Skift Take
Oberoi Group’s CEO wants to introduce more luxurious, boutique-style hotels in India, and he disclosed the company is working on a new ultra-luxury brand with a “nature” theme.
Oberoi Group — known for its luxury hotel brands Oberoi and Trident — is quietly developing an ultra-luxury hotel brand, the company’s top boss revealed on Wednesday.
“Some of those hotels will be … in beautiful locations with a strong sense of place,” said Vikram Oberoi, managing director and CEO. “These will be much smaller hotels.”
The project to develop the new brand is known internally and temporarily as “Oberoi Nature,” Mr. Oberoi said. He disclosed the project when speaking on-stage at the Skift India Summit 2024 in Delhi-NCR.
The new brand will help support the group’s push to double its overall room count by 2030 — a plan disclosed in November.
The Growing Pricing Power of India’s Hotels
Mr. Oberoi’s plan to add an even more luxurious brand to the group’s portfolio fits with his broader view that hotels in India generally don’t take full advantage of the pricing power that they can command.
“If you compare us [India as a whole], our rates offer fantastic value for money,” Oberoi said. “We can catch up with the rest of the world on rates.”
For India’s branded and organized hotels, rates average at about $90 a night, according to Hotelviate’s 2023 Indian Hospitality Trends & Opportunities report.
Oberoi said that Indian travelers visiting Oberoi’s leisure and urban properties generally show a demonstrated willingness to pay a higher rate than inbound international guests — a reversal of historical patterns for India as the country becomes an emerging economic powerhouse.
Oberoi Group’s Growth Plan
In the past decade, Oberoi Group barely expanded its pipeline, while rival players like IHCL (Indian Hotels Company), Aman Group, and Rosewood have enjoyed growth spurts. However, Oberoi Group announced in November it planned to scale up.
“We want 50 new hotels by 2030,” Oberoi said on Wednesday.
In February 2023, Oberoi stated its intent to open a string of “seven-star” hotels in India. The Oberoi Group of Hotels entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department to construct a 7-star hotel in Tirupati in India, New India Express reported. The tourism department formally handed over 20 acres of land parcel on Zoo Park Road near Alipri to the Oberoi Group on a lease-cum-rent basis. The Oberoi Group also discussed interest in constructing 7-star hotels at Gandikota, Visakhapatnam, Pichchukalanka, and Horsley Hills.
While Oberoi has a growth plan, Mr. Oberoi said it wouldn’t come at the cost of quality.
“Our focus is not to be the biggest,” Oberoi said on Wednesday. “That’s not our playing field. Our focus is to be the very best. Our belief is that guests appreciate that and will pay a premium for that. We invest huge amounts — relative to our size — to learning and development for staff.”
“We are far from perfect but we’re striving for perfection.”
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