Sudeep Jain

Before the pandemic, IHG Hotels & Resorts was registering solid performance across its portfolio and was on an accelerated growth path powered by its family of mainstream brand, constituting Holiday and Holiday Inn Express. At the peak of the crisis, however, many of its 6000 hotels globally, including India, ran at the lowest occupancy levels ever, and others had to temporarily close their doors.

Understandably, the company’s performance and expansion plans in India also took a temporary hit. With the easing of restrictions, domestic tourism, business is gaining traction and its hotels are witnessing a significant increase in bookings and occupancy.

“Our growth momentum has also picked up as we sign and open more hotels in South West Asia (SWA),” announced Sudeep Jain, MD-SWA, IHG Hotels & Resorts.

PRUDENT DECISIONS
IHG wanted all its colleagues to feel comfortable going to work they have a safe environment to help guests have a wonderful stay. Its Global Cleanliness Board worked with partners including Cleveland Clinic, Ecolab and Diversey to implement new protocols and service measures in the properties.

Jain said that the hotel chain also made it a priority to provide the right support and protection for owners, alongside plans and programmes needed for a recovery. “At the peak of the crisis, owners welcomed our market-tailored fee relief packages to defer payments. It provided the flexibility they needed to use cash in other ways that protected their business during this difficult time,” he stated.

Globally, the hotel chain paused renovations and relaxed its brand standards to help lower hotel operating costs for owners. Jain added that it also significantly reduced discretionary costs, marketing spends and capital expenditure, as it prioritised only what is needed to drive a recovery.

“Our continued commitment and effort towards taking care of our stakeholders, managing stable revenues, rationalising operating costs, and flexibility helped us steer through this challenging time and prepared us well for recovery,” he noted.

Sensing an opportunity in these challenges, IHG decided to be more agile, decisive and customer and owner-centric. While it was always focussed on capitalising on domestic tourism, during the pandemic, this segment became even more important for the hospitality sector, with international movement being restricted.

“In a rapidly shifting environment, we discovered how to maintain a flexible business approach, to be able to respond to real time market dynamics effectively,” Jain summarised. “Our teams worked hard to understanding the changing customer needs and provide them with relevant solutions.”