Marriott sharpens focus on India, its 4th largest market, with 12 hotel openings in 2024

Spiritual tourism

She said that the hotel chain is betting big on the spiritual tourism market. "This hotel (in Katra) is on the foothills of Vaishno Devi. The area is unexplored in terms of branded accommodation. This hotel will see a lot of weddings, and is good especially for those who are looking for a vegetarian hotel. We see the opportunity with people combining darshan (holy visit) with a leisure stay. Similarly, we have signed a hotel in Ayodhya. Varanasi is a hotspot and good hotels are coming up there also. We opened a hotel in Rishikesh, which is doing well. We have three hotels in Amritsar which are recording good occupancy. So, where there is a religious/spiritual bend, we have seen a huge uptake. This will be one sector of tourism which will go robust. We see Marriott Katra joining the bandwagon."

Alex added that in destinations like Rishikesh, it is not just the Ganga Aarti. "There is so much to do -- from river rafting to visiting scenic places. As and when branded hotels come up, a lot of ancillary business also starts. There is something called Bombay walk --like in Kolkata, the dilapidated homes which housed some of the British officials, have become part of the walks. Also, the interest in Ayodhya is peak even now because people who couldn't make it for the inauguration are going now," he said.

Hotel pipeline

Marriott’s pipeline comprises of 83 hotels , adding around 12,300 rooms in India. "India is the fourth-largest market, preceded by the US, China and Canada for Marriott. There is a huge focus on India. Also, India's propensity to grow is making the focus more sharp. After COVID, India was the one market which bounced back the fastest and strongest among all peers in Asia-Pacific. The domestic travellers fuelled the demand, instead of waiting for foreign tourists. Strong domestic demand helps to have better control on business."

Overall, Marriott has over 28,000 rooms in India and it is eying tier II, III cities for growth.

"During COVID, in the larger cities, hotel rates dropped, whereas it did not in smaller cities. In many smaller cities, room rates are only 20 percent lower than in metros. Also, occupancies are tracking good in smaller cities  -- around 70-75  percent versus around 80 percent in metros," Alex said.

She added that Marriott is also tracking cities where investments are taking place, like Gujarat.

For metros, Alex said that the land cost and building cost is high. This is slowing investments down. "Investors are waiting and watching to see growth patterns in metros before investing."

Yet, Mumbai is a focus market, with Marriott looking to open properties in Navi Mumbai, which is getting traction because of the upcoming airport.

Marriott is also seeing an increase in members joining its Bonvoy programme, a royalty programme, with rewards and perks. Currently, out of the total Marriott members, 70 percent are Bonvoy members. This is expected to increase to 75 percent this year.

"We see high penetration across markets for the programme. We brought Ed Sheeran (singer) to India as part of his tour under this programme. We are planning to bring more such events to engage more with the GenZ and the millennials," said John Toomey, Marriott International’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Asia-Pacific, excluding China.