Hyatt records 13% YoY RevPAR growth in H12024

New Delhi: Hyatt does not have aspirations to be the largest chain in India but wants to focus on 'experiential luxury' and 'strategic expansion', said Sunjae Sharma, MD, India and South West Asia at Hyatt Hotels Corporation in an interview with ET.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR ) has grown 13% in the first half of this year for Hyatt in India versus last year with segments such as weddings growing by 25% over last year, said Sharma. Hyatt has 52 hotels with over 10,000 keys currently and is aiming to have 100 hotels in the next five to six years.

"The 13% RevPAR growth in the first half of this year is over the 33% revenue per available room available growth we had last year. New hotels have come up in locations such as Aurangabad, Haridwar, Goa, Bengaluru and Ballygunge. We will also launch new hotels in Kasauli and Ghaziabad besides a new hotel in Dhaka,” he said. “Apart from our strategy of the four Ls and one W, which is luxury, leisure, lifestyle, loyalty and wellness, we are focusing on cities where people are going and where it makes business sense. There are hotels opening in the hills, there is Bodh Gaya, more rooms have been added in Goa,” he added.

Hyatt is launching a new events and celebration space The Grand Showroom, at The Grand Hyatt Mumbai. Sharma said the chain might look at launching similar spaces in other properties that offer experiential luxury for both intimate and large scale events.

“When we opened Grand Hyatt twenty years ago, we said this is a multi dimensional lifestyle destination. Now we are saying how do we exemplify our dedication to experiential hospitality,” he said. “This space has been designed for both personal social events as well as corporate events. This is about creating drama. Creating a show. This is about personalisation and this space has been designed to completely alter the experience that you get in an events space,” he added.

This month, Hyatt also announced a ‘strategic collaboration’ with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC). The chain said the collaboration will provide World of Hyatt members ‘exclusive access’ to a range of ‘unique experiences’ and ‘privileges’ at NMACC. Experiential offerings are a crucial part of the chain’s strategy in India, said Sharma.

“It could be going to the Robbers Cave in Dehradun, or going for a snake boat race in Kerala. People are looking at experiences and we are focusing on that at our properties. We are also looking at opening 8-10 hotels every year,” he added.