Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd. is looking forward to undergo a major expansion, aiming to increase its portfolio to more than 300 properties and over 20,000 rooms within the next five years, according to Chairman and Managing Director Chander K. Baljee.
In an interview, Baljee said the company has revamped its brand architecture, segmented its properties, and launched a new budget brand, ‘Regenta Z’ to attract younger and Gen Z customers. As part of its expansion strategy, Royal Orchid Hotels also plans to grow its workforce from around 9,000 to 20,000 employees.
“We are 115 hotels today. In the last one year, we’ve added 14 hotels. Looking forward, in the next one to one-and-a-half years…we will be adding 30 hotels… In the next five years, we are targeting to triple our room count and also the number of hotels,” he said.
He was responding to a query on the company’s expansion plans.
“In the next five years, we are targeting 300-plus hotels. Right now, we have about 7,000 rooms in operation and have already signed another 2,000-plus rooms. So by next year, we will have 10,000 rooms in operation. Our target is to reach about 20,000-plus rooms in five years,” Baljee said.
Baljee noted that the company added more than 960 rooms last year by launching 14 new hotels. Looking ahead, Royal Orchid Hotels plans to add over 2,000 rooms in the next 12 to 18 months by opening 30 additional properties.
Sharing the company’s work on its brand architecture, he said it is “one thing which we have been working on for the last one year, and that has been finalized.”
Baljee said the company is introducing a new 5-star brand, ‘Iconiqa’ and “all further absolute five-star hotels will be under the Iconiqa brand.”
Moreover, he said, “We are getting into the budget hotel segment with the brand ‘Regenta Z’ catering to the youngsters and Gen Z. It would be operated under a franchise model.”
There will be other hotels under the Regenta and Regenta Place brands, he said, adding, “Certain hotels that don’t fit into the normal brand standard but are boutique and nice will be housed under the ‘Crestoria’ brand.”
Baljee added that the company developed the brand architecture and property segmentation based on customer feedback. In line with its vision to offer a hotel for every market segment, Royal Orchid will now operate seven distinct brands—Iconiqa, Hotel Royal Orchid, Royal Orchid Central, Crestoria, Regenta, Regenta Place, and Regenta Z.
He also shared that the company is venturing into wellness and Ayurveda, introducing lifestyle treatments for conditions such as diabetes, weight loss, and hypertension. The first wellness center will launch at its Brindavan Garden property in Mysore, with plans to expand the concept to other resort locations.
Baljee also mentioned that the company has launched a loyalty program and is working on integrating artificial intelligence into its operations to cut costs and boost efficiency.
