Cygnett Hotels & Resorts plans 100 hotels in the next five years

To take both, the management and the franchise route

Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, one of India’s fastest-growing hotel chains, is looking at a portfolio of 100 hotels in the next five years. The hospitality chain, at present, has a majority of its hotels under the management model. However, it is now planning to grow through franchise model as well.

Speaking to WOH News, Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, informed, “Earlier, our only thrust was only on the management model; however, we are now also focusing on the franchise model. One of the brands that we view is well-positioned to grow as a franchise is Cygnett Inn – a budget hotel brand of the group. If our brand standards are met, we are open to tie-ups with hotel owners who may be facing a challenges in the wake of the pandemic. Our franchise proposition is certainly going to give them boost as the hospitality marketing is opening up.”

Cygnett Group is also keen to spread its wing internationally, especially in the markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East through the franchise model. At present, it has one property in Nepal.

“We are expecting to have 25% of our properties in India under the franchise model and the rest under the management approach. However, we will focus more on the franchise model for offshore properties to grow our footprints,” Sarkar added.

Cygnett, currently, has only three hotels under the franchise model. It has an overall portfolio of 35 hotels, of which three are yet to open and 12 projects are at various pre-opening stages.

“We are a tech-savvy hospitality company. Even before the pandemic, we were having contactless check-in in our properties and using QR scanning to help guests see the menu in a restaurant. So, individual properties besides getting our brand name, and sales and marketing support from us, will also benefit largely from our technology adoption. We are already adopting emerging cloud technology that helped enhance the service efficiency of our properties,” informed Sarkar.

Cygnett offers training to staff of its partner hotels as well under its franchise model. It has also an e-learning module, which helps staff learn from their premises.