The Fern Hotels & Resorts to add 1,000 additional rooms spanning 13 hotels this fiscal: Suhail Kannampilly

Fern Hotels & Resorts will add an additional 1,000 rooms covering 13 hotels this fiscal year, most of which will appear in the eastern and northeastern markets, as the group seeks to diversify geographically.

The city-based hotel chain, which follows an asset-light model, doing mostly operation and maintenance, has already added seven hotels this year, bringing its total assets to 100 properties in 85 cities mostly in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Concept Hospitality, the holding company was founded by veteran hotel management professional Param Kanampili in the year 1996.

Concept Hospitality operates five brands, spanning 5-star hotels under the Fern brand (27 hotels), Fern Residency (26 hotels), the Beacon brand of 23 economy hotels, and Zinc Journey by the Fern – an upscale lifestyle brand. (two operations) and Fern Habitat (two hotels offering upscale service apartments).

“We have already opened seven hotels this year, the latest being in Palghar near Mumbai with 81 rooms. We will open another 13 hotels offering 1,000 rooms. Most of these new additions will be in the eastern and northeastern markets,” said Suhail Kannampilly, director of The Fern Hotels & Resorts. And the son of the founder of PTI Agency.

On the revenue side, Sohail said the company closed FY23 at Rs.750 crore, of which 5-8 per cent of Concept’s revenue was from billings. Looking at the capacity added, billings are expected to grow by around 60 per cent to Rs 1,200 crore in this financial year.

He said units had already surpassed the pre-pandemic level in both room rates (up 25 percent from the February 2020 level) and also occupancy in fiscal ’23, adding that the momentum is likely to continue this fiscal year as well.

Of the 100 properties, he said, the company took three leases, and it is possible to add more in the lease form, as the company pays about 23 percent of the bills to the property owner. Overall, the company has a margin of 37 percent.

Between 1996, when Param launched Concept Hospitality, and 2009, they ran Orchid Hotels in association with Kamat Hotels and opened their first hotel (Fern) in 2009 in Jaipur.

Suhail also said that the company will hire 1,200 to operate these new hotels and another 800 to offset the attrition. It currently employs 5,400 people.

Suhail said the company is in talks with developers in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent to spread its wings abroad. While eyeing assets in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal in the Indian subcontinent, in the Middle East and North Africa regions it is keen to reach Dubai and North East Africa.