Summit Hotels and Resorts have carved out a unique and outstanding path in the constantly shifting landscape of the hospitality sector. Sumit Periwal, Director, Summit Hotels and Resorts, highlighted his story and unveiled the brand’s strategic vision for the future in an informative interview with Asmita Mukherjee.

Periwal described the transformational development of Summit Hotels & Resorts as he reflected on the adventure that started in 2010 with a single hotel in Gangtok. “We have seen consistent growth in terms of our room inventory as well as the our geographical presence,” he said. Summit Hotels has established itself as a pioneer in the management of numerous leased properties under a single brand name.

Periwal openly discussed the difficulties that Summit Hotels faced, such as the political snags and the Covid-19 pandemic’s unexpected effects. “We have seen our fair share of difficulties as a result of political unrest in the area, which forced us to explore for locations outside of the north Bengal and Sikkim region when a significant chunk of our inventory had to cease operations. Since all of our properties were on lease and we had to let go of a few hotels, Covid was undoubtedly our largest setback, but it also enabled us to centralise our operations, which increased our efficiency and flexibility, he emphasised.

Periwal clarified the brand’s expansion strategy as Summit Hotels & Resorts solidified its presence in the North Bengal and Sikkim regions. We want to grow much more in the North Eastern states, the Andaman Islands, and some of the well-known tourist areas in North India, he said.

For Summit Hotels & Resorts, receiving the prestigious India Travel Award was a huge accomplishment. Periwal credited the brand’s unique strategy for its success. When compared to managed properties, operating a leased hotel affords us more operational flexibility. It also offers us significant benefits in terms of economies of scale and the best use of our resources, he said.

Periwal said, “We will continue to operate in leisure destinations on the model that we are operating in at the moment.” while discussing the brand’s strategy.

“Geographic presence is essential to offset issues that may damage one or more of our locations because the tourism business is so sensitive, and that’s where our current attention is focused. We are looking at adding more destinations in the north east very soon in addition to increasing inventory at our current locations,” he said.

Source- Travel biz