High on hotels: A gold rush starts as businesses find 'room' for growth
Mankind Pharma entered the sector with the Courtyard by Marriott Aravali Resort, and added The Westin Rishikesh Resort & Spa earlier this year. Kaushalya Logistics is venturing into hospitality by building a 200-room Holiday Inn hotel on Delhi-Mumbai highway in Udaipur.
From pharma majors and regional industrial groups to car dealers, school owners and book publishers in tier 2 and 3 markets, an increasingly diversified group of entrepreneurs across segments and sectors are taking the plunge in the hospitality industry, ET has reported.
With the Indian economy on a growth trajectory, the demand for hospitality services is expected to remain high, Gaurav Sharma, vice president, development at IHCL, has told ET. “Consequently, substantial capital investments are flowing into the hospitality industry as there is a growing belief in the potential for hotel development." Deepak Jain, founder of MayFair Consultants, has told ET that many business houses are actively exploring investments in the hospitality sector considering the growth potential.
“We have noticed a lot of diversification in the tier two and three markets where business owners want to diversify,” he said.
Kiran Andicot, regional vice president of South Asia for hotel development at Marriott International has told ET that there has been an increase in corporate groups diversifying into hospitality. «For instance, the Courtyard by Marriott Gorakhpur that is scheduled to open soon and the recently signed Ayodhya Marriott Hotel are examples of this kind.
