New Delhi: Despite the recent geopolitical developments, all the economic indicators are very positive for India’s hospitality sector and world’s largest franchising company Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is as ‘bullish as ever’ on the country, said Dimitris Manikis, president of the EMEA region at the chain.
“If you had seen some of these geopolitical challenges unfolding 15 years ago, people would have stopped traveling. We haven’t seen that today,” he said.
“Of course, we saw a bit of a drop in business here when the India Pakistan conflict unfolded, but that didn’t stop Indians from travelling. Indians are travelling more-both domestically and globally, and this country of 1.4 billion will continue to travel,” he added.
Hospitality IPOs are one of the most lucrative in India, said Manikis, pointing to continued optimism for the sector. “Ten years ago, that wasn’t the case. It shows that the stock markets and investors are very bullish about the sector.”
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced a new ' strategic alliance' with Cygnett Hotels & Resorts on Friday that will introduce its La Quinta by Wyndham and Registry Collection Hotels brands to the country. The alliance is expected to add more than 60 hotels across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal over the next 10 years.
As part of the deal, Wyndham and Cygnett have signed an exclusive 10-year development agreement to introduce and grow the La Quinta by Wyndham brand across India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, with plans to open over 50 hotels. This will include a mix of new builds and conversions with the first hotel expected to open by the end of 2026. Wyndham said La Quinta hotels operate in the upper midscale segment and are present in over 900 locations globally.
In parallel, Wyndham and Cygnett will also introduce Registry Collection Hotels in India through a non-exclusive 10-year development agreement for 10 hotels. The hotels will be co-branded under Anamore, Cygnett’s newly launched, luxury 5-star brand, with the first hotel expected to open as early as 2026.
“It’s a tripartite arrangement. The existing Cygnett hotels will be affiliated to the Trademark Collection by Wyndham which is our soft brand,” he said. “Strategic alliances such as these are crucial as they can help local brands with international distribution. There are beautiful brands that would like to expand outside India. How will they do that? By affiliating with international brands,” he added.
Manikis said he is also keen to explore possibilities in the hostel and branded residences space in India. “The hostels business does very well across Europe and I am keen to explore that for India. We launched our mid-scale branded residences offering in Europe which is doing extremely well. Both these segments have enormous potential here. Currently, India only has branded residences in the luxury space but nothing for the middle class,” he added. Wyndham operates branded residences in locations such as Spain and Turkey. It launched its first branded residences project in the CIS region in Kazakhstan with Ramada Residences.
Launching more brands here is important for the outbound market, said Manikis.
“There are certain brands such as Vienna House and Dolce that are doing very well in Europe. I would like to see them here,” he said. “When Indians travel to Germany, Prague and Warsaw, and they stay at a Vienna House, they will know what to expect. We would also like to bring our Super 8 brand to the country,” he added.
Wyndham has signed new hotels in Kochi, Ranchi and Haridwar and has recently opened new hotels in Chandigarh, Gurugram, Ambala and a new hotel in Jim Corbett, Choi. It currently has over 70 hotels spanning over 6000 rooms across Eurasia, and the pipeline includes 50 properties.
Boosting overseas tourist numbers in India is a marathon and not a sprint, said Manikis.
“You need better entry at airports, you need the e visa system to be more flexible. You need the Incredible India campaign to come back again as a slogan for people to understand what India is,” said Manikis. “I walk around London, and see so many destinations being advertised on the buses in London. Why not India? So, you need to spend in order to raise awareness. At our end, we are doing our part.”
“If you had seen some of these geopolitical challenges unfolding 15 years ago, people would have stopped traveling. We haven’t seen that today,” he said.
“Of course, we saw a bit of a drop in business here when the India Pakistan conflict unfolded, but that didn’t stop Indians from travelling. Indians are travelling more-both domestically and globally, and this country of 1.4 billion will continue to travel,” he added.
Hospitality IPOs are one of the most lucrative in India, said Manikis, pointing to continued optimism for the sector. “Ten years ago, that wasn’t the case. It shows that the stock markets and investors are very bullish about the sector.”
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced a new ' strategic alliance' with Cygnett Hotels & Resorts on Friday that will introduce its La Quinta by Wyndham and Registry Collection Hotels brands to the country. The alliance is expected to add more than 60 hotels across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal over the next 10 years.
As part of the deal, Wyndham and Cygnett have signed an exclusive 10-year development agreement to introduce and grow the La Quinta by Wyndham brand across India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, with plans to open over 50 hotels. This will include a mix of new builds and conversions with the first hotel expected to open by the end of 2026. Wyndham said La Quinta hotels operate in the upper midscale segment and are present in over 900 locations globally.
In parallel, Wyndham and Cygnett will also introduce Registry Collection Hotels in India through a non-exclusive 10-year development agreement for 10 hotels. The hotels will be co-branded under Anamore, Cygnett’s newly launched, luxury 5-star brand, with the first hotel expected to open as early as 2026.
“It’s a tripartite arrangement. The existing Cygnett hotels will be affiliated to the Trademark Collection by Wyndham which is our soft brand,” he said. “Strategic alliances such as these are crucial as they can help local brands with international distribution. There are beautiful brands that would like to expand outside India. How will they do that? By affiliating with international brands,” he added.
Manikis said he is also keen to explore possibilities in the hostel and branded residences space in India. “The hostels business does very well across Europe and I am keen to explore that for India. We launched our mid-scale branded residences offering in Europe which is doing extremely well. Both these segments have enormous potential here. Currently, India only has branded residences in the luxury space but nothing for the middle class,” he added. Wyndham operates branded residences in locations such as Spain and Turkey. It launched its first branded residences project in the CIS region in Kazakhstan with Ramada Residences.
Launching more brands here is important for the outbound market, said Manikis.
“There are certain brands such as Vienna House and Dolce that are doing very well in Europe. I would like to see them here,” he said. “When Indians travel to Germany, Prague and Warsaw, and they stay at a Vienna House, they will know what to expect. We would also like to bring our Super 8 brand to the country,” he added.
Wyndham has signed new hotels in Kochi, Ranchi and Haridwar and has recently opened new hotels in Chandigarh, Gurugram, Ambala and a new hotel in Jim Corbett, Choi. It currently has over 70 hotels spanning over 6000 rooms across Eurasia, and the pipeline includes 50 properties.
Boosting overseas tourist numbers in India is a marathon and not a sprint, said Manikis.
“You need better entry at airports, you need the e visa system to be more flexible. You need the Incredible India campaign to come back again as a slogan for people to understand what India is,” said Manikis. “I walk around London, and see so many destinations being advertised on the buses in London. Why not India? So, you need to spend in order to raise awareness. At our end, we are doing our part.”
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