Ginger, the midscale brand under the umbrella of the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), is expanding its presence.
Since its brand transformation in 2018, Ginger has experienced growth in both the number of its properties and its revenue. The increasing average number of rooms per hotel reflects growing developer confidence and rising travel demand.
This trend is noticeable in both well-established markets, such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Goa, where hotels with over 300 rooms are emerging, as well as in smaller towns.
IHCL’s Ginger Brand Grows Portfolio:
“For Ginger the average number of rooms per hotel used to be around 70 but it is increasing. In our existing portfolio of 60 hotels the average number of rooms per hotel is 83 and that will increase to 115 in our 26 pipeline hotels. More the number of rooms better is the efficiency of a hotel basis the demand in the market,” said Deepika Rao, IHCL’s executive vice president, hotel openings and corporate communications.
“In tier II and III cities where we have entered existing non-branded hotels have a small inventory. Typically, the largest property in these towns would have about 80 rooms. But now developers are gaining confidence to build bigger hotels of more than 100 rooms. I see the change in most tier II III cities except in North East states where room count per hotel is still around 70-80,” added Suma Venkatesh, IHCL’s executive vice president, real estate and development.
At present, IHCL has a portfolio of 26 upcoming Ginger hotels set to launch in various markets, including Agra, Ahmedabad, Durgapur, Dehradun, Goa, Gangtok, and more.
“Cities are growing creating their own micro markets and business districts. We see a great opportunity in midscale segment and feel that practically every district headquarter in the country can take a Ginger hotel,” Venkatesh said.
Numerous properties are also emerging in cities where the Ginger brand already has a presence. IHCL has secured a land lease to construct a 300-room Ginger hotel at Mopa airport in Goa, which will become the third-largest hotel within the Ginger brand. Furthermore, a 371-room property near Mumbai airport is set to open soon, and a 325-room Ginger hotel, part of a twin project alongside a 450-room Vivanta, will be developed near Bengaluru airport within the next three years. These twin hotels will be built on a single plot and are currently in the design stage.
The first Ginger hotel opened in the Whitefield area of Bengaluru in 2004. Modeled as a budget no-frills brand, it sold rooms for INR 999 a night in its initial years. A lackluster performance and increasing competition in the budget space forced IHCL to change strategy.
Ginger underwent a brand transformation in 2018. Although the average room size, roughly 200 square feet, was retained, significant changes were made to the interiors and aesthetics to create a more vibrant ambiance. Instead of outsourcing, in-house food and beverage services have been introduced in the hotels. The existing hotels are undergoing renovations to adopt a “lean luxe avatar.” This strategy has already revitalized approximately 60 percent of the Ginger properties.
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The enterprise revenue of the Ginger brand has surged from INR 200 crore in FY 2018 to INR 360 crore in FY23, marking a fivefold increase in the pace of growth. The hotel pipeline has also expanded from five in 2018 to the current count of 26 hotels.