RevPAR down, but investors keen

India’s hospitality industry has witnessed a decline of 52.8 per cent in RevPAR during January to September 2020 over the same period last year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a JLL report.

JLL’s ‘Hotel Momentum India (HMI) Q3 2020’ report, a quarterly hospitality sector monitor, reveals that all key 11 markets in India reported a decrease in Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR)performance in Q3 2020 over the same period last year. Mumbai continues to be the RevPAR leader in absolute terms, despite the decline of RevPAR by 71.7 per cent in Q3 2020 compared to Q3 2019, whereas Bengaluru saw the sharpest decline in RevPAR in Q3 2020, with an 88.1 per cent decline compared to the same period in the previous year. According to findings of HMI Q3 2020, international operators dominated signings over domestic operators with the ratio of 53:47 in terms of inventory volume. Demand in leisure destinations began seeing weekend occupancy spikes as the lockdown restrictions were further lifted in August. Other cities such as Pune (86.2%), Kolkata (82.6%) and Goa (78.8%) also witnessed sharp declines in RevPAR.

“Investors are taking interest in exploring operational hotel opportunities both in business and in leisure locations. With the phased unlocking of the economy in the third quarter of 2020, we are witnessing gradual growth in demand, particularly in leisure markets, with weekend occupancy spikes,” says Jaideep Dang, Managing Director, Hotels & Hospitality Group (India), JLL.

Total number of signings in Q3 of 2020 stood at 24 hotels comprising 2,314 keys, recording a decline of 19 per cent compared to the same period last year.