Sterling reaches 83 resorts after record seven Q2 openings

Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited (Sterling) opened seven resorts in Q2 FY27, its highest quarterly addition, taking its enterprise network to 83 resorts and beyond 4,000 keys as revenue rose 21% year on year to Rs 125.9 crore in the seasonally weakest quarter. Higher occupancy, pricing and room nights sold supported the result.

How did Sterling reach 83 resorts in Q2 FY27?

Sterling reached 83 resorts as of September 2026 after opening seven properties in Q2 FY27, taking the network 20% above its level a year earlier. The additions were at Jagdalpur, Sattal, Agra, Varanasi, Corbett, Tadoba and Jawai. Sterling described the seven openings as its highest in any quarter, and said the enterprise network crossed 4,000 keys.

The rollout was accompanied by six additional resort sign-ups during Q2 FY27. Sterling described the approach as capital-efficient portfolio expansion, but did not disclose investment amounts, ownership structures or opening dates for those six sign-ups. The disclosed outcome was a larger network at September 2026, rather than revenue or key additions attributable to each new resort.

Nature Trails, within Sterling's leisure hospitality operations, doubled its resort count from three to six year on year. Its room inventory increased 79%, revenue rose 10%, and guest ratio increased 19%. Agreements for three more Nature Trails resorts had been signed to go on stream in the current quarter, according to the announcement.

What drove Sterling's record Q2 FY27 revenue?

Sterling reported record revenue from operations of Rs 125.9 crore in Q2 FY27, up 21% year on year, despite describing July to September as its seasonally weakest quarter. It attributed the increase to stronger room demand, higher occupancy and improved pricing, rather than solely to the larger resort network.

Room revenue increased 23% year on year to Rs 99.1 crore, while food and beverage revenue rose 14% to Rs 26.5 crore. Room nights sold grew 23%, showing that revenue growth included a higher volume of stays. Room revenue therefore expanded faster than food and beverage revenue during the quarter, although both streams increased.

Sterling reported a 27th consecutive profitable quarter, with the leisure hospitality narrative giving EBITDA of Rs 29.8 crore and EBIT of Rs 18.4 crore, up 4% and 1%, respectively. The segment summary elsewhere in the announcement lists EBITDA of Rs 28.8 crore, also up 4%. Sterling attributed the slower growth in EBITDA and EBIT than in revenue to incremental cost pressures, without quantifying those costs.

How did occupancy and pricing change at Sterling resorts?

Sterling's owned and leased resorts recorded occupancy of 52% in Q2 FY27, 400 basis points higher year on year, while average room rate, or ARR, increased 9% to Rs 6,484. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point, making the occupancy improvement equivalent to four percentage points from the prior-year quarter.

Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, improved 12% year on year, combining the disclosed occupancy and ARR gains. The 23% rise in room nights sold exceeded the 9% increase in ARR, indicating that higher stay volumes were a material part of quarterly room-revenue growth. The occupancy and ARR measures are stated for owned and leased resorts, not necessarily every resort in the 83-property enterprise network.

Customer feedback also increased alongside the operating data. Sterling's TripAdvisor rating rose to 4.63 in Q2 FY27 from 4.60 a year earlier, and 31 resorts ranked number one in their respective areas. The announcement does not disclose the number of reviews, ranking categories or comparable ratings for other operators.

What does Sterling's cash position show after the expansion?

Sterling ended Q2 FY27 with cash reserves of Rs 380.8 crore, up 12% quarter on quarter, and said it remained debt-free and net cash-positive. The company thus reported higher cash while opening seven resorts and signing six more during the quarter, although the announcement does not provide cash flow, capital expenditure or payment details for individual openings.

The combination of 27 consecutive profitable quarters and Rs 380.8 crore in cash was the financial context Sterling disclosed for its expansion. However, the announcement does not provide free cash flow, lease liabilities, resort-level margins, debt before cash or a capital-spending budget. Those omissions prevent a calculation of the cash cost or near-term earnings contribution of the seven Q2 FY27 openings.

Thomas Cook (India) Limited, Sterling's parent, reported group cash and short-term investments of Rs 2,843 crore as of September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 2,648.8 crore on June 30, 2026. That group-level figure is separate from Sterling's Rs 380.8 crore cash reserves and should not be treated as cash held solely by the hospitality business.

Conclusion

Sterling combined its fastest disclosed quarterly rollout of seven openings with a 21% rise in Q2 FY27 revenue to Rs 125.9 crore. Occupancy of 52%, a 9% increase in ARR to Rs 6,484 and 23% growth in room nights sold supported the result, while reported EBITDA growth of 4% and EBIT growth of 1% trailed revenue growth amid incremental cost pressures.

The next disclosed milestone is the planned launch of three signed Nature Trails resorts in the current quarter, following that business's expansion from three to six resorts. Investors can also watch whether the six Q2 FY27 resort sign-ups progress to openings and how Sterling's cash reserves develop after the 12% quarter-on-quarter increase to Rs 380.8 crore.