By Emica Nongkynrih
The success of a brand is determined by multiple factors, but the one that holds strongest is how well you price your product and how you fit that pricing into a segment that much requires it. Once you play the right cards with pricing, you know you’re expansion graph is only moving up.
One brand that has worked itself up from scratch and has now become a crowd favourite in the hospitality sector would be Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd.
Based on a reliable report, Lemon Tree Hotels is India’s largest hotel chain in the mid-priced hotel sector, and the third-largest overall, on the basis of controlling interest in owned and leased rooms, since June 30, 2017. The chain operates in the upscale segment and in the mid-priced sector, consisting of the upper-midscale, midscale and economy segments.
The company owns and operates 80 hotels, with over 8000 rooms in 48 cities of India. Founded by Patanjali Keswani, this Indian hotel chain opened its first hotel with 49 rooms in Gurgaon by 2004.
Keswani understands the market and has adopted acquisitions as part of expanding his company to more locations without actually buying the property. Lemon tree Hotels has now completed the acquisition of Berggruen Hotels, taking its total inventory to 7,800 rooms in 77 hotels across 45 locations.
With the plans of becoming a company that has brands starting from the economy segment to the top end of the mid-market segment, it is well ahead.
Besides, India, the company looks ahead to add other markets including Thimphu (Bhutan), Dubai and Kathmandu (Nepal). Tailwinds in India are also strong for the company as demand is picking up and supply is drying up. Lemon Tree Hotels feel to have the advantage of market power, tailwinds and brand visibility that will come into pricing.
Under the guidance Patanjali Keswani, Chairman and Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels, as a pan India mid-market player, are now available across 45 cities and can offer its customers multiple options in key cities. He knew exactly how to place a product into a market considering the quality of a 5-star hotel with the affordable pricing of a 3-star.
The company is adopting an asset-light strategy with a plan to scale up its presence to around 107 properties.Lemon Tree Hotels is definitely set for an exciting next two years.