Hotel chains have stepped up recruitment, as they are expected to add more than 14,000 rooms in 2023 — the highest in the past seven years. Indian Hotels Company Limited, which operates Taj Hotels, plans to open 20 properties in the current fiscal year and hire around 2,500 direct employees.

While Accor Group plans to add 800 employees for six new properties in 2023, Lemon Tree Hotels will recruit 3,000 persons for growth and replacement. Marriott International will recruit around 10,000 for its pipeline of 60-plus hotels. However, it’s 2023 hiring target was not immediately available.

“We are increasing our inventory by 23 per cent this year. Our room count will increase from 8,500 to 10,500, and that’s the highest growth we have seen in a single year. We will be launching 670 room property in Mumbai. The other 1,300 rooms are spread across 15 cities. Our hiring will reflect our room addition. We aim to recruit 3,000 new persons,” said Patanjali Keswani, Chairman of Lemon Tree Hotels.

“A majority our junior recruits don’t have formal educational qualification. We train them for the roles and find them to be most loyal. They stay longer with us. This year, we also hiked salaries by around 15 per cent. This was in a way to thank employees who remained with us during the pandemic,” Keswani added.

“A staggering number of more than 14,000 branded hotel keys (of which around 19 per cent are conversions) are expected to open doors to guests during calendar year 2023, which is significantly higher compared to the previous years,” said Mandeep S Lamba, president (South Asia) of HVS Anarock, a consulting firm.

significant leap

Lamba said 2023 is witnessing a significant leap in numbers as several under-construction projects, including those that were put on hold, are getting completed as a result of the buoyant post-Covid comeback. According to HVS Anarock, around 44 per cent of room addition in 2023 will be seen in Tier III towns and tourist attractions. This includes Dehradun, Haridwar, Shillong, and near Jim Corbett National Park. Only about 18 per cent of fresh room addition in 2023 has been happening in Tier I cities.

“New hotel openings are often driven by increased demand for travel, tourism, and business activities. However, these trends can also be influenced by factors like market saturation, local regulations, and infrastructure development,” said Satish Kumar, Accor Group’s Senior Director (talent and culture) in India.

With the industry also seeing higher attrition rates than pre-pandemic, hotel companies are adjusting their workplace policies to retain staff and attract new talent.

Kumar said the Accor Group, which runs brands such as ibis and Novotel, offers dedicated training programmes and mobility opportunities for career growth. “On an average, we do move about 10 per cent employees in different roles within a year with help of mobility opportunities across the network,” said Kumar.

IHCL recently launched leadership accelerator programme to groom MBA degree holders with service industry experience for general managerial roles. IHCL said the programme received 215 applications for a batch size of 15.

IHCL said the programme will support its growth strategy and help it maintain the leadership position on multiple fronts.

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