Hospitality industry in India is still at a nascent stage, says Rahul Bhatia

The strengthening of the Accor-InterGlobe partnership is expected to lead to a network of 300 hotels by 2030. Today, it has 71 hotels in the country, with 40 more in development.

Sébastien Bazin, Chairman & CEO, Accor, told Business Today that India’s size, levels of under-penetration and complexity make it most interesting. “We saw the opportunities in many parts of the world at different points in time and pursued them. India will be the largest hospitality market globally in 20-25 years and we don’t want to miss it,” he said.

The relationship between InterGlobe Enterprises and Accor, headquartered in France, was formed in 2004 to establish a network of hotels across India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director, InterGlobe Enterprises, maintained the hospitality industry in India at a nascent stage, making it hugely exciting. “It really comes down to execution and having the right alliances. India has a massive local community and a population with high levels of disposable income,” he told Business Today. To him, a combination of domestic demand and Indians travelling overseas with Accor’s presence makes for a unique proposition.

On the partnership with Accor, Bhatia said, “it has stood the test of time,” making it a huge plus. “Accor is more in tune with how the world is evolving and we at InterGlobe have a good understanding of India to navigate the complexity.”

According to Bazin, India reminds him of China but also has the complexity of sub-Saharan Africa. “Yes, it is important to get he right partnerships. This is just the beginning of the story of the outbound Indian traveller,” he said. Specifically on the complexity, he looked at it as an opportunity. “We have bene in India for 20 years and know how to navigate it. Besides, we have a portfolio of brands from economy to mid-scale to luxury to lifestyle and that means we can cut across locations, offering a wide choice to the consumer.” He cited the case of Dubai where success in the hospitality industry though there were no natural resources. “They invested a lot of money in the hotel industry and there is a lot of potential we see in India too. What is perhaps not known is that the hospitality industry accounts for 20% of job creation globally.”