Sarovar Hotels looks to expand footprint in India and abroad

NEW DELHI: Sarovar Hotels & Resorts will launch 70 new hotels in the next five years across India and international markets, adding 5,000 rooms to its portfolio, its managing director Ajay K Bakaya told ET in an exclusive interview. The company, which has 105 hotels at present totalling about 7,500 keys, plans to hire 6,000 people over the next five years in keeping with the expansion requirements, he said.

The chain opened new hotels in Agra, Tirupati, Bhopal, Dalhousie, Bengaluru, Pavagadh and Shravasti this year. Bakaya said it is expecting a turnover of just over Rs 1,500 crore this year, up 12% year-on-year. The company follows the January-December calendar year period.

“Overall, this has been a good year. The fundamentals are pretty strong. There has been a lot of work on the infrastructure front in terms of roads and airport upgradation,” he said. “All that helps us in our business. The smaller markets are maturing strongly now. The wedding market is big. It’s the strongest source of revenue at the moment for a lot of hotels.” Bakaya said he expects a positive trajectory in the coming year as well. “The demand will continue to be high and the supply will not be able to catch up with the demand that fast. It takes a long time to build hotels in India,” he said.

The chain’s pipeline includes a company-owned hotel in Chennai, which is set to open in March 2025 and for which the company is earmarking about rs 118 crore.

Bakaya said chain had six hotels in Africa, but the pandemic brought the number down.

“We have three hotels in Africa now – one in Lusaka and two in Nairobi. We are opening hotels in Kampala (Uganda) and Hargeisa (Somaliland) next year. Apart from Africa, we have an active interest in building our presence in Nepal,” he said.