RevPAR declined by 53.9% in Q2 2021, compared to Q1 2021, due to the second wave of COVID-19

The hospitality industry in India witnessed a growth of 84.7 per cent in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) during Q2 2021 ( April-June) as compared to Q2 2020, according to JLL’s Hotel Momentum India (HMI) Q2 2021, a quarterly hospitality sector monitor. However, on a pan India level there has been a decline by 53.9 per cent in Q2 2021 RevPAR as compared to Q1 2021, because of the restrictions imposed due to the second wave of the pandemic.

The Year on Year (Y-o-Y) growth witnessed in the sector during Q2 2021 is primarily due to the low base effect of the complete nation-wide lockdown in Q2 2020. During the months of April and May this year, JLL witnessed the imposition of full and partial lockdowns as well as travel restrictions in many states. However, as restrictions were eased between the end of May and June, the company saw a sharper recovery in leisure demand in comparison to same period last year. The recovery of the sector has been primarily driven by branded chains in the leisure segment performing notably well. Guest preferences have changed significantly, and people are preferring to stay at secluded low-density properties.

JLL expects the leisure and weddings segments to continue to drive the sector in the short to medium term. As offices open and travel restrictions ease further, along with the rise in the pace of vaccination, corporate travel is expected to gain momentum towards the end of the year

Total number of signings in Q2 of 2021 stood at 20 hotels comprising of 2,100 keys, which is three times the number of rooms signed in Q2 2020. Furthermore, domestic operators dominated signings over international operators with the ratio of 60:40 in terms of inventory volume.

Source: STR

Goa yet again emerged as the RevPAR leader in absolute terms in Q2 2021 with a growth of 360.1 per cent as compared to the very low base of Q2 2020. Additionally, Mumbai witnessed the highest growth in occupancy level registering 17.7 per cent increase in Q2 2021 over the same period last year. Chennai witnessed 99.6 per cent growth in RevPAR followed by Hyderabad with 89.6 per cent increase compared to the same period of the previous year.

Demand and supply of operational inventory in six major cities increased by 186 per cent and 14 per cent respectively in the second quarter of 2021 as compared to the same period last year.

“Whilst Q2 2021 has been extremely hard on hospitality sector given the brutal second wave, we take some encouragement from the way business has resumed. Flights are filling up; holiday destinations are running full house and we have witnessed pick up in wedding bookings too. F&B dining though remains slow and continues to be driven by home delivery orders. Operations have become a very tricky affair with managing employees and costs given sudden demand fluctuations,” said Jaideep Dang, Managing Director, Hotels and Hospitality Group, South Asia, JLL.