Research And Views Archives

Hotels: No respite from external events
(Sector Info)

Aug 19, 2009

Equitymaster presents the recent happenings in the hotel sector where external events continue to mar performance.

Hospitality in dark shadow
(Sector Info)

Mar 6, 2009

India may not be an economy like Mauritius or Maldives that is heavily dependent on tourism for its growth. However, tourism and hospitality in the country do have a strong potential to contribute to future growth.

Hotel sector: Little room for growth
(Sector Info)

Jan 7, 2009

The hospitality industry witnessed a mixed year in 2008. In this article, we shall examine the factors that contributed to the growth and some of the challenges that this sector faces.

Impact of credit crisis and terrorist attacks on tourism sector
(Sector Info)

Dec 10, 2008

India's travel and tourism sector has been hit by a double whammy. First came the global credit crisis. And then the inhuman series of terror attacks across the country. We recently interacted with the management of one of the largest tourism companies in India to find out how the sector is likely to cope with the crisis going forward. The interaction offered us some insights into the three different segments of travelers - corporate, outbound and inbound, each of which will be impacted by the c

Hotel industry: Slowdown or correction?
(Sector Info)

Jul 2, 2008

The slowdown in the global economy, rising crude prices and higher airfares has affected the hotel sector to a certain extent. Due to rising costs, companies are facing pressure on their earnings. Plus, cost cutting measures have led to lower business tourist arrivals in recent times.

Hotels: Yet another strong year…
(Sector Info)

Jan 10, 2008

The hospitality industry witnessed another year of strong performance in 2007 and in this article, we shall examine the factors that contributed to this growth and some of the challenges that this sector faces.

Hotel sector: Where to?
(Sector Info)

Oct 5, 2007

With the macro prospects still strong, increased business-tourist travel continues to propel hotel room demand. Business traffic in major metros has grown in line with increased economic activity. Foreign tourist arrivals for the months of July 07 and August 07 grew by 15% YoY. 3.12 m foreign tourists arrived from Jan 07 to Aug 07.

Hotels: Looking beyond metros
(Sector Info)

Jul 13, 2007

The GDP growth, expanding service sector, rising purchasing power, infrastructure development is no longer limited to the large metros. The smaller towns and cities are the new emerging centers of growth. Even the hotel majors are expanding to new regions beyond metros as these provide large opportunities.

Hotel industry: More than just hospitality...
(Sector Info)

Jun 27, 2007

India occupies the forty-sixth position among the sixty tourist destinations in the world. The flourishing economy helped boost the demand for the industry. Globalization and liberalization gave it a new impetus. India is the fastest growing tourist economy, where tourism grew at a whopping 18% CAGR over the last four years.

Hotels: Beyond the metros...
(Sector Info)

Jul 11, 2006

Historically, India has been a six city market for the hospitality industry, including the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai and tourist hotspots like Jaipur and Agra. However, the rise in economic activity across the country has led to an increase in demand in several other smaller cities including Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Pune, Cochin, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The expanse of tourist destinations in India is thus, now growing. On the corporate tourism side, cities like H

Hotels: Hot streak continues!
(Sector Info)

Jun 23, 2006

In keeping with the FII flows, the Sensex rose from 3,000 points in May 2003 to its peak on May 10, 2006, up 420 per cent! Come May 12, 2006, the bearish sentiment triggered by a combination of factors, ranging from high inflation, rising global interest rates leading to FII outflows, higher crude oil prices and slower economic growth showed no signs of abating, as Indian equities succumbed to cues of weakness across major global markets. For the first time in calendar 2006, the BSE Sensex fell

Hotels: Making hay while the sun shines!
(Sector Info)

Jun 16, 2006

The Indian hospitality industry touched new heights in FY06 with higher foreign tourist arrival and higher foreign exchange earnings on account of robust growth in economy. The last fiscal was considered to be a golden era for the hospitality industry, which saw higher occupancy rate and average room rates (ARR). The initiatives taken by the government in terms of making available improved infrastructure, aviation and conducive business environment has facilitated hotels across star categories

Hotels: Need to spin a wide web!
(Sector Info)

May 12, 2006

The Indian hotel industry has been in the limelight during the past three years. It went through a bad phase during the period 1997 to 2002. Varied reasons led to the poor performance of the hotel companies during this period, with the major being the nuclear tests carried out by India in 1998 and the consequent sanctions against the country, the fears of an Indo-Pak war in 1999, terrorist attacks in the US in 2001, and the SARS scare in 2003. All these factors combined to result in a drop in to

Hotels: 4QFY06 and beyond
(Sector Info)

Apr 24, 2006

With the March quarter results around the corner, in this article, we highlight factors that investors should watch out for in the case of hotel companies and how are they likely to pan out going forward. While hotel stocks are in the limelight for the right reasons i.e. India gaining significant global attention, there are questions raised about the valuations.

Indian hotel sector: SWOT analysis
(Sector Info)

Apr 12, 2006

According to recent estimates of the World Travel & Tourism Council (as of early 2005), Indian tourism demand will grow at 8.8% over the next ten years, which would place the country as the second most rapidly growing tourism market in the world. With the Indian hotel industry capturing the attention of the world, let us understand its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Hotels: Good start, dicey finish…
(Sector Info)

Jan 3, 2005

At the start of the year, in our hotel sector review, we concluded by saying "the worst is probably over for the Indian tourism sector". While the sector was turning around at that time, in the last twelve months, the process has just accelerated with most of the hotel majors posting impressive numbers. And this is consequently reflected in the fact that a portfolio of Rs 10,000 each invested on Dece

Taj GVK: Spreading wings
(Company Info)

Dec 21, 2004

Taj GVK, an associate of the Indian Hotels Company (Taj chain of hotels), reported impressive numbers for the quarter and half year ended September 2004. For 1HFY05, while the topline growth was 36.5% YoY backed by robust occupancy and average room rates (ARRs), net profit grew at a much faster pace of 89% YoY. The company's announcement of acquiring a new property in Chennai yesterday holds it in good stead to capitalise on the long-term growth opportunity in the tourism sector.

Hotels: It's party time!
(Sector Info)

Dec 10, 2004

The last one and half years have been memorable for the Indian tourism sector. After the September 11 jerk and the consequent fallout in terms of lower international tourist arrivals into the country, there has been a marked turnaround in industry fortunes. We take a closer look at the broader industry trend and what lies ahead for hotel stocks.

EIH: Caught napping again
(Company Info)

Nov 16, 2004

East India Hotels (the Oberoi Group) announced its second quarter ended September 2004 results last month. While sales growth at 19% in 2QFY05 is lower than the growth rate witnessed in 1QFY05, on a YoY basis, margins have improved noticeably. Owing to higher interest and depreciation charges, the company has slipped into losses in 2QFY05.

Indian Hotels: It is an uptrend
(Company Info)

Oct 21, 2004

Indian Hotels, the owners of the Taj chain of hotels, has posted a sharp rise in operating profits for the second quarter ended September 2004. The revenue growth was primarily led by higher occupancy and average room rates (ARRs). The tourism sector has been on an upturn over the last four quarters and as a market leader, Indian Hotels has benefited from the same.