Competitive Analysis of the Indian Star Hotels using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Abstract

Hospitality is a booming industry worldwide. There has been a revolution in this industry from being old fashioned to modern in outlook. The main driver of this trend is the increasing significance of tourism as an industry globally. As per the World Travel & Tourism Council (2016), the tourism industry in India is estimated to have directly contributed US$ 41.1 billion and overall contributed US$ 127.8 billion in 2015. The Indian hospitality sector is estimated to have earned US$ 24 billion in foreign exchange in 2015. The Indian hotel industry is highly fragmented with a large number of small and unorganised players accounting for a large share of the market. The major players in the organised segment include the Taj Group (34.58%), the Oberoi Group (21.59%), ITC Hotels (20.68%), and others (23.15%). The objective of the study is to compare the competitiveness of five-star hotels using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). AHP is a technique that is used to structure multi-criteria decisions, allowing both quantitative and qualitative comparisons between alternatives (Saaty and Forman, 1992; Saaty, 2008). The criteria used for the study include price, amenities, food & beverages, infrastructure, and customer service. The five-star hotel chains selected for the study include Taj Group, Oberoi Group, ITC Group, and Leela Group.

Keywords: Star Hotels, Analytic Hierarchy Process, Hospitality Indicators, Competitiveness

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