Page 8 - Hospitality Industry

At Rs 100 crore, OYO posts FY24 as maiden profitable fiscal: Ritesh Agarwal

Travel tech platform OYO reported financial year 2023-24 as the maiden profitable fiscal with a net earning of nearly Rs 100 crore, founder Ritesh Agarwal said on Thursday. In a post on social media platform X, Agarwal said he sees growth ahead "not just in India" but also in OYO's other key markets of Nordics, South East Asia, the US and UK. "While a delighted customer or a hotel partner brings the biggest smile on my face, our first cut financials of FY24 have me humbled as well," Agarwal shared. "We had our maiden net profitable financial year at nearly Rs 100 crore. This was our eighth consecutive quarter of a positive EBITDA and we also have a cash balance of around Rs 1,000 crore," he added. He further highlighted that global credit rating firm Fitch has also taken note of OYO's improved performance and strong cash flows, upgrading its credit rating. "I see growth ahead not just in India with emerging travel trends such as premiumization, spiritual travel, business travel an

Indian hospitality sector witnesses 11.4% growth in RevPAR in Q1 2024: JLL

Increase in corporate travel, weddings, and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) demand at the end of FY24 have contributed to this strong performance of the sector

OYO withdraws DRHP, to refile its much-awaited IPO post refinancing

Softbank-backed OYO is set to refile its much-awaited IPO as the global travel tech player is close to finalising its refinancing plans to raise up to USD 450 million via sale of dollar bonds, sources said. JP Morgan is the likely lead banker for the refinancing through the sale of dollar bonds at an estimated interest rate of 9 to 10 per cent per annum, a source said. In preparation for the refinancing, OYO has already moved its application with markets regulator SEBI to withdraw its current draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). The company intends to refile an updated version of the DRHP, after the bond issuance. Oravel Stays Ltd, OYO's parent company, had in November prepaid a significant chunk of its debt amounting to Rs 1,620 crore through a buyback process. The buyback involved repurchasing 30 per cent of its outstanding Term Loan B of USD 660 million. The move brought down its outstanding loan amount to around USD 450 million. A source closely involved in the company's IPO .

Luxury hospitality giant Oberoi Group launches residential suites in Mumbai

Designed by Architectural Discipline, the new suites combine residential ambience with contemporary aesthetics

Aionos to bridge silos within aviation, hospitality using AI: Rahul Bhatia

Aionos, wherein IGE will hold the majority shareholding, was launched here on Tuesday in presence of Gurnani and Bhatia

Uttar Pradesh govt eyeing investment of Rs 32K cr in hospitality sector

The state is focusing on ramping up hospitality units in tourism hotspots such as Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, and Agra

India's hospitality sector saw investments worth $401 mn in 2023: JLL

Sector has been witnessing a surge since 2023, with 25,176 keys signed and 12,647 keys opened, stated the report titled 'Hotel Investment Trends - India 2023'

India is our top priority market this year: President, Asia Pacific, Hilton

'It feels a little bit like China did 10 years ago and we expect this momentum to continue this year as well'

Hospitality sector sees $401 mn investment surge in FY23, reports JLL

The hospitality sector has experienced a notable upswing since 2023, witnessing a record number of hotel signings and openings

Hospitality industry plans to promote unexplored regions of Rajasthan

Tribal areas of the state like Dungarpur, Banswara, Jhalawar, and Pratapgarh can be developed into tourist destinations

IHCL to expand skilling centers by 2025; to impart training to 100K by 2030

Tata Group hospitality firm Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) is planning to increase the number of skill training centres to 50 across India by next year, apart from accelerating online training in partnership with group firm TCS to meet its target of skilling 1 lakh people by 2030, a senior company official said. The company, which has identified skilling as one of the areas of focus under its environmental, social, and corporate governance initiative Paathya, is focussing on rural areas for the skill training programme and is confident that more than 25 per cent of the 1 lakh people who will be skilled by 2030 will be women. It is trying to play its part in bridging the demand-supply gap of skilled workforce in the hospitality industry, which has witnessed robust growth in the last couple of years after the pandemic. "The industry has come back in a very strong way... In the last few quarters in terms of growth, (if it) is anything to go by, we are looking at a very robust path in

$1,780 to spend night in a 'cocoon'? Hotels now betting on sleep tourism

AI-assisted beds, on-call hypnotherapists are taking sleep tourism to the next level

Chalet Hotels acquires Marriott property Courtyard for Rs 315 crore

The resort, which came up in July 2022, reported an average daily rate of Rs 13,500 till December 2023 with an occupancy rate of 44 per cent, the company added

Russia's luxury hotels eye Indian hospitality firms for revival plans

Traditional management contracts and franchising agreements are among the potential collaboration models being explored

Juniper Hotels' Rs 1,800 cr IPO gets 23% subscription on 2nd day of offer

The initial share sale of Juniper Hotels, which runs hotels under the Hyatt brand, received 23 per cent subscription on the second day of offer on Thursday. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) received bids for 66,03,040 shares against 2,89,47,367 shares on offer, as per NSE data. The category for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) got subscribed 87 per cent, quota for non-institutional investors received 14 per cent subscription, and the portion for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) received a mere 6 per cent subscription. On Tuesday, Juniper Hotels said it has garnered Rs 810 crore from anchor investors. The IPO is entirely a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,800 crore and the price band is Rs 342-360 apiece. Funds to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore will be utilised for repayment of debt availed by the company and subsidiaries -- Chartered Hotels Pvt Ltd and Chartered Hampi Hotels Pvt Ltd. Besides, a portion of the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. The .

Radisson Hotel Group added 21 properties in India under 9 brands in 2023

The Radisson Hotel Group on Wednesday said it has accelerated its growth in India by signing 21 hotels under a portfolio of nine brands in 2023. These 21 hotels also include the signing and opening of the group's first property at Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh -- Park Inn by Radisson Ayodhya, as the destination gained a lot of national and international attention following the consecration of the Ram Temple last month, Radisson group said in a statement. In India, the Group continues to enjoy a first-mover advantage in the country's key pilgrim destinations. It will soon introduce branded hotels in Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, the statement added. Globally, Radisson Hotel Group added over 30,000 keys to its international portfolio. In the Indian market, Radisson Hotel Group is one of the largest international hotel operators with over 165 hotels in operation and development. It continues to be the largest hotel operator in tier I markets like Delhi NCR ...

Tourism, hospitality industry likely to create 50 mn jobs in 5-7 yrs: HAI

Hotels' Association of India (HAI) on Monday said the hospitality and tourism sector expects to create 50 million direct and indirect jobs in the next 5-7 years but government support is required for getting the full industry and infrastructure status in states to tap the employment potential. The infrastructure status for the hospitality sector can push up investments not only to create accommodation, but also in the process boost income and employment generation, HAI President Puneet Chhatwal said while speaking here at the 6th HAI Hoteliers' Conclave. Chhatwal, who is also the Managing Director and CEO of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, said while tourism is a pillar of development creating about 10 per cent of the total employment and contributing 8 per cent to GDP with a huge multiplier effect that can help inclusive growth, "there is often a gap between this realisation and the actual policy implementation". Addressing a press conference, HAI Vice-President K B Kachru said in the .

Amitabh Kant calls for 25 mn job creation by 2030 in hospitality industry

India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Monday asked hospitality and tourism sector players to tell politicians about creation of 25 million jobs by 2030 while seeking their help for the demand of industry and infrastructure status. Speaking at the 6th Hoteliers' Conclave organised by the Hotel Association of India (HAI), Kant said somehow the tourism industry has failed to tell the politicians that it is a big creator of jobs, while agreeing with their demand for industry status. "If you look at tourism, I think from a perspective of a political lens, the politician only understands one thing and that is how many jobs is the tourism sector creating," he said. Kant further said, "Tourism has a huge multiplier impact for every direct job that you create, you create seven indirect jobs, but I think somehow the tourism industry has failed to tell the politicians that we are a big creator of jobs." In terms of employment, Thailand creates close to 20 million jobs, Malaysia about 15 million

Marriott International adds 12 properties with 1,431 rooms in India in 2023

Global hospitality group Marriott International on Wednesday said they added 12 properties in India in 2023 and over 60 in the Asia Pacific region, excluding China. This addition has brought the company's presence to more than 560 operating hotels and residences, and exceeded 10 per cent net rooms growth compared to 2022, the hospitality group said in a statement. In the last year, Marriott added over 60 properties to its portfolio, particularly in key travel markets such as Japan, India, and Vietnam, it said. The 12 hotels in India have approximately 1,431 rooms, as per the statement. The company also signed over 80 deals across 13 markets, representing approximately 18,000 rooms. At the end of 2023, Marriott's development pipeline for the region stood at over 320 hotels with over 69,000 rooms, it said. In 2023, 15 per cent of the deals signed in APEC were in the luxury segment and a record nine luxury hotels were opened in the region, including The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne, whic

Focus on developing beach tourism, enhance hospitality standards: Kerala

The Kerala government has affirmed its commitment to align beach tourism projects with current demands, leveraging the significant potential of this specialised sector while enhancing hospitality standards. Speaking after opening the renovated Samudra Kovalam, the beachside resort of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) that now flaunts a whole range of world-class features on Tuesday, Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said that it is important to adopt novel ideas in the tourism sector. "The refurbished sea-front resort will boost Kerala's standing as a fast-emerging hub of destination weddings and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism," the Minister was quoted as saying in a release here. He said at a time destination weddings are becoming a global trend, the state has picturesque locations for promoting this niche area, with the government making all efforts to create the best facilities for that segment. In his presidential address, KTDC