Aiming for 40 Hotels by 2020 Lords Hotels and Resorts to Expand in Eastern Region

AFTER WITNESSING a boom in the financial year 2017, Lords Hotels & Resorts is anticipating a revenue growth of around 11 to 14 percent in FY18'. With 27 operational properties, the company now plans to add 10 more properties by the end of 2018, aiming for 40 by the year 2020. Entrenched in the West, North and South, Lords Hotels are now making efforts to penetrate into the Eastern market, keeping West Bengal and Bhubaneswar as their key areas. BW Hotelier spoke to P R Bansal, COO, Lords Hotels & Resorts to know more about their expansion plans.

“Many of our hotel properties have found resonance with guests as great hotels for pilgrimage tourists. We want to build on that reputation and capitalize on the pilgrim tourist market. We are also focusing on adding hotels in Katra, Mathura, and Vrindavan among others,” mentioned Bansal.

Not planning to venture into luxury segment any time soon, Bansal commented, “We intend to first capture as much big a share of the mid-market pie as possible before venturing into any other space. In fact, the room for growth in this segment is so large and we are so favourably positioned that, strategically it makes sense for us to continue exploring within this space. There are quite a few hospitality players who predominantly catered to the luxury segment but are now venturing into the mid-market space. It is an indication of the kind of potential that this category offers and Lords Hotels & Resorts aspires to be the face of the Indian mid-market hospitality segment.”

Further speaking about the recent trends he is noticing in the hospitality industry, Bansal feels that the emergence of Social Media is changing the hospitality scenario.  “Autonomous online review sites like Trip Advisor receive an unprecedented number of reviews from travellers and guests. A study has revealed that almost 50 percent of consumers do not even make a booking at a hotel that has no reviews. And over 70 percent make a decision about their choice of stay based on the reviews of travellers,” he says.

He also mentioned about the changing food choices among the guests. According to Bansal, today’s traveller is demanding and wants to experiment or try locally. This makes it necessary for the hotel establishment to know the region well in which they operate and serve the local flavours that are prepared in authentic styles.