SONrise over CG’s hospitality empire
Circa 1870: Entrepreneur Bhuramul Chaudhary lays the foundation of Chaudhary Group (CG) in Nepal, supplying textile goods to Nepal’s royal rulers. Cut to Circa 1999: The Group’s journey in the hospitality domain takes off with investments in Taj Samudra, Sri Lanka and two other assets, Taj Exotica Resort & Spa and Taj Coral Reef in Maldives. Almost two-and-half decades later, CG Hospitality Holdings (The Hospitality Arm of CG) has 143 hotels – 35 owned, as a part of JVs and 108 managed via the management arm Concept Hospitality and operated in 12 countries and 100 destinations, with close to 8,300 keys in all segments, from budget to midmarket, to luxury, wellness, experiential and wildlife. By 2025, the portfolio is expected to grow to over 200 hotels. Circa 2023: Over the last 150-years plus, the humble family textile business spreads its wings to become a multinational conglomerate operating in five continents with a diverse portfolio across 16 sectors and industries.
In today’s fluctuating and dynamic market world where a player that moves swiftly enough to adapt to change, capitalises on the opportunities and uses technology to evolve to stay ahead in the game is the one that succeeds, it is no wonder that CG Hospitality Holdings has been successful. Rahul Chaudhary, Managing Director and CEO of CG Hospitality Holdings and CG Corp Global, believes prioritising customer satisfaction, governance, compliance and due diligence are safeguards against internal and external threats to ensure the business is secure.
Transnational assets
One of the first deals that Chaudhary initiated and successfully closed was acquiring Radisson Hotel JFK Airport, New York, in 2005-06. “It took me over a year to close and till date, it is one of the costliest learnings for me and the Group,” shares Chaudhary, adding the Group still owns that asset.
In 2020, the Group announced its re-entry into the East African market with the acquisition of two iconic Fairmont properties in Kenya – Fairmont Mara Safari Club and Fairmont The Norfolk. “The investment in Kenya was important because we had a Pan-East Africa strategy in 2011 whereby we set out to invest in an asset in Kigali, Rwanda. We also bought a piece of land in Kampala, Uganda. Unfortunately, due to some issues, we had to let go of the two. But our vision and resolve didn’t deter and we continued to pursue our vision,” says Chaudhary in a confident tone.
CG Corp Global’s association with Sri Lanka dates back to over two decades back when Rahul’s father, Dr Binod Chaudhary, Group Chairman, first visited the Indian Ocean island. Dr Chaudhary initiated a joint venture with the IHCL Group and subsequently invested in Taj Samudra Colombo and the two Taj assets in Maldives, starting a cycle of investments. “Today, the Group employs over 1,000 personnel,” he shares, adding the Group’s most recent acquisition in United Bank of Colombo reaffirms its continued commitment in Sri Lanka despite the challenging times the country has been facing.
Chaudhary shares a very interesting acquisition story. “My father went for one of his yearly retreats to The Farm in Philippines. Instead of attending the holistic wellness treatment, he came back buying the place,” he says, adding that for a wellness facility like The Farm, India is the Group’s next priority along with Jordan. “At the moment, we are location hunting in India because it is imperative that the setting and backdrop of such a wellness facility is amidst the most picturesque, serene views close to Nature and away from city life. We are exploring multiple opportunities near Mumbai and in the South as well. There are plans to grow the brand in the Middle East, Europe and Nepal. We are in the process of developing a smaller version of The Farm – Miraaya Wellness & Golf Retreat at CG’s Industrial Park, Nepal. It is set to open in the next couple of months,” he updates.
Though CG Hospitality started development exercise in Nepal seven years ago, it has a portfolio of six hotels in the country – two with Taj and four operated by CG Hospitality. “In the process of exploring potential synergies and restructuring, we are developing three more iconic assets in Nepal with larger brands. Our objective has always been to develop iconic experiences and properties that self-set themselves. A very unique and special development we have undertaken is the Unnati Cultural Village through Chaudhry Foundation which is led by my wife, Surabhi Chaudhary. It is backed by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank,” he informs.
The Group, shares Chaudhary, has signed with IHCL-Taj for a luxury property in Paro, Bhutan. It is likely to open its doors for guests by end-2023. It has also opened Taj JLT in Dubai, the headquarters of Global CG Hospitality. “The hotel, on Sheikh Zayed Road, has got a unique architectural design and has outperformed many luxurious assets in its competition,” he says.
Talking about his plans for global expansion, Chaudhary says, “Given our global vision to reach 200 properties by 2025, we are on the lookout for elusive properties across exclusive locations. For the same, we have mapped out a five-country growth strategy in Africa and a 100-hotel mark in India that is set to be achieved in 2023 with Concept Hospitality, along with our upcoming new properties in Jordan, Bhutan and Dubai.”
Keeping up with market trends
As today’s business landscape is in constant flux, Chaudhary believes the only habit that can make your presence rigid in the business is to be flexible. “In this backdrop, to welcome and learn new changes is the nature of business. The regulatory landscape has to adapt to keep up with these transformations which often leaves the organisations charting unknown waters. To combat this, a forward-looking risk management programme, powered by technology, should be implemented. This approach improves an organisation’s ability to manage both existing and emerging risks as well as helps businesses to quickly adapt to unwanted events or crises. It also facilitates in-depth understanding of future changes and their potential impact on business performance. We should learn from analysing past trends, predicting future scenarios, and proactively preparing for them. It involves assessing the next step to determine the potential risks, identifying the root causes of these risks, prioritising the risks based on an assessment of their probability and impact, and accordingly preparing a contingency plan,” he avers.
Interacting with peers and fraternity in the hospitality space is a very important way of keeping up to speed with the development and trends, feels Chaudhary. “The advantage we have is our association with some of the leading hospitality brands like IHCL, Accor, Marriott, Hilton and Radisson whereby we are consistently updated about their growth plans and strategies, together with market players and consultants who we engage with,” he says.
Developments in Indian hospitality market
Chaudhary opines the Indian hotel industry can look forward to robust demand for the next eight to 12 months. “The Pan-India hotel occupancy is estimated to stand at 40-42 per cent during FY2022, rising from 26-28 per cent in FY2021. Following this, the occupancy is expected to increase to 68-70 per cent in FY2023. No other country has been able to thrive or come back with such a bang as India. We have done better than ever before and it continues to grow. India is a true success story for me and has been able to position itself as a self-sufficient market,” he feels, adding, “The country has the largest middle-class segment and its buying power is growing exponentially. I see this only growing and this, in turn, means the mid-scale market will grow too,” he avers.
Partnerships and investments
CG Hospitality manages and owns a range of mid-scale to luxury hotels through its own brands – The Zinc and The Fern, both through a JV with Concept Hospitality. The Group’s portfolio includes Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives; Jetwing Vil Uyana - Sigiriya, Sri Lanka; The Farm at San Benito, Philippines; Meghauli Serai - A Taj Safaris Lodge, Chitwan, Nepal; Taj Samudra, Colombo, Sri Lanka; Taj Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai and more recently, Fairmont The Norfolk, Nairobi, Kenya and Fairmont Mara Safari Club, Masai Mara, Kenya among others.
Vision 2025
CG Hospitality’s portfolio is expected to grow to over 200 hotels globally by 2025. “Having added 15-20 hotels annually since 2015, I wish a valuation of over a US$1 billion for CG Hospitality Holdings within CG Corp Global. Back in 2020 when we were at 70 hotels, we had set ourselves a target of 200 hotels by 2025. We have no doubt that we are going to reach the mark in a couple of years,” asserts Chaudhary.
