Room boom in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: The hospitality industry seems to be gaining ground in Ahmedabad. A report by property consultant firm JLL reveals that by 2020, the hotel room inventory in the city is expected to grow by 45 per cent. The report says that Ahmedabad is expected to witness an inventory addition of 1,250 keys over the next five years.
Out of the new inventory, 54 per cent of the pipeline stock is expected to fall within the `upper upscale segment' of properties ­ a number demonstrating the growing interest of global as well as domestic business and tourist community in the emerging metropolis.
"Of the total supply on anvil, 54 percent is anticipated in the upper upscale segment, 14 percent at the upscale level, 17 percent at the midscale level while 15 percent at economy level," the report adds.
Ahmedabad had a total inventory of 4,500 keys as of 2014, with the organised segment comprising 85 percent of the total inventory. There are no luxury hotels in the city. Ahmedabad has witnessed a surge in branded hotels supply over the last seven years. At present, there are 31 branded hotels in the city with a total inventory of over 3,200.
Out of the total branded hotels, 49 per cent belong to midscale, 28 per cent to upscale, 14 per cent to economy and 9 per cent to upper upscale.
At present, Ahmedabad has 294 upper upscale rooms as compared to zero upper upscale rooms back in 2009, which is expected to increase to 1,181 rooms in 2020. The largest form of inventory is in the midscale segment with 1576 rooms as compared to 613 midscale rooms in 2009, which is expected to grow to 1,796 rooms in 2020.