Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, known for its Radisson branded hotels, has seen a significant uptick in room rates since the beginning of 2018, continuing the trend which was witnessed over the past one year.
Corporate tariffs have been revised by 10-15% for the year with demand for hotel rooms now exceeding supplies, said its South Asia CEO Raj Rana.
The group, the second-largest foreign hotel brand in the country in terms of the number of keys, would have 100 properties under its fold by the end of this year, up from 89 now.
“Tariffs across sectors, particularly for corporate clients, continue to witness steady growth. Corporate rates, which are usually renegotiated over the third and fourth quarter for the upcoming year, have been revised upwards by around 15% for 2018. This comes after up to 15% growth in room rates in 2017,” said Rana.
The main reason behind the upward spiralling of average room rates is that demand has now outstripped supplies.
“The industry had gone through a long phase of muted growth, primarily because room supplies were more than the demand. The scenario has reversed now. After a long time, 2017 turned out to be a good year, which ended with comfortable occupancy of 65%,” Rana said while inaugurating Radisson Kolkata Ballygunge, a 92-room luxury hotel which has been upgraded from its Park Plaza brand.
To take advantages of revival in demand, Carlson Rezidor is growing aggressively.
“We are opening a property almost at the rate of one in every six weeks. The group has 140 properties, of which 89 hotels are completed and up and running, and we expect to touch a century by end of the year,” he said.
Beyond Kolkata, Carlson Rezidor is expanding to cities like Chandigarh, where three properties are coming up, in Gorakhpur (UP) and at seven locations in Jammu & Kashmir.
Carlson Rezidor has brands including Radisson Blu at the upper end of the market, followed by Radisson Red, Radisson, Country Inns and Suites, and Park Inn and Park Plaza at the lower-end.
The uptick in demand is also driving demand for pricier luxury rooms and that’s why the promoters of the Ballygunge property, the Mukti Group, have decided to upgrade the property from Park Plaza to Radisson, said Mukti Gupta, managing director of the group.
“An upgrade also helps to get better deals for marriage bookings apart from driving up rates of rooms as well as food and beverages,” Rana said.
CHECK-INS SURGE
- The group would have 100 properties under its fold by the end of this year, up from 89 now
- In 2017, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group saw 65% occupancy
