5 Must Do Things to Start Hotel Business in India

While the tourism industry has suffered greatly in this pandemic, the hotel industry still remains a lucrative one, and a lot of new generation entrepreneurs are seeing this as an opportunity to invest in properties and locations at a competitive rate and set the foundation for a high-return business venture.

This makes a good time for you to get a hotel loan and start your own hotel business. Below we have mentioned five things you must do to start a hotel business in India:

1. Choose The Hotel Location & Offering Wisely: Make sure you choose your hotel destination in a city that’s populated by a lot of tourists, is safe and is a popular holiday destination for both national and international tourists. Try to avoid locations that get only seasonal tourists or you will have to allocate a major part of your hotel loan towards operating expenses during the off-season, and won’t be able to reap many profits. Once you have decided on the location, you need to decide what kind of amenities you will be provided in your hotel. Make sure to cover all the basic amenities like Wifi, A/C, Restaurant, Taxi services to increase footfall in your hotel.
2.  Handle The Licensing & Recruitment: Getting the necessary food and safety certifications is necessary to run your hotel, once that’s done hire staff for front desk, housekeeping, kitchen, and concierge services. For the managerial posts go for experienced professionals and for the basic housekeeping and concierge facilities you may hire freshers who have a degree in hotel management. Try to hire staff from the area your hotel is based in so that they can guide your guests well and provide them with the best service.
3. Market Your Hotel Efficiently: Nowadays, in order to attract more guests, just good service and reviews aren’t enough, you also need to promote your hotel over social media channels, and list them on the popular hotel listing third-party websites, and request guests to review the hotel after their stay. Giving special offers during off-seasons may also help you in increasing your revenue.
4. Set A Definitive Growth Plan: Set a definitive sales and profit plan throughout the business year, inform your staff about the same, and offer them incentives for achieving better sales and revenue. Keep an eye on the revenue earned during the peak seasons and the off-seasons and allocate resources for staff and hotel services accordingly throughout the year
5. Take A Business Loan To Allocate Funds Efficiently:  Opening a new hotel business requires a lot of funds, and it’s not always possible, especially in these times for business funds to get the required amount of funds quickly. Taking a hotel loan or getting vendor finance can help you get through this issue. You can easily get an unsecured business loan of up to Rs.45 lakh for your hotel from leading financial institutions and repay easily over a flexible duration of up to 84 months. A business loan will help you cover the operating expenses of your business such as staff salaries, lease payments, utility payments, etc., and help you focus on managing your hotel business efficiently without having to worry about funds.

In order to be eligible for a hotel loan you must fulfill the following criteria:

• You’re an Indian resident and are between the age of 25-70 years
• You own a business that has been operational for a minimum of the past three years
• You have a CIBIL score of 685 and higher
• You have all the necessary identity documents, address proof, business ownership proof, and financial documents for your business.

The above-mentioned eligibility criteria is the basic and exact eligibility requirement that might differ from lender to lender, so it is important to do thorough research on your preferred lender’s website so that you do not miss out on anything.