Leisure Hotels Group to add 6 properties by 2022-end

Hospitality firm Leisure Hotels Group is looking to add six properties across the country by the end of 2022 as part of its expansion plans in the country, a top company official said.

Currently, the company has 28 properties with around 1,000 rooms spread across four states Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.

"We are looking to add a total of six properties by the end of the next year. So, the number will be somewhere in the region of 34 by the end of 2022," Leisure Hotels Group told Vibhas Prasad PTI.

The upcoming properties will be in Varanasi, Dharamshala, Bhimtal, Mussoorie, Naukuchiatal and Jaipur, he added.

About the investment, the company is planning for opening the upcoming hotels, Prasad said these would be largely under the asset-light model. So, the company will not be putting in money from its own pockets, but the owners will be putting somewhere to the tune of about 100 crores in total, for them.

"We, over and above this, are looking at a few other projects for which we have land banks," he added.

About the partnership with Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), Prasad said, "In the current leisure space that we are in, if we are able to derive a rate per room per night of Rs 20,000 and above, we believe that partnership with IHCL works well."

He added that they have a good loyalty programme, they have a good brand recall, the asset is well maintained. "So, typically, we look at our entire portfolio and see where we can partner with them, where we have a potential 20,000 rupee rate or above."

For the typical rate that Leisure Hotels Group is already at, which is the Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. That is something it does under its own brand portfolio, he added.

About the asset light model that the company is focusing on, Prasad said, "the asset light model is an ongoing focus for us in the leisure space, because we believe you have an edge over many chains."

About the business model the company follows, Prasad said, "We are an asset ownership and asset management company. Roughly 65-70 per cent of the company's portfolio is owned and the rest is managed."

About the prospects of the hospitality industry in the country, he said it's on a strong footing because infrastructure is improving, and the demand is there, people want to travel.

On the growth potential of the company and leisure segment, Prasad said, "We believe that there is a lot of potential in the leisure experiential space where people are traveling not just to experience a property, but to experience the destination as well. And, this focus on leisure experiential travel is what differentiates us from many other hotels.