Hotel investment trading volume in India declines 84% in 2020: JLL

Hotel investment trading volume in India declined 84 per cent in 2020 as compared to the peak witnessed in 2019, according to global real estate consultant JLL.

India-wide hotel performance registered a decline in RevPAR (revenue per available room) by about 55 per cent over the previous year, closing at a RevPAR of Rs 1,675, JLL said in a statement.

While performance of business hotels has not yet fully recovered, leisure markets led by domestic travellers have showcased some resilience in the last quarter of 2020,it added.

The tourism industry appears to have taken the hardest hit across the globe of all the affected industries in the COVID-19 pandemic. In wealthy economies and in certain countries with tourism-reliant economies, it was observed that strong direct government support aided the hotel and restaurant industry and workforce, JLL said.

JLL India, Hotels and Hospitality Group MDJaideep Dang said, "Capital assistance has emerged as the focal point and will remain the need of the hour to help hotels sustain till demand picks up."

The post-pandemic world is bound to see more changes. Realignment of source markets, guest preferences and physical space planning will all be more dynamic and will be discussed more often in boardrooms and team meetings, he added.

Looking ahead in 2021, "we expect that the current COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have some impact on both commercial and leisure hotel markets across the country", JLL said.

But, it added, leisure markets are expected to lead the overall recovery with pent-up domestic demand.

Business travel which has always formed the lion's share of the market will continue to see a rather muted recovery, it added.