India would need around 360,000 hotel rooms, and with the current inventory of 163,000 hotel rooms, there is a gap of around 180,000 rooms that offers huge business opportunities for mid-market hotels. Also, the business traveller segment has been clocking a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 13 per cent, which is the segment we are eyeing.”
“We expect to touch the 150-hotels mark by 2020. Nearly 80 per cent of our upcoming hotels will be under the brands Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express,” said Douglas Martell, Vice President - Operations, South West Asia, InterContinental Hotels Group.
Holiday Inn Express plans to woo travellers as ‘the smart choice for savvy travellers’ at an affordable price. Martell added that mid-scale hotels currently represent only 15 per cent of all hotel rooms in the country, which means there is huge potential for growth in the segment. “With the country having a huge domestic traveller segment, Indians have a growing appetite for mid-market hotels,” he said. IHG is also set to launch the 270-room Crowne Plaza Hotel in the coming months in the western region of India.