Hotel Industry Set for Strong Growth in 2025
Record public listings, projections for average room rates exceeding ₹10,000, and deal activity expected to surge to ₹4,200 crore are setting the stage for a strong 2025. This follows a year of robust expansion, with hotel brand signings hitting an all-time high, signaling significant future supply, according to a report by hospitality consulting firm HVS Anarock.
Hotel occupancy is projected to rise to 70% by 2026, from 63.65% last year, and average room rates could jump by nearly a third from ₹7,800 to ₹8,000 a night, the report, titled ‘HVS India Hospitality Industry Overview 2024’, and shared exclusively with Mint, said.
Hotel brand signings, where a hotel chain or management company formally agrees to operate a new or existing property under its brand, surged 62% in 2024, adding around 47,000 rooms to the future supply, the highest ever recorded in a calendar year. India currently has about 200,000 branded hotel rooms.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) stood at ₹5,000 to ₹5,200 in 2024, representing a 27.29% increase over pre-Covid levels. Although inbound foreign tourism recovery remained slower than expected, domestic demand drove strong performance, with hotel development activity sharply focused on small towns and emerging leisure markets.
According to Mandeep S. Lamba, president and CEO of South Asia for HVS Anarock, the industry is expected to see record levels of investment in building and acquiring hotels, with several marquee deals already underway. The stock market listings expected in 2025 are also promising. Last week, Prestige Hotel Ventures filed its draft prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise ₹2,000-2,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).
Schloss Bangalore Ltd, the parent company of The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts, too has filed preliminary papers for an IPO valued at ₹5,000 crore. Meanwhile, branded economy hotels, budget-friendly properties operated under known brand names, are becoming a key growth segment. Although they account for just 57% of planned hotel room supply currently, their presence is rising quickly in smaller towns and cities, in response to the growing demand for value-driven travel.
"The country is moving towards becoming the fastest-growing hospitality market in the world, mainly because we have lower penetration of organised hotels and branded rooms compared to other countries," Lamba said.
Hotel transactions to soar
The hotel sector is set to see a major boost in 2025, with transactions expected to total around $500 million, or more than ₹4,200 crore, he said. Signs of this momentum are already visible. Earlier this week, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC announced an investment of ₹752 crore to acquire a 35% stake in five hotels owned by Samhi Hotels, indicating strong interest from large investors.
The year 2024 saw hotel transaction values jump to about $348 million, or roughly ₹2,900 crore, continuing the positive trend that began in 2023. Notable deals included Chalet Hotels Limited’s purchase of the Courtyard by Marriott Aravali in Haryana for ₹315 crore in March, and Juniper Hotels Limited’s acquisition of a 220-room property near Bengaluru airport for ₹280 crore in October.
Other significant transactions during the year included BCM Group buying The Golden Palms Resort and Spa, and SAMHI Hotels acquiring Trinity Hotels in Bengaluru. "This strong momentum in 2024 led to a record number of hotel signings, with transaction values reaching $348 million or around ₹2,900 crore," Lamba said.
He added that the deals reflect a wide range of investors from real estate developers to hospitality companies all looking to benefit from the sector’s growth. Bengaluru and Mumbai were the hotspots, together accounting for more than 60% of the total transaction value in 2024, while Goa and Chennai also attracted considerable investor interest.
Hotel signings by the number of rooms to be added grew to 47,249 rooms in 2024, reflecting a 62% increase from the 29,143 keys recorded in 2023. This growth included the signing of 382 new properties (40,737 keys), the rebranding of 102 hotels (6,437 keys), and the expansion of one property, which added 75 additional keys to its inventory. Another key trend in 2024 was the notable rise in the average room count per property, which rose to 98 rooms, up from 89 keys in 2023.
Operational performance rose
Hotel companies reported to HVS Anarock that among all business segments, wellness services saw the strongest revenue growth in 2024, with a 14.1% year-on-year increase. Food and beverage revenues grew by 10.9%, while revenues from conferences and banquets rose by 9.9%. When compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the numbers are even more striking: food and beverage revenue is up by 32%, and conferences and banquets revenue grew by 36.3%.
"Hotels are increasingly tapping into high-margin ancillary services, and the sector is evolving into a more diversified revenue ecosystem, with wellness, events, and dining becoming more important than ever," he said. Large concerts and events also contributed to this growth. Performances by Bryan Adams, Dua Lipa, Diljit Dosanjh, and Arijit Singh, along with major music festivals like Lollapalooza, helped drive travel and hotel bookings in the cities where they were hosted.
Reference : https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/india-hotel-deals-4-200-crore-ipo-pipeline-hospitality-sector-adani-group-hotel-occupancy-hvs-anarock-11745834038335.html
