Hospitality has been one of the worst hit sectors by the coronavirus pandemic. After facing existential challenges in the last one year, the industry expects 2021 to ring in better times.

French multinational hospitality major Accor is hopeful that worldwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will lead to renewed trust in travel, in fact the company which has over 50 properties in India currently, plans to open 30 new hotels here over the next five years.

In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18 Managing Editor Shereen Bhan, Marc Descrozaille, COO of India, Middle East & Africa at Accor said India is a key market for the company and the recent spike in COVID cases has not impacted their expansion plans.

"We are investing in the hotel sector not for the short run but for the longer run. The recent spike in COVID cases has not at all impacted our expansion plans in India, in fact we are planning to have 4 hotels open this year. However when it comes to clients coming to our hotels, we are seeing a 10 percent drop compared to the previous week and this is the impact that we are noticing throughout the country. "

He expects the staycation segment to be the focus and a driver of revenue.

"The saving grace for us has been the staycation segment - which is very much the people residing in each of the countries actually using their spare time to go and stay there, use the beaches, use resorts, use the malls and use Accor hotels. So that has been the market that we got during the pandemic and is the focus at the moment."

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(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)