In an ongoing finest season for the hotel industry post-Covid, Puneet Chhatwal MD & CEO of Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) told CNBC-TV18 that they are ahead of their target to open 18 hotels this year.
The third quarter will be one of the strongest quarters in the past 10 years, Chhatwal had said in a previous interview, and in his latest chat added: "there is nothing I know today which makes me change that statement."
He attributed it to a strong demand, flourishing wedding season, and thriving business on books in October, November, noting that "December is touching new heights".
He added, "Demand continues to outpace supply which means the ability to charge is higher... Rates all over the world have skyrocketed in the last five to six months and even if we were to target 30 percent comparable hotels, cities, I believe the rates will grow."
Luxury rates will go up by 25-30 percent, he said while adding that the target margin will be above 33 percent by end of 2025.
"Global hotel brands, and we are also a global company, find it very difficult to touch 30 percent, so if you're touching 30 we are doing exceptionally well," the CEO said.
On the pending formalities of Sea Rock hotel, Chhatwal said that full planning has not been done on this asset however, the plan is to make it the next landmark for the city of Mumbai.
Indian Hotels is also close to reaching their target of 300 hotels and signed their 250th hotel recently which is the Taj in Riyadh. "We are absolutely on target or even ahead of target to open 18 hotels this year...Taj and Ginger both are destined to hit 100 hotels very soon within the next six to 12 months," he added.
In terms of next budget, Chhatwal said that he expects infrastructure status for hotel industry from the budget.
"The sector is back to 1,920 levels, but the rate of increase in the jobs is on the way up and is exceeding any other sector in India today. More importantly this sector globally creates the maximum number of indirect jobs in India," he added.
Watch the full video interview here
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