Hilton Worldwide bullish on Indian real estate market

NEW DELHI: American hotel chain Hilton Worldwide remains bullish on the Indian market despite the end of its joint venture with real estate firm DLF last month, a top official said. In his first interaction with media after Hilton sold its 26% stake in DLF Hotels & Hospitality to DLF, Ian Carter, president, global operations and development at Hilton Worldwide, said: “India is massively under penetrated with a huge shortage of branded rooms, which presents an opportunity for us to grow both in the cities and non tier-1 markets.”

Besides, Hilton is also keen to build a brand image among the rapidly-rising number of Indian travelers headed abroad. “As the Indian middle-class grows in size and strength much like China, there is an opportunity to serve the Indian guests in other locations,” said Carter.

“A strong brand recognition will make several such travelers opt to stay in Hilton properties when they travel, so we are focusing on strong brand positioning to serve the local market as well as the outbound market,” he added.

In December, DLF bought out Hilton’s stake in the hospitality venture for an estimated transaction of Rs 120 crore as part of its strategy to exit non-core businesses and pare its debt burden of more than Rs 20,000 crore.

While the Indian economy has slowed down of late, forcing the growth estimate for 2011-12 to 7%, Carter believes the hotel industry will have a strong second half in 2012 after a tough first half.

“Times are challenging around the world but Indian economy is growing at four to five times more compared to the developed markets. So we are positive and have no concerns at the pace we are growing in the country,” he said.