Cygnett Group of Hotels and Resorts plans to launch nine new properties across multiple cities in different regions of India over the next six months. The new properties will come up in Dehradun, Jaipur (2 hotels), Bhiwadi, Dalhousie, Solan, Kolkata, Rajkot, and Goa.
Sarkar said that the Cygnett Group is in the process of finalising another 6 hotels, details of which will be announced soon.
Like all Cygnett Group hotels, the new properties will target both business and leisure travellers, Sarkar added. “There is a lot of pent-up demand, especially in the smaller cities and towns, and we want to aggressively capitalise on that demand,” Sarkar said.
Speaking about the growth opportunities in India, Sarbendra Sarkar, MD & Founder, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, said, “We believe that the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic is now behind us and people have begun traveling again. The economy is steadily coming back on track and therefore the demand is accelerating, especially in non-metro cities.” Pointing out that occupancy rates in Cygnett Group hotels have been going up for the past few months, Sarkar said that recovery in the hospitality sector has been faster than expected after the devastation caused by the pandemic. Sarkar added that Cygnett properties are currently running at 70 per cent occupancy as against India’s average of 52 per cent occupancy. He also highlighted the challenge of a declining Average Daily Rate (ADR). “ADR has gone down by 30 per cent this season. That’s a little worrying for the industry,” Sarkar said, adding that it would take another 8-10 months for the ADR to up to the pre-pandemic levels.
