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“Single-window clearances can help reach next frontier in growth path”
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Monday, 20 February, 2023, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 Mandeep S Lamba is a hospitality professional with an established leadership track record having spent 35 years in varied roles with leading organisations of which the last 17 years he has been in CEO positions. He has extensive experience in hotel operations, development, strategy and hospitality advisory.
HVS Anarock, which is a driving force to host HOPE (Hospitality Overview Presentation & Exchange), India's most exclusive and biggest hospitality conference and awards on March 2 and 3, 2023, at the Taj Resort & Convention Centre, Goa. The Hospitality Summit and Hashtag Awards will showcase India's global stature as a hospitality industry powerhouse.
Mandeep S Lamba, president (South Asia), HVS Anarock, talks about the hospitality industry in India and the upcoming HOPE, in an email interaction with Aanchal Chaudhary. Excerpts:
What factors have contributed to India’s rapid growth in the hospitality industry in recent years?
In the past 10 years, the hospitality industry in India has undergone significant change, adapting, among other things, to shifting traveller preferences and technological advancements. The sector’s expansion has been facilitated by a number of factors. For starters, domestic tourism has been on the rise, driven by increasing income levels, improving connectivity to tourist destinations, and the emergence of low-cost carriers. Second, India has become a preferred global tourist destination, with Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to the country crossing the 10 million mark for the first time in 2017. Visa on arrival, e-tourist and e-medical visas have led to a strong surge in inbound tourists to the country in the past decade. Additionally, Tier 2 & 3 cities have become the growth engines for the hotel sector in the recent past due to increasing business travel to these cities. The growth of the start-up ecosystem coupled with several services and IT-ITeS companies extending their presence to smaller cities has increased the demand for quality hotels in these cities, compelling hotel developers and operators to expand their presence. Finally, the government’s increased focus on overall infrastructure development, including aviation, railways, and roadways, which is improving connectivity has been a catalyst to the Indian hospitality sector’s growth in the recent past.
How has the entry of international hotel chains and luxury brands impacted the Indian hospitality industry?
In the last decade or so, several international hotel chains have entered or expanded their presence in the Indian hospitality sector, altering the competitive landscape, bringing in global distribution networks and asset-light growth models. As a result, the branded hotel supply in the country has increased at a CAGR of over 7% from circa 70,000 in 2010 to 150,000 in 2021.
Tell us about the HOPE 2023 which is going to be held in March and its significance? What is your vision for the conference?
HVS Anarock HOPE 2023 aims to showcase India's global stature as a hospitality industry powerhouse, by bringing Indian and international hospitality leaders, thought leaders, investors, hotel owners and new-age differentiators together for focused deliberation and interactive dialogues on various thought-provoking and forward-thinking topics impacting the Indian economy and the hospitality industry. One of the main objectives of the HOPE conference is to provide thought leaders and industry stalwarts with a platform to discuss and offer fresh viewpoints on a range of business trends and challenges, including the lack of skilled workers, sustainability and technology, along with keynote addresses and presentations by subject matter experts. HOPE 2023 will go beyond the typical content for hospitality conferences, which limits deliberations and often makes them repetitive.
How is the Indian hospitality industry addressing the new normal of contactless services and digitalisation? How is India's hospitality industry leveraging technology to enhance the customer experience?
Pre-Covid, the hospitality sector had successfully adopted technology at the first point of customer contact with an increasing number of bookings being done online. However, technology adoption during the other phases of the customer journey was still lagging as hotel rooms followed the standard practices using traditional technology in rooms. The situation, however, changed drastically post-Covid as tech features, such as keyless/mobile check-in and check-out, digital menus and contactless payments, that were once considered as luxuries, have become the standard today. Several hotel companies are now evaluating other technological aspects such as smart tech to revamp their properties to differentiate themselves from the competition and exceed the expectations of guests.
How is the Indian hospitality industry evolving to keep up with the changing consumer expectations and behaviours due to the pandemic?
In recent years, the hospitality industry in India has undergone significant change as players have entered new markets to address shifting traveller preferences. Many travellers, for instance, are now looking for greater flexibility and convenience, especially when traveling in small groups or with families and pets, which has resulted in an increase in popularity of alternate accommodation products such as homestays and villa rentals. However, these segments are still highly unorganised with the presence of very few branded hospitality players, especially in the upscale and luxury segment. Due to lower overhead costs and higher profitability than a hotel, large hospitality players are entering these segments with lucrative investment models, particularly for expansion in underserved leisure destinations. IHCL, for instance, has introduced the brand amã Stays & Trails to foray into the country’s fast-growing homestays market. Similarly, leading international hotel companies have already diversified into the vacation rental space globally and it is only a matter of time before they do so in India as well.
What are some of the key sustainability challenges facing the hospitality industry today? How do you think the industry should be approaching the issue of sustainability?
Climate change and its negative impact is very real and sustainability has become more than a buzzword. The Indian hospitality industry is stepping up its sustainability efforts. For instance, to reduce their carbon footprint, the majority of hotel operators have reduced and eliminated single-use plastic and switched to more environmentally friendly options like refillable shampoo/soap dispensers, as well as opting out of daily linen and towel changes. Some are also using renewable energy, smart energy systems, reusable water, and zero-waste policies to make their operations more sustainable while also saving money. Going forward, the sector is actively looking to focus on using locally produced, eco-friendly building materials when creating new hotels and hastening the adoption of sustainable design principles. Since this is an important subject we are curating a panel discussion on the Future of Hotel Design & Sustainability at HOPE 2023 with leading architects & sustainability experts.
How do the hospitality industry and real estate industry intersect and how do they depend on each other?
A large percentage of hotel owners in India have primary interest in real estate, as hotels are an alternate investment asset class falling within the real estate domain. The hotel sector is often viewed as a hedge, due to its annuity business model and inherent value growth potential. Real estate players have traditionally held on to quality land parcels, ideal for hotel development. Moreover, mixed-use developments with hotels are fast emerging as a favoured option on account of the synergies, same shared infrastructure, lowered cost of development and captive demand.
Lastly, what measures would you suggest for the growth of India's hospitality industry in the coming future?
Introducing single-window clearances and simplifying the approval process, as well as providing infrastructure status to the Indian hospitality sector, a long-pending request by key stakeholders, can help the industry reach the next frontier in its growth path.
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