Cygnett Group of Hotels and Resorts plans to launch 9 new properties across multiple cities in different regions of India over the next six months. The new properties will come up in Dehradun, Jaipur (2 hotels), Bhiwadi, Dalhousie, Solan, Kolkata, Rajkot, and Goa.
This recent strategic move is complemented concurrently by the rollout of an international expansion plan in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia spearheaded by Roberto Pelliccia, the group’s Vice President – Development & Operations – Asia | Africa, Amir Ahmad Mohamad – Director – Development – Vietnam and in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by Peter Dietze – Regional Director – Europe.
Mr. Sarkar said that the Cygnett Group is in the process of finalizing another 6 hotels, details of which will be announced soon.
Like all Cygnett Group hotels, the new properties will target both business and leisure travelers, Mr. Sarkar added. “There is a lot of pent-up demand, especially in the smaller cities and towns, and we want to aggressively capitalize on that demand,” Mr. Sarkar said.
Speaking about the growth opportunities in India, Mr. Sarbendra Sarkar, MD & Founder Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, said, “We believe that the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic is now behind us and people have begun traveling again. The economy is steadily coming back on track and therefore the demand is accelerating, especially in non-metro cities.” Pointing out that occupancy rates in Cygnett Group hotels have been going up for the past few months, Mr. Sarkar said that recovery in the hospitality sector has been faster than expected after the devastation caused by the pandemic. Mr. Sarkar added that Cygnett properties are currently running at 70% occupancy as against India’s average of 52% occupancy. He also highlighted the challenge of a declining Average Daily Rate (ADR). “ADR has gone down by 30% this season. That’s a little worrying for the industry,” Mr. Sarkar said, adding that it would take another 8-10 months for the ADR to up to the pre-pandemic levels.
