IHCL: All set for 300 by 2025
Tourism is seen as a major driving force for any economy, the world over. It has a multiplier effect on employment. Interestingly, as per the latest World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report, the sector is expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs globally within the next decade with at least 20 per cent from the Indian sub-continent.
Taj Amer
As the world moves on, and puts the pandemic behind, the service sector, travel and tourism business included, is emerging as a major growth engine for the Indian economy. This was demonstrated in Q2 GDP figures where the services sector grew by 9.3 per cent, contributed largely by trade and hotels which grew by 14.3 per cent, clocking a 100 per cent recovery to Q2 FY2020 levels. “People are once again flying in great numbers, airports are crowded, hotels are well booked, and travellers want to explore, connect and feel alive through the exhilarating emotion of travel. Inbound travel is also likely to pick up further leading to buoyant outlook,” feels Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO, IHCL.
IHCL has been on a journey of accelerated growth with a keen focus on achieving the long-term vision of achieving profitable and responsible growth. “First, we reimagined the brandscape, added new brands and new businesses and then we brought in the growth, which was driven by high margin businesses rather than having capital intensive or asset heavy growth. IHCL continued its focus on leveraging its strong brand portfolio to reach a milestone of 250-plus hotels and is in line with its vision of being a 300-hotel portfolio by 2025,” shares Chhatwal, adding, “The strength of our ecosystem has become very prominent during the past couple of years as it has allowed us to leverage our expertise to launch new brands such as SeleQtions and reimagined Ginger, which will be one of the most significant growth vehicles for IHCL,” he says.
Vivanta Shillong
Pandemic also accelerated the shift to digital and the industry embraced technology at a faster rate. In a significant move of staying in tune with the market demand and recognising the growing consumer demand for online gourmet food delivery services, IHCL innovated with the introduction of Qmin that has now expanded to over 25 outlets in India. IHCL also launched India’s first branded product in the fast-growing homestay market, ‘amã Stays & Trails’.
Chhatwal informs that under Ahvaan 2025, IHCL will continue on its path of sustained responsible growth, which has been strongly demonstrated in its industry leading business performance over the last couple of quarters which saw IHCL deliver record profits. As for Q3 results, he says that IHCL continued to report strong operational and financial performances across its businesses, resulting in an all-time high PAT of Rs 383 crore, which exceeds any previous full year PAT.
“Leveraging its brand portfolio, IHCL reached a milestone of 250-plus hotels and is in line with its vision of being a 300-hotel portfolio by 2025. In this financial year alone, 30-plus hotels have been added to the pipeline and 14 hotels have opened, besides strong growth in amã Stays & Trails with 108 homestays and Qmin with over 25 outlets. The demand outlook for the sector in 2023 remains robust on the back of sporting events such as World Cup of Hockey and Cricket, global events like the ongoing G20 and recovery of inbound and corporate travel. IHCL with its vast network of hotels spread across 125-plus cities is well positioned to cater to this rising demand,” he adds.
Vivanta Ahmedabad
Portfolio expansion, India and international
“IHCL’s portfolio expansion will be driven primarily by domestic growth. However, we will look at select international destinations. This growth in portfolio will be led by our Taj brand, which is slated to scale to 100 hotels from the current portfolio of 97 hotels while the Vivanta and SeleQtions brands will scale to a portfolio of 75 hotels,” says IHCL MD & CEO.
Known for being pioneers in putting new destinations on the tourism map, IHCL enjoys presence in over 100 locations across India with an expansive footprint in over 30 out of 36 states and Union Territories and is focussing on developing key tourism destinations such as Lakshadweep and the North East. “Not just in India, we are also looking at strengthening our presence across key international markets, in cities that are on popular travel routes, especially among the Indian diaspora. We will continue to have a strong focus on markets such as the Middle East, US, UK and Europe – in fact, we have recently signed a Taj hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” he shares, adding the lean-luxe brand, Ginger, is one of IHCL’s fastest growing brands and will scale to 125 hotels while ‘amã Stays & Trails’, India’s first branded homestay portfolio, will scale to 500 properties by 2025. “We are well on track to not just achieving but surpassing these goals, with 2022 being a record year for IHCL, with 30 hotels signed and 17 hotels opened across brands,” he says.
Sustainability goals
“Responsible companies must aim for three things simultaneously or the triple bottom line that looks at people, planet and profits. IHCL launched Paathya, its ESG+ framework to drive its sustainability and social impact measures. Through this framework, we are committing ourselves to action towards our short- and medium-term goals for 2030. We are looking at six pillars – environmental stewardship, social responsibility, excellence in governance through inclusivity, value change transformation, scalability in business and preserving heritage,” informs Chhatwal.
Sawai Man Mahal, Jaipur
On the environment front, all hotels will be single-use plastic-free, have on-site organic waste management systems and all of the waste water will be recycled / reused by 2030. “Also 100 per cent of all our hotels will be EarthCheck certified. At present, out of the 77 EarthCheck certified hotels, 57 hotels are Platinum-certified which is a global benchmark. Among other initiatives that will make large impact – 50 per cent of our energy will come from renewables and over 50 per cent of raw materials will be sourced locally. There will be 100 per cent adoption of supplier Code of Conduct by Tier I suppliers. Keeping in tune with the times, 50 per cent of hotel guest parking areas will be committed to EV charging stations. A hundred plus hotels now offer over 250 EV charging stations,” says Chhatwal. Taking the ethos of Jamsetji Tata who believed that “community is not just another stakeholder in the business but the very purpose of the existence of an enterprise” forward, IHCL has committed itself to skilling 100,000 youth who will be trained with relevant skillsets geared towards livelihoods. “We have partnered with 16 skilling centres across India including Jaipur, Gwalior, Rangajan, Bhubaneshwar and others,” he adds.
F&B innovations and impact on business growth
IHCL prides itself on its culinary history and in constantly leading and pioneering innovative dining concepts. With over 400 restaurants and bars in its F&B portfolio, food and beverage contributes a significant proportion of its revenues – over 40 per cent. “We have always been ahead of the F&B curve in offering some of the finest cuisines to our patrons. This has resulted in achieving an iconic status for many of our restaurants. For over a century, the Group has introduced many firsts, notable among which were Golden Dragon, Wasabi by Morimoto, Orient Express, Thai Pavilion and Shamiana, India’s first 24-hour coffee shop. Also hallmarks of traditional cuisines of India’s southern region like Southern Spice in Chennai, Karavalli in Bengaluru and Quilon in London. Amongst our popular restaurant brands that are now travelling across India as well as in international markets are Machan, Shamiana, House of Ming, Southern Spice, Varq among others,” shares Chhatwal.
In the recent past IHCL has expanded its food and beverage landscape with alliances with international brands, partnerships and new concepts. 7Rivers in Bengaluru and now Goa is a tie-up with AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer. “In Goa, we offer the internationally acclaimed authentic Italian cuisine with Papermoon. While one of the two new concept restaurants, Loya at Taj Palace New Delhi made its debut last year, House of Nomad will be introduced in Goa soon,” he says. Apart from restaurants, hosting weddings, conferences and meetings is another segment which is a strong hold of IHCL.
Diversity and inclusivity
A significant pillar under Paathya is driving Diversity and Inclusion at IHCL. “We are looking at every action from the lens of what is gender progressive and measure every action for gender empowerment impact. Earlier this year, we had shared our goals to increase the representation of women in IHCL’s workforce to 25 per cent by 2025 and allocated specific goals for hiring at all our new and existing hotels. Further to this, we have been working on a slew of initiatives, campaigns, programs, and career advancement opportunities to promote a culture of inclusion and make a meaningful difference in our D&I efforts. There will be 25 per cent representation of women in the boards,” says Chhatwal.
He adds that there are many initiatives underway to enhance hiring, retention and development programmes to help improve representation of women employees across levels. “Through the DIWA programme which is a frontline operational one, new hotel openings are encouraging women talent to join the workforce. Going forward, we are exploring second career initiatives for women returning to work after a break in career,” he avers. Whilst IHCL’s focus is on gender diversity, it is imperative the Group pays attention to include people with disabilities at its hotels. “To this end, we have collaborated with Tata Power in the PayAutention initiative to support Neurodiverse talent in the Autism Spectrum Disorder,” shares Chhatwal.
Baragarh Resort & Spa, Manali
Need for policy reforms
Tourism is seen as a major driving force for any economy, the world over. With the sector rebounding and Indian companies reporting positive earnings this fiscal, the sector is poised to potentially grow three times compared to the pre-pandemic levels to touch US$ 600 billion by 2030 and further accelerate to reach US$ 1 trillion by 2047. “Making the US$ 1 trillion dream a reality, the travel and tourism industry is on a constant path of evolution, catering to rapidly changing consumer demands by creating several product options, elevating customer experiences and continuing to deliver innovative digital solutions. If this were to be supported with improved infrastructural reforms, it could make the travellers’ journey even more memorable and seamless. A capital-intensive industry, the hospitality sector needs to continually plough back to keep the ball rolling,” he says.
Chhatwal opines that a good start will be according infrastructure status at the central level to the sector which will provide favourable impetus and boost to the industry, incorporating required incentives including regulatory ease, cheaper loans, tax concessions and contributing to a cycle of attracting more investments. “In addition, industry status at the state and Union Territories’ level and augmenting the infrastructure growth will have a much-needed positive impact. States like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan have taken the lead and we look forward to more states following suit. Through collective action between industry stakeholders and government, we can undoubtedly shape an even more thriving future for the industry; one that can make a positive impact to the economy and society at large,” he concludes.
