North Mumbai Hotels witnessing 8% RevPAR Growth: Raghu Sapra

By Rashmi Pradhan THE SUDDEN spurt in economic activity resulting in an increase in the domestic travel and transit business at Mumbai International Airport has resulted in an eight per cent RevPAR growth in the north Mumbai market, according to Raghu Sapra, General Manager, Hilton Mumbai International Airport. The north Mumbai market is doing well and with the mushrooming airline business there was an expectation of further increase in business volumes, he told this reporter recently. When asked what impact the new JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai Sahar on business, Sapra said, ’Whenever there is new supply in the market, there will be some sort direct and indirect effect on everyone else. The positive side is that we still saw eight per cent RevPAR growth. We currently believe that demand is good as of now and the market should be able to absorb the new inventory.’ Speaking on new trends, Sapra said, ’We took over this property in 2011 (from Le Meridien) and saw that the market dynamics remained the same. However, the customer is changing. The market is changing to a short booking window and travelers are opting for online booking. F&B is changing a lot with new concepts like molecular cooking, healthy eating options and innovative food not to mention competition from standalone F&B outlets. I believe, going forward, like in Europe, hotels will start offering less F&B options.’ The author is Assistant Editor at BW Hotelier.