Mahindra Holidays & Resorts, which has over 3.5 lakh members, expects to be in the top-five largest vacation ownership companies in the world in the next two years, up from its current position at sixth, said Kavinder Singh, CEO and MD.
Speaking to businessline, Singh said that Mahindra Holidays, could “easily be in the top-five list in terms of number of members in the next one or two years.”
The fifth position is occupied by Holiday Inn Club Vacations, which is part of the IHG Group. It has over 3.65 lakh members and owners, according to the company website.
Expansion strategy
He said while the company is aiming to add members, it is also “accelerating” its expansion strategy. The company has said that it will double its room count from 5,000 to 10,000 within the next six-seven years.
“Today, we have over 143 resorts globally. We will accelerate our member addition, which will, in turn, help us in generating our cash flows, and thus build, add and expand new properties.”
Q2 FY24 results
For the quarter ending in September 2023, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India reported a profit of ₹21.34 crore, reflecting a 47.8 per cent decrease from the ₹40.86 crore profit in the same period last year. The company generated revenue of ₹655.27 crore (₹598.36 crore), marking a 9.5 per cent increase. The total income for the quarter was ₹672.17 crore, while total expenditure was ₹636.33 crore.
Singh explained that in H1 FY24, at ₹ 70 crore, the resort incomes were the highest ever including Q2. He added that ahead of Diwali, which is a fortnight away from now, the company is witnessing 83 per cent occupancy rates, “way higher than the same time last year.”
PPP model
The company, which has ₹400 crore as free cash flow, is also aiming to reduce costs through a unique strategy. It has decided to explore the Public Private Partnership model.
“The government has some amazing properties, and the Tourism Ministry is offering multiple modes over revenues. It is also offering land on concessional or long-term lease rate. There are three benefits, the way we see it — good locations, lower costs and time to market, and we are exploring them all.”
For example, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts has been awarded a long-term lease by the Odisha government to operate a property; similarly, it is working with MTDC for a project in Harihareshwar, Maharashtra. The hospitality company has also signed an MOU with the Uttarakhand government to build four or five resorts with an investment of ₹1,000 crore and with the Andhra Pradesh government for three properties worth ₹750 crore. “We are meeting State governments to explore possibilities,” he added. Overall, it has about 20 projects being explored currently.