Expect Massive Quantum Of Deals In Hotels Sector

After a big-bang start, Mandeep Lamba, Managing Director – Hotels, of JLL India, believes that 2017 is set to see 10-12 more hotel deals

As far as hotel real estate transactions in India go, 2017 has started off with a big bang. After a relatively quieter 2016, this year saw the acquisition of a majority stake in India’s foremost hotel management company, Sarovar Hotels, by The Louvre Hotel Group (part of Jin Jiang International Holding). This transaction alone has paved the way for 2017 to set a new record in India’s fledgling hotel transactions’ market.

The last significant year for the hotel transaction market was 2015, in which the market witnessed over INR 24,233 million worth of trade in existing and brownfield hotel assets – a 44.8 percent increase over the second-highest year of 2012, which had witnessed nearly INR 16,730 million worth of trade. While 2016 lacked the big bang announcements of 2015, it witnessed five hotel-related asset transactions – some of which were undertaken to convert the underlying assets to alternate developments.