Lemon Tree eyes shared loyalty alliances with global hotel chains

My expectation is that in the next 4-5 years, 100 million Indians too will start travelling abroad Patanjali G. Keswani Chairman, Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd

- Varuni Khosla

Demand for hotel rooms in India is expected to outpace supply in the coming years. Lemon Tree Hotels is readying itself to leverage its brand identity and capture a more premium pricing. In an interview, chairperson Patanjali G. Keswani said that this growth will be supported by increased discretionary spending on branded hotels across India. Over the past 12 years, Lemon Tree has built more hotel rooms than any other hotel.

Company in India, Keswani said. It is planning to list its subsidiary Fleur Hotels within two years to pare debt, and is also eyeing alliances with international hotel chains for co-branding or shared loyalty programmes in the next five years. Edited excerpts: As the Indian middle class travels more, is there a need for Lemon Tree to have a loyalty programme tie-up with an international chain? Currently, about 26 million Indians travel internationally. Earlier, when Indians travelled abroad, to locations in Asia, they rarely found Indian breakfasts.