With an objective of strengthening risk-preparedness in the hospitality industry, the Institute of Risk Management, India Affiliate (IRM India Affiliate) has signed an MOU with Indian Hotels Company (IHCL). The partnership is aimed at building a robust enterprise risk management ecosystem in the Indian hospitality sector. Identifying risk champions across the hotel value chain and getting them trained in the fundamentals of ERM will significantly enhance the quality of decisions thereby making risk-intelligence an embedded component of everything a hotel does.
The hospitality sector was among the most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the lockdown and the resultant restrictions on the movement of people crippling the industry. The domestic hotel industry recorded a loss of INR 1.30 lakh crore in revenue for the fiscal year 2020-21, with the occupancy rate dropping from 60% in recent years to almost half the rate at 33.8 percent in FY2021. In order to recover from these losses and build resilience against future shocks, the industry must develop risk-based strategies to respond proactively and reduce the impact of uncertainties across the enterprise.
As the hospitality sector seeks new avenues of growth through diversification and change in business models, an ERM framework can be a critical factor in ensuring business continuity, raising capital, generating revenue through innovative models and increasing stakeholder confidence. Identifying risk champions across the hotel value chain and getting them trained in the fundamentals of ERM will significantly enhance the quality of decisions thereby making risk-intelligence an embedded component of everything a hotel does.
Commenting on the collaboration, Hersh Shah, CEO, IRM India Affiliate, said, “We welcome IHCL with its iconic brands, as our knowledge partner in the hospitality sector. Our goal is to facilitate the development of a robust risk-intelligent ecosystem by leveraging on IHCL’s valuable experience of building a global brand that has successfully managed its operations during a very challenging period. As the leading professional body for ERM education, we will pool our insights and expertise to facilitate ERM adoption across the industry through round table conferences, webinars, research papers and more initiatives.”
SY Raman, Vice President, Internal Audit, IHCL said, “The hospitality industry went through some difficult times in the past two years and ERM has helped in assessing, mitigating and monitoring the risks in such trying times. IRM India helped in strengthening the hospitality industry’s preparedness for risk-taking. The partnership between IHCL and IRM would be a win-win for both as well as for the industry.”
