American hospitality chain Marriott has once again joined hands with long time partner Ventive Hospitality which listed on Indian exchanges last December to open seven new hotels in India and abroad.
Both firms announced the expansion of their strategic partnership by signing management contracts for seven luxury, upper upscale and upscale hotels comprising 1,548 rooms across India and Sri Lanka, on July 8. This partnership marks multiple brand debuts in key locations including Sri Lanka, Varanasi, Mundra, Pune, and Navi Mumbai. Further, Ventive Hospitality also announced its plans to develop a hotel on its existing leasehold land in Mundra, India.
Atul Chordia, Chairman and Executive Director of Ventive Hospitality said that 1,500, 1,600 rooms will cost close to about Rs 2 crore a key and a total of around Rs 3,200 crore.
"We can expect by the end of next year to open two hotels and every year we wish to open about 250-300 keys. Three hotels are already off ground, four hotels are in the permission stage. So, in the next two quarters we will start work there also," Chordia told Moneycontrol.
Of the seven hotels, three hotels are being developed by Ventive Hospitality and its subsidiaries – the Ritz-Carlton Reserve including 73 villas along with 80 branded residences for sale at Pottuvil, near Yala East National Park in Sri Lanka; Varanasi Marriott Hotel (161 rooms) at Varanasi, India and Courtyard by Marriott (200 rooms) at Mundra, India.
The remaining four hotels – the proposed JW Marriott Navi Mumbai with 450 rooms, Moxy Navi Mumbai with 200 rooms), Moxy Pune Wakad with 264 rooms and Moxy Pune Kharadi with 200 rooms, are being developed by the Promoter Group companies on Right Of First Offer (ROFO) or alternative structure basis for the Ventive Hospitality and will be transferred to the company under a suitable arrangement that maximizes value for all stakeholders equitably.
The firms call this partnership, one of India's largest in the luxury and upper-upscale hotel sector.
"Marriott's partnership with Ventive Hospitality goes long back. We have been partners for the last 20 years. We already have about seven hotels operational with Marriott. These are another seven hotels we have signed and of course there will be more to go internationally also and in India also," Chordia said.
Rajeev Menon, President, Asia Pacific (excluding China), Marriott International said that Atul Chordia has been one of their founding partners when they were just starting up in India. "This is more of an extension of the existing partnership where we have a number of operating hotels. We are now doing seven more and we'll continue to grow the portfolio over the years to come."
Chordia added that they are excited to begin FY 2025-26 on a strong note, particularly as it is their first financial year post listing. "This partnership not only strengthens our two-decade-long relationship with Marriott International but also marks a pivotal moment in our journey to redefine India's hospitality sector."
He noted that in FY24 they had about Rs 870 crore EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) and in FY25 the company posted about Rs 1,012 crore EBITDA.
"In our portfolio we have about one-third revenues out of fixed income which is what we call annuity income. One-third is from international business especially from Maldives and one-third comes from our Indian hotels. We have 11 hotel portfolios at present and our first addition of Varanasi will come into play next financial year."
He also said that they have been watching the spiritual tourism market very closely. "We have identified about 10 to 12 locations in India. Varanasi is our launch pad. We will start with Varanasi and then we'll progress at different locations."
Marriott is looking at doubling its hotel portfolio in India.
"We are today operating 159 hotels in India with a pipeline of another 120 odd hotels under construction. This excludes the The Fern Hotels & Resorts partnership. We believe in the next two to three years India will be the third largest market for Marriott in the world. As we bring the Fern portfolio in through Series by Marriott and our growth with all other brands, we expect that by the end of next year we will be close to about 250 operating hotels and a similar number under construction, Menon said.
He also noted that in the first quarter of calendar year (CY) 2025 RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room) growth at Marriott was over 16 percent in India alone.
"We did occupancy north of 76 percent. The second quarter (CY) which is the first quarter for the Indian financial year was a little bit on the softer side given the India-Pakistan tensions. But the impact was short-lived. As we enter the third quarter (CY) we are seeing considerable bounce back and we believe that India will go back to the trajectory of growth which is double-digit RevPAR growth," Menon added.
At Ventive Hospitality, Chordia said that last year the occupancy was 64 percent. "We expect it to peak gradually to 72-75 percent in next two years. We have room to grow in occupancy and RevPAR."
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