Ibis a mid-market, not a budget, brand in India, says InterGlobe Hotels CEO

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. InterGlobe Hotels Pvt Ltd is focusing on India’s tier I cities for its Ibis brand as it looks to shed the budget tag and positions itself in the mid-market segment, citing strong demand for quality hotels. The joint venture between InterGlobe Enterprises and Accor Asia Pacific, which has 29 Ibis properties in India, is evaluating opportunities in top locations in city centres for the next phase of growth, according to JB Singh, president and chief executive officer at InterGlobe Hotels.

"There is a huge opportunity in India to build more branded hotels. Classified hotels are severely under-penetrated," he said. “Travel and tourism will also grow at a multiple of 1.5 to 2x.

As a result, the industry has an assured growth of 8-14% for not just five years but longer than that." While Accor classifies Ibis as a budget hotel brand, Singh cited construction quality and build to call it a mid-market chain. “We don't look at ourselves as a budget brand. We are a mid-market hotel company purely because of the projects we do," he said.

“In fact, we're one of the more efficient ones in the category." The French hospitality major Accor--the company behind iconic brands like Pullman Hotels & Resorts--set up the partnership with Indian aviation giant IndiGo's parent in 2004 to develop the budget-to-mid-market properties here. Ibis competes with Indian Hotels Company Ltd.'s Ginger brand as well as Akoi-family backed Bloom Hotels. “As a company, as a JV, we are very focused on India.

We also recognize that India needs quality products. India will continue to be a headline item for us," Singh added. Last year, he said the 20-year-old hotel company's revenues grew 14% and occupancies in key markets