The hospitality sector in India primarily thrives on tourism, which is an important source of foreign exchange and employment. The government has taken several initiatives which play a major role for the growth of the hotel industry.

Market insights:

The hotel industry in India is a part of the travel and tourism industry. Business travelers are gradually increasing in number due to the rapid growth of the IT sector and the emergence of several global companies.

The key performance indicators (KPIs) used by the industry to measure business expansion and manage hotels are average room rate (ARR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR). The ARR stood at INR 5,458.68 in FY 2020 as against INR 5,671.00 in FY 2017. It is expected to reach INR 6,292.85 by FY 2025, while expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~2.49% between FY 2021 and FY 2025. In FY 2020, the RevPAR was ~INR 1,951.34 and is expected to reach INR 3,336.28 by FY 2025. It is expected that the hotel industry will expand at a promising rate since India will be hosting the ICC Men's World Cup in 2023. It has been assumed that this event would increase the foreign tourists footfall in the country.

Employee management is a major challenge faced by the industry. The attrition rate has gone up due to the lack of workforce quality and increased competition for trained employees from competing service sectors, such as aviation.

Segmentation insights:

Based on hotel type, the hotel industry can be segmented into independent/unbranded hotels, alternate accommodations, new-age hotel chain, and branded or traditional hotels. The independent/unbranded segment accounts for ~70% of the total available hotel rooms. The second-largest segment includes alternate accommodations. This is on account of the growing popularity of homestays among tourists. The new-age hotel chain is expected to hold nearly 6% of the total available hotel rooms in India in FY 2025. Moreover, the branded/traditional hotel segment, along with the major share in the organized sector, accounts for about 5% of the overall hotel industry in terms of room supply.

Government initiatives:

The industry is dependent on the tourism sector for business. The Ministry of Tourism, along with the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, promotes tourism in the country. Therefore, government initiatives play a crucial role in its growth.

The Ministry of Tourism has undertaken schemes, such as PRASHAD (National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive), SWADESH DARSHAN (Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around Specific Themes), and the promotion of e-visa to encourage tourist inflow.

NABH Nirman, UDAN Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik, and Vision 2040 are some of the initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to enhance air connectivity, which would bring hotel guests even to the most remote corners of the country.

The Ministry of Railways is focused on developing railway infrastructure to ease domestic travel. Domestic travelers constitute the largest share of guest in the hotel industry.

Competition analysis:

The hotel industry is highly fragmented. It is dominated by several small and unorganized players. It has observed a shift in favor of the mid-market and budget hotel segments. Hotel aggregators' development in the budget segment has led the massive and unorganized hotel industry towards consolidation.

Companies covered:

Bharat Hotels Limited
Hotel Leelaventure Limited
ITC Hotels Limited
Lemon Tree Hotels Limited
The Indian Hotels Company Limited
Sarovar Hotels Private Limited
The Park Hotels
Hyatt Hotels and Resorts
Marriott Hotels India Private Limited
Radisson Hotels Asia Private Company