Shreya Shimpi
Occupancy levels in 2023
Occupancies today have not only gotten back to pre-Covid levels but are slightly better. What is very interesting to note is that the average rates typically have gone up a minimum of twenty per cent from pre-Covid levels which is very heartening because today whatever you make extra in terms of rate goes straight to the bottom line. That is a very profitable sign for hotels and this trend is here to follow. I feel this is just the beginning. The next five to six years are going to be the so-called ‘golden period ‘for hotels. You will have very little supply coming. If you look at all the hospitality reports you will realise the supply is coming at four to five per cent. Demand will secularly continue to grow at maybe twice that number so the next five to six years are going to be the golden period. There will be an acute shortage of rooms in India and hotels will continue to do very well.
Staycation trend
It is not as much as the Covid levels as people were working from home back then. Today people have all got back to offices so it’s there but not in the same quantum.
Sustainability Initiatives
What I would like to specifically talk about is Lemon Tree’s initiative around the ODI-Opportunity Deprived Individuals. Lemon Tree is very strong in it. Almost fifteen per cent of our workforce comprises of this segment. Under this initiative, we look at people who have some kind of disability and also the people who are economically and socially marginalised people. This segment today is our big focus. We started as a small initiative back in the year 2007 and today it is very much a part of our mainstay and a part of the regular manning in the organisation. It is something that we are very proud of.
We just won two awards from ‘Great Place to Work -India’ for our inclusion initiatives-
Best workplaces in inclusivity, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging 2023
Best workplaces for women 2023
Best companies to work for Millennials 2023
Upcoming ventures
We would love to talk about our upcoming Mumbai Hotel under the ‘Aurika’ brand. It is India’s largest hotel with 669 rooms and is right outside the Mumbai International Airport. We are very excited about this opening and it is going to open this month itself.
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