French hotel chain, AccorHotels, believes that its next big wave of growth will come from luxury and emerging markets. “From an economy, mid-scale and upscale player the addition of these iconic and internationally acclaimed brands in luxury, we have now become a major luxury brand globally as well, said Jean-Michel Cassé, COO, India and South Asia, AccorHotels.
In India, AccorHotels has a network of 48 hotels with 20 more in the pipeline. It is present in 22 cities and its portfolio currently covers nine global brands. Cassé is particularly excited about the opportunities luxury and upscale segments present and the company is looking forward to either introducing or increasing the presence of some of AccorHotels’ international brands such as Raffles, Banyan Tree, Fairmont and Sofitel.
“India’s growth as the number three market globally for domestic air traffic and fourth in terms of combined international and domestic air travel (according to CAPA) is indicative enough of the increasing demand for leisure (and business) stays. Locations such as Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala and destinations in South India such as Coorg and Chikmangloor along with hill stations in the Northern and Eastern part of the country offer great opportunities for development,” he stated.
Talking about the introduction of new upscale brands in the country, which will appeal to the luxury traveller, both domestic and international, AccorHotels is in advanced discussions for a Raffles in Udaipur. However, Cassé maintained that he did not have specific announcements to make from a development perspective at the moment. It is also expected that these luxury brands will come up only through management contracts.
There have been rumors that AccorHotels is in advanced stage of discussion with a real estate developer in Gurugram to launch its first 100-apartment hotel brand, Novotel Suites, Gurugram within the next few months. Explaining why the company decided to get into the non-hotel lodging space, Cassé said that according to industry reports, up to 15% of online travellers in India use non-hotel accommodations, including home rentals and services apartments. “The upward trend highlights the growing interest. We believe in growing along with our customers and their demands hence, we are working on some serviced apartment projects. Currently, we are in early stages of discussions and will soon be able to share more details on the same,” he added, though he did not give out the name of the developer for this project.
