The Intercontinental Hotel Group is looking to boost its presence in India, catching up to competitors like Marriot, Hyatt and Starwood.
IHG has 26 hotels in 14 cities across India. Starwood, on the other hand, has 47 operating hotels and 37 in the pipeline here, Marriott has 30 operating and 45 in the pipeline.
To catch up, Pascal Gauvin, COO, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG, said that the company is focusing mainly on Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza hotels in the sub-continent. The other two IHG brands in India are Holiday Inn and the upscale Intercontinental.
In 10 years, IHG is aiming to have 100-150 hotels in India (including its existing properties and hotels currently in the pipeline) across 25 cities. “We are adding 11 cities, so we will have our presence in 25 cities here,” Gauvin said. “Our priority is midscale because of the large domestic market opportunity. Holiday Inn Express has been developed as a niche midscale brand that delivers everything a time pressed traveler needs and has nothing they don’t need.”
And fortunately for IHG, its existing Indian hotels had a strong 2015 thanks to some brand conversions, especially of several former Hilton properties in Delhi. “We have people (hotel owners) asking to convert to our brand,” Gauvin said.
Source: The Hindu Business Line