This is not just India’s decade, but it is India’s century: Navjit Ahluwalia, Hilton

“We have 24 hotels open and we have 14 in the pipeline. But what is really exciting for us is the growth we see ahead. So, if I look ahead to 2030, we should be touching the 200-hotel mark,” says Navjit Ahluwalia, Sr VP, Country Head, Hilton.

What is your outlook for the Indian market?
We are very excited about India. As you know, India is going to be the third largest lodging market in the world. Now we have had a bit of a late start in India. Although we came into India earlier, we had a couple of maybe two starts that were not the way they were intended to be. So, we did have a tie-up with Oberoi hotels in the beginning, then we had a tie-up with DLF, then we had the global recession. So, those starts did not kind of pan out. But now we have been here in India for the little bit over a decade and we are really committed to India. We have 24 hotels open and we have 14 in the pipeline. But what is really exciting for us is the growth we see ahead. So, if I look ahead to 2030, we should be touching the 200-hotel mark.

Wow, 200 hotels by 2030, that is quite impressive. Let us talk about the present now. What is the demand situation right now because wherever we hear it is like a Goldilocks scenario for India, as you also pointed out, is that really true on the ground as well?
So, 2019 was one of the best years India had prior to COVID. Then COVID happened and now in 2023 we have had a remarkable recovery. I think people did expect that India will be quick to recover but when we compare India to other countries around the world, we were very fast to get off the track and we are having the best year that Indian hospitality has seen so far.

Okay, that is good to hear. But break it down for us. Is it business travel which is taking the lead? Is it leisure travel? Is it already above pre-COVID?
I think there are three segments that are driving demand for the hospitality sector in India. Leisure is one and leisure was obviously something that started to recover as soon as COVID started to go.

Yes and there was this entire revenge travel phase when all of us wanted to be outside our homes.
Yes. Then I would say what really kept industry alive and has really been a mainstay for us is the weddings business. It has now been coupled up with meetings and conferences and that is really back because people had not met each other for over two years and suddenly all companies and events and this has been a real big stay for us. And then obviously the recovery of domestic business first, followed by international business.

There is this entire clamour around recession, tech spends have been cut down, startups are seeing… you know, going under etc. What is the sentiment when it comes to business travel?
So, to be honest with you, we are not seeing any signs in India of any lag in demand from domestic business. So, domestic business is very strong, strongest it has ever been.

Obviously, from the tech sector and what we are seeing in the US, we are seeing not as much of a recovery as we had expected in the tech side of the business, in office parks and international business from that side, from especially the US and Europe has not been quick enough to recover like we had thought it might be.

Okay, so the business side of things are a little bit slower. But in terms of the leisure as well, what has been the demand trend? Are people going for more experiential travel, is luxury and the higher end properties is what is seeing more demand or is it more of the affordable kinds which you are seeing a lot of traction?
I think it is both. Clearly, during COVID people who had financial strength and stability wanted to get out and so we saw this emergence of very small, ultra luxury boutique properties which are also experience led. And I think we are living in the experiential age of travel where people are traveling to build memories. They want to collect experiences. So, they really do not want to buy the next handbag or a new pair of shoes, but rather spend on travel and they want to experience the destination for what it is and they really want a true sense of place and so I think that is what we are seeing.

We are seeing a lot of travel around that. So, length of travel has increased. People are mixing business and leisure travel and wherever they are, they are experiencing what there is to see in that destination. Also, there is a lot of wellness, a lot of trend towards healthy lifestyles, so eating healthy, experiencing whether it is yoga, meditation, nature walks, wildlife safaris so that is I think the emerging trend that we are seeing across the world, not just in India.

In terms of the outlook going forward, let us talk about the future now. What does it mean for Hilton India at this point of time? What is the growth target like for the next three to five years? Which areas are you coming out with more properties in?
Like I said, we are really excited about our growth in India because not just for us, we believe this is the golden age of travel. And this is not India’s decade, but it is India’s century because we are going to see massive, massive growth in all industries because as our GDP is going to increase and we are so under supplied and as affordability in India increases, it is not just the luxury sector or full service hotels or economy, we are going to see broad-based demand growth and we are going to see supply increasing in all these sectors.

Now, luckily, we are a multi-brand company. We have only deployed so far five brands in India. We have just introduced our luxury brand, Waldorf Astoria, which is coming to Jaipur. We feel, and that is really a brand that’s centred around celebrations. So we feel with the Indian wedding market being strong, Jaipur is really the ideal location to launch that. And so we are really excited about that. But we see a lot more in that space. And we see a lot more in hotels like Conrad Pune, which are a blend of business and pleasure. And we also see the largest growth.

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