Mahindra Holidays plans to add 1,000 rooms in next 2-3 yrs: Chairman

Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd (MHRIL) plans to add at least 1,000 rooms in the next two to three years, according to company Chairman Arun Nanda.

In his address to shareholders in the company's annual report for 2021-22, Nanda said the firm is looking at greenfield projects, expansion of existing facilities, acquisition and lease opportunities to drive a significant growth in room inventory in the next few years.

"Your company is poised for a significant growth in room inventory. The plan is to add at least 1,000 rooms in the next 2-3 years," he wrote.

Nanda further said, "The additions are planned through a combination of greenfield projects on a beach near Ganpatiphule in Maharashtra and work is in progress for developing in few other destinations; expansion projects at its resorts in Kandaghat (Himachal Pradesh) and Puducherry."

MHRIL had also recently won a bid for public-private partnership (PPP) project in Himachal Pradesh (Janjehli, Mandi district) and the work on upgradation of the resort should commence soon, he added.

 

"The company is continuously looking at acquisition and lease opportunities and there are several proposals in the pipeline," Nanda said.

Despite all the uncertainties due to the second and third waves of COVID-19, Nanda said MHRIL added 385 rooms on a gross basis during the financial year 2021-22, taking the total room inventory to 4,568 units across 84 resorts.

With this, he said the company has added over 800 room units in the last two years.

Moreover, he said 12,764 members were added to the company's vacation ownership business in 2021-22, taking the cumulative membership base to 2,65,980 as on March 2022.

"Member addition is also on the rise and continues to be a key focus area for your management. With the return of normalcy, there is a greater demand for family holidays as well as a significant rise in referrals, where members are suggesting their friends and families to acquire Club Mahindra membership," he told the shareholders.

On the international front, he said MHRIL also expanded its footprint during the year by adding destinations such as Bali (Indonesia), Bentota (Sri Lanka) and Pattaya (Thailand).

Further, through its 'Horizon' Holiday Exchange Programme, the company is offering stays in over 280 top-rated hotels and resorts across more than 100 locations in India and abroad, he added.

On the outlook, MHRIL with leisure travel gathering momentum in India as COVID restrictions were eased, it expects the business environment to improve further in 2022-23 and the company is "well placed to benefit from the opportunities that it presents".