportunity in India. We are extremely bullish on India. Some people might say that you have got 1,400 hotels in China so how can you be bullish about India? This is because I will see more business coming from India than any other market in my region," Dimitris Manikis, President of Europe, the Middle East, Eurasia, and Africa (EMEA), Wyndham Hotels, told Moneycontrol.
For the company, it is also important to showcase what is being done in India because back in the US a lot of their clients are of India origin.
"India for Wyndham is among the three fastest growing markets and we are aiming to make India come at the top. There is an enormous future for Wyndham in the country," Manikis added.
The hotel chain has an inventory of 60 hotels in India, which is 5,500 rooms, and has another 25 hotels under development and 40 hotels in the pipeline.
Religious tourism is one of the key growth areas for Wyndham, said Manikis who said that it is key for them to open hotels in pilgrim places. "We have got a couple of hotels in the pipeline and we will announce the locations."
He further said, "Our plan is to have 150 hotels by 2025 in India." The company is bringing a network of budget hotels in the country.
Wyndham's economy brands like Days Inn and Super 8, currently present in the US, will be coming to India. "In the next 2-3 years in India, as they grow the network of roads and as they expand the highways, people will need to sleep on the way, they will need a place to charge their electric vehicles, truck drivers will need to get some place to rest. This is where I feel a lot of opportunities are there. In the US, we call them motels but here you can call them service stations. That’s where I see an enormous opportunity for Wyndham in the next 3-4 years in India."
He expects a 50:50 breakup for budget/economy hotels and midscale to upper midscale properties under Wyndham.
The company's supply will also be focused on smaller cities.
"Do not underestimate the growth in tier II, III cities. The supply in the metros is saturated. That's why we have started to expand in tier II, III cities. A tier II city in India which probably has 3-5 million population is a tier I city somewhere else in Europe," Manikis said.
He added that big events have the potential to completely change the hotel market in a particular city. "The opening of Ram Temple in Ayodhya has changed the hospitality market completely in that region with more travellers, more hotels. Also, the government's plans for infrastructure development is not just about metros, it is about tier II, III cities across India."
Incredible India
The challenge for India remains attracting more number of foreign tourists to the country.
"Slow recovery of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) are a concern. So, India needs to do more work to advertise the country to the world. The G20 , Cricket World Cup were great opportunities but there is more that India can do to advertise itself to the world. There is spiritualism, hill stations, and wildlife. Every time I come to India, I discover something new that's what India needs to sell to the world. India needs to bring Incredible India to the world a bit more," Manikis said.
He added that inbound tourism is the best way to showcase to the world what India has achieved.
"I see in the next 2-3 years with new airports, growth of religious tourism, and the growth of infrastructure, I see inbound tourism as biggest opportunity for Indian hospitality," he said.
He also added that he is very passionate about the talent that India generates. "Many general managers are of Indian origin at Wyndham. In the past, you couldn't be a general manager of a hotel if you were not English, German or Swiss. Now, 30-40 percent general managers of the staff are Indians. In the past, India used to export workforce, now it exports management."
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