Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), which operates Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, is planning to hire 25,000 people by 2015. From the current 14, the group is expected to expand to 46 hotels in the country in the next four to five years across Tier I and II cities. Its target is to go up to 150 hotels in India by 2020.
“We try to identify our next general manager among the candidates. Last year, we took some professionals from India and embedded them in hotels in Australia and Malaysia,” said Jan Smits, chief executive officer of IHG Asia Australia. He said the biggest challenge is training and mentoring the people.
According to industry experts, the hospitality sector is facing a shortage of 30 per cent in skilled work force. According to a recent report by Deloitte, there are more than 400 projects involving 70,000 branded rooms under various stages of development over the next couple of years across the country. With more hotel projects being announced and the room inventory expected to almost double in the next five years, the demand for trained manpower will rise dramatically.
IHG is going to focus on the mid-market segment hotels where it sees maximum growth opportunity, in India through its brands Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. The hospitality company has entered into a joint venture with Duet Hotels for opening 19 Holiday Inn Express with an investment of Rs 658 crore. While Holiday Inn is a full service hotel brand, Holiday Inn Express is limited service. Duet Hotels has raised a total of $200 million, around Rs 907 crore, for its expansion in India including the joint venture with IHG.
“The express brand delivers experience to the customer who is looking for value but doesn't want to pay for what he won't use,” said Smits.