Investment tips

When Hilton contracted third-party tech company HotelKey to provide the property management system for all 7,000 of its hotels, it made the choice because that’s what executives thought would be best for the company.

Investments in India’s hospitality industry are likely to surpass $2.3 billion over the next two to five years, with the addition of approximately 12,000 hotel rooms in 2023 alone. Real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia’s report, Indian Hospitality Sector: On a Comeback Trail, predicts that the hotel room numbers are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 3.3 percent by 2025. Last month, three international hotel chains announced the debut of their luxury brands in the country. Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria and Minor Hotels’ Anantara brand are set to make their India debut in Jaipur, while Radisson has picked Hyderabad for the launch of itsRadisson Collection brand. The study further suggests that demand recovery is likely to outpace supply, benefiting key performance metrics of the hotel sector — such as occupancy rates, average daily rates, and revenue per available room — that are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the coming year. For instance, occupancy in Indian hotels is expected to improve to 66 percent this year, according to hospitality research firm HVS Anarock’s latest report. India’s hospitality sector ended 2022 with occupancy in the 59-61 percent range — up 15-17 percentage points from the previous year, and a 94 percent growth in revenue per available room in 2022 compared with 2021. Some 166 new hotels with 14,885 rooms were signed in 2022, which is a 33 percent increase in brand signings by keys over the previous year. The government’s continued focus on reforms is also expected to further enhance the sector’s growth, with projections indicating that India’s tourism and hospitality sector may earn $50.9 billion in visitor exports by 2028, the CBRE report stated. 

Tours and activities platform GetYourGuide’s closing of $194 million in equity and credit financing pushes the travel startup’s total investment over the $1 billion threshold, and solidifies its lead as the most heavily-funded company in the experiences sector.   

Selina, a hotel and experiences brand focused on youth travelers, said on Tuesday it had cut a deal for a strategic investment of up to $50 million led by Global University Systems (GUS), which runs for-profit universities.

Amadeus is on track to spend more than ever this year on research and development as the company looks toward the future of the industry. 

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced the establishment of the Saudi Tourism Investment Company (Asfar) to support the growth of the country’s tourism sector.

Saudi Arabia has taken steps in recent years to beef up its tourism industry as part of its Vision 2030 plan, including launching a seasonal campaign named Rethink Summer. The kingdom is also currently home to the largest hotel construction activity in the Middle East.

Global capital investment in travel and tourism totaled $856 billion last year, down 23% from its pre-pandemic level of $1.1 trillion in 2019, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s recent Economic Impact 2023 Global Trends Report.