Europe’s largest hotel group AccorHotels is set to launch a new Fairmont hotel in Mumbai. As a part of the expansion of its luxury portfolio, Accor will open its second Fairmont in India,though the timeline has not been disclosed by the group, the hotel is said to be under construction. The property will have 646 luxury rooms. Earlier this year, Accor has also announced the entrant of its new luxury brand- Raffles in the Indian market which will make its debut in 2020 in Udaipur. India’s first Fairmont in Jaipur is an ode to the pink city through awe inspiring architecture and decor, inspired by the Mughal dynasty and Royal Rajputs of yore.
AccorHotels chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin said one third of the group’s upcoming hotels in the country will be in the luxury category. “Every time I come to India, I am surprised with new infrastructure in the airline and travel space,” Bazin said. “The Delhi airport is expanding. There is a strong economy, good political environment, hopefully manageable interest rates and an environment for travel infrastructure, big operating partners and sophisticated hotel companies. It’s a good recipe.”
Accor already operates brands like Ibis, Pullman and Novotel in India. “India performed well in a better economic environment but I am extremely intrigued about your country,” Bazin said. “India has extraordinary hospitality capacity for all of us but it is still a very tough country to penetrate. We have a strong pipeline. 5,000 rooms on top of the existing 10,000 rooms. I will continue striving hard to penetrate this market because this is probably aland of opportunities.” In India, Accor has 51 operational hotels, of which 20 are Novotels and 19 Ibis. But Bazin said the pipeline over the past two years is steering towards luxury.
“We will have a new Fairmont (in Mumbai) and new Raffles hotels coming up in Udaipur and Jaipur. This is a big move for us. Ibis and Novotels have been the sweet spot for us because they target SMEs and the local population but we will penetrate India further with Sofitel, Fairmont and Raffles because you can have wonderful showcases and landmark properties here,” Bazin said.
