2018: Potentially It Can Only Get Better

Manav Thadani, founder and chairman of Hotelivate, is sure that 2018 can only get better for the hospitality industry, barring any unforeseen calamity. He outlines a list of trends to watch out for in India

Trend is the general movement or flow of an event or phenomenon over time, measured as the general direction (up or down) and the rate of change. Trends in hospitality can be global, regional or local. Certainly, local trends become far more critical as an indicator of performance than regional or global trends.

Globally, the main trend in the hospitality industry in the past two years has been one of consolidation, with various mergers and acquisitions having taken place. This has had some impact on regional trends but practically very little impact on local trends. The global trend for 2018 will probably be one of stabilisation of all the assets that were recently consolidated. We saw hotel companies tighten their belts and corporate offices reduce manpower to cut costs.

Regionally, the main trend has been one of survival, in the context of the high expectations set at the beginning of 2017. The industry was just getting out of the demonetisation fatigue only to be hit by the devastating liquor ban in April and then GST mid-year. Despite these hurdles, occupancies increased in most hotel markets across the country and average rates also saw an appreciation. Some months were disappointing; but, overall, we believe we have seen some very strong months that have reinforced our optimism for 2018.