Commercial real estate drives Mumbai hospitality sector

Commercial real estate development has played a pivotal role in shaping Mumbai’s lodging markets, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. “Mumbai leads all metropolitan cities in India with a total Grade A office stock of 7.9 million square meters as of December 31, 2012. The city has witnessed a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.7% over the last five years in terms of incremental office stock,” says Sudeep Jain, Executive VP – Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels (India).

 
Meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) demand is typically generated from a number of large conventions organised in Mumbai in the form of smaller meetings and conferences held by local companies. Some of the major events to be organised in Mumbai during 2013 include ChemPetro World Expo, Pharma World Expo, Plastivision India and India Steel Event. Additionally, Mumbai’s importance as the financial capital of the country results in a large number of events, related to financial, economic affairs and trade, being organised in the city.

Leisure segment

Due to the city’s predominantly commercial profile, the leisure segment contributes a relatively smaller percentage of room demand. For foreign tourists, Mumbai serves mainly as an entry

point into India for connectivity to other destinations in Maharashtra and other parts of India. Demand from the leisure segment is mostly concentrated around the South Mumbai area.

Based on JLL research, Mumbai has 45 operational hotels, with an inventory of 10,537 rooms spread across six categories. Prominent operators with a presence in Mumbai include Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, Starwood, Four Seasons, East India Hotels (Oberoi & Trident) and Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (Taj).

Luxury and upper upscale hotels dominate the total supply with 69% contribution to the overall inventory. The upscale segment contributes 14% followed by the midscale segment with an 8% contribution. Domestic and internationally branded economy and budget hotels in Mumbai currently represent 5% of the total supply. Serviced apartments in Mumbai are presently offered by four properties in the branded segment, namely Marriott, Oakwood, Grand Hyatt and Taj, collectively contributing 4% of the total inventory.

There are 13 hotels currently under construction in Mumbai across different categories with a total inventory of 3,394 rooms. Once operational, the total room inventory of Mumbai will go up by almost 32% from the existing supply. Some of the prominent international operators like Jumeirah and MGM have also announced their plans to enter Mumbai’s hospitality space in the coming future.

MIAL boosts the demand

MIAL, a joint venture between GVK led consortium and Airports Authority of India was awarded a mandate to modernise and upgrade Mumbai’s CSIA. Apart from the expansion of existing airport and development of a new terminal, MIAL will also auction land parcels on lease for commercial and hotel development. The auction process is expected to start during the second half of 2013. This move is expected to further augment the hotel supply in the city.

Lodging Market Performance

Over the three year period from 2009-10 through to 2011-12, Mumbai witnessed a marginal increase of 4% in Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) as a result of a 1% increase in occupancy levels accompanied by a 2% growth in Average Daily Rate (ADR).

FY 2010-11 saw an increase of about 2.5% in occupancy and 5% in ADR after witnessing a steep decline from 2007-08 to 2009-10 due to global economic turmoil and the terrorist attacks at two prominent hotels in Mumbai. In 2010-11 occupancy levels averaged at 63% and ADR at around INR 9,500. Hotels in South Mumbai have been the worst affected in terms of performance post terrorist strikes at Trident and Taj Mahal Hotels followed by a bomb blast at Zaveri Bazaar in 2011.

Furthermore, the corporate movement from traditional CBD to Central and North Mumbai, due to availability of office stock at cheaper rentals, has also affected hotels in South Mumbai adversely.

Trading performance has seen a drop of 2% in RevPAR during the last 11 months, in comparison to 2011-12, in the light of a decline of 8% in ADR to INR 8,450. Occupancy on the other hand strengthened to 64% during YTD 2012-13 from 60% in the previous year.

Overall, the Mumbai lodging market has seen fairly stable demand levels over the past four years, along with a decline in average rates, primarily due to recent regular supply additions in the form of Shangri-La, Sofitel and Ibis.

Sontha Veedu Expo (05-07 April 2013),Vellore,India

Sontha Veedu Expo is a building and construction sector related trade event. This event has been organized by JK Ads and Events. All builders and building materials will be showcased in the event.

Builders, plot promoters, building materials, interiors and exteriors, doors and windows, security doors, fire and gas detection equipment’s, rescue and emergency equipment’s, wall and ceiling finishes, marble and granite products, metal detectors, security glass and screens among others will be exhibited in the expo.

Property buyers, architects, general public architects, builders, building merchants, civil and constructing engineers, building and housing institutes and associates, financiers, property developers, plumbers, land and quantity surveyors, among other will visit this event.

Fri 05 Apr to Sun 07 Apr

Start Time 10:00 AM

End Time   06:00 PM

Venue: 

Function Palace

Other, Vellore, Tamil Nadu

Age Limit:  All Free Entry Contact Phone: 

+91-44-26740976-8428313549

Event occurs: Only Once (No Repeat)

Event Type: Private

Buy cheaper flats in a resale

After the failed predictions over the past couple of years about a fall in property prices, you are more likely to witness the prophesied Second Coming before the promised correction. So what should cash-conscious buyers do? Wait endlessly in the hope that realty prices falter or take the bait of glossy schemes offered by developers? While most such offers for new houses seem tempting, you won't derive any real benefit.

Fortunately, there is a third option: cheaper flats in the resale market. No, these aren't old, mouldy apartments in decades-old projects. Quite a few of these houses have not even been lived in, but you can still get them at a discount to similar houses within the same project or vicinity. If you're wondering why resale flats are cheaper than the new ones being offered by the developer, it can be due to various reasons. One of them is that these houses have been snapped up by buyers and investors during the pre-launch phase with the intention of selling them after about three years to earn a profit. At this stage, they were only required to make the down payment.

"Many investors book a property at the initial stage just to make a small profit. If they want to make a quick exit, they will price it cheaper than the one offered by the developer, for a faster sale," says Yashwant Dalal, president of the Estate Agents Association of India, an apex body of real estate developers.

Another reason is that a lot of investors who book flats during soft launches are offered heavy discounts by builders. "To get funding before construction commences, builders offer investors at least a 20% discount to the prevailing market rate," adds Dalal.

So, even if such investors sell the flats at a price lower than the one offered by the construction company, they make a hefty profit. While individual buyers readily make the down payment, a few find out that their finances are strained when they have to start paying the home loan EMIs after the construction is complete, especially if they are also paying a rent. In some cases, they find another project that is more to their liking. Obviously, in either situation, the only option is for them to sell the current house as quickly as possible to repay the home loan, even if it means earning a smaller profit than the one they had hoped for.
Original source: economictimes.indiatimes.com