IHCL brands are growing, Ginger expanding fastest: N Chandrasekaran

At IHCL's AGM, chairman N Chandrasekaran says all brands are growing, led by Ginger; EBITDA margin at 35 per cent and goal set to double revenue by 2030

The Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), with various brands like Taj, Gateway, Vivanta, and Ginger, among others, is observing growth in all its brands. But the midscale brand, Ginger, is growing at a faster pace due to management contracts, said N Chandrasekaran, non-executive director and chairman, IHCL, at the annual general meeting (AGM).

 

“Every hotel brand is growing. Ginger will obviously grow fast because it is growing a lot under the management contract, and also the size of investment is less (compared to other brands),” Chandrasekaran, who is also the chairman of Tata Sons, told shareholders.  

 

He added that the Taj brand will grow, but at a slower pace. Tata Group-owned IHCL has 103 Ginger-branded hotels as of April 2025, according to its investor presentation.

 

 

In the last financial year (FY25), the company signed 74 new hotels and had 26 new openings, taking the overall portfolio to 380 hotels.

 

He further noted that the hotel’s strategy is to have the right price levels for different customers, with hotels of different sizes (room capacity). 

 

Answering a shareholder’s query on further improvement in the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margin, Chandrasekaran said, “We cannot improve the Ebitda margin. Already, the company's Ebitda margin is at an all-time high. Our aim will be to maintain it somewhere around these levels.”

 

The company’s consolidated Ebitda margin touched 35 per cent in FY25. He emphasised that the company’s Accelerate 2030 plan aims to achieve a global footprint of 700 hotels by 2030 and double revenues to over ₹15,000 crore. 

 

Internationally, the hotel company has no major expansion plans in terms of volume. In FY25, overseas hotels generated revenues of about ₹1,512 crore.

 

Answering another shareholder’s question, Chandrasekaran said that having a heavy presence in terms of properties owned by the company will not help it expand. He added that IHCL will continue to build iconic properties. 

 

“Over the next five to 10 years, we will settle at 35-40 per cent of hotels being owned (by the company) and 60-65 per cent will be under management,” he said. 

 

Currently, the company has 50 per cent hotels under management contracts and the other 50 per cent is owned by the company.

 

Seven to eight years ago, he said that IHCL had about 5 per cent hotels under management contracts and 95 per cent was company owned.

 

The company has allotted ₹1,200 crore for capital expenditure, with no immediate plans for fundraising.

 

Over the next five years, the capital expenditure will be almost $1 billion.

 

Additionally, in the opening remarks of the AGM, Chandrasekaran said that its loyalty programme, Taj Inner Circle (a part of Tata Neu), which had crossed 10 million members in FY25, is set to achieve 15 million members in FY26.