Post information about new hotel and resort projects in India here.

Six Bekal Resort Projects To Kick Off In September

SAVIO RODRIGUES
Posted online: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 at 0005 hours IST

MUMBAI, AUG 2: Kerala government’s Rs 65 crore Bekal Project which involves constructing and running six resort properties in a total land spread of 189 acres in Bekal, a beach destination in Kasargod, Kerala, is set to kick off in September 2004. Four of India’s leading hotel groups - Taj, Oberoi, Bharat Hotels of Delhi, Khanna Hotels of Mumbai, and the UAE-based Holiday Group are involved in the development of the project.

Of the six resorts, Khanna Hotels Pvt Ltd leads the pack and will be developing two, while the Taj Group through its Taj Kerala Hotels and Resorts Ltd (TKHRL) venture, Oberoi through the Oberoi Kerala Hotels and Resorts Ltd (OKHRL) and Bharat Hotels and Holiday Group will be developing one each.

According to T Balakrishnan, secretary to government, tourism, government of Kerala, revealed that work will commence on four resorts from September. He said: "The hospitality groups selected to work on the project have finalised their development plans after a feasibility study of the area. Work on the first four resorts, which are being developed by the Khanna Hotels, Bharat Hotel and Holiday Group, will start in September."

The Bekal Resorts Development Corporation (BRDC) - a public agency working along with Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has been instrumental in promoting and inviting national and international hospitality majors to invest in the project.

Crystal Inns’ Three-Star Opens At Thiruvannamalai

Arunai Anantha, a new three-star promoted by Gems Park Hotels Pvt Ltd and operated by Chennai-based Crystal Inns Pvt Ltd, has opened at Chengam Road, Thiruvannamalai.

Located close to the Ramana Maharishi Ashram, Girivalam Path and the Arunachaleswarar Temple, Arunai Anantha is targeting religious tourists. It has 30 rooms and suites and all guestrooms have a clear view of Arunachala Hill.

Food and beverage outlets of the hotel include an exclusive vegetarian multi-cuisine restaurant. There is also a conference hall with a capacity up to 40 pax and a lawn to accommodate up to 300 pax. A state-of-the-art health club, ayurvedic centre, meditation hall and swimming pool is also set to be operational shortly. Guests can also avail of a host of in-house activities which include traditional South Indian games like Parmama Padham, Uri Adi, Pallanguli etc. The resort would have an activity coordinator to make guest-stays comfortable. Also, local artisans would display their skills in stone carving, pottery and weaving to guests.


Ramanashree Plans Three Hotels In Bangalore

The Ramanashree Group has joined the bandwagon of hospitality groups on the look out for a stake in Bangalore's burgeoning market by planning three hotels in the city. To start off with, a 44-room hotel, The Ramanashree Brunton will open to the public by the end of August. The hotel, which is centrally located, will be priced at about Rs 2,900 and will have a 44-cover coffee shop cum multi-cuisine restaurant.

"We are still thinking of whether to go for a tie-up or manage it ourselves. We are also planning a speciality restaurant, which will happen after the initial launch. The focus is on providing all basic facilities to our customers who are basically MNCs," said Amitaabh Ganguli, GM, Hotel Ramanashree, Bangalore.

In the next phase of its expansion, a 50-room budget hotel priced between Rs 750 and Rs 1,000 will be launched in October. "This hotel will be located near the main bus terminus and the railway station. The target audience is basically medical representatives and others who come to the city for short trips with low budgets," said Ganguli. For this property too, the group is open for tie-ups as far as their F&B is concerned.

The third phase will see the group open yet another hotel christened Ramanashree Rang Mahal. A resort with 10 double rooms, it will be situated in the outskirts of the city. It will have three conference halls and two restaurants. Construction will commence in October.

Ramanashree Group has three hotels in Karnataka, with two in Bangalore and one in Mysore.

Oberoi, Leela Plan Hotels Near Upcoming Bangalore Airport

The Oberoi and Leela groups are planning to have a property each in Bangalore, near the much-delayed international airport. Both properties will come up in three years, which is the expected time for the airport to be completely operational. In fact, on-hold plans of many hotel groups have come alive following the Union government paving the way for the development of India's first joint sector greenfield airport with the signing of the concession agreement with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) recently.

While the Leela group is planning a 300-room five-star, the Oberois are planning a 200-room hotel and serviced apartment of 100 rooms.

"We are seriously evaluating and assessing the option for a five-star airport hotel owned and managed by us," said Peter Leitgeb, president - operations, Leela Group.

Phase 1 of the hotel will open at the same time as the airport. "We are looking at approximately 300 rooms at an ARR of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000," said Leitgeb. On the investment required, he said that it was too early to comment.

The Oberoi group, according to sources, already have 8.5 acres of land on the airport stretch where their property will be constructed. The investment set aside for this project is not known yet.

Sources also indicate that though the Taj group has not yet planned for a hotel in this region, the possibility cannot be ruled out. It recently launched the 'indiOne', their ‘Smart Basic’ hotel brand in Whitefield, Bangalore. The group has also firmed up plans for another hotel in Whitefield at the International Tech Park (ITPL). Bangalore is currently witnessing the highest occupancy level in the country and existing hotels have not been able to meet the demand. Many groups have plans to come up in the city at varied locations; ITC, J W Marriott, Radisson are just a few confirmed groups.

After Ecotel, Kamat Goes No-Frills With ‘Kamfotel’After Ecotel, Kamat Goes No-Frills With ‘Kamfotel’

Kamat Hotels India Ltd (KHIL) is all set to be the third Indian hotel company to venture into the mid-market budget segment. KHIL, which is credited with making the ecotel concept a success in India, will soon unveil its new no-frills hotel brand ‘Kamfotel’ in the country, starting with Maharashtra.

Kamfotel will be managed by Concept Hospitality Limited (CHL), which also manages all existing properties of KHIL. When launched, it will compete with The Indian Hotels Company Ltd’s ‘indiOne’ and Sarovar Park Plaza Hotels’ yet-to-be-named no-frills brand.

Speaking exclusively to Express Hotelier & Caterer, Vithal Kamat, chairman and managing director of KHIL, and also a major stake-holder in CHL, confirmed, “The mid-market budget hotel segment is a fast growing market and offers great potential for hoteliers in the organised segment. We have been doing our research about entering this segment for over six years now. After conducting a comprehensive study on the subject by analysing hotels in this segment across the globe, we correlated the findings with Indian market situations. We are now ready with a strategic approach and a brand which can successfully meet the needs of this segment. We will unveil the first Kamfotel soon, in a secondary market in Maharashtra. We are also looking at states like Gujarat and Goa which offer a great potential for our no-frills brand.”

KHIL will eventually make Kamfotel a chain of two-star hotels and already potential locations have been shortlisted for the first few properties. Kamat plans to establish the brand across the country using the franchise option. “The first few hotels will be built-owned by KHIL and managed by CHL. Taking this approach is essential because we want to instill confidence in the brand besides proving that it can be run successfully. In the next five years, we plan to have 30 Kamfotels in secondary markets of India. After establishing the first few properties, we will later take the franchise route for expansion,” said Kamat.

According to Kamat, Kamfotels will ideally be 80- to 100-room hotels with basic facilities and no compromise on comforts. However, pricing is one area where a Kamfotel will differ from its immediate competitor, IHCL’s ‘indiOne’. “Rooms at Kamfotels will be priced in a very strategic way keeping in mind the markets they are present in. Considering its location rooms would be priced ranging from Rs 1,200 in a secondary market to Rs 2,000 in a metro,” he said.

As mentioned earlier, the initial projects will be funded internally and Kamat estimates that each room will cost him approximately Rs 12 lakh. Thus the overall project cost for each hotel will be in the range of Rs 9.6 crore (for an 80-room hotel) to Rs 12 crore (for a 100-room hotel) and will be constructed in 16 to 18 months time.

KHIL’s presence in the country’s luxury accommodation segment includes Ecotel hotels in North Mumbai (The Orchid), New Delhi (Uppal’s Orchid), the recently launched India’s first floating hotel in Kolkata (Floatel) and the yet to be launched Ecotel hotel in Chennai.

HHI Group To Acquire Three Three-Stars Plans IPO To Fund Acquisitions

Kolkata based HHI Group of Hotels is in the process of acquiring three three-star hotels in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The investment in each hotel would be around Rs 30 crore. To fund these acquisitions the company is mulling an initial public offer (IPO) in the next couple of months.

"We are in the final stages of documentation for the IPO. SEBI has been already informed about the proposed IPO," said Vinay Jaiswal, director (operations), HHI Group of Hotels.

The HHI group currently owns a five-star property in Kolkata and a four-star property in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

"About Rs 36 crore, which is 40 per cent of the total investment of Rs 90 crore required, would come from the public issue and the remaining 60 per cent would be funded through borrowings from banks and FIs. We are in the final stages of negotiations with lending agencies regarding this," said Jaiswal.

The acquisition of the Bangalore property is almost complete. But Jaiswal declined to divulge further details about it. Commenting on the acquisitions, he said industry figures indicate that Bangalore is facing a shortage of 2,000 room nights.

"We are optimistic about the future of the new hotels," he said.

The group is also setting up a 140-room five-star hotel on Varga Beach in South Goa. The total investment for this Greenfield project is likely to be around Rs 100 crore. But that is not included in the amount of the IPO. Funds for the project have already been arranged, he said.

The management is also investing to the tune of Rs 12 crore to give its Kolkata property a major face-lift. It is likely to be completed by the end of this year. The project includes increasing banquet facilities, upgrading the swimming pool, refurbishing the different rooms of the hotel, setting up the first-ever 'Lounge Bar' of the city and a coffee shop with an interactive kitchen. Hotel Hindusthan International, Kolkata has 186 rooms and enjoys an occupancy rate of nearly 70 per cent.

"Banqueting will be a major area of growth. We plan to increase our total banqueting area from the existing 3,500 square feet to almost 12,000 square feet. We will be setting up a couple of new banquets for the purpose. 'Topaz', a new state-of-the-art banquet measuring 3,500 square feet was opened recently," said Jaiswal.

The group is also setting up a hotel management institute adjacent to its three-star Varanasi property. The institute, christened Regency HHI Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology has been set up in collaboration with the Regency Institute of TAFE in South Australia.


CGH Earth Wins Bid For Hampi Resort


CGH Earth has won the bid for the development of the resort at Hampi, tenders for which had been invited by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation Limited (KSTDC). The move is in furtherance of KSTDC's larger objective of providing upgraded services to users, supporting tourism and to unlock the value of the project land.

CGH Earth will be responsible for all activities related to the development of the resort including investment, designing, engineering, construction, commissioning, subsequent investment after commencement of operations, management, marketing and maintenance of the resort, which is spread across 14 acres. The group is looking at institutional funding for the resort.

According to sources, CGH Earth has to pay 12 per cent of the annual revenue to the corporation by paying Rs 37.5 lakh worth company share at par to KSTDC.

"We have not exactly decided on the theme or the number of rooms, but it will certainly be very much in line with CGH Earth's philosophy of providing value and environmentally friendly feel. Involvement of the local community and resources will also form an important part. This resort will be part of our other agenda in Karnataka which is to build a 27-cottage resort in Gokarna. The Hampi resort will definitely be smaller in scale," said Jose Dominic, the group's founder and chairman.

CGH Earth is the leading hotel chain in Kerala with seven properties in the state. It is now looking towards Karnataka for expansion. The hotel at Gokarna in Karwar district is scheduled to be completed by December this year.

Reasoning out the choice of Karnataka as a target state for expansion, Dominic stated, "We saw a lot of energy in the state. Apart from that, Karnataka falls between Goa and Kerala and our idea is to build a connection between these two throbbing destinations. Our presence in Karnataka will be a natural extension.


Face-Lift PLanned For MPTDC Properties

In a bid to make Madhya Pradesh (MP) India’s numero uno domestic tourist destination, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) is planning to spruce up its hospitality services.

First on the cards is a total refurbishment of its existing 40 properties across the state with better service, better quality and better ambience.

Speaking on the new agenda, Ashwani Lohani, managing director, MPTDC, said, “Madhya Pradesh is undoubtedly India’s number one tourist destination because of its ability to cater to all kinds of interests such eco-tourism, religious tourism, adventure tourism, etc. However, all our natural endowments are worth nothing if we do not spruce up our hospitality services. At the end of the day it is a tourist’s experience in hospitality that encourages him/her to visit a destination again. Thus, our first agenda besides the structural changes is to work on the face-lift of service and quality standards as well.”

3 More Cities On Park Hotels Radar

The Park Hotels, which is part of the Kolkata based Apeejay Surrendra Group, plans to widen its presence in the country by entering into three new cities over the next two years. The group has decided to make a foray into Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi.

VV Giri, general manager, The Park Hotels, Chennai, said, "We have received overwhelming response for the Park Hotels in the cities where we are present. The hotels have become a destination of choice for corporate and leisure travellers and thanks to their downtown location they give easy access to key commercial and entertainment districts." The three new hotels will be operational by the end of 2006. Commenting on their property in Chennai, Giri, said, "We have witnessed tremendous growth since the hotel was set up in Chennai in 2002. The hotel had a turnover of Rs 28 crore and we expect to have a turnover of Rs 40 crore this year. Also, the occupancy rate has steadily gone up from 54 per cent in 2003 to over 77 per cent this year."

In line with the hotel's growth, the Park Hotels in Chennai plans to add a spa by the end of this year. "The spa will offer everything, from aromatherapy to ayurvedic treatment. Since we do not have the expertise to run a spa, we are looking at tying up with a foreign company which has the expertise in this field," he added.

Good Thread. There are plenty of hotels coming up. Post some pics too.

Oberoi, Leela Plan Hotels Near Upcoming Bangalore Airport

The Oberoi and Leela groups are planning to have a property each in Bangalore, near the much-delayed international airport. Both properties will come up in three years, which is the expected time for the airport to be completely operational. In fact, on-hold plans of many hotel groups have come alive following the Union government paving the way for the development of India's first joint sector greenfield airport with the signing of the concession agreement with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) recently.

While the Leela group is planning a 300-room five-star, the Oberois are planning a 200-room hotel and serviced apartment of 100 rooms.

"We are seriously evaluating and assessing the option for a five-star airport hotel owned and managed by us," said Peter Leitgeb, president - operations, Leela Group.

Phase 1 of the hotel will open at the same time as the airport. "We are looking at approximately 300 rooms at an ARR of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000," said Leitgeb. On the investment required, he said that it was too early to comment.

The Oberoi group, according to sources, already have 8.5 acres of land on the airport stretch where their property will be constructed. The investment set aside for this project is not known yet.

Sources also indicate that though the Taj group has not yet planned for a hotel in this region, the possibility cannot be ruled out. It recently launched the 'indiOne', their ‘Smart Basic’ hotel brand in Whitefield, Bangalore. The group has also firmed up plans for another hotel in Whitefield at the International Tech Park (ITPL). Bangalore is currently witnessing the highest occupancy level in the country and existing hotels have not been able to meet the demand. Many groups have plans to come up in the city at varied locations; ITC, J W Marriott, Radisson are just a few confirmed groups.
This should be good. Hope they are really well designed and beautiful.

Move to create room for 2010 check-in

Telegraph India

New Delhi, Aug. 1: The tourism ministry has asked its urban development counterpart to release 15 sites in the capital to build two- and three-star hotels that are expected to come up before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

“The city lacks affordable rooms and the introduction of budget hotels could overcome the problem,” a senior tourism ministry official said.

At present, Delhi has 7,000 classified hotel rooms, of which nearly 6,100 belong to the five-star and five-star plus category.

“We need an additional 15,000 rooms to meet the demand during the games,” said the official.

With land prices ruling at a premium and not enough large plots available for luxury hotels, the tourism ministry has requested its urban development counterpart to release plots of nearly half to one acre each to facilitate the construction of budget hotels.

The tourism ministry has also suggested the modification of the land policy to allow greater commercial utilisation of the allotted space.

“Currently, only 5 per cent of the land in the case of hotels is allowed for commercial use. As a result, investors prefer to set up only luxury hotels to rake in more profit. To tackle expected growth in inbound traffic, we need more budget hotels than expensive five-star ones,” added the official.

It is learnt that the tourism ministry has proposed allowing up to 40 per cent of the land to be used for commercial purpose to encourage more investment in quality budget hotels.

Industry insiders say if India is to see real growth in the sector, there is need to enhance airlines capacity and add more budget hotels across the country.

The Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association (FHRAI) also believes that the country will see a spate of budget hotels coming up over the next five to seven years.

Tourism secretary Rathi Vinay Jha said incentives in the form of an interest subsidy scheme are being offered for one-, two- and three-star hotels as also heritage hotels in the Tenth Plan period (2002-07) to boost private investment in this sector.

She expressed concern over the shortage of flight capacity and hotel rooms during the peak tourism season from October to March.

Hotel majors like the Tata group have already entered the lucrative budget hotel segment by setting up indiOne Hotels.

A Floatel and a Stadel - Kolkata

The Manor Floatel

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/05/18/images/2004051800271901.jpg

The country's first floating hotel seen on River Hooghly after coming out of the Kidderpore docks in Kolkata on Monday. The four-storied Floatel, built at a cost of Rs 31 crore, has 73 rooms and three suites, a 24-hour coffee shop, restaurants and conference rooms.

The Stadel

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030412/images/170658DSC_508813140.jpghttp://www.telegraphindia.com/1030412/images/12stade1.jpghttp://www.telegraphindia.com/1030412/images/12stade2.jpg

It’s a whole new hotel that has come up under the ramps of India's largest stadium - the Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata. Enter by gate 3, and you face the entrance to the three-star wonder that spans the space under ramp numbers 12 to 20. “It is a first of its kind in this part of the world,” smiles Anil Bhutoria, director, Samcom Resort and Hotel Private Limited. “The Stadel is a budget hotel with the ambience of a five-star outfit,” says Bhutoria. For other than the stipulated number of air-conditioned rooms with attached baths, reception and restaurant, there are plans to add a leisure pool, a bar and health club facilities.

ITC plans to set up 3 hotels in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, AUGUST 02, 2004 04:26:52 AM ]
KOLKATA: ITC Limited is planning to set up three new hotels in the premium segment in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The company’s long term plan is to have two premium category hotels in every major city.

Addressing shareholders at the company’s 93rd annual general meeting, held here recently, ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar said eight acres of land have been identified at Mount Road in Chennai.

While the residential property housing officers’ quarters are being re-developed in Bangalore. Mr Deveshwar, however, refused to disclose the size and capacity of the ventures. ITC already owns a five-star deluxe property, the Windsor Sheraton, in Bangalore.

In a two-pronged approach, the company said it may buy domestic properties up for sale or may look at properties overseas, provided real estate prices are favourable. Since its resources will get stretched in domestic investments, overseas acquisition is a second option.

With India woefully lacking in three and four-star hotels, ITC may also tap this segment.

“With India witnessing a tourism upswing, we are looking to expand capacity in our hotels business,” added Mr Deveshwar.

Time Of India

NEW DELHI: Hotels will now be charged luxury tax on the declared room rent rather than the actual room rent, as announced in the Budget.


This move will bring in an additional Rs 35 crore revenue for the Delhi government. On Tuesday, the government tabled the Delhi Tax on Luxuries (amendment) Bill, 2004 in the Delhi Assembly.

The Delhi Tax on Luxuries Act, 1996, was amended in 1998 after which luxury tax was made chargeable on actual tariff after deducting the discount allowed by the hoteliers on the published tariff.

Prior to the amendment, the luxury tax was being charged on the declared tariff irrespective of the fact whether the hotelier was allowing any discount or not.

"Consequently, the collection of luxury tax from star hotels went down drastically. Most middle level and smaller hotels also came out of the luxury tax net because they were not showing the actual tariff for Rs 500 or more per room per day," finance minister A K Walia said.

He added: "Hence they were no longer liable to pay luxury tax even though most of them had published room rents of more than Rs 500 per room per day."

The minister said the prior norm gave ample scope to hoteliers for evading tax by manipulating records, which caused a perceptible decrease in the luxury tax collection in each financial year.

Choice launches mid-price hotels

New Delhi, Aug. 4: Choice Hotels India, a franchisee of Choice Hotels International, has launched three hotels under its mid-price segment across the country.

Slated to cater largely to business travellers, the three new properties will come up in Pune, Manali and Thiruvananthapuram.

The 40-room Quality Inn River Country in Manali is a new construction for families on vacation as well as conferences. An interesting feature of the hotel is the tea lounge opening out into the gardens. Adding a new destination in its network, the chain has built Quality Inn Centurion Hotel in Pune. Claimed to be a 55-room boutique hotel, it will offer two specially-designed floors of quality club rooms with enhanced value.

The third location is the Comfort Inn Grand at M. G. Road in Thiruvananthapuram. The property also offers overnight stay to leisure travellers proceeding to nearby destinations. The well-known Sangeetha chain of restaurants (popular all across South India) operates in the hotel.

Choice Hospitality India is a master franchisee of Choice Hotels International for their worldwide brands — Clarion, Quality Inn, Comfort Inn and Sleep Inn for India.

Choice Hospitality India operates 25 hotels with seven other scheduled to come up later. The Edenpark Hotels, which took over the four-star Qutab in Delhi last year, is the first Clarion Luxor hotel in the country.

Company officials said with India taking on the budget and mid-segment hotel market aggressively (largely due to increasing demand for hotel rooms) the expansion was needed.

cool chennai is getting another hotel,lets hope it tall n nice :D

Radisson MBD Hotel, Noida. (5-Star) opened just recently.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/11/24/images/2003112400400201.jpg

^looks very good

Came across this on the website of John Portman and Associates.

Wellington Mews (http://www.portmanusa.com/hotel/wellington_mews.html)

The design of this 14-story, luxury serviced apartment tower has a curvilinear theme that maintains a suitable cultural balance and visual harmony with the surrounding community. The 90 apartment units cater to expatriates and local residents, with amenities that include a health club and covered outdoor pool, outdoor running track, business center, day care center, and a restaurant. The roof terrace offers panoramic views of historic Bombay and the Arabian Sea.

http://www.portmanusa.com/hotel/imgs/wellington_mews01.jpg

http://www.portmanusa.com/hotel/imgs/wellington_mews02.jpg

http://www.portmanusa.com/hotel/imgs/wellington_mews03.jpg

Came across this on the website of John Portman and Associates.



It's opening next month!!!

New hotels which have come up in the last few years; and also those which are under construction!

Grand Hotel Mumbai
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/3140/GrandhotelMumbai.jpg

Grand Hotel Goa
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/9405/GrandhotelGoa.jpg

http://img22.exs.cx/img22/3658/GrandhotelGoa2.jpg

http://img22.exs.cx/img22/2449/GrandhotelGoa3.jpg

Delhi Marriot
http://img46.exs.cx/img46/9752/delhimarriot.jpg

http://img46.exs.cx/img46/9299/delhimarriot2.jpg

Leela Palace Bangalore
http://img16.exs.cx/img16/987/leelapalacegoa.jpg

http://img47.exs.cx/img47/3381/garden.jpg

http://img16.exs.cx/img16/1949/leelapalacebangaloreentrance.jpg

ViMo.....Although I like Grand Hotel Mumbai, Its still a tragedy about new Indian Hotels particularly in highrise Mumbai are not aiming high. & this recently opened hotel is a prime example. I would like to see Grand Hotel Mumbai half as wide & twice as tall atleast like around 16 stories. It would have looked even better. Its only an 8 story. Could have been good for other cities but not Mumbai.

ViMo.....Although I like Grand Hotel Mumbai, Its still a tragedy about new Indian Hotels particularly in highrise Mumbai are not aiming high. & this recently opened hotel is a prime example. I would like to see Grand Hotel Mumbai half as wide & twice as tall atleast like around 16 stories. It would have looked even better. Its only an 8 story. Could have been good for other cities but not Mumbai.

Oh you will be chopped up by the environmentalists and activists. :jk:

BTW agree with you.

I am not sure what happened to the 35 storey Four Seasons hotel project. It was announced with a lot of fanfare as a sign of Indo-Canadian business deal.

Grand Hyatt, Mumbai (not the same as the Grand posted by VIMO).

http://www.mumbai.grand.hyatt.com/mumgh/picsbig/bomgra01p001.jpg

http://www.mumbai.grand.hyatt.com/mumgh/picsbig/bomgra01p004.jpg

Rendering of the mall (Grand Hyatt Plaza) coming up

http://www.mumbai.grand.hyatt.com/mumgh/picsbig/bomgra01p029.jpg

Hyatt Regency, Mumbai

http://www.mumbai.regency.hyatt.com/mumba/picsbig/bomhya01p001.jpg

http://www.mumbai.regency.hyatt.com/mumba/picsbig/bomhya01p002.jpg

Hyatt Regency, Kolkata

http://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/kolka/picsbig/calhya02p001.jpg

http://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/kolka/picsbig/calhya02p010.jpg

ViMo.....Although I like Grand Hotel Mumbai, Its still a tragedy about new Indian Hotels particularly in highrise Mumbai are not aiming high. & this recently opened hotel is a prime example. I would like to see Grand Hotel Mumbai half as wide & twice as tall atleast like around 16 stories. It would have looked even better. Its only an 8 story. Could have been good for other cities but not Mumbai.
Simple. Most buildings that are really tall (35/40 stories and taller) will face a lot of opposition and ultimately be rejected till the infrastructure improves.

Sonar Bangla Sheraton, Kolkata

http://www.meinhardt.com.au/media/userimages/imageB3272878105.jpg

Le Royale Meridien, Chennai

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1632-1.jpg

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1632-5.jpg

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1632-2.jpg

Le Meridien Convention Centre & Resort, Cochin

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1637-1.jpg

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1637-2.jpg

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1637-3.jpg

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1637-18.jpg

Le Meridien, Jaipur

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1830-1.jpg

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1830-3.jpg

The Metropolitan Nikko, New Delhi

http://wwd.jalhotels.co.jp/img/JALxfxHGr.jpg

Le Royale Meridien, Mumbai

http://www.lemeridien.com/owshare/lemeridien/worldwide/pictures/i/in1956-1.jpg

Simple. Most buildings that are really tall (35/40 stories and taller) will face a lot of opposition and ultimately be rejected till the infrastructure improves.

I agree that infrastructure needs to be improved.

But:

If you build roads or flyovers then it will be said that those are only for the rich or it is US imperialism through World Bank or a conspiracy of the Auto majors.

If you widen roads then trees are harmed.

If you remove hawkers then livelhoods are in peril.

If you want to build a world class railway system then there are no funds.

If you build a bridge across the ocean then the ecology is damaged.

Population growth (natural and immigration) cannot be checked because it is socially and politically unacceptable.

Sometimes I feel frustrated.

But :cheers: anyway.

I agree that infrastructure needs to be improved.

But:

If you build roads or flyovers then it will be said that those are only for the rich or it is US imperialism through World Bank or a conspiracy of the Auto majors.

If you widen roads then trees are harmed.

If you remove hawkers then livelhoods are in peril.

If you want to build a world class railway system then there are no funds.

If you build a bridge across the ocean then the ecology is damaged.

Population growth (natural and immigration) cannot be checked because it is socially and politically unacceptable.

Sometimes I feel frustrated.

But :cheers: anyway.
Enviornmentalist bashing again...:-) but ultimately the biggest reasons are -

1) Inadequate funding for mega projects

2) Lack of planning and strict enforcement of laws

3) Corruption and court cases.

Enviornmentalist bashing again...:-) but ultimately the biggest reasons are -

1) Inadequate funding for mega projects

2) Lack of planning and strict enforcement of laws

3) Corruption and court cases.

Environmentalists are great. They act as a check on our corrupt system. But they speak in too many voices.

What I would like all the environmentalists to do is to create a common platform and act as an advisory to the government and help in creating blueprints for development.

It is also the duty of the government to have the environmentalists on board before the planning stage of a project. That should lead to a more balanced approach than what we see today.

This will avoid the kind of tamasha we see today.

Government announces project. Environmentalists go up in arms. Courts get involved. Project gets stalled. That's such a huge wastage of India's resources and time.

I am against the above tamasha.

Wouldn't it be great if all these thousands of experts, NGOs, activists, greens, bureacrats, judges, techocrats, babus, engineers, architects, the am janata got together and decided on a blueprint for Mumbai and then stuck to it?

Environmentalists are great. They act as a check on our corrupt system. But they speak in too many voices.

What I would like all the environmentalists to do is to create a common platform and act as an advisory to the government and help in creating blueprints for development.

It is also the duty of the government to have the environmentalists on board before the planning stage of a project. That should lead to a more balanced approach than what we see today.

This will avoid the kind of tamasha we see today.

Government announces project. Environmentalists go up in arms. Courts get involved. Project gets stalled. That's such a huge wastage of India's resources and time.

I am against the above tamasha.

Wouldn't it be great if all these thousands of experts, NGOs, activists, greens, bureacrats, judges, techocrats, babus, engineers, architects, the am janata got together and decided on a blueprint for Mumbai and then stuck to it?
Yes that would be bliss but like Hafeez Contractor said in that article you posted each one has his own ideas and plans, there are too many suggestions and they have their own vested and political interests that come before the city. BTW the BMC has started relaying all the roads in the city instead of just filling up the potholes....

There are just too many relatively new - brand new hotels, but here goes..

Fortune Park hotels are owned by ITC and are placed in the mid priced range

Most of their hotels are relatively new or refurbished properties. Some of their hotels...

Fortune Katriya, Hyderabad

http://www.fortunekatriya.com/Images/homeimg.jpg

Fortune Landmark, Ahmedabad

http://www.fortunehotellandmark.com/images/forfhl.jpg

Fortune Park, Kozhikode

http://www.hotelskerala.com/fortunehotel/WelcView.jpg

Fortune Resort Central, Darjeeling

http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/img/Darjeeling-4.jpg

Fortune Hotel Galaxy, Vapi

http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/img/fhg.jpg

Fortune Kences Hotel, Tirupati

http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/newimg/Kences/pic2.jpg

Fortune Landmark, Indore (formerly Taj Residency)

http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/pnimg/IND-2.jpg

Fortune Pandiyan Hotel, Madurai

http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/newimg/Pandiyan/pic2.jpg

Fortune Ummed, Jodhpur
http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/Fuj/images/ext.jpg

Abad Airport Hotel, Cochin

http://www.abadhotels.com/airport/update/frontpic.jpg

Abad Atrium, Cochin

http://www.abadhotels.com/atrium/update/frontpic.jpg

Riviera Suites, Cochin

http://www.bengalweb.com/skyline/cochin/rivierasuites20.jpg

Somehow I am falling in love with Architecture in Kerala. The quality seems to be exceptionally good!

Somehow I am falling in love with Architecture in Kerala. The quality seems to be exceptionally good!

Agreed.. they seem to have taken the baton (like their sportsmen and women) and run ahead from the rest of India.

Kanha Shyam - Allahabad

http://www.bengalweb.com/skyline/allahabad/kanhashyam-nice.gif

Landmark Hotel - Kanpur (slightly old)

http://www.somdattbuilders.com/images/img-Road-3.jpg

Taj Residency, Lucknow

http://www.pierluigisurace.it/imagerie/images/aatw/DOT_India_Lucknow_Hotel.jpg

http://www.hotelus.com/hotel-image-for-taj-residency-lucknow-india-in-w080-212503.jpg


La Place Park Inn, Lucknow

http://media.wwte.com/hotels/1000000/910000/906000/905957/905957_3_b.jpg

http://media.wwte.com/hotels/1000000/910000/906000/905957/905957_1_b.jpg

Residency Towers, Chennai

http://www.chennaionline.com/cityfeature/images/residency02.jpg

http://www.stayingat.com/hotels/online_reservation/images/logo_rodas.gif

RODAS, Asia's first Designer Corporate ECOTEL.

http://www.rodashotel.com/lake_view/images/about_us.jpg

http://www.stayingat.com/hotels/online_reservation/images/logo_orchid.gif

The Orchid - An Ecotel Hotel is Asia's first certified eco-friendly five-star hotel and world only Ecotel to be certified as ISO 14001. This 245-room hotel is strategically located adjacent to the domestic airport making it a convenient place for the business traveler to stay.

http://www.indiahotelsguide.com/mumbai/images/orchid1.jpg

http://www.uppalsorchidhotel.com/hotels_delhi/images/uppals_header.gif

Uppal’s Orchid - an Ecotel Hotel is realization of a vision to establish, a splendid display of luxury, class and eco-sensitivity in the heart of the capital of India, New Delhi; just like its archetype The Orchid-An Ecotel Mumbai, India’s first eco-friendly hotel.

http://www.uppalsorchidhotel.com/hotels_delhi/images/uppals_orchid.jpg

http://www.stayingat.com/hotels/online_reservation/images/logo_lotussuites.gif

Lotus Suites is part of the Kamat Group Of Hotels and managed by one of the leading companies in the hospitality industry, Concept Hospitality Limited, boasts of 183 rooms including standard rooms, studios and apartments, which have been aesthetically designed keeping in cognizance with the ECOTEL principles.

http://www.qaiindia.com/Conferences/sw_tst_2004/images/lotus_suites.gif

whats a Ecotels?

Ecotels are Environmentally Sensitive Hotels.

Ecotels are Environmentally Sensitive Hotels.

oh okay, thxz suncity

i really like the Rodas Ecotel

yes, adding more to what Sunsity said,

Ecotels are hotels which try to reduce their waste output to the minimum, and have a very high regard for recycling and using their resources as electricity and water more efficiently.

are all theses hotels in delhi???? and are to be found nowhere else in india??

are all theses hotels in delhi???? and are to be found nowhere else in india??

Only one is in Delhi (Uppals). The rest in Mumbai.

GRT Hotels makes Rs 100cr plans for B`lore, Hyd (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=166856)


The company plans on setting up a 150-200 room hotel in Bangalore, which will have banqueting, conferencing and eating-out facilities.

GRT will spend around Rs 65 crore on the entire property and is looking at setting up a 1,50,000 sq ft hotel in the central business district.

Came across a great article............

Making The Most Of Mumbai – Hotel Performance Shines In Hotelbenchmark’s Newest Market (http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4020541.search?query=indian+hotel+investment)

Just as India has received ample press coverage in recent months due to strong visitor numbers, so too has Mumbai, as the newest market to be added to the HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte.

Political stability and the expansion of the Indian economy have helped to drive tourism growth throughout the country. As India’s commercial and financial capital, it is therefore not surprising that Mumbai’s revenue per available room (revPAR) has increased 27 percent year-to-June 2004 as compared to the same period in 2003.

India’s tourism market explodes
Like many other countries, domestic travellers dominate India’s tourism markets. However, India’s situation is unique due to the sheer size of the domestic market. To put this into perspective, India had over 300 million domestic tourists in 2003, this equates to over one third of the international arrivals received by all global markets. Domestic tourism will continue to be an important driver of tourism, especially as improved economic performance fuels the growth of the middle-class market.

As India’s second largest port of entry, Mumbai benefits from surging overseas arrivals. According to the World Travel Organisation (WTO), international arrivals to India rose 24 percent year-to-April 2004, following a 15 percent increase in annual performance during 2003. The recent “open skies” announcement has improved airline access to Mumbai, which along with added capacity has resulted in a positive response from overseas markets.

Government sponsors new image for India
Over recent years, the Indian government has changed its attitude towards tourism. Recognising the economic importance of the industry, they have introduced a number of financial reforms, including revised tax policy. The government has further supported the industry with a 44 percent budget increase for tourism infrastructure projects. With highways and airports severely below international standards, this will be money well spent by a government focused on changing India’s image.

To define India’s new image, the government has invested in rebranding the country with its ‘Incredible India’ campaign. Their marketing efforts received a gold award from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) earlier this year. The brand promotes the unique experiences India has to offer as a country. In addition, individual states are busy extending the brand to develop their own niches. India’s emergence as a global information technology hub is one “image change” from which Mumbai has already benefited. Corporate demand in the city has risen as a result.

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/picture/153010286.jpg

Bold opportunity despite limitations
While hotel performance in Mumbai continues to progress, we must not forget the current threats that exist in the marketplace. Despite the progress made by India with its ‘Incredible India’ campaign and other government plans, infrastructure continues to sit well below global standards. Whilst a number of initiatives are in place, in order to sustain growth, the Mumbai hotel industry needs to continue addressing key areas such as developing support from both the airline and conference industries.

The surge in travel demand shows no signs of abating. However, as basic economics dictates, both supply and demand determine performance. If the supply (i.e. industry infrastructure) is unable to support the demand, positive performance in Mumbai will suffer. In short, Mumbai does have the opportunity to make a lasting impression, however, only time will tell if this can be fully embraced.

look what i found.........

IH&RA 2004 Environmental Award Recognizes “Innovation in Environmental Best Practice” (http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4020587.search?query=india+hotel+investment)

IH&RA, the International Hotel & Restaurant Association, invites hotels and restaurants worldwide to apply today for its 2004 “Environmental Award” which will recognize the best “Innovation in Environmental Best Practice” in two categories: one independent and one chain-affiliated hotel or restaurant.

The IH&RA and founding sponsor American Express created the Environmental Award in partnership with UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme, to recognize environmental leadership in the hospitality industry.

This year’s theme, “Innovation in Environmental Best Practice” focuses on the use of new technology, as well as the unique and creative methods that hotels and restaurants use to protect the environment in their day-to-day operations, while promoting long-term sustainable development of travel and tourism.

The last IH&RA Environmental Award focused on the theme of “Energy and Indoor Air Quality in Hotels and Restaurants.” The winner in the Corporate category was Mr. Jan Peter Bergkvist, Director of Environmental Affairs, at the Hilton Nordic Region Scandic Hotels based in Stockholm, Sweden. The winner in the Independent category was Mr. K.P. Kanampilly, General Manager of The Orchid, an ECOTEL Hotel, in Mumbai, India.

In 2004, both independent and chain-affiliated properties will be judged using criteria set by the Banksia Foundation, an Australian not-for-profit organisation that promotes environmental excellence and, as a consequence, sustainability. Hotels and restaurants will be asked to show the extent to which environmental and sustainability considerations are integrated into their corporate visions. They will also need to prove the extent to which their hotel or restaurant goes beyond normal practice and sets a new standard by developing and implementing new or innovative standards for incorporation of environmental and sustainability practices. It is also necessary to illustrate open, accurate and clear reporting of activities and the impact on the environment and stakeholders, as well as the extent to which the establishment is changing sustainable practices within its employee, customer and supplier base.

^^^
That's good..

Nice resorts are sprouting up all over India...

Aquaserene, Kollam, Kerala

http://www.aquasereneindia.com/images/pic4a.jpg

http://www.aquasereneindia.com/images/gallerypic01a.jpg

http://www.aquasereneindia.com/images/gallerypic05a.jpg

http://www.aquasereneindia.com/images/pic5a.jpg

http://www.aquasereneindia.com/images/gallerypic03a.jpg

http://www.aquasereneindia.com/images/gallerypic08a.jpg

Chokhi Dhani Resort, Jaipur

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/Dhani.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/FINALIMG/BIGPIC/cottage.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/FINALIMG/BIGPIC/haveli0.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/finalimg/bigpic/kund.jpg

Chokhi Dhan Village

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/aerial_1.jpg

The Bazaars, village, rides...

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/FINALIMG/BIGPIC/5-1.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/FINALIMG/BIGPIC/5-2.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/FINALIMG/BIGPIC/4-2.jpg

Rides

:-)

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/village_craft_new.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/tonga_full.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/camel_ride.jpg

Chokhi Dhani Indore

http://www.chokhidhani.com/images/Untitled-12.jpg


http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/Untitled-13.jpg

The "Village" Disco..

http://www.chokhidhani.com/images/Untitled-11.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/images/smalladenture.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGES/e-23.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/IMAGAES/snow_thumb.jpg

http://www.chokhidhani.com/images/Untitled-15.jpg

Tuli Resort, Kanha Forest

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/elephantgate_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/pool_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/3597_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/2_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/3595_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/3594_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/snooker_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/dinning_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/elephant_lg.jpg

http://www.tuligroup.com/resort/images/safari1_tg.jpg

Shilton Resort, Shimla

http://www.shilonresorts.com/images/bot_resort.jpg

http://www.shilonresorts.com/img/clouds.jpg

http://www.shilonresorts.com/img/residential_block.jpg

http://www.shilonresorts.com/img/snow.jpg

Vythiri Resort, Wayanad

http://www.vythiriresort.com/images_html/slide5.jpg

http://www.vythiriresort.com/images_html/slide1.jpg

http://www.vythiriresort.com/images_html/slide7.jpg

http://www.vythiriresort.com/images_html/slide3.jpg

http://www.vythiriresort.com/images_html/slide2.jpg

Toshali Sands, Puri

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-sands/sandsbuilding.jpg

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-sands/sandsview.jpg

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-sands/p2scottageview.jpg

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-sands/p2scottagetree.jpg

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-sands/cottage.jpg

Toshali Royal View, Shimla

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-royalview/royalbuilding.jpg

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-royalview/picture3.jpg

http://www.toshalisands.com/image-gallery/wp-admin/upload/toshali-royalview/p2rluxury.jpg

Hans Coco Palms, Puri

http://www.hanshotels.com/puri-tour/gifs/hotel3b.jpg

http://www.hanshotels.com/puri-tour/gifs/pool1.jpg

http://www.hanshotels.com/puri-tour/gifs/hotel10.jpg

http://www.hanshotels.com/puri-tour/gifs/lobby1.jpg

http://www.hanshotels.com/puri-tour/gifs/hotel14.jpg

http://www.hanshotels.com/coco-palms-hotel-puri/gifs/deluxe-suite-1.jpg

Quality Inn MGM Resort, Muttukadu

http://www.mgm-india.com/resort/muttukadu/frontb.jpg

http://www.mgm-india.com/resort/muttukadu/cottageb.jpg

http://www.mgm-india.com/resort/muttukadu/restb.jpg

River Country Resort, Manali

http://rivercountrymanali.com/images/001LRG.jpg

http://rivercountrymanali.com/images/002LRG.jpg

http://rivercountrymanali.com/images/003LRG.jpg

http://rivercountrymanali.com/images/004LRG.jpg

http://rivercountrymanali.com/images/007LRG.jpg

Peerless Resort, Port Blair

http://www.peerlesshotels.com/images/picga2.jpg

http://www.peerlesshotels.com/images/picga1.jpg

http://www.peerlesshotels.com/images/picga5.jpg

http://www.peerlesshotels.com/images/picga12.jpg

http://www.peerlesshotels.com/images/picga7.jpg

Jaypee Residency Manor, Mussoorie

http://www.jaypeehotels.com/images/mussoorie_acco_top_dayshot.jpg

http://www.jaypeehotels.com/images/mussoorie_other_top1.jpg

Jaypee Palace, Agra

http://www.jaypeehotels.com/images/agra_home_main.jpg

The Norkhill, Gangtok

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/norkhill.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/norkhill-tour2.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/norkhill-tour1.jpg

The Elgin, Darjeeling

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/newelgin.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/elgin-tour7.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/elgin-tour6.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/elgin-tour3.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/elgin-tour2.jpg

Attic Room

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/elgin-tour1.jpg

The Silver Oaks, Kalimpong

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/silveroaks-hotel.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/silver-tour1.jpg

http://www.elginhotels.com/imgs/silver-tour2.jpg

Fortune Park, Darjeeling

http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/img/Darjeeling-4.jpg

Windermere, Darjeeling

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/ada.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/10a.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/10b.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/8c.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/11c.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/5a.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/5D.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/5e.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/5c.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/3b.jpg

http://www.windamerehotel.com/images/gallery/3a.jpg

Nice thread!

Pragpur Heritage Village, Kangra Valley, Himachal..Small steps in the right direction of conserving our heritage and using it to generate revenues..

A notified heritage village with heritage hotel..

Cobbled Streets

http://www.judgescourt.com/a20.jpg

Village Tank
http://www.judgescourt.com/a19.jpg

Butail Haveli

http://www.judgescourt.com/a21.jpg

Judges Court (Hotel)

http://www.judgescourt.com/b333.jpg

http://www.judgescourt.com/new/a2.jpg

http://www.judgescourt.com/new/a3.jpg

Country Manor

http://www.judgescourt.com/a16.jpg

Lal Niwas, Phalodi

http://www.lalniwas.com/lalniwas_home.jpg

http://www.lalniwas.com/bed_4.jpg

http://www.lalniwas.com/bed_2.jpg

http://www.lalniwas.com/dinning.jpg

http://www.lalniwas.com/swimming.jpg

Jain Temple

http://www.lalniwas.com/temple.jpg

Fort

http://www.lalniwas.com/fort1.jpg

Migrant Birds

http://www.lalniwas.com/birds.jpg

Desert

http://www.lalniwas.com/rajasthan_desert.jpg

Camping on Sand Dunes

http://www.lalniwas.com/sand_dune_tents1.jpg

Tent Interior

http://www.lalniwas.com/sand_dune_tents2.jpg

Folk Dance

http://www.lalniwas.com/rajasthan_folkdance.jpg

Osian Temple

http://www.lalniwas.com/osian_temple.jpg

Deers in desert

http://www.lalniwas.com/deer.jpg

Khimsar Fort, Khimsar

Perched on the edge of the Great Thar Desert in the heart of rural India lies this unique 16th century fort offering a wide range of experiences.

http://www.khimsarfort.com/images/pic_about.jpg

The Dunes Village offers modern living in a village setting

http://www.khimsarfort.com/images/pic_attrac3.jpg

RohetGarh, Rohet

http://www.rohetgarh.com/phototour/images/ext5.jpg

http://www.rohetgarh.com/phototour/images/2aa.jpg

http://www.rohetgarh.com/phototour/images/ext9a.jpg

Jehen Numa Palace, Bhopal

http://www.fhrai.com/gateway/gateimgs/jehan2.jpg

http://www.fhrai.com/gateway/gateimgs/jehan1.jpg

Surya Samudra Beach Garden, Pulinkudi

http://www.suryasamudra.com/resort/surya_ext017.jpg

http://www.suryasamudra.com/heritage_cottages/interior_19.JPG

http://www.suryasamudra.com/dining/dining_page2.JPG

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualtour/cottage_exterior_14.JPG

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualtour/people_11.JPG

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualtour/lying_big.JPG

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualcottage/cottage_exterior_11.jpg

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualcottage/cottage_exterior_20.jpg

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualcottage/interior_22.jpg

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualcottage/interior_01.jpg

http://www.suryasamudra.com/virtual_tour_page/virtualcottage/cottage_exterior_18.jpg

Himalayan Hotel, Kalimpong

In the early days of the last century the hotel was the family home of David Macdonald. After accompanying the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa in 1904 as interpreter, Macdonald was posted to Tibet as a British Trade Agent, serving in Yatung and Gyantse until his retirement in 1924. Macdonald assisted the 13th Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet in 1910, and he was later invited to Lhasa in 1921. Prior to his retirement he served briefly as Britain's Political Officer in Sikkim, in charge of Britain's relations with Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim. After he retired, with his large family grown up, Macdonald turned the family home into a Hotel, and it has remained in the Macdonald family ever since.


http://www.himalayanhotel.biz/photos/old_main_building.jpg

http://www.himalayanhotel.biz/photos/upstairs_verandah.jpg

http://www.himalayanhotel.biz/photos/3_ina_row.jpg

http://www.himalayanhotel.biz/photos/admin_block.jpg

http://www.himalayanhotel.biz/photos/wisteria5.jpg

http://www.himalayanhotel.biz/photos/up_to_joes.jpg

Golden Retreat, Haldia

http://www.sanonsen.com/thumb/en1.jpg

http://www.sanonsen.com/thumb/en34.jpg

http://www.sanonsen.com/thumb/en33.jpg

FFort Radisson, Raichak

http://archnet.org/library/imgdownloader/jpg/37669/big/IAA8760.JPG

http://archnet.org/library/imgdownloader/jpg/37667/big/IAA8758.JPG

http://archnet.org/library/imgdownloader/jpg/37671/big/IAA8762.JPG

http://archnet.org/library/imgdownloader/jpg/37670/big/IAA8761.JPG

http://www.ffort.com/images/acco_pic1.jpg

http://www.ffort.com/images/acco_pic2.jpg

Poovar Island Resort, Poovar

http://www.poovarislandresort.com/images/loc1-L.jpg

http://www.poovarislandresort.com/images/cot1-L.jpg

http://www.poovarislandresort.com/images/swim-L.jpg

http://www.poovarislandresort.com/images/tariff1-L.jpg

http://www.poovarislandresort.com/images/con1-L.jpg

Kumarakom Lake Resort, Kumarakom

http://www.klresort.com/Home/Home_Pic/Kumarakompic1/KUM-1.jpg

http://www.klresort.com/Home/Home_Pic/Kumarakompic2/KUM-2.jpg

http://www.klresort.com/Home/Home_Pic/Kumarakompic3/KUM-3.jpg

http://www.klresort.com/Home/Home_Pic/explore1/explore1.jpg

http://pc.ipath.net.in:8080/kumarakom/images/duplexvilla_1.jpg

http://pc.ipath.net.in:8080/kumarakom/images/deluxesuite_1.jpg

http://pc.ipath.net.in:8080/kumarakom/images/poolvilla_1.jpg

Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambore

http://www.oberoivanyavilas.com/images/vanyavilas_resortoverview_img1.jpg

http://www.oberoivanyavilas.com/images/vanyavilas_resortoverview_img3.jpg

http://www.oberoivanyavilas.com/images/vanyavilas_resortoverview_img4.jpg

http://www.oberoihotels.com/admin/hotelimages/vanyavilas_roomsandsuites_img1.jpg

http://www.oberoihotels.com/admin/hotelimages/vanyavilas_roomsandsuites_img2.jpg

http://www.oberoihotels.com/admin/hotelimages/vanyavilas_dinning_img1.jpg

http://www.oberoihotels.com/admin/hotelimages/vanyavilas_dinning_img2.jpg

The INPAC group of Hotels runs a chain of four hotels located in Kushinagar, Bodhgaya, Lumbini and Rajgir - the famous Buddhist circuit in eastern India and neighbouring Nepal. With Bodhgaya receiving international flights, this area may get the needed tourism boost.

Royal Residency Bodhgaya

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/gallery/bodhgaya/big/002.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/gallery/bodhgaya/big/004.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/gallery/bodhgaya/big/006.jpg

Royal Residency, Kushinagar

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/gallery/kushinagar/big/023.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/gallery/kushinagar/big/006.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/gallery/kushinagar/big/026.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/gallery/kushinagar/big/022.jpg

Royal Residency (Indo Hokke), Rajgir

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/rajgir/images/rajgir.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/rajgir/images/raj_rest.jpg

And completing the circuit is

Royal Residency, Lumbini, Nepal

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/lumbini/images/lumbini.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/lumbini/images/lum_jap_2room.jpg

http://www.theroyalresidency.net/lumbini/images/lum_jap_1room.jpg

Small towns like Gopalpur On Sea (Orissa) are getting nice hotels as domestic tourism takes a surge.

Palm Resort, Gopalpur On Sea

http://portal.bloochip.com/web-cms/swosti.com/cms/img/images/resort.jpg

Lake Village Heritage Resort, Kottayam

http://www.thewindsorcastle.net/tour1h.jpg

Travancore Heritage, near Trivandrum

http://www.thetravancoreheritage.com/images/th_z.jpg

http://www.thetravancoreheritage.com/images/th_main_z.jpg

http://www.thetravancoreheritage.com/images/th_beachgrove_z.jpg

Lotus Nikko Hotel, Sravasti

http://www.lotustranstravels.com/img/sar-hotel.jpg

Lotus Nikko Hotel, Bodh Gaya

http://www.lotustranstravels.com/img/new-bodhgayahtl-front-1.jpg

http://www.lotustranstravels.com/img/new-bodhgaya-restfrontmain-.jpg

Lotus Nikko, Kushinagar

http://www.lotustranstravels.com/img/k-front.jpg

Hotel Seaface, Kovalam

http://www.seaface.com/images/g6.jpg

http://www.seaface.com/images/g5.jpg

http://www.seaface.com/images/k11.jpg

Shanthitheeram, Alappuzha

http://www.shanthitheeram.com/gallery/3.jpg

http://www.shanthitheeram.com/gallery/58.jpg

http://www.shanthitheeram.com/gallery/56.jpg

KTDC Samdura, Kovalam

http://www.ktdc.com/images/SamudraGall04.jpg

http://www.ktdc.com/images/SamudraGall01.jpg

KTDC Waterscapes, Kumarokom

http://www.ktdc.com/images/WaterScapesGall01.jpg

http://www.ktdc.com/images/WaterScapesGall02.jpg

KTDC Bolgatty Palace, Kochi

http://www.ktdc.com/images/BolgattyMain.jpg

http://www.ktdc.com/images/BolgattyGall01.jpg

http://www.ktdc.com/images/BolgattyGall05.jpg

KTDC Tea County, Munnar

http://www.ktdc.com/images/TeaCountyGall01.jpg

http://www.ktdc.com/images/TeaCountyGall06.jpg

http://www.ktdc.com/images/TeaCountyGall02.jpg

Lake Palace, Thekkady

http://www.ktdc.com/images/LakePalaceGall01.jpg

http://www.ktdc.com/images/LakePalaceGall03.jpg

The famous Mandovi Hotel, Panaji

http://www.hotelmandovigoa.com/images/main_hotel.jpg

http://www.hotelmandovigoa.com/images/pic_hotelview.jpg

Choukidhani, Rajkot

http://www.choukidhani.com/images/Dining_1op.jpg

http://www.choukidhani.com/images/Conference_page1_opa.jpg

http://www.choukidhani.com/images/Conference_page2_opa.jpg

http://www.choukidhani.com/images/village_for_web_op.jpg

Classic Residency, Haridwar

http://www.classichotels4u.com/haridwar/images/hotel_image.jpg

Classic Hilltop Resort, Chamba

http://www.classichotels4u.com/chamba/images/chamba_hotel.jpg

http://www.classichotels4u.com/chamba/images/glass_house.jpg

Heritage Village Manesar

http://www.selecthotels.co.in/images/manview-about.jpg

Heritage Village Club, Goa

http://www.selecthotels.co.in/images/imgs/pages/NWS/resort-pan.jpg

Heritage Resorts, Nagda

http://www.heritageresort.com/images/res2.jpg

http://www.heritageresort.com/images/res1.jpg

http://www.heritageresort.com/images/res3.jpg

Edassary Eastend, Munnar

http://www.edasserygroup.com/eda_01_b.jpg

http://www.edasserygroup.com/eda_03_b.jpg

Kadavu Riverside Resort, Kozhikode

http://www.stapatiarchitects.com/assets/architecture/kadavu/Arialview_m.jpg

Casa Deepwoods, Mudumalai Forest

http://www.stapatiarchitects.com/assets/architecture/casadeepwoods/cottage.jpg

http://www.stapatiarchitects.com/assets/architecture/casadeepwoods/bath.jpg

http://www.stapatiarchitects.com/assets/architecture/casadeepwoods/reception.jpg

Redhill Resort, Emerald (Nilgiris)

http://www.indianjungle.com/redhill/media/imagesg/15.gif

http://www.indianjungle.com/redhill/media/imagesg/09.gif

http://www.indianjungle.com/redhill/media/imagesg/12.gif

http://www.indianjungle.com/redhill/media/imagesg/03.gif

This looks like a new render of the Four Seasons Mumbai hotel. Dunno if posted here already.... ;-)

http://www.lohan.com/images/projects/fsmweb_1rev.jpg

Suncity do you know where exactly it's being built?

Now that would be a handsome looking Hotel!

This looks like a new render of the Four Seasons Mumbai hotel. Dunno if posted here already.... ;-)

Suncity do you know where exactly it's being built?

I compared the old and the new and bothe are the same. Of course this pic looks much better because of better color and rendering.

I dunno where exactly it's coming up. I am not even sure whether construction has started. But it will be somewhere in Worli and overlooking the Arabian sea. And if built it will be a nice addition.

:-)

it is still in proposal..would be nice if it will they say "ok" for the u/c :)

more info : http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=197681

it is still in proposal..would be nice if it will they say "ok" for the u/c :)

more info : http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=197681
It should come through.....will be India's tallest hotel? Maybe even over 150m.

It should come through.....will be India's tallest hotel? Maybe even over 150m.

yeap i hope so. I think will get a answer if the project get "ok" by end of december.Emporis has not updated the list of u/c-projects in Mumbai yet. There is more to come:)

http://mishappa.image.pbase.com/u48/scaudill/upload/30518902.IMG_0643800.jpg

http://mk31.image.pbase.com/u48/scaudill/upload/30518899.IMG_0642800.jpg

http://mishopi.image.pbase.com/u47/scaudill/large/30521345.IMG_07391024.jpg

Aman Resorts - Amanbagh, Alwar

http://www.amanresorts.com/jpgs/bagh_10.jpg

http://www.amanresorts.com/jpgs/bagh_21.jpg

http://www.amanresorts.com/jpgs/bagh_26.jpg

Aman-i-Khas (tents), Ranthambore

http://www.amanresorts.com/jpgs/i-khas_2.jpg

http://www.amanresorts.com/jpgs/i-khas_8.jpg

http://www.amanresorts.com/jpgs/i-khas_11.jpg

We can post all hotel and tourism related news in this thread. I'll begin with this clip:

Carlson Hospitality - owners of Radisson brand of Hotels, plan to open 40 properties in India within the next three years. For reference check this newsitem:

http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/jan/26hotels.htm

Le Meridien planning to add more properties in India

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/01/31/stories/2005013100701300.htm

I just thought that a thread should be started for Hotels and Resorts/ Beaches.

I just thought that a thread should be started for Hotels and Resorts/ Beaches.


There's one already I think.

ITC to build three new hotels
Wednesday, February 16, 2005 (Mumbai):

As part of its major expansion plans, ITC will build three new super deluxe luxury hotels in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore.

"ITC hotels Ltd is planning to build three new super deluxe luxury hotels in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore and they would be functional in the next two to three years," Chairman ITC ltd Y C Deveshwar told reporters today.

ITC presently runs 66 hotels across 50 countries.

However, he declined to comment on the recent attempts of the government to recover excise arrears amounting to Rs 803 crore by modifying past excise rules. (PTI)

http://www.ndtv.com/money/showbusinessstory.asp?slug=ITC+to+build+three+new+hotels&id=23795

Hopefully more such economy hotel chains will spread through out the country.

IHCL to roll out `indiOne' in 10 cities

Encouraged by the success of its first indiOne hotel in Bangalore, Indian Hotels Company Ltd on Tuesday announced the rollout of indiOne at 10 additional locations across the country.

Managing Director Raymond Bickson said on Tuesday that the ten locations for the 100 room indiOne are Pune, Nashik, Mysore, Haridwar, Panjim, Bhubaneshwar, Varanasi, Thiruvananthapuram, Jamshedpur and Durgapur.

Details http://sify.com/finance/equity/fullstory.php?id=13688847

InterGlobe, Accor plan 20 budget hotels in India

InterGlobe Enterprises of India and European hotel chain, Accor have entered into a 60:40 joint venture and will develop 25 'Ibis' brand of economy hotels, out of which, 20 such hotels will be opened in India, with the rest being developed in South-East Asia. The first two hotels in India will be in Bangalore (250 rooms/2006)and Gurgaon (210 romms/2006) followed by Pune, Jaipur, Chennai and Mumbai.

Details http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/mar/08hotel.htm

Leela buys former ITDC hotel for Rs 120 cr


http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=71721

Hyatt plans massive domestic expansion (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?hpFlag=Y&chklogin=N&autono=198899&leftnm=lmnu1&lselect=0&leftindx=1)

The US-based Hyatt International Hotels and Resorts (Hyatt) is on an expansion spree in India. The hotel chain has got plans to add another 15 five-star and deluxe hotels and resorts in the country over the next three to four years, said Ratnesh Verma, area director, South Asia, Hyatt.

Hyatt will set up two hotels each in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai. It will also expand in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Gurgaon. The group is eyeing states such as Kerala and Goa and cities such as Jaipur and Agra for its resorts.

In new hands, Kanishka unveiled as Shangri La (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=148697)

AFTER a four-year wait, the erstwhile Kanishka Hotel on Ashok Road was today unveiled in its post-disinvestment avatar as the Shangri La.

The 17-storey hotel is managed by the Hong Kong-based Shangri La Hotels — it’s their first venture in India — in a tie-up with the Eros Group. The Kanishka was bought by Hotel Excelsior Private limited, an Eros subsidiary, for Rs 96 crores when the government disinvested ITDC hotels in 2001. The international chain is also planning other such ventures in Gurgaon and Noida.

I believe there are pictures of the hotel somewhere on the forum.

HOSPITALITY major Leela plans to double its stock of over 2,100 rooms by 2008 on the back of an expansion plan across eight key cities. The company president, Peter Leitgeb told ET that it has acquired land in Pune to develop a Rs 200 crore star hotel with 180-200 rooms. New Delhi is the only metro outside its chain. It is planning a property in the capital before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
According to the group’s finance head, S Venkatachalam, the hospitality chain has raised enough resources to meet its investment goal of Rs 900-950 crore for the next three years. Leelaventure, the holding company, has raised around Rs 550 crore this calendar year through a mix of equity dilution and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs). It has recovered some outstanding money from public sector housing major Hudco.
The chain has four hotels to its credit with 1,000 rooms, spread across Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and more recently Kovalam, where it acquired a 95-room ITDC resort. Hotels in Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Udaipur, which will add 1,100 odd rooms to its inventory, will be commissioned by 2007-08. It will also include the Leela Palace Kempinksi in Bangalore where the room strength is being raised from 254 to 394 by the end of 2006. Like some of the other established brands which are on an expansion mode, Leela is also stepping on the gas to capture the travel and hospitality boom.
A wider spread, says Mr Venkatachalam, will help the hospitality company spread its risks and accelerate the growth in topline as well as its profitability. The room tariffs have been following a northward trajectory driven by a surge in corporate demand in metros and rise in holidaymakers and incentive travellers to destinations like Goa, Rajasthan and Kerala.
The company clocked a bottomline of Rs 45 crore last fiscal, which is expected to rise to Rs 90-100 crore this year, and touch Rs 175-200 crore in 2006-07.

Mall hotels check into realty market (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=104349)

It's being touted as the next big thing after speciality malls and destination malls in India. Now that there is a distinct slump in the demand for shopping malls, real estate developers are looking for more lucrative business options. Inspired by Dubai and Thailand, mall hotels are being set up in India, too. For hoteliers, it’s the best opportunity to be present at a premium location at relatively lower costs and have assured footfalls even on leaner days. It’s the perfect synergy of components in terms of lease rates, occupancy levels and client profile.

Carlson Hotels, for example, is looking at developing a slew of three to five-star hotels in Bangalore, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and the National Capital Region in the next three years.

The Clarion Group and Anumod Sharma’s Galaxy Towers is also coming up with a five-star boutique hotel with a fashion-lifestyle shopping arcade, a few minutes from the MG Road, Gurgaon.

In Saket, South Delhi, three realtors are developing mall hotels on 51 acres set aside for commercial development. The Rs 350-crore Select City Walk project being developed by Select Infrastructure will be designed on the lines of New York’s Time Square and will house a posh shopping mall, a business centre, a multiplex and a 100-room hotel. Barely miles away, DLF Retail Developers, is planning two projects called South Court and The Courtyard that will have hotels with 60 and 100 rooms each.

In Greater Noida, Omaxe Construction is building a mall called Omaxe Connaught Place covering an area of 14 lakh sq ft. The mall will also have a hotel to cater to corporate houses in the vicinity.

Vipul Infrastructure, meanwhile, is drawing out plans to develop a six-lakh sq ft retail and service complex on the Delhi-Gurgaon highway. The complex will also include a 200-room hotel.

Leela, Radisson, Marriott,ITC ,Tata's, Hyatt, Shangri-La, Orchid to soon come up in the city.

Pune, October 8: THE city, largely starved of five-star luxuries, will soon be spoilt for choice. Riding the IT boom and a resurgent manufacturing sector, star hotels — 2,000 three-five star rooms will come up in 24-36 months — are making a beeline for Pune.

The latest to join the bandwagon is the Leela Group of Hotels with its board approving a Rs 180 crore project in the city. ‘‘The 200-250 room 5-star business cum urban resort will come up near the golf course,’’ R Venkatachalam, CFO, told Pune Newsline. While it will take three months to seek government approvals, the Leela Hotel is expected to be in operation by January 2008.



‘‘We have been looking at the Pune market for the past two years and were looking for the right plot,’’ he said. The group has bought the five-acre plot for Rs 30 crore. Venkatachalam said Pune is a ‘‘mid-end’’ market which will see a huge growth over the next 10 years.

A forecast other hotel chains are taking seriously too. For example, Marriott International is setting up a 280-room hotel at the ICC Convention Centre for Rs 300 crore, which is slated for a 2007-end launch. The Runwals’ promoted Radisson is already under construction.

The six to seven star hotels in Pune with 800-1,000 rooms have 90 to 95 per cent occupancy, says Jaswinder Narang, General Manager, Le Meridien. ‘‘Pune has a shortage of 1,500 rooms and when the International Convention Centre (ICC) becomes operational there is going to be an additional demand for 2,000 rooms,’’ points out Atul Chordia, MD, Panchshil Realty, which markets the ICC project.

According to industry sources, over the next two-three years, 1,500-2,000 star rooms are coming up, several in the eastern IT corridor between Kharadi and Airport Road. Hyatt Regency is in talks with three developers to set up a hotel in the city. Also in the hotel fray are the Tatas (a second business hotel near Hinjewadi) and ITC. Ditto Shangri La (wants to launch its lower-end Traders brand), Orchid, DoubleTree, Australian chain Ibis. Looks like Pune is all set for a star hotel boom.

‘‘Pune does need good quality hotels. When foreigners look at investment opportunities, besides infrastructure, they look for good schools, good hospitals and good hotels,’’ points out Narang.

Once the space crunch — hotel rooms have been short supply for two years now — is taken care of, he says the hotel industry can also target the residential conferences business too. ‘‘Two and a half years ago we would often host 20-member delegations from corporates for their annual retreats or conferences. Now, we can’t because our rooms are taken up by frequent individual travellers.’’

Cash rich, job happy
IT’S not only info-tech which is making cash registers ring in Pune. With 1,500-2,000 star hotel rooms slated to come up in the next two-three years, the hospitality industry is all set to contribute to city coffers as well — and add to jobs too. According to industry sources, on an average a single three-star hotel room needs an investment of Rs 30 lakh; a four-star room Rs 55 lakh, a 5-star room Rs 75 lakh and a super-deluxe 5-star room Rs 1.25 lakh. Similarly, while a single 4-star hotel room will lead to an employment of two persons, for a five-star room it will mean three more jobs. As one hotelier put it: ‘‘Do some number crunching... Pune is preparing for a boom in every way.’’

Hotel industry witnessing boom in AP

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/10/stories/2005101001471500.htm

In both the five-star and the `budget class' of hotels, Hyderabad has emerged as a favourite destination for new ventures, some of which are already under way.

Rooms with a view

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/13/stories/2005101301011300.htm

The deluxe five-star luxury Leela Hotel of the Mumbai-based Leela group, under construction near the Adyar estuary in Chennai. The Rs 320-crore hotel, with 280 rooms in phase I, is scheduled to open by 2008-end.

Budget hotels set to dot rail stations (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1285263.cms)

The ITC Welcomgroup, Taj Group, and Accor Hotels are in touch with the Indian Railways to set up budget hotels near railway stations. The hotels will be set up on land owned by the railways, and the hotel companies will handle the management.

The project is being developed by the railways through a public-private partnership model, and the locations identified for the first phase include Kolkata, Bhopal and Madurai.

IRCTC has specified that at least half of the rooms in these budget hotels should be available at tariffs lower than Rs 1,000 per day. Hotel operators will be free to price the other rooms according to the services provided. Low-cost rooms will be air-conditioned, but will not offer frills like room service or carpeted flooring.

The second phase of this project will cover Anand Vihar and Nizamuddin in Delhi, Mumbai Central, Katra, Chennai Central, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Amritsar, Pune, Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Baroda, Ernakulam, Ooty, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari.

Nice to see Accor setting up in India! :)

http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/9480/20051112031101019ev.jpg

Hotels going full even before season warms up
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/11/12/stories/2005111203110100.htm

Everybody checks in, at Capital’s hotels
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=159093

Delhi’s hotels are booked over the top, industry says traveller traffic highest in 10 years; rates shoot up

This year, Delhi has seen the highest domestic and corporate passenger traffic in the past few years. And the rush has sparked off a massive hike in prices too.

Dubai’s Emaar to bring Armani Hotels to India

Shubham Mukherjee NEW DELHI 29 NOVEMBER

THE world knows Mohamed Alabbar as the creator of Emaar Properties, which is constructing one of the most ambitious projects globally — Burj Dubai Development — comprising Burj Dubai, slated to be the world’s tallest tower and The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest entertainment and shopping mall.
Mr Alabbar, chairman of the Dubai-based Emaar Properties, one of the largest real estate companies in the world, is perhaps not so well known in India, despite having committed over $1bn in real investments into the country recently. That is perhaps going to change, with the real estate group bringing Armani Hotels here, as part of a global JV with Georgio Armani. The company, Armani Hotels & Resorts, is going to build about 10 hotels in some of the snazziest cities of the world, and if all goes as planned it will be a toss-up between Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai, however, is Mr Alabbar’s preferred destination as of now.
Of the 100 odd malls that his company plans to build globally, around 50 will be set up in major Indian cities. The tag — a cool $40m per mall. Work on the project is expected to start soon and they will be globalsized malls of a million square feet each.
Mr Alabbar, who is also credited with conceptualising Dubai Shopping Festival is very bullish on India. “India was not on Georgio Armani’s map for the hotel project but I convinced him”, Mr Alabbar told ET. “While Mr Armani is mesmerised with Shanghai, I also sold him Mumbai,” he added.
Because of cultural similarities, proximity and nature and size of the market, he is partial towards India for all his projects. China, according to him, is not very easy to penetrate. He sees the Armani Hotel as an integrated project, which will house an apartment along with hotels or resorts. His Indian partner in the real estate project, Delhi-based MGF, has already been given the brief to scout for a suitable place.
Everything in the hotel will be designed by Mr Armani and will have a signature product right from the towel and bed linen to the door lock. The eye for detail extends to the bathroom sink and Mr Armani is currently busy designing that. While Emaar will construct and take care of hotel management, Mr Armani will look after design and supply of products.
“I want to be the first to do a most stylish and grand hotel project in India, with one of the world’s best known brands attached to it. It will be a mix of fashion cum glamour”, he said. Meanwhile, plans are on for setting up Armani Hotels in Milan, Dubai, Marrakech, New York, Paris and London.
So how did the idea for such a hotel come to mind? Mr Alabbar says he was in Florence with a friend about two years ago and he just happened to meet Georgio Armani. They discussed how Four Seasons Hotels took 50 years to establish itself and how with an Armani branded hotel they could cut through the wait instantly. “It commands a 20 % higher image value and could give a twist to the entire hotel industry if done properly and with scale,” he said.

The Bangalore-based Royal Orchid Hotels is planning Rs 76.25 crore worth of capital expenditure on various assets that involve operating a 100-room hotel in Pune on leasehold basis. The hotel is under construction and is being built by Just Homes Associates. The building is expected to be completed by March 2006. Royal Orchid Hotels will spend Rs 17.34 crore on room development, air-conditioning, interior decoration etc. The hotel is expected to commence operations by next October.
Its subsidiary, Royal Orchid Hyderabad Pvt. Ltd, is proposing to operate a 72-room hotel in Hyderabad on leasehold basis. The company is planning to spend Rs 11.87 crore on development and renovation of the hotel rooms which is expected to be ready by October 2006.
Royal Orchid Hotels also intends to operate a 54-room hotel in Bangalore on leasehold basis which will also commence operations in October 2006. The company will also acquire 51 per cent equity in Maruti Comforts & Inn Pvt. Ltd which owns the property. An expenditure of Rs 17.36 crore (including cost of acquisition of stake in Maruti) will be incurred by the company.
In addition, the company will carry out modernisation and renovation of its existing three hotels in Bangalore at a cost of around Rs 29.68 crore. Renovation work will commence in January and will be complete by September 2006.

Mars Group opens hotel in Pune (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=208597)

Sanjay Narang, president, Mars Group of Hotels announced the launch of the second Gordon House Hotel in Pune on Tuesday.

Styled as a boutique five-star hotel it has 30 rooms. It is situated at University Road in the premises of the E-Square multiplex. The multiplex also houses the groups food court, 6-8 fast food restaurants like The Pizzeri, Roti!, Dosa Diner, and more.

Opening of third Gordon House Hotel in Sahar, Mumbai is also in the pipeline.

Hotel Leelaventure to spread wings in Chennai, Hyderabad

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/02211511.htm

Construction going on...

In the background you can see the Technopark Campus..

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/5541/dscn69270hz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/5950/dscn69282ea.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Hotel majors firm up Chennai plans (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=113358)

or the hospitality majors such as Indian Hotels Company Ltd, Hotel Leelaventure, Hilton, Marriott and others, Chennai is fast becoming a hot spot.

According to sources, the state government's assurance to look into the possibility of reducing the luxury tax further as well as on the increased floor space index (FSI) on the lines of IT and ITES sectors, has also helped the hotel majors to firm up their Chennai plans. The Tamil Nadu government had brought down the luxury tax from 25% to 12.5% two years back.

Hotels like Leelaventure, Hilton, Marriott (in association with Hotel Viceroy) are entering the city with 300+ rooms each, while Indian Hotels, Courtyard Marriott will be adding over 225 rooms each, adding a total of over 1,000 rooms in the next two to three years.

If the investment proposals by Nokia, Flextronics, Ericsson, BMW and the expansion plans of IT and ITES sector companies in Chennai are any indication, the demand will outstrip the supply and the proposed addition may even fall short, the official added.

IT Micro plans $600 mn hotel spread (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=212083)

The Mumbai-based IT Microsystems has proposed a $600 million expansion in its newly diversified hotels business in the next three years. The $600 million will used for expansion of hotels, restaurants and franchisee outlets, said Sudhir Moravekar, chairman of Panoramic group, said.

The company also proposes to change its name to Panoramic Universal.

Based on a McKinsey survey, the company has targeted to set up 100 hotels in three years and 1,000 over 5 to 7 years. In future, the company will be to acquire mid-sized franchised and non franchised properties that are operating and generating profits.

The company has targeted to set up 25 hotels valued at $125 million with a total room capacity for 3,000-4,000 by 2007.

In the first year the company is targeting 25 hotels, 100 in second and 250 in the third year under the franchisee mode.

155 star hotels coming up across the country

NEW DELHI: The hotel industry which is reeling under a shortage of over 1.25 lakh rooms across the country may get some relief soon.

Around 155 hotels, which are under active development in various cities in the country, will help to bridge this huge gap. The figure does not include the economy hotels which are also set to grow in large numbers.

Leading the pack among the metros is IT hub Bangalore where 27 new hotels, service apartments and mixed-use developments are coming up with more than 6,100 rooms. According to HVS International, a consultancy in hospitality services, most of this supply will be seen 2008 onwards.

Meanwhile, 2004-05 saw an increase of 35.2% revenue per available rooms (Rev PAR) over 2003-04.

Explains Manav Thadani, managing director, HVS International: ”While the demand for rooms has risen significantly in nearly all cities the current financial year, the room supply has only marginally increased in the key cities. This has led to a sharp increase in average room rates in Bangalore, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. The shortage will continue till the new developments come up and this might see a further 20-25% increase in average room rate.”

According to the HVS annual report, Delhi is expected to have 27 new hotels with more than 4,900 rooms. Of these, 20 are coming up in Gurgaon.

“The growth will be supported by significantly improved road and transport infrastructure, privatisation of the Delhi airport and the demand for hotels rooms for the 2010 CommonWealth Games to be held here. There will be further increase in hotel activity, especially in the mid-market and budget segments, after the much awaited auction of sites by the DDA,” says Thadani.

With tourist arrivals to the country showing positive growth over previous years for the first three quarters, it’s been good for the hotel industry.

It has also resulted in more international brands entering the country with plans for hotel chains.

Real estate developers too have shown keen interest in this sector and the FDI liberalisation in real estate has ensured better availability of finance.

A number of mixed land use development projects that include hotel, retail and commercial space have gained momentum. There will also be increased activity in the budget and mid-market hotels with international brands entering the market.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1380881,curpg-1.cms

Agra hotel to open after 40 years (http://ia.rediff.com/money/2006/feb/02agra.htm?q=bp&file=.htm)

The Metropolitan Hotel in Agra wasn't an unknown entity till the sixties, which was when, possibly following the owner's migration to Mumbai, it closed down.

To be called The Grand Imperial in Agra, it becomes the group's 36th heritage property in the country and, following extensive renovations (being undertaken by architects affiliated with INTACH), will be ready for commissioning in two months.

It is estimated that renovations for the 35-room, 100-year-old hotel (built in 1905) cost Rs 3-4 crore. "The owner could have used the city-centric location to convert it into profitable real-estate," says Mathur, "but was sensitive to the heritage of the building and chose to give the property a renewed lease of life."

The Rs 35-crore WelcomHeritage brand has been associated with historical properties such as palaces and forts, and The Grand Imperial doesn't lack its share of annals, having hosted the likes of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Motilal Nehru and Dilip Kumar in the past. Restoration has been undertaken keeping the traditional heritage of the building in mind.

The heritage hotel will include a garden barbeque and bar, a swimming pool and an activity room.

Leela plans new hotels (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1400765.cms)

Leela Palace and Resorts is planning to set up new hotels of international standards in Udaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, the Leela Group Chairman, C P Krishnan Nair said.

A new palace hotel at Lake Pichchola in Udaipur was under construction and would be completed in the winter 2007 season with about 68 oversized guest rooms and royal suites replicating Rajasthan's royal past, Nair said.

In Chennai, fast emerging as an IT and BPO centre, the Leela Group has acquired property at a very strategic location on Adyar beach on a 6.5 acre plot.

The proposed 15 storey high-rise building would have 360 guestrooms and suites and would have the same facilities as Leela's Bangalore hotel but with larger banquet halls and meeting room capacities, Nair said.

Work on the hotel was scheduled to be completed by early 2008 at a cost of Rs 320 crores, he said.

The Leela Group also identified a property a prime location in Banjara hills in Hyderabad to build a hotel with about 300 rooms at a project cost of about Rs 310 crores. The hotel was expected to be completed by 2008.

The group was also ready to set up a 260 roomed property in Pune on a five acre land with an investment of Rs 160 crores, expected to be operational in 2008, Nair said.

Govt clears two 5 star hotel projects by NRIs (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshowbnews/1426245.cms)

Laguna Kumarakom Resort Pvt Ltd would be setting up a 58 room 5 star hotel at Kumarakom, Kerala and IHHR Hospitality Pvt Ltd would also set up a 160 room 5 star hotel project at Hyderabad.

I am having a copy of Leela Monthly Newsletter for the month of September 2005. Under section " The Way ahead", it features the Hotels at Chennai and Udaipur.

In that it is said that the Chennai hotel would be a 20 floor one with 380 rooms, in two phases. Phase 1 would be 260 rooms and the next would be 120 rooms.

It shows a perspective with 15 floors, even though the text says 20 floors.

Wil try to scan the perspective and post it..


Leela plans new hotels (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1400765.cms)

Sarovar plans 50 Hometel budget hotels in 5 years

(Ecomonic Times, The (India) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 26--Hotel management company Sarovar plans to open 50 Hometel budget business hotels pan-India over the next five years. The first one, Radha Hometel, was thrown open in Whitefield, Bangalore on Saturday.

Typically, the hotels, which will promise a neat and clean ambience, will call for an investment of about Rs 10/11 crore each excluding the land cost.

Sarovar will also turn into an investor soon with plans to put in Rs 200 crore towards owning some of these hotels. Sarovar has also raised $8 million private equity from two American VCs, New Bassma and New Nernon, to support its future investments.

The Bangalore property, owned by Chennai-based Fairmont Hotel, offers 102 rooms. Fairmont Hotel already owns another property in Chennai, Radha Park Inn, also operated and managed by the Sarovar group.

Fairmont Hotel MD R Srinivasan said that it plans to open another Hometel in Electronic City in the mid-term followed by a third property on Chennai's IT corridor on Old Mahabalipuram Road.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-sarovar-plans-50-hometel-budget-hotels-5-years-/2006/02/26/1407844.htm

Pride group of hotels to target Surat for Vision 2011 (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=217451)

Pride Group of Hotels have formulated ‘Vision 2011’ with which, there would be an addition of another five hotels in different cities, including Surat, that will be added to the Pride coronet in five years.

The total cost of the entire project will be around Rs 300 crore.

"Vision 2011 is our dream to carry forward the chain. The main purpose behind Vision 2011, is to built 11 hotels, with total 1,100 rooms in 11 cities by the end of the year 2011."

We already have our wings widen in Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur, Bangalore and Chennai.

Now we are are expanding southern and western parts of the country such as Surat, Goa, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mysore and Nasik, he added.

Starwood to set up 50 hotels in India by 2010 (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=217787)

US hotel group's initiative is likely to add 8,000-10,000 rooms to the hotels in India. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc has targeted to operate 50 star hotels in India by 2010. Thus, this initiative of the US-based hotel group is likely to add 8,000 to 10,000 rooms to the country’s hospitality industry in about four years. Starwood recently set up its regional office in Gurgaon.

India has the potential to emerge a prospective market for the hospitality industry, with demand for about 1,00,000 additional rooms by 2010.

The hotel chain is planning to introduce its major brands like Westin, W Hotel and St Regis across major metros, secondary and tertiary cities in India, said sources in Starwood Hotels in India.

The domestic tourist traffic, which was 40 crore in 2005, is growing at 15 per cent. Besides, about 40 lakh foreign nationals tour the country every year.

As a result, major hotel groups operating in the country like the Taj group, Oberoi, ITC, Leela, Hyatt and Mariott are on an expansion spree here.

Shortage of rooms in a city like Bangalore propels the ARR (average room rates) to as high as Rs 16,000 during the peak season (October-December).

Mandarin to set up shop in India (http://business-standard.com/bsonline/storypage.php?bKeyFlag=BO&autono=14748)

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the hotel major with properties and assets worth $ 1.2 billion worldwide, has decided to enter India through a wholly owned subsidiary. The group had made an unsuccessful attempt to set up shop in the country six years ago.

Mandarin Oriental Ltd, the Bermuda arm of the global hotel major, which is part of Jardine Matheson Group, sought permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board a fortnight ago to set up a company.

The group’s previous attempt to set up operations here did not materialise due to differences with its local partner, Indian Hotels & Health Resorts.

As part of its acquisition of the Rafael group in 2000, Mandarin Oriental inherited a joint venture with Indian Hotels & Health Resorts. Mandarin and Indian Hotels had formed a 70:30 venture called Mandarin Hotels India but the relationship did not flourish and they terminated the agreement in 2001.

Mandarin Oriental’s parent company Mandarin Oriental International is listed on the stock exchanges of London, Singapore and Bermuda. The group manages 21 luxury hotels, resorts and spas across the globe.

It is developing properties in Prague, China, Mexico, Boston, Macau, Las Vegas, Grand Cayman and Chicago. It operated nearly 8,500 rooms in 15 countries with 14 hotels in Asia, 11 in the US and 4 in Europe.

I am having a copy of Leela Monthly Newsletter for the month of September 2005. Under section " The Way ahead", it features the Hotels at Chennai and Udaipur.

In that it is said that the Chennai hotel would be a 20 floor one with 380 rooms, in two phases. Phase 1 would be 260 rooms and the next would be 120 rooms.

It shows a perspective with 15 floors, even though the text says 20 floors.

Wil try to scan the perspective and post it..

I found the renderings from Architects website

The Leela Palace Chennai
Chennai, India

Located on 6.5 acres near Adyar estuary facing the Bay of Bengal, this 16-story, 406-key, 77,200-SM luxury hotel is themed around the architecture of the nearby Chettinad House and the historic Chettinad Palaces of Tamil Nadu.

It will feature 2,200-SM of banquet and meeting facilities, including a 1,390-SM ballroom and roof-top function terrace; traditional landscaped courtyard; five restaurants and bars, including an exclusive roof-top venue overlooking the Bay of Bengal; a 1,394-SM health club and spa and a 1,060-SM boutique retail plaza.


http://i1.************/rlidsm.jpg

It is designed by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart which is an internationally established design firm providing innovative professional services for corporate, commercial, hospitality, residential, industrial, government and educational projects. Founded in 1979, the firm is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tampa, Florida, the Republic of Singapore, Dubai, U.A.E., Beijing and Shanghai, China.

Chennai based architect team is also working jointing with them for the interior design which is to inspired by the Chettinad style.

Taj's Ginger brand eyes new outlets every six weeks

New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Unveiled 16 months ago as indiOne, hospitality major Taj has re-launched its 'GenNext Smart Basics Hotels' under the Ginger brand and opened a second outlet Tuesday in the pilgrim town of Haridwar.

A new Ginger outlet will open every six weeks from now, Raymond Bickson, managing director of Indian Hotels Company (IHC).

'By the end of the year, we will open in Bhubaneswar, Pune, Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Durgapur and Goa, with one outlet starting every six weeks. Work will also commence on hotels in Agartala, Tirupur, Pondicherry and Nashik within the next couple of months,' Bickson said.

Each property will cost in the region of Rs.100 million, minus the land cost.

'Initially, we plan to add 10-12 properties every year and over the next three to five years, raise this to 15-20 a year,' Bickson said, without committing himself to an eventual target.

This was because of the land factor, explained Partha Chatterjee, general manager (sales and marketing) of Roots Corporation.

'Land costs range from Rs.1 million to Rs.20 million. Then there is the question of availability of a good location,' Chatterjee added.

Ginger's first outlet at Bangalore was the prototype of its 'Smart Basics' category of hotels.

'It has today changed the entire dynamics of the entire hospitality industry and emerged as a compelling business opportunity,' Bickson contended.

'Ginger Hotels characterise freshness. They are simple, unique, lighthearted, Indian and innovative,' added Uday Narain, chief operating officer of Roots Corporation Limited, the IHC subsidiary that will run the new brand.

'The guiding principle behind the design was to create a unique space that is conducive not only for guest comfort and relaxation but also for their work requirements. The design of the hotel, from the rooms to the furniture and the lighting systems, have been thoughtfully created to offer users a unique sense of welcome,' Narain maintained.

So what makes a Ginger hotel different?

Guests wheel in their own luggage, check themselves in at a kiosk, adjust the air conditioning in their rooms, make their own tea/coffee in their rooms, dine at a self-service multi-cuisine restaurant, work out at a basic gym, iron their own clothes, withdraw money from an ATM - and surf the net anywhere in the WiFi structure.

All this at a mere Rs.1,000 a night.

'The response in Bangalore has been phenomenal. We've seen the high-end traveller move down. We've seen lateral movement and we've seen the low-end traveller move up, much like train travellers graduating to budget airlines. This has given us an occupancy rate of 85 percent,' said IHC chief operating officer Ajoy Mishra.

In another innovation, Ginger Hotels will not have any advertising support.

'When we started on this project, we named it Wildfire because we were confident it will spread like wildfire. I am quite sure it will and therefore, we don't need any expensive advertising,' Mishra reasoned.

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/10401.php/Tajs_Ginger_brand_eyes_new_outlets_every_six_weeks

India desperately needs lots of mid budget hotels which offer quality at affordable prices.

Either we have the expensive five stars or the dirty Paharganj types. A majorty of tourists cannot afford exorbitantly priced five stars. So they are forced to stay in horrible hotels of the Paharaganj variety.

BTW the ginger website is

http://www.gingerhotels.com/

Haridwar has a lot of moneyed pilgrims coming in with their big money and big cars. I am sure they'll love it. I just hope the state govt. gets the Jolly Grant airport expanded.

Haridwar had another good hotel a while back, called Classic Residency in the locality called Jwalapur. I dont know what its status is now.

But i do know Haridwar and Rishikesh could do with some quality hotels. Most of the hotels in the city are the small, family-run 2-3 storied rowhouses adjacent to each other. I am not saying they should be put out of business, but my thinking is the same as for the retail sector, they need to be absorbed into a more professional environ.

BTW the ginger website is

http://www.gingerhotels.com/

Sun, thanks for the website, BTW, why a name change from "IndiOne". To me IndiOne appeals more than "Ginger".

The present status of Trivandrum Ginger..

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7321/10012106uh.jpg

Hospitality Investors Group launches HIG India
http://www.expresshospitality.com/20060315/market14.shtml



According to industry estimates, of the 25,000 hotel rooms coming up in the next five years, 40 per cent are in the budget sector. This is a move endorsed by large corporate groups such as ITC-Welcomgroup, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (Taj group), the Marriott and Sarovar hotels with its Hometel brand.
http://www.expresshospitality.com/20060315/market22.shtml

Hong Kong firm plans business hotels in south India

http://us.rediff.com/money/2006/mar/28hot.htm

Eswaran has worked out a three-year plan to develop world-class business in the fast-growing cities of south India -- Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Madurai and Bangalore -- since the company's research threw up Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala as the fastest growing states which are bogged down by lack of business hotels.

Eswaran plans to cater to the small business traveller, without the five-star expense. "I see a glaring gap in the range of hotels available. Either there are the high-end, fancy five-star hotels, or an abundance of the low-end places. India needs at least 400 of these middle class business hotels, and we intend to provide at least 40," he says.

B`lore gets one more 5-star hotel (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=224029)

The Chancery Group has entered the five star hotels segment with the opening of its 234-room Chancery Pavilion on Residency Road in Bangalore’s central business district.

The five-star business hotel, built at a cost of Rs 120 crore, is only the second hotel of the group after The Chancery, a four-star deluxe hotel that was opened in 2004 and was built at a cost of Rs 70 crore.

The boom in business travel to Bangalore — foreign business travellers make up 51 per cent of foreign travellers — has led to an explosion in the demand for five star accommodation.

Room tariffs range from Rs 11,500 for a single bed, to a club pavilion single at Rs 13,500, to the presidential suite at Rs 35,000.

The hotel tries to address the biggest shortage in central Bangalore, parking space, by providing for parking of upto 200 cars. The Group has plans to start hotels in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Kochi, Goa and one more in Bangalore.

Eight easyHotels planned for India by 2009

Entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou used the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation’s India Investor Summit, held in Mumbai last week, as the platform to announce the Indian launch of his easyHotel franchise. The UK budget travel icon's group has formed an alliance with Istithmar Hotels to open chain of budget hotels across the country.

As part of its tie-up, Istithmar Hotels, a subsidiary of UAE-group Istithmar PJSC, plans to open eight new budget hotels across major metropolitan cities in India over the next four years.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou said, “We are very excited about partnering with Istithmar and targeting the burgeoning demand for budget hotels caused by the recent explosion in budget air travel in India. We eagerly look forward to carving a niche for ourselves in the region and capitalising on this boom in budget travel, making a difference in many people’s lives.”

Within its strategic growth plans, Istithmar Hotels aims to open an easyHotel in Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata over the next two years, and another four properties in other cities by 2009. The alliance plans to open more easyHotels in the Middle East, North Africa, Levant, India and Pakistan over the next five years.

Talking about the plans for India, Muneef Tarmoom, CEO of Istithmar, said, “Bringing the easyHotel chain to India will alleviate the acute shortage of rooms available to the budget traveller. With its no-frills, economical prices and low overhead costs, the easyHotel brand is perfectly suited for budget travellers in the subcontinent.”

http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news06/304-easyHotel.shtml

Budgeting hotels (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=126890)

With upwards of 200 hotels coming up in the branded economy—a.k.a budget— hotels segment, business planners at the hospitality start-ups are working on different market entry strategies aimed to lure the thrifty traveller. Plans on the drawing boards at the upcoming hotels range from aggressive pricing to long-term tie-ups with bulk customers.

The benchmark for many is the Ginger brand of economy hotels from Indian Hotels Company Ltd, has set the tone for competition by stating it will keep its room-rates below Rs 1,000 per night or thereabouts. Most others like Kamat Hotels India technical director Param Kanna-mpilly, predict several hotel chains may opt for a single, flat-rate pricing model like Ginger's, across properties spread out in the country.

But sticking to that price-point may be tough. Sarovar Park Plaza Hotel & Resorts executive director Ajay Bakaya thinks hotel room rates in the economy segment will rise in the next three to five years.

Bakaya prices its ‘Hometel’ mid-market brand at above Rs 2,000 a night.

The rising cost of real estate together with market development costs, industry insiders say, is a major constraint and that will force hotel owners to price themselves on the higher end of the spectrum, potentially out-pricing themselves from the market.

One option to combat this is being explored by Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, which has bid for an Indian Railways' plot of land. Rivals like Kamat Hotels are in the fray too.

As domestic players line up plans, foreign majors are looking at a slice of this juicy pie as well. easyGroup, the owner of European budget airline easyJet and hotel chain easyHotel has, has announced plans of undercutting competition by 15%, says its founder Stelios Haji Ioannou. With a committed investment of $100 million for the India foray, he has deep pockets to sustain the pricing.

The other trend the budget hotel owners hope to cash in on is a move among large corporates looking to tie up with a single hospitality provider. At any given point in time, an organization like HLL has at least 6,000 area sales managers on the road. “If a hotel gets even 1% of this crowd, that's quite a bit of business,” says Rao. Sectors like information technology and manufacturing could too prove bullish customers for economy hotels too.

Complete analysis of Hotel Industry - (05-06) in all cities

Source (http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4027440.search)

Complete analysis of Hotel Industry - (05-06) in all cities

Source (http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4027440.search)

Nice find Goldies. I remember reading their last year's report and I was impressed by the depth of their research, using it for a class project.

I am yet to understand why supply has been so slow the past couple of years despite such a huge growth in demand the past couple of years.

anyone knows the number of hotel rooms in each city by category? or a link? we all read about arrs etc. but we dont know how many rooms that is based on

112 new Hotel projects coming up in the Southern states

Of the 112 new projects coming up in the southern States, 29 are in Tamil Nadu, 12 in Andhra Pradesh, 15 in Karnataka and 54 in Kerala.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/22/stories/2006052201941700.htm

And it is interesting to note that the smallest state Kerala has almost same the number of projects as the other three big states combined.. :)

Goa to get India’s 2nd floating casino

MUMBAI, MAY 22: Hospitality major Hotel Leelaventure Ltd is launching India's second floating casino in Goa. Current government guidelines do not allow casinos on land. Hence, the idea for a casino at sea.

‘The Caravela’ in Goa is the only shipboard casino in India right now. It is being managed by a leading player in the global casino industry, Casinos Austria International (CAI).

Its on board 'Goa Casino' is operated by the Advani Pleasure Cruise Company Ltd, a joint venture between Advani Hotels and Resorts India (AHRIL) and CAI. Leelaventure's Rs 16-17 crore casino is expected to be operational by August this year on a catamaran acquired by the company.

"The boat will be stationary at a particular area on the water and at the required distance from the shore as per the rules laid down by law," Hotel Leelaventure vice chairman and MD Vivek Nair told FE.

The company is in the process of evaluating various international casino operators who have a presence in Nepal, Europe and US. The company will select one operator to manage and run the casino. Hotel Leelaventure will have to pay the Goa government a one-time deposit and an annual license fee in order to keep the casino running.

While 'The Caravela' is an entertainment destination, complete with specialty restaurants and a swimming pool, drawing in about 35,000 tourists every year, Hotel Leelaventure's floating casino is largely meant for its up-market clientele and will also feature a restaurant apart from the casino room.

"As much as 50% of The Caravela's 35,000 tourists who come on board are dedicated casino-goers," Harish Advani of AHRIL told FE. "During the off-season, we get a lot of Indian tourists but during the peak season, it's a healthy mix of Indians and foreigners," he added.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=128016

Umak group to set up three hotels in Orissa (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=93419&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The Orissa government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Umak group of New Delhi, owner of Radisson chain of hotels, for setting up of three hotels at Bhubaneswar, Konark and Satapada in the first phase at an estimated investment of Rs 110 crore.

The Umak group proposed to set up few more hotels at Puri, Barkul and Paradip in the later phase.

All the properties will be in the three to five star category and the total investment envisaged by the group in the state is pegged at Rs 350 over a period of time.

According to official sources, the tourist flow to Orissa has increased by 12 per cent in 2005 over the previous year with the number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting the state during the year standing at 46,32, 976 and 33,310 respectively.

Keeping in view this growing trend, a 15 per cent in crease in tourist arrival is anticipated over the next few years.

Hotels constituting a major segment of tourist facility in every destination, the state government has decided to private investors to build more quality hotels at important locations like Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar.

According to tourism minister Debi Mishra, already a lot of established names from hospitality industry such as Roots Corporation of India, Laxmi Franklin Group and the Sinclairs group have shown interest to set up hotels in Orissa.

The Roots Corporation's new hotel at Bhubaneswar is nearing completion and the company has located land at Konark and Paradip for similar ventures.

Land for Laxmi Franklin and Sinclairs group have also been identified at different destinations, he added.

ITC plans Rs 5K cr recipe to expand its hotel chain
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1600487.cms

ITC Hotels, the fully-owned subsidiary of tobacco giant ITC, plans to double its property count to over 120 over the next five years with an investment of around Rs 5,000 crore.

It plans to set up premium 5-star properties in Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore and foray into retail space, villas and service apartments. It currently has 66 properties spread over 50 destinations across the country.

As part of group’s expansion plans, the Kolkata and Chennai properties, spread over 8 acres, are expected to be operational by ’09, company sources said.

Slated to be the biggest hotel in south India, with project cost ranging between Rs 800 crore and Rs 1,000 crore, the ITC Grand Chola, a 650-room hotel at Chennai, will house service apartments, a high-end mall, conference and business facilities and a private-viewing theatre.

The Kolkata property will complement ITC’s existing hotel Sonar Bangla in the eastern metropolis.

In the National Capital Region, plans are afoot to set up a super-deluxe 100-room resort along with around 200-villas at Classic Golf Resort in Gurgaon, with a total investment of around Rs 400 crore.

ITC’s 250-room Bangalore project is expected to be completed by ’08 with an investment of around Rs 350 crore. The group is also evaluating the option of having a second property in the city with 400 rooms. Several other sites in Hyderabad, Goa, Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Pune are also being looked at, industry sources said.

As part of policy to strengthen its presence in east India, sources said that the chain is looking at having at least one property in each of the state capitals in the North East.

Around half a dozen new properties are expected to be brought under the WelcomeHeritage brand. The group has earmarked a corpus of Rs 400 crore for upgradation and modernisation of existing hotel properties over the next five years.

^^ those are some big plans! does WelcomHeritage have anything to do with WelcomGroup? if Heritage properties are under WelcomHeritage, then what brand are the other business hotels under?

The UK-based Dawnay, Day Group announced plans to enter the hospitality sector in India by launching a chain of hotels in the metros and mini metros, reports Business Line.

The company intends to have 30 three and four-star business hotels in India over the next 3-5 years. Dawnay, Day would initially invest about $200 million in the business.

The hotels would target corporate executives and foreign tourists. Each hotel would have 100-125 rooms of around 30 sq m. The average price of the rooms would be about $100.

The company is currently in discussions for acquiring properties in Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi. It expects to set up the first hotel in the next six months and have 10 hotels by 2010. The company intends to acquire land at key locations in metro and mini metro cities.

Source (http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20060602101356075&dir=2006/06/02&secID=livenews)

THE GRAND CHOLA - 7 star hotel

http://i2.************/11hxuyw.jpg


The Chennai landscape is soon set to change forever with South India's largest integrated up market hotel complex and possibly the country's most expensive such project set to come up there.

Project is expected to cost Rs 800-1,000 cr; to begin operations in 2009
Project plan

The hotel has been designed by the Singapore based SRSS architects

To open its doors to visitors in the third quarter of 2009
To act as one-stop shop for large number of global companies

^^ those are some big plans! does WelcomHeritage have anything to do with WelcomGroup? if Heritage properties are under WelcomHeritage, then what brand are the other business hotels under?

ITC has several brands

ITC-Welcomgroup Sheraton Hotels
wwwdotitcwelcomgroupdotin

Agra - WelcomHotel Mughal Sheraton
Bangalore - ITC Hotel Windsor Sheraton & Towers
Chennai - Chola Sheraton
Chennai - ITC Hotel Park Sheraton & Towers
Hyderabad - ITC Hotel Kakatiya Sheraton & Towers
Jaipur - WelcomHotel Rajputana Palace Sheraton
Kolkata - ITC Hotel Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers
Mumbai - ITC Hotel Grand Central Sheraton & Towers
Mumbai - ITC Hotel Grand Maratha Sheraton & Towers
New Delhi - ITC Hotel Maurya Sheraton & Towers

ITC-Welcomgroup Hotels
wwwdotitcwelcomgroupdotin

Aurangabad - WelcomHotel Rama International
Baroda - WelcomHotel Vadodara
New Delhi - WelcomHotel New Delhi
Vishakapatnam - WelcomHotel Grand Bay

WelcomHeritage Hotels
http://www.welcomheritagehotels.com/

Agra - Grand Imperial
Alwar - Sariska Tiger Heaven
Amritsar - Ranjit’s SVAASA
Anandpur Sahib - Kikar Lodge
Bambora (Near Udaipur) - Karni Fort
Bandhavgarh - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bhopal - Noor-Us-Sabah Palace
Chittorgarh -Bassi Fort
Corbett National Park - Corbett Ramganga Resort
Darjeeling -Windamere
Dharamshala - Grace Cottage
Gangtok - Denzong Cherry Banks Retreat
Jabalpur - Narmada Jackson
Jaisalmer - Mandir Palace
Jodhpur -Bal Samand Lake Palace
Jodhpur - Bal Samand Garden Retreat
Jorhat - Ghatoonga Bungalow
Jorhat - Burra Sahib’s Bungalow
Jorhat - Thengal Manor Bungalow
Kanha - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Khismar - Khimsar Fort
Khimsar - Sand Dunes Village
Kota - Umed Bhawan Palace
Leh - Shambha - La
Manali - Solang Valley Resort
Mt. Abu - Connaught House
Mussoorie - Kasmanda Palace
Mysore - Rajendra Villas Palace
Nagaur Fort - Royal Camp
Ooty - Regency Villas
Ooty - Fernhills Palace
Pali - Sardar Samand Palace
Phalodi - Lal Niwas
Pushkar - Royal Camp
Palampur - Taragarh Palace
Ranakpur - Maharani Bagh Orchard Retreat
Shillong - Rosaville Cottage
Shimla - Woodville Palace
Srinagar - Gurkha Houseboat
Ujjain - Fort Amla

Fortune Hotels
http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/

Ahmedabad - Fortune Hotel Landmark
Calicut - Fortune Hotel Calicut
Darjeeling - Fortune Resorts Darjeeling
Gurgaon - Fortune Select Global
Hyderabad -Fortune Katriya Hotel
Indore - Fortune Landmark Indore
Jamshedpur - Fortune Hotel Centre Point
Jodhpur - Fortune Ummed Jodhpur
Madurai - Fortune Pandiyan Hotel
Ooty - Fortune Hotel Sullivan Court
Port Blair - Fortune Resort Bay Island
Tirupati - Fortune Kences Hotel
Trivandrum - Fortune Hotel The South Park
Vapi - Fortune Hotel Galaxy
Vijayawada - Fortune Murali Park

opening soon

Bangalore - Fortune Hotel Bangalore
Cochin - Fortune Cochin Hotel
Kolkata - Fortune Kolkata Hotel
Mumbai - Fortune Hotel Mumbai
Pune - - Fortune Hotel Lavasa
Siliguri - Fortune Hotel Siliguri

India ranked second in Asia’s hotel boom
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=13&articleid=6320062365334363200623552984

China is Asia’s hottest spot for hotel development, accounting for nearly half of all new projects in the region, according to an industry report, with India coming in second. Of the 386 hotels being actively pursued throughout Asia, 188 are in China, and 134 of those are rated four- or five-star, according to the report released late on Friday by US-based industry tracker Lodging Econometrics. In China, most of the new projects are going into large coastal cities and manufacturing centres slightly inland.

Asia’s second most active market after China is India, with 78 projects containing 12,244 rooms in the pipeline. Of those, 44 per cent are near outsourcing office centres in cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Shree Raj Travels & Tours is poised to set up the country’s tallest hotel in Ahmedabad at an estimated investment of Rs 350 crore. The hotel is scheduled to come up at SG Highway.

Lalit Sheth, chairman of Shree Raj Travels & Tours, said, “The hotel will be about 40-storey high — the tallest in the country.” Currently, the 30-floor ITC Hotel Grand Central Sheraton and Towers in Mumbai is regarded the tallest hotel in India.

“Talks are on for a suitable plot in Ahmedabad. There will be about 500 state-of-the-art rooms in the hotel, for which a foreign architect will be roped in,” Sheth added.

The project is expected to be completed in 18-24 months after the acquisition of land.

“SG Highway is the most happening place in Gujarat. Officials from across the country and abroad frequent Gujarat because of its growth opportunities. Also, there is an international airport coming up in Ahmedabad. The hotel and convention centre will be there right on time,” Sheth said.

The country’s largest health spa will also come up at the convention centre, he added.

The convention centre will be able to accommodate 3,500 people. Besides, there will be a shopping complex, which will have only internationally branded garments. “With the Centre declaring 51 per cent foreign direct investment in retail, this will be the right type of outlet,” he said.

Sheth further said, “Ahmedabad has a great future, and Gujarat is witnessing tremendous growth under the present leadership. The state government is very positive about the entire project; our hotel will give the message to tourists and the business world that Ahmedabad has arrived.”

Shree Raj Tours & Travels is also set to roll out within a year 2,000 Volvo buses, each of which is touted to be priced at about Rs 90-92 lakh.

Of these, 200 buses will be deployed in Gujarat, Sheth said.

ITC has several brands

ITC-Welcomgroup Sheraton Hotels
wwwdotitcwelcomgroupdotin

Agra - WelcomHotel Mughal Sheraton
Bangalore - ITC Hotel Windsor Sheraton & Towers
Chennai - Chola Sheraton
Chennai - ITC Hotel Park Sheraton & Towers
Hyderabad - ITC Hotel Kakatiya Sheraton & Towers
Jaipur - WelcomHotel Rajputana Palace Sheraton
Kolkata - ITC Hotel Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers
Mumbai - ITC Hotel Grand Central Sheraton & Towers
Mumbai - ITC Hotel Grand Maratha Sheraton & Towers
New Delhi - ITC Hotel Maurya Sheraton & Towers

ITC-Welcomgroup Hotels
wwwdotitcwelcomgroupdotin

Aurangabad - WelcomHotel Rama International
Baroda - WelcomHotel Vadodara
New Delhi - WelcomHotel New Delhi
Vishakapatnam - WelcomHotel Grand Bay

WelcomHeritage Hotels
http://www.welcomheritagehotels.com/

Agra - Grand Imperial
Alwar - Sariska Tiger Heaven
Amritsar - Ranjit’s SVAASA
Anandpur Sahib - Kikar Lodge
Bambora (Near Udaipur) - Karni Fort
Bandhavgarh - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bhopal - Noor-Us-Sabah Palace
Chittorgarh -Bassi Fort
Corbett National Park - Corbett Ramganga Resort
Darjeeling -Windamere
Dharamshala - Grace Cottage
Gangtok - Denzong Cherry Banks Retreat
Jabalpur - Narmada Jackson
Jaisalmer - Mandir Palace
Jodhpur -Bal Samand Lake Palace
Jodhpur - Bal Samand Garden Retreat
Jorhat - Ghatoonga Bungalow
Jorhat - Burra Sahib’s Bungalow
Jorhat - Thengal Manor Bungalow
Kanha - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Khismar - Khimsar Fort
Khimsar - Sand Dunes Village
Kota - Umed Bhawan Palace
Leh - Shambha - La
Manali - Solang Valley Resort
Mt. Abu - Connaught House
Mussoorie - Kasmanda Palace
Mysore - Rajendra Villas Palace
Nagaur Fort - Royal Camp
Ooty - Regency Villas
Ooty - Fernhills Palace
Pali - Sardar Samand Palace
Phalodi - Lal Niwas
Pushkar - Royal Camp
Palampur - Taragarh Palace
Ranakpur - Maharani Bagh Orchard Retreat
Shillong - Rosaville Cottage
Shimla - Woodville Palace
Srinagar - Gurkha Houseboat
Ujjain - Fort Amla

Fortune Hotels
http://www.fortuneparkhotels.com/

Ahmedabad - Fortune Hotel Landmark
Calicut - Fortune Hotel Calicut
Darjeeling - Fortune Resorts Darjeeling
Gurgaon - Fortune Select Global
Hyderabad -Fortune Katriya Hotel
Indore - Fortune Landmark Indore
Jamshedpur - Fortune Hotel Centre Point
Jodhpur - Fortune Ummed Jodhpur
Madurai - Fortune Pandiyan Hotel
Ooty - Fortune Hotel Sullivan Court
Port Blair - Fortune Resort Bay Island
Tirupati - Fortune Kences Hotel
Trivandrum - Fortune Hotel The South Park
Vapi - Fortune Hotel Galaxy
Vijayawada - Fortune Murali Park

opening soon

Bangalore - Fortune Hotel Bangalore
Cochin - Fortune Cochin Hotel
Kolkata - Fortune Kolkata Hotel
Mumbai - Fortune Hotel Mumbai
Pune - - Fortune Hotel Lavasa
Siliguri - Fortune Hotel Siliguri

thanks for clarifying Sun! :)

i had no idea ITC has so many hotel brands! i thought they have just the sheratons..

What is the news with Four Seasons Hotels in Mumbai The building looks complete and when will the hotel open its doors? I thought this hotel is the tallest in India?

Indian Hotels and Health Resorts (IHHR) is scouting for properties


Madhvi Sally / New Delhi/ Chandigarh June 07, 2006

Indian Hotels and Health Resorts (IHHR) is scouting for properties
in cities like Chennai, Kolkata, and Chandigarh. The firm is a
promoter of the luxury destination Spa Ananda in the Himalayas, and
the business hotel "Ista".

With the opening of the first business hotel under the brand
name "Ista" in Bangalore this year and work on properties in
Amritsar, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad having started, Ashok
Khanna, managing director, Indian Hotels and Health Resorts Pvt Ltd,
has major plans across the country.

Speaking to Business Standard, he said, "We are looking at many
places and Trivandrum, Mussorie, Chandigarh, Chennai and Kolkata are
among those. Plans are afoot to set up business hotels and we are
studying all other options and will finalise the matter soon."

The rooms and suites, varying between 150-200, feature exotic
cityscape views and would have facilities like conference halls,
state of the art business centre ,specialty restaurants, interactive
all-day dining, lounge bar, temperature-controlled swimming pool and
state of the art fitness centre and spa.

Though Khanna declined to disclose the amount they will be investing
in the project saying it was too soon to say on that, he said that
investment in each property depending on the region and location
would be between Rs 100-Rs 150 crore.

Going global with the launch of its second destination spa resort,
Shanti Ananda Maurice, in Mauritius by the year end, IHHR is also
eyeing other foreign destination,as part of its expansion strategy.

"We are looking at properties in Middle East either in Dubai or
Muscat. Also, Moscow is another location for which we have plans,"
said Khanna.

Starting an institute in Hyderabad to train people to give various
spa treatments which would be a diploma course Khanna said that the
future need for the institute was foreign collaboration to
streamline the curriculum and provide certification.

long but interesting article on the hotel boom

Room for more (http://www.business-standard.com/lifeleisure/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu4&subLeft=2&autono=94439&tab=r)

Depa wins hotel contract in Mumbai (http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/06/07/10045131.html)

By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Interior contracting company Depa said it has won a Dh40 million contract for a fit-out package at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai.

The Dubai-based company has a subsidiary in India to support the Mumbai project. The group has worked on a number of Four Seasons properties, including the hotels in Sharm Al Shaikh, Doha and Cairo.

Located in the Worli area of India's business capital, the 240-room hotel will be the first Four Seasons property in the country.

Depa's scope of work comprises the entire fit-out, including furniture, fixtures, and equipment of public areas and suites.

Eyad Abdul Rahim, Depa United Group's managing director for finance, told Gulf News the group is discussing a number of potential contracts and acquisition possibilities.

Royal Orchid unveils its expansion plans (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=94784&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The Bangalore-based Royal Orchid Hotels Limited intends to enter other cities like Hyderabad, Pune and Jaipur in the current financial year with an investment of Rs 60-70 crore.

These apart, the firm will open its second hotel at Krishnarajasagar (KRS) Gardens in Mysore.

Announcing the new initiatives of the firm, Royal Orchid Hotels Limited chairman Chander Baljee pointed out that the addition of the three new hotels will increase the total number of rooms from the existing 490 to 875.

“We intend to add approximately 385 rooms this year. We are also looking at other markets such as Shimla and Indore,” he added.

“We entered Mysore by taking over the Metropole Hotel. Our second hotel, the KRS Hotel, will be launched shortly after the renovation. The Hyderabad and Jaipur hotels will be opened in December 2006,” he stated.

The company has aggressive plans for growth all over the country. Baljee said the firm aims to establish a national presence in the coming years.

“We want to be ranked among the top five players in the Indian hospitality industry in the next three years,” he said.

These are curious times for travellers. While air fares have been falling, the average room rates of five-star hotels across the country are now 20 to 40 per cent higher as compared with rates a year ago.

The rates have been riding on the back of robust demand — fuelled by hectic corporate travel due to the booming economy in general and aviation, information technology and IT enabled services in particular.

Welcomgroup vice-president B Hariharan said the chain had increased its number of rooms by 3 per cent, in line with the rising demand.

Still, in the National Capital Region alone, estimates are that an annual demand of 8,000-9,000 rooms is not being met because of lack of rooms or rates being too high, according to Siddharth Thaker, associate director with HVS International, a hospitality consulting outfit.

Data for April show that ITC Welcomgroup has increased its rates by as much as 33 per cent in all the busy cities, such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore.

In these cities, the rates now stand at Rs 6,500, Rs 8,000, Rs 4,400 and Rs 13,000, respectively, per night.

Oberoi's rates have increased by as much as 39.5 per cent in Kolkata (Rs 5,351), 29.78 per cent in Mumbai (Rs 10,972), 21.4 per cent in Delhi (Rs 9,990), and so on.

Leela has increased rates by 28.8 per cent in Bangalore to Rs 18,353, arguably the highest in the country, 38.6 per cent in Mumbai to Rs 7,806 and 13.4 per cent to Rs 6,799 in Goa.

The Taj group's figures could not be obtained officially. However, industry figures show a 33 per cent rise in rates of Taj Bengal, in Kolkata, 36.5 per cent of Taj Heritage in Mumbai, 30.9 per cent of Taj West End in Bangalore and 24.6 per cent in Taj Mahal, New Delhi.

The Park has raised its rates by 52.8 per cent in Delhi, 24.9 per cent in Kolkata, 40.86 per cent in Chennai and 58.38 per cent in Bangalore.

Hariharan pointed out that there had been a 50 per cent increase in the frequency of flights in the last 12 months alone.

Then, the old problem of seasonality -- which entailed long periods of low occupancy at the hotels -- seems to have resolved itself.

Instead, in the metros there is now a weekly swing -- high demand Monday to Thursday, a little lower on Fridays, and a sharp dip on the weekends. That again can be put down to the routine of corporates.

However, the weak weekend demand does not necessarily mean low rats. Instead, One can find hotels offering free lunch or free laundry on weekends.

Source (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=94929&leftnm=1&subLeft=0)

The demand for hotel rooms is growing in every city, and in Delhi's case, the CWG2010 will further compound the demand. If the Delhi Government does not allot land for at least a dozen or two hotel projects right now, it will be very difficult for the netas to erect them the day before the games start.

What a messed up situation. And no matter which monkey trick the Con'gress netas may try next, India is only going to grow more corporate.

This luxury property is the latest in the super-deluxe Leela Kempinski chain in India. The internationally renowned architecture of the main building is complemented by additional blocks which form Kerala's biggest and most luxurious hotel. It has its own private beach, ayurvedic spa, multiple restaurants and three pools - including two Infinity pools.

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3458/image43resized6dl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Thrissur to have India's second largest Convention Centre.

C.J. Punnathara

Thrissur , June 20

Work on a 4,000-seat convention centre by the Rs 3,200-crore EMKE group is nearing completion at Thrissur. An exclusive helipad, built as per international aviation standards, is expected to provide a new dimension to the way conventions and events are held in Kerala, said Mr M.A. Yusufali, Managing Director of the EMKE group and chain of Lulu hypermarkets, supermarkets and departments stores in the Gulf.

The Lulu International Convention Centre, said to be the second largest in India, is to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister , Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, on July 2.

Addressing a press conference in Thrissur, Mr Yusufali said: "This is a very prestigious project for us and it has always been my dream to start something of international standard in my home State. Keeping in mind the increased commercial and business activities taking place in Kerala, we see great potential for this convention centre in the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur."

FIVE-STAR HOTEL

The Rs 40-crore centre will become fully operational by August. The 300-room five-star hotel, which is to be built beside the convention centre at a project cost of Rs 70 crore, has already found three international suitors to operate and manage the property. Talks are proceeding to choose the final partner for the management contract for the hotel project, Mr Yusufali said.

Though this will be its first foray into the hospitality sector, the group has plans to construct similar convention centres along with hotels in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhokode. The group already has Rs 500 crore investment in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, West Bengal and Maharashtra in meat, food and vegetable processing.

The convention centre is spread across an area of 18 acres with a built-up area of 1,60,000 sq feet and has been divided into both indoor hall and open-air auditorium, with dining facility for 2,000 guests at a time. In addition, there are three mini-conference halls with a total capacity for 750 guests and a 50-room hotel with restaurants already completed.

The group is also planning to invest in more mega projects in Kerala in the near future. The EMKE group's concerns are spread across West Asia, Asia and Africa and the group currently employs 15,000 staff from 27 nations.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/21/stories/2006062103001900.htm

Anyone has any info on new hotels in Goa? Thanks

MUMBAI, June 22 (Reuters) - Sayaji Hotels Ltd. said on Thursday it would invest 950 million rupees to build a hotel in the western city of Pune.
The 200-room hotel would be completed in two and a half years, the hotel and restaurant chain operator said in a statement.

The property would also have 100 service apartments

Hyderabad turns new hotel hotspot
HYDERABAD: Move over Mumbai and Delhi. Hyderabad has just checked in as the ‘numero uno’ hospitality destination in the country. Hyderabad is poised to have 6,507 star hotel rooms by ‘10 and attract the highest number of investment in the next few years, according to a study by HVS International.

As per the study, Hyderabad has overtaken cities like Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore. “We have worked on parameters like rate potential, demand growth, infrastructure, site availability and product orientation, replacement costs and induced demand to arrive at this conclusion,” said HVS International consultant Premal Zaveri in a chat with ET.

Business travel is said to be one of the main drivers of the growth in the hospitality industry.

Established in 1980, HVS International is a global consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, timeshare, gaming, and leisure industries.

The demand now does not match supply. However, this is expected to change with many Indian and international chains planning to set up shop in the city. The star hotels in the city claim that almost 90% of the guests are business travellers.

The year-on-year occupancy rates, too, have been rising to over 80% in ‘04-05. “The Hyderabad International Convention Centre stabilizing as an international centre, and also the growth of the Genome Valley, Hitech City and ICICI Knowledge Park are positive drivers for increased occupancy in the first class business segment,” says Mr Zaveri.

The number of rooms in the city is expected to touch 2,461 by the end of 2006 and go up to 6,507 rooms by ‘10. The average room rate currently at Rs 5,000 is expected to go up to Rs 8,000 by ‘08-09. “There will be no downward price correction at all,” says Mr Zaveri.

Hyderabad is currently in a very strong position as its average room rates are still very low but its occupancy is high at over 80%. “Though the room tariffs are higher in other cities, considering the city’s performance against all other parameters, it is clearly in the number one position,” says Mr Zaveri. The construction of the Hyderabad international airport is also expected to spur the growth of hotels.

Currently, the city has approximately five five-star hotels including ITC Kakatiya Sheraton, Taj Krishna, and the Viceroy. Viceroy has chalked out an elaborate expansion plan and will be known as JW Marriott and is also planning to take the number of rooms up from 168 to 300 with an investment of Rs 80 crore.

Bangalore-based hotel group Royal Orchid plans to set up a four star hotel in Hyderabad by the end of 2006 and is also mulling the possibility of setting up a five-star hotel in the future.

Also, hotel chains like London based Le Meridien, the InterContinental group and Lemon Tree are keen to come to Hyderabad. The ITC group also has plans to build another hotel in the city while Tulip Manohar has tied up with Radisson.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...how/1549875.cms

Upcoming five star hotels in hyderabad:
1.Novotel Hyderabad(opened may2006)http://www.novotel.com/novotel/fich...che_hotel.shtml
2.Golkonda resorts & spa(opened june2006)www.golkondaresorts.com
3.Taj Falkanuma (under rennovation)
4.Marriott viceroy and convention centre http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/HYDMC
5.Courtyard hyderabad(right next to marriott)
6.Leela Kempinski hyderabad
7.Chowmahalla palace(ITC)(Under rennovation)
8.Le meridien Hyderabad
9.Gayatri Park Hyatt
10.hilton hyderabad( supposedly two. one near shilparamam)
11.park hyderabad
12.taj gvk (begumpet 180 rooms u~c)
13.ISTA group of hotels(u~c)

maybe we can prepare a list of completed and upcoming 5- , 4- , and 3- star hotels in different Indian cities?

maybe we can prepare a list of completed and upcoming 5- , 4- , and 3- star hotels in different Indian cities?

Good idea. But some people will have to volunteer!

:)

Oberoi's plans for India
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060729/asp/business/story_6541014.asp

The 437-key company-owned Trident Hilton in the Bandra-Kurla complex is expected to open its doors to guests in 2008. In Goa, the Oberoi hotel would be located on a 50-acre beachfront site owned by the company. The 225-key Bangalore hotel would be built on an eight-acre site overlooking the Hebbel Lake. The Rajgarh Palace in Madhya Pradesh, spread over 60 acres, will be converted into a luxury hotel.

The construction of a 150-key Oberoi hotel next to the Trident Hilton, Gurgaon, will start soon, while the Uppal group will set up the 130-key Oberoi hotel and 40 service apartments near Manesar, Gurgaon. EIH will help run the two properties. The Hyderabad property would be a combination of the 250-key Trident Hilton and 50 service apartments at the Hitech City.

Good idea. But some people will have to volunteer!





well, i can start off with some chennai hotels, and maybe it'll catch on..

4* and 5* complete:

Taj Coromandel
ITC Park Sheraton
ITC Chola Sheraton
Le Royal Meridien
Courtyard Marriott
Taj Fisherman's Cove
Taj Connemara
The Park
Raintree Ecotel
GRT Grand
The Residency
Residency Towers
Trident Hilton
GRT Radisson
Accord Metropolitan
Days Inn Deccan Plaza
Savera

5* upcoming:
Hilton Chennai
JW Marriott
The Grand
GRT Oceanic
ITC Grand Chola
Leela Chennai
Taj (unnamed)
Raintree Ecotel (2)
3~4 u/c on the IT expy - dunno their names..

others can add on anything i've forgotten..

here's what i know of Bangalore's hotels - again, keep adding to the list..

4* and 5* completed:
ITC Windsor Manor
Taj Westend
Taj Residency
Le Meridien
The Oberoi
Leela Palace
Royal Orchid
Gateway Hotel on Residency Road
St Marks hotel..
Shangri La (u/c?)

keep adding on..

:)

well ferrari fan...u forgot the following hotels in chennai

radha park inn(4*)
taj gvk (5*) u/c
ambasador pallava(4*)
benz park(4*???/3*)
nameless 5* unfinished in teynampet(the oberoi one...supposedly)
grt temple bay(5*)
hotel president(4*)
ramada raj park(4*)

Check this out: Hyderabad, the city of the nawabs and IT pashas, is set to emerge as ‘hotel city’ with a total of 7,281 new rooms being planned to be built from now through the year 2009, in 39 hotels across star categories. Beginning with the super deluxe, or the so-called seven-star, hotel in the six-acre plot of land acquired by ICICI Venture Fund in association with Maytas — the ‘private-owned’ construction firm owned by the family of Satyam boss B. Ramalinga Raju — and Nagarjuna Construction Company, for Rs 360 crore in February.

Either the Ritz-Carlton or the Four Seasons chain is expected to manage the vanity project. And then there are the five-star properties. You name it, and the hotel chain is planning to hang its shingle in Hyderabad. Let’s begin with the Hilton, which, industry sources say, is setting up two properties in Hyderabad. The first is in association with local parties, near Shilpakalavedika, and the second is the refurbishing of the former Ritz hotel into a Hilton.

The Hyatt, which is setting up a hotel on Road No. 3 in Banjara Hills, and the Marriott, which is to build a Courtyard by Marriott adjacent to the Marriott Hyderabad (formerly known as The Viceroy, which earned a reputation for boudoir intrigue back in 1995 when Chandrababu Naidu deposed his pa-in-law N.T. Rama Rao in a palace, or Viceroy, coup).

The Taj group and its Hyderabad-based partner, the GVK group, are expanding their three properties, adding 100 rooms and 60 service apartments to the Taj Krishna. Ditto for the Green Park and The Manohar. The Park is reported to be setting up a 150-room five-star property on Raj Bhavan Road. So is The Leela. And the Ista Hotel, which is building a 116-room hotel, in the first phase, and a spa. And Accor, a French hotel chain which manages the Novotel at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, is in the process of setting up another hotel near the Emaar Golf Course.

Phew! So is there enough gravy to go around for the 1,500 five-star deluxe and the 3,131 five- star rooms in the works. “Yes, of course. The Hyderabad market is now mature, and with the launch of the HICC, the city is emerging as a convention destination. There will be enough business going around for the next few years,” says K.V. Madhu Nair, secretary-general of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Andhra Pradesh and vice-president (operations), of Fortune Katriya, a three-star hotel on Raj Bhavan Road.

“The HICC and the new international airport in Shamshabad, which is expected to be commissioned in early 2008, will keep room occupancy rates high for five-star hotels for at least several years,” says D.V. Manohar, chairman and managing director of the Shri Shakti group, which manages The Manohar. However, there are some cautionary voices within the industry. “Everybody is talking about setting up a five-star hotel in Hyderabad when there is a huge demand for three and four-star hotels by business travellers.

The five-star hotels are now essentially shooting the golden goose by charging exorbitant rates for rooms, as much as U.S. $350 a room, making a five-star hotel room in Hyderabad more costly than in New York City or even Tokyo. Also, with more than 1,500 rooms in the pipeline there could be a glut of five-star rooms,” says a senior executive of a hotel company, requesting anonymity.

“Apart from business travel to India, and Hyderabad, we expect leisure travel to increase as well, because of the airport,” says Aijaz Ali, vice-president (southern and western India) of Ista Hotels, which will be setting up a spa at the hotel scheduled to be opened in July 2007.

Service apartments

It isn’t the hotels segment alone that is witnessing a burst of activity. Service apartments, too, are emerging as a key sub-segment in the hospital industry. “Sure, we have service apartments in Hyderabad, but most of them are a cruel joke on patrons, because they are apartments converted to ‘service’ apartments,” says Mr Nair of the hotel association.

“There is a need for service apartments which are of world class, including a living room, a bedroom and the availability of good restaurants in their neighbourhoods. We are now seeing a trend of companies setting up exclusive service apartments, which are more profitable because the promoter outsources nearly everything except the building’s maintenance,” he adds.

Check this out: Hyderabad, the city of the nawabs and IT pashas, is set to emerge as ‘hotel city’ with a total of 7,281 new rooms being planned to be built from now through the year 2009, in 39 hotels across star categories. Beginning with the super deluxe, or the so-called seven-star, hotel in the six-acre plot of land acquired by ICICI Venture Fund in association with Maytas — the ‘private-owned’ construction firm owned by the family of Satyam boss B. Ramalinga Raju — and Nagarjuna Construction Company, for Rs 360 crore in February.

Either the Ritz-Carlton or the Four Seasons chain is expected to manage the vanity project. And then there are the five-star properties. You name it, and the hotel chain is planning to hang its shingle in Hyderabad. Let’s begin with the Hilton, which, industry sources say, is setting up two properties in Hyderabad. The first is in association with local parties, near Shilpakalavedika, and the second is the refurbishing of the former Ritz hotel into a Hilton.

http://www.deccan.com/Hyderabad%20Chronicle/Hyderabad%20ChronicleDescription.asp#It’s%20boom%20time%20for%20swanky%20hotels


The Hyatt, which is setting up a hotel on Road No. 3 in Banjara Hills, and the Marriott, which is to build a Courtyard by Marriott adjacent to the Marriott Hyderabad (formerly known as The Viceroy, which earned a reputation for boudoir intrigue back in 1995 when Chandrababu Naidu deposed his pa-in-law N.T. Rama Rao in a palace, or Viceroy, coup).

The Taj group and its Hyderabad-based partner, the GVK group, are expanding their three properties, adding 100 rooms and 60 service apartments to the Taj Krishna. Ditto for the Green Park and The Manohar. The Park is reported to be setting up a 150-room five-star property on Raj Bhavan Road. So is The Leela. And the Ista Hotel, which is building a 116-room hotel, in the first phase, and a spa. And Accor, a French hotel chain which manages the Novotel at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, is in the process of setting up another hotel near the Emaar Golf Course.

Phew! So is there enough gravy to go around for the 1,500 five-star deluxe and the 3,131 five- star rooms in the works. “Yes, of course. The Hyderabad market is now mature, and with the launch of the HICC, the city is emerging as a convention destination. There will be enough business going around for the next few years,” says K.V. Madhu Nair, secretary-general of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Andhra Pradesh and vice-president (operations), of Fortune Katriya, a three-star hotel on Raj Bhavan Road.

“The HICC and the new international airport in Shamshabad, which is expected to be commissioned in early 2008, will keep room occupancy rates high for five-star hotels for at least several years,” says D.V. Manohar, chairman and managing director of the Shri Shakti group, which manages The Manohar. However, there are some cautionary voices within the industry. “Everybody is talking about setting up a five-star hotel in Hyderabad when there is a huge demand for three and four-star hotels by business travellers.

The five-star hotels are now essentially shooting the golden goose by charging exorbitant rates for rooms, as much as U.S. $350 a room, making a five-star hotel room in Hyderabad more costly than in New York City or even Tokyo. Also, with more than 1,500 rooms in the pipeline there could be a glut of five-star rooms,” says a senior executive of a hotel company, requesting anonymity.

“Apart from business travel to India, and Hyderabad, we expect leisure travel to increase as well, because of the airport,” says Aijaz Ali, vice-president (southern and western India) of Ista Hotels, which will be setting up a spa at the hotel scheduled to be opened in July 2007.

Service apartments

It isn’t the hotels segment alone that is witnessing a burst of activity. Service apartments, too, are emerging as a key sub-segment in the hospital industry. “Sure, we have service apartments in Hyderabad, but most of them are a cruel joke on patrons, because they are apartments converted to ‘service’ apartments,” says Mr Nair of the hotel association.

“There is a need for service apartments which are of world class, including a living room, a bedroom and the availability of good restaurants in their neighbourhoods. We are now seeing a trend of companies setting up exclusive service apartments, which are more profitable because the promoter outsources nearly everything except the building’s maintenance,” he adds.

The Park to set up Rs 300 crore Bangalore hotel (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=100258&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The Park Hotels, managed by the Apeejay Surrendra group, is planning to open its second hotel soon in Bangalore at an investment of around Rs 250-Rs 300 crore, said a top company official.

Also, it is eyeing properties in Kerala and Pune. The ongoing projects at Navi Mumbai and Hyderabad will be ready in one year, the officials added.

"We are waiting for conducive atmosphere to embark on the Bangalore project. We are looking for a site near Whitefield on the outskirts of the city for the 300 room luxury hotel," said Lemuel Herbert, general manager, The Park, Bangalore.

He said the occupancy rate of The Park, Bangalore was over 85 per cent and during weekends, the occupancy reached its peak.

The first hotel in Bangalore, opened in 2000, was the fourth hotel of the group, which runs five hotels in Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, New Delhi and Chennai. At present, a 80-room hotel is under construction in Navi Mumbai which is expected to be opened by the end of this year.

This will also house a hospitality education academy for management training programme and professional programme for hospitality sector.

Besides, the group will open its first hotel in Hyderabad, which will have about 240 rooms along with shopping malls and hotels. According to Herbert, the hotels are expected to be opened during the early part of 2008.

Berggruen to invest $100 mn in hotel chain (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=100630&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Berggruen Holdings India, a subsidiary of New York-based investment company Berggruen Holdings, has announced that it is seed-funding a non-luxury hotel chain in India.

The company is prepared to make a commitment of up to $100 million of equity per transaction. The privately-owned parent company holds net assets exceeding $1.5 billion and invests internationally in a range of asset classes that include private equity funds and real estate.

"The newly-formed hospitality company will follow an own-and-manage strategy," said Kabir Kewalramani, managing director, Berggruen Holdings India.

The company, which is awaiting its christening, will look at both acquisitions of existing properties and greenfield projects.

The company hopes to be a major player in the mid-range segment, owning and managing 100-room, full-service hotels operating in the Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 pricing segment. The hotels will be spread across tier-I, II and III cities with a mixed focus on industrial, business and tourism centres.

The company is currently in the process of assembling its top management team and expects its maiden property to be operational in the next 14 to 16 months.

Traditionally, the hospitality sector has not been the favourite of foreign investors, attracting only 1 per cent of total FDI inflows ($10.3 billion) into the country last year, according to an unconfirmed industry estimate.

But the non-luxury segment, in particular, has been perking up with more and more investors spotting the demand-supply imbalance and the spurt in domestic travel and growth in spending among middle-class Indians.

Last week, India Hospitality Corp (IHC) raised $100 million (about Rs 460 crore) through an initial public offering (IPO) at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to target multiple acquisitions in India's hospitality, leisure and tourism industries.

The funds raised made IHC the largest special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) focused on India. IHC would also focus only on mid-range business and tourist class hotels.

According to recent estimates of the World Travel & Tourism Council, the demand in Indian tourism will grow at 8.8 per cent over the next 10 years, which would place the country as the second most rapidly growing tourism market in the world. Kewalramani expects that this is just the beginning of a substantial influx of foreign investment into the sector.

Delhi pressed for space, hotels head for Gurgaon (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=195685)

Go Gurgaon seems to be the new mantra for hoteliers planning to encash the rush for rooms the 2010 Commonwealth Games is expected to generate.

With the Capital barely able to meet the demand, though the Delhi government is planning develop hotels in time for the Games, HUDA has taken the lead — 15 sites in Sector 29 have already been auctioned to hoteliers.

Leading from the front is the Oberoi group which is setting up two properties in Gurgaon — a 150-key Oberoi brand luxury hotel next to Trident Hilton (also an Oberoi property) and a 130-key hotel with 40 service apartments in Manesar.

Next in line on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway is Intercontinental Hotels group’s Crowne Plaza, a 234-room five-star property, slated to start operations by early 2007, primarily for ‘‘business purposes’’.

Then, there’s Galaxy, an 80-room boutique hotel at 32nd milestone, complete with a shopping complex and a 20,000 sq ft luxury rooftop spa that’s opening as early as next month.

With land cheaply and easily available, Gurgaon’s only quickening the pace. ‘‘Today, it’s hard to get land in Delhi and prices are astronomical. The government needs to take steps to make available subsidised plots,’’ says Patu Keswani, CMD, Lemon Tree group of hotels who plans to pitch for hotel sites near Gurgaon-Sohna road at the next HUDA auction, in the next two-three months.

‘‘We are planning to set up Red Fox, an economy hotel for tourists and businesspersons. The rent will be much cheaper, on the lines of an international two-star hotel.’’

Royal Orchid plans Rs 500 cr star hotels (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=101575&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Hospitality chain Royal Orchid Hotels Limited (ROHL) is looking at investing Rs 500 crore over the next two years on a major expansion plan that includes setting up five-star and four-star hotels in major cities in the country. It will also enter tier-III cities with budget hotels.

“We plan to open six five-star hotels in major metros and about 10 to 15 four-star hotels in metros and mini-metros in the next two years. We already have Royal Orchid Harsha, a budget hotel in Bangalore, and plan to open 15 to 20 budget hotels in tier-III cities across the country,” Chender Baljee, chairman and managing director, Royal Orchid Hotels said.

The Royal Orchid Hotels presently own four hotels in Bangalore, including its flagship property Royal Orchid (five-star), Royal Orchid Central (business), Royal Orchid Harsha (budget) and Doddi’s Resort in Bangalore, which will soon be known as Royal Orchid Resort.

It will be converted into a 150-room five-star hotel. Besides, the company also owns Royal Orchid Metropole (Heritage) in Mysore.

Royal Orchid will start five-star hotels in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. “We have got land close to the airport in Delhi for a 100-room five-star hotel and the project is expected to be completed by the end of next year,” Baljee said.

He added that plans for projects in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata are in their preliminary stage. The four-star projects in Jaipur, Hyderabad and Pune are under way and are expected to be complete in a year. The company has leased properties in Hyderabad and Jaipur, where it will open 65-room and 70-room hotels respectively.

Budget hotels seek room in malls (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1902460.cms)

Realty developers like DLF, Rahejas, Unitech and Ansals are talking to companies with plans to set up budget hotels. Over 40 budget hotels with 4,000-5,000 rooms are likely to come up in the next two years. Some of them are also thinking of moving their location from the heart of the city to the outskirts.

“This is a right method to use the excess FAR and a revenue generation segment for mall developers. In our upcoming malls we will consider this is as an option,” said, Rajiv Singh, MD , DLF Universal The “no-frills, self service” concept is fast catching up in the country With an average room rent (ARR) of Rs 1,000-1,500 per day, the rooms will have basics like central air-conditioning, TV, Wi-Fi, direct-dial phone, mini-fridge, etc, but no room or laundry service.

Budget hotels are primarily targeting Tier-II cities and some of the metros as well, sources said. Several deluxe hotel chains are looking at the budget segment. It includes Golden Tulip, Sarovar Group, Radisson chain’s Country Inn & Suites, Accor’s Ibis, Ginger, Lemon Tree and ITC’s Fortune Park.

Indian Railways is also planning to build around 10 budget hotels across the country over the next three years to meet the tourism boom. “There is a huge demand supply mismatch in the hotel industry that needs to be filled. With increasing real estate prices, the budget hotels may have to relocate construction plans from inner cities to outskirts,” said Chender Baljee, CMD, Royal Orchid.

Does anyone have info on upcoming hotels in Vizag?

Tatas to set up 30 Ginger hotels by 2007-08 (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=104069&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Roots Corporation Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Tata Group controlled Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), will set up 30 “smart basics” hotels across the country under the brand name "Ginger" by 2007-08.

"Our objective is to build 100 basic hotels in the country and we plan to develop 30 such properties over the next couple of years", Roots Corporation CEO Prabhat Pani, said.

The average investment in a 100-room basic hotel is pegged at Rs 10 crore, minus the cost of land, which varies from place to place.

Pani was here to attend the launch of the Ginger hotel at Bhubaneswar. It is the third property in the chain, while the other two hotels are currently operating in Bangalore and Haridwar.

The number of Ginger hotels would swell to 10 by the end of this fiscal, he said, adding that Pune, Mysore, Thiruvanathapuram and Durgapur will soon follow the Bhubaneswar launch.

These hotels are now under various stages of completion while work has commenced in Goa, Nasik, Pondicherry and Agartala.

The company also intends to start work on hotels in Tirupur, Varanasi, Pantnagar, Baroda and Ahmedabad among other destinations within the next couple of months.

In Orissa, apart from the state capital, the company proposes to set up Ginger hotels at Paradip, Puri and Konark.

It is also looking at other places such as Duburi, Jharsuguda and Angul where a number of steel plants and other metal related industries are proposed to be set up.

Unison plans Rs 2,000cr spend for 8 new hotels (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=5421)

Unison Hotels has chalked out a Rs 2,000 crore capex for setting up 8 new hotels in the next five years, in order to cash in on the increasing demand for five-star accommodation in the country.

"We would invest Rs 2,000 crore in the next five years to set up five-star accommodation across the country," Umesh Saraf, MD of Unison Hotels, said.


The investment would be made in two phases, in which the company, promoter of The Grand in New Delhi, would invest Rs 1,000 crore in the first phase.

"In the first phase we will set up five-star hotels in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. We have recently acquired land in Hyderabad, where we would build a 225-room five-star accommodation and a seperate service apartment block with about 175 apartments," Saraf said.

The company would invest close to Rs 150 crore on the Hyderabad hotel and service apartment block, which are expected to be functional by mid-2008.

The company is currently identifying land in Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai...The first phase would be completed within next two to three years, he said.

The company would invest Rs 1,000 crore in the second phase of expansion, under which it will have footprints in cities like Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh amongst others.

Indian Hotels may buy Ritz-Carlton for Rs 765cr (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=6420)

The Tata group promoted Indian Hotels Company is in the process of acquiring Boston-based luxury hotel the Ritz-Carlton, for around $170 million (around Rs 765 crore).

Ritz-Carlton, with a capacity of 400 rooms, is owned by Millennium Partners and is the longest continuously operated Ritz-Carlton hotel in the United States. The luxury hotel, a fixture in Boston's elegant Back Bay section, was bought by Millennium Partners in 1999 for $122 million. The Boston hotel's name could undergo a change now.

IHCL had acquired The Pierre in New York, through a lease agreement in FY06 and had also bought out a 100-room hotel in Sydney.

--------------------------------------------

Tatas to set up 30 Ginger hotels by 2007-08 (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=104069&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

GINGER at Trivandrum, which was opened last week.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5064/dsc01582su7.jpg

Tour operators come together to set up hotels (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/153991.cms)

Tour operators are putting together plans to cash in on the widening demand-supply gap in the hospitality industry. Their plan: To set up a new chain of hotels across India.

The tour operators — under the aegis of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) — are planning to build 50 budget hotels in the country. The association has already initiated talks with governments of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan seeking land at a concessional price or on long-term lease.

"The decision was taken at our annual convention at Jaipur. We plan to build 50 hotels in different states before the Commonwealth Games in 2010,"said IATO president Subash Goyal.

The members are going to chip in for funding this ambitious project. "We have around 1,500 tour operators and travel agents as members. We'll issue a circular before asking them to pool in resources. If required, we can also go to the financial institutions to raise some funds,"Goyal said.

Though the location for the budget hotels are yet to be finalised, the properties are expected to come up in the suburbs, he said.

The decision to enter the hospitality industry comes at a time when the tour operators and travel agents are reeling under low margins in the ticketing business.

In expansion mode (http://www.expresshospitality.com/20061031/market13.shtml)

WelcomHeritage to sign 10 new properties

WelcomHeritage plans to sign 10 more properties in the next six months and add to its existing 45 heritage properties. Divulging this, its president, Rakesh Mathur said, "We are signing 10 more properties in states including Sikkim, Arunchal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Rajasthan and Goa."



Sarovar looks for 50 hotels in India

Sarovar Hotels is planning to expand its portfolio to 50 hotels in India by next year.

The company, at present manages, franchises and markets 39 hotels under the Park Plaza, Park Inn, Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico and Hometel brands.



Bharat Hotels plans 15 more properties

Bharat Hotels, which operates with the brand The Grand, is planning 15 more properties across the country in cities like Chandigarh, Ranchi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bekal (Kerela), Chennai, Noida together with an international foray in Dubai, London and the US.

Its existing eight properties are undergoing heavy renovation. "Keeping in mind the Commonwealth Games, we are adding more than 200 rooms in the Delhi property," he informed.

It will also add rooms to its other existing properties - 50 more rooms to the boutique property of Khajaraho and Udaipur and 250 plus rooms in Kolkata. Architect Dulal Mukherjee is handling the design aspects. Moreover, the company has acquired 5,500 square metre of land in Bangalore for convention centre and service apartments.



Club Mahindra to develop four new resorts

Club Mahindra Holidays, a the flagship brand of Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India (MHRI), has announced plans to set up four theme based resorts, with an investment of Rs 180 crore in Kumbalgarh (Rajasthan), Lonavala (Maharashtra), Kollam (Kerala) and Corbett (Uttranchal). This will take its resort portfolio to 19 within 10 years of operation.

The property at Lonavala will be of 125 rooms, with a village setting theme. The Kumbalgarh resort will include 53 rooms with a Rajasthani theme from the Mewar region. The resort at Kerala will be set against the backwaters while the 50-room resort at Corbett will be set amidst wildlife.

MUMBAI, OCT 28 : Hospitality majors in India have witnessed a confidence-boosting increase, both in occupancy and average room rates (ARRs), for the third year in a row. The industry, which saw a 12-month growth of 23.7% in average rate during 2005-06, continued to grow at a similar pace, as opposed to the 20.7% growth of the previous year.
The all-India occupancy mark too touched the 70.8% mark for the first time and many cities were completely sold out on a number of weekday nights, resulting in hotels hiking their rates sharply. The largest increases were seen in the luxury segment, followed by the mid-market and budget segments.
According to hospitality consulting and appraisal firm HVS International, hotels in cities like Delhi, Hyderabad and Jaipur were able to charge higher tariffs because of the demand-supply imbalance. Hotels across all categories also witnessed an improved foreign-domestic guest ratio. Therefore, despite a stronger rupee, the growth in average rate in dollar terms was higher across all categories.

Hyderabad replaced Bangalore as the fastest growing average rate market, registering a growth rate of 36.7% — an important achievement, considering that the city was the weakest in terms of average rate ten years ago. Goa and Kolkata saw the highest growth in occupancies, followed by Chennai and Hyderabad. The occupancy levels for Hyderabad (83.1%) and Delhi (81.7%) are those unmatched for nearly ten years. Bangalore, however, registered a marginal decline to notch up an occupancy of 79.6%. Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai achieved 78.3%, 76.4% and 75.3% occupancy levels respectively.

But capacity addition is being planned and according to industry estimates, the potential new room supply has already touched 48,500 new rooms. This does not include Pune, which alone has at least 25 hotels under development. Also, about 4,600 rooms will enter this market in the next five years.

The biggest growth in proposed supply of new hotel rooms is being witnessed in the two IT cities of Bangalore and Hyderabad. However, HVS believes that an acute shortage of rooms will prevail in these five-six major markets, at least for the next four years, which will result in huge levels of unaccom demand.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=144877

Hyderabad, Oct 29 (IANS) A world-class spa, a training centre in spa technology and hospitality, five-star hotels and an urban entertainment centre are among the key tourism projects coming up in and around Hyderabad with a total investment of Rs.7 billion.

Andhra Pradesh has attracted about Rs.9 billion of private investment in tourism projects during last two years while the state government has spent Rs.2 billion on the sector.


Tourism Minister J. Geeta Reddy Sunday disclosed these figures while releasing a new investor-friendly tourism policy.


The state already claims to be the number one in domestic tourism. 'Almost 89 million domestic tourists are coming to Hyderabad every year,' she said.


Replying to the argument that a large number of tourists were pilgrims visiting the famous temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati, she said: 'A lot of them come to Hyderabad which has become a major hub of business tourism in the country.'


A five-star hotel with more than 250 rooms and 100 service apartments is coming up near Hitec City, the IT hub, at an estimated cost of Rs.5 billion. The Hilton group also plans to develop a hotel in the area, which already has a world-class convention centre and a five-star hotel developed by the Dubai-based Emmar group.


New Delhi-based Indian Hotels and Health Resorts Hospitality Private Limited, the owners of famous Ananda spa in Himalayas, and the state government are jointly setting up a world class spa, hotel and training centre in spa technology and hospitality on 14.94 acres at Nanakramguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad at a cost of Rs.1 billion.


The other major project is an urban entertainment centre on 5.61 acres of land at Basheerbagh in the heart of the city. The centre, to be developed with an estimated cost of Rs.1.37 billion, will have a mega shopping mall, multiplexes, business convention centre, ethnic bazaar and theme parks.


Geeta Reddy said a health spa, hotels, multi-theme park, convention centre and urban entertainment centre were also coming up in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.


To attract new investment in the sector, the government will offer various incentives including investment subsidy of 20 percent of the project cost subject to a maximum of Rs.2 million. To encourage upgradation to international standards, selected hotels will be offered an incentive of 15 percent of the project cost.


In another move to promote tourism, the state government had a tie-up with Air Deccan to link Hyderabad with popular tourist destinations outside the state like Goa, Coimbatore and Cochin.


The tourism department has appointed shooter Amit Sanghi and golf player P. Krishna Reddy as its brand ambassadors.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/india/article_1215851.php/Tourism_projects_worth_Rs.7_bn_coming_up_in_Hyderabad

This five star luxury property at Trivandrum is owned by hospitality majors, Dodla Intl', which owns a string of Taj hotels, in South India. The property is undergoing final finishing work and is due to open by year-end.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1132/img0007rsaw0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Taj Hotels` wilderness lodge to start in Nov (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=263220&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has announced the launch of its first `wilderness’ lodge in India.

The lodge — Mahua Kothi — located in the Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh, will be operational from November this year.

Taj will operate the lodge under the name of Taj Wilderness Lodges (TWL), an entity formed in association with Conservation Corporation Africa (CC Africa), which is a leading eco-tourism company and a comprehensive safari operator from Africa, and Cigen Corporation, part of Nepal-based Chaudhary Group.

Chaudhary Group and Taj are partners in Taj Asia, which is a vehicle through which the partners own, operate and plan to expand their hospitality interests in South Asian and Asia-Pacific markets.

Taj has entered into a business management contract on this property with its owners in MP, and plans to set up five such lodges — four in Madhya Pradesh and one in Uttaranchal.

The launch of Mahua Kothi will be followed by the launch of Taj’s second lodge ‘Baghvan’ on the border of Pench National Park, southern Madhya Pradesh in February 2007.

Taj has plans to aggressively advertise the wilderness lodges in Europe, North America, Australia and Asean countries through its sales offices.

Through TWL’s, Taj aims at promoting wildlife and eco-tourism in the country.

“India has a vast and bountiful wildlife offering and together with the advantage of CC Africa’s database, we will make a concerted effort to improve the quality of safari management in India and take it to international standards,” said Raymond Bickson, MD and CEO, Indian Hotels Company, at the launch.

Sarovar lines up 25 new hotels (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=263460&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Sarovar Hotels, a prime player in the hospitality segment in the country, has firmed up plans to depart from its current strategy of managing hotels and resorts and look at having its own properties.

Speaking to Business Standard, executive director Ajay K Bakaya said, “Sarovar has lined up 25 new hotels in different parts of the country and they all will be ready in a few years' time. Of the 25 planned, a handful of them would be Sarovar's own properties with the first one to be opened by February next, at Indore. More such properties are to come up in Hyderabad and Chennai.”

The Sarovar Hotels executive director said that work is currently on to add more rooms and facilities at Sarovar-run properties in Thiruvananthapuram, Poovar and Kochi.

The Thiruvananthapuram property - The Muthoot Plaza - will add more space with the company setting aside close to Rs 25 crore for the project. This apart, the hospitality major also “has plans to open its business hotel ventures at overseas destinations such as Dar es Salam, Tanzania and Dubai soon,” Bakaya said.

Sarovar, which operates unique brands such as Premiere, Portico and Hometel hotels in three different categories, is all set to give a push in its efforts to strengthen the Hometel brand.

According to Bakaya, at least 10 Hometels would come up in different parts of the country in the next five years. He added cities like Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Jaipur and Pune would soon play host to the Hometel limited three-star hotels.

The company also has opened its restaurant venture christened Aaheli, specialising in Bengali cuisine in the country. The first one has started operations in Kolkata.

UK hotel chain to check in (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=263634&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

UK-based hotel company easyGroup, in partnership with UAE’s Istithmar Hotels, is planning to start eight hotels in India by 2009. Istithmar will develop, own and operate the easyHotels in India.

Initially, four hotels will be built in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore by 2008-end. Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedbad are also on the company’s radar.

“The ‘philosophy’ of the easyHotels India will be the same as the UK hotels-a no frills hotel. Currently, we are working on design innovations, which will reflect the regional requirements and enhance the product,” said Joe Sita, CEO, Istithmar Hotels.

With small rooms made from prefabricated units, easyHotel is offering rooms in central London starting £20 a night. It does not provide any food or beverages.

“Room pricing will not finalised until we have finalised our sites. However, when easyHotels open they will be very competitively priced,” Sita said.

easyGroup is the owner of the easy brand and licenses it to all of the easy branded businesses, including easyJet Plc, a low cost airline that has a huge marketshare in Europe.

The hotels will be on franchise model. However, Istithmar will hold the master franchise for easyHotels. All investments in the hotels will be made by Istithmar.

“We have yet to conclude regarding the total investment. The final investment would be determined by the cost of land and the size of the site we acquire. We may develop more than eight hotels if we have the right business conditions,” Sita said.

The hotels will have anything between 120 and 200 rooms in each hotel and they would be targeting business travellers, who go on short visits to cities.

Lalu declares construction of budget hotels (http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=146225)

Asserting that Railways' surplus land would be used for commercial purposes keeping social responsibility in mind, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has announced construction of 100 budget hotels across the country through public-private partnership.

The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) approved by Parliament was in final shape and after earmarking the land required for dedicated freight corridors and other projects, the remaining land would be commercially exploited, he said at the two-day Economic Editors conference.

Later, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation P K Goel told PTI that tenders have been floated for construction or renovation of hotels in Madurai, Vijayawada, Secunderabad, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Tirupati, Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Ooty, Nagpur, New Jalpaiguri, Agra, Pune, Darjeeling, Habibganj (Bhopal), Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Sealdah and Lalgarh (Bikaner).

"IRCTC has invited bids from reputed firms incorporated/registered in India and engaged in operation and maintenance of at least two-star hotel with offering food facility.

"These bids are for developing, operating and maintaining ‘Rail Ratna’ brand of hotels on license basis for a period of 30 years and redevelopment, operation and maintenance and transfer of IRCTC's Rail Yatri Niwas in New Delhi and Howrah and BNR hotels in Puri and Ranchi on lease basis for 15 years", he said.

Real estate giant, K.Raheja Corp has been granted clearance by the Govt. of Kerala to set up a Rs 150 Crore International Convention Centre complex at Aakulam in Trivandrum.

The project, which has been on the anvil for over a year, will involve a 1500-seater convention centre, luxury hotel, shopping mall and other related facilities. It will be looked next to the beautiful Aakulam Lake and right next to the city's fast growing IT Corridor, the hub of the IT industry in Kerala.

This was announced by the Govt., which said it had cleared the tender submitted by "Chalet Hotels", Mumbai, which is a brand of the K.Raheja Corp.

The K.Raheja Corp has also asked for land inside Technopark Phase III to set up a massive IT park, under their Mindspace brand. This is expected to be allocated in the next few weeks.

The upcoming Convention Centre will be the second in Trivandrum. The Leela Kempinksi, Kovalam has the 1000-seater Rajiv Gandhi International Convention Centre.

Read in the New Indian Express (http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEO20061119220107&Page=O&Title=Thiruvananthapuram&Topic=0)

Is there a Convention Centre and Hotel being built at Bandra Kurla Complex im Mumbai?

Pictures & up-dates anyone?

Thanks.

reliance won the bid with 1,100 crores for 7.5 acres. its slated to open in 3-4 years

Another bottleneck!

India's hotel industry isn't keeping up with country's hectic growth
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/21/business/AS_FEA_FIN_India_Hotel_Shortage.php

Need a hotel room in India? Better book early and bring big bucks.

As the nation's economy booms, foreigners and newly affluent Indians are flocking to the country's big cities in unprecedented numbers — but are finding a shortage of places to stay.

"We had to scramble, we practically begged to get a room," said Danny Leiber, a Los Angeles businessman who had flown to New Delhi on short notice for a "big deal — we're talking multimillion dollars."

Begging worked out well for Leiber — he'd scored a room at New Delhi's elegant Oberoi Hotel. The price: US$450 a night.

In particular, there's a shortage of mid-range hotels in places like Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi. Soaring urban land prices are making it expensive for hotel chains to expand — and when they do, they're building pricier hotels.

Much of the growth is due to business travelers, but tourist numbers are also up.

Sheraton, Hilton and Holiday Inn are already here, and Four Seasons, Accor and Pan Pacific say they are coming — but not fast enough, it seems.

India "immediately needs another 100,000 rooms" — more than double the current amount — said Lalit Suri, the chairman and managing director of India's Bharat Hotels. He estimated that would require investment of up to US$17.4 billion.

What India is going to get will fall short of that.

A total of 300 hotel projects have been approved by the government and are in varying stages of development, said Amitabh Kant, a Tourism Ministry official. Most are likely to be completed in the next three years and should increase capacity by about 75,000 rooms, he said.

Nearly half of the new projects are luxury hotels, and account for about US$1.58 billion in investment, said Subhash Goyal, chairman of the Indian Association of Tour Operators. He was not able to provide figures for total investment in the hotel sector.

That means the current situation of high prices and low availability is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, and worsen at around key events, like Commonwealth Games in 2010 and the cricket World Cup in 2011.

Foreign hotel operators are eager to invest, helped by changes in Indian law in recent years that allow full foreign ownership of hotels.

"The timing is excellent," said Scott Woroch, a senior vice president of Canada's Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which plans to open its first hotel here next year in Mumbai in a partnership with the India's Magnus Hotel group.

"There is a growing demand with respect to international visits to key urban and resort destinations," he said.

Four Seasons is also "looking at a number of opportunities in New Delhi and Bangalore" and are studying possibilities in Goa to the south, and Rajasthan in the northwest, he said.

The Sheraton Group is collaborating with the Indian Tobacco Company in running 10 luxury hotels across the country for more than a decade and is also looking to expand.

"We believe that India has very strong growth potential, across all our brands," said Hwee Peng Yeo, a spokesman for Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts Pvt. Ltd, part of the Sheraton Group.

Experts say that the skyrocketing price of land in Indian cities is keeping more projects from getting under way.

For example, a 2.5-acre plot for building a new hotel was sold recently for US$43.4 million, said R. K. Singh, the Delhi Development Authority's land commissioner.

By some estimates, those kinds of prices mean that land costs would account for the bulk of building a new hotel in India, where materials and labor remain incredibly cheap. The industry standard is for land to account for 15 percent of the cost of a new hotel.

Until a few years ago, hotel rooms were readily available in India's big cities and a night in the top establishments tended to run in the US$50 to US$60 range.

But India's hotel industry has simply failed to keep up with the country's hectic economic growth, averaging about 8 percent a year.

Over the past decade, the total number of hotel rooms in all categories — a figure that includes everything from filthy hostels to opulent resorts — has only grown 10 percent to about 92,000.

That's lifted the price of a night in a five-star hotel, which international business travelers tend to use, to an average US$325, according to the tour operators association.

Foreign visitor numbers have nearly doubled over the past decade to just under 4 million. But domestic travel accounts for most of the growth.

With a rising number of wealthy Indians as well as an expanding middle class, the number of people traveling within the country has nearly doubled in the past decade to about 350 million, according to the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

One firm, the London-based India Hospitality Corp., has raised US$100 million to build or acquire mid-level hotels in India, said the company's chief executive, Jason Ader.

Ader says his company views India's hotel industry as high-growth but fragmented, offering profit potential among the most attractive in the world.

The non-luxury market has been overlooked by major Indian players like Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces and Oberoi Group, Ader said. He declined to name the Indian companies his group was negotiating with for collaboration, but said he expects to firm up plans by early 2007.

Local hotel chains have not been aggressive about growing, Ader said. IHC will be able to use its expertise in management and finance to make its plans work, and the US$100 million it raised shows shareholders are confident that its strategy will deliver, he said.

it really is ridiculous. i tried to book at the taj for a guest who is arriving in december and the cheapest rate i got was $500 a night plus tax. it puts off a lot of travellers, esp tourists. business travellers dont have much of an option

^^

The companies are realizing the opportunities now...

Hilton, DLF in JV to develop 75 hotels in India
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=18025

Hilton Hotels Corporation, the international hospitality group, has announced its joint venture with DLF to develop and own 75 hotels and service apartments in India. The joint venture company, which will develop one of the largest international hotel chains in the country over the next seven years, is the first significant international expansion for Hilton Garden Inn outside North America.

The JV-owned hotels will represent several brands from Hilton Hotels Corporation's brand portfolio, including Hilton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Residences. It will also develop and build these properties, while Hilton will manage them. DLF will hold 74% in the JV company, and Hilton will hold the remaining minority stake as a symbol of its commitment to the venture.

Over the next 5 to 7 years, Hilton will invest up to $143 million (approximately Rs 645 crore) in the JV company.

The initial stage of the joint venture will involve 20 hotels in a number of key locations including Chandigarh, Chennai, and Kolkata. A large number of these hotels are expected to be Hilton Garden Inns - a business hotel brand, offering focused service. Beyond the initial 20 sites, it will continue to identify and acquire sites and undertake new hotel developments.

Ian Carter, executive vice president of Hilton Hotels Corporation and CEO of Hilton International Operations, explained the attraction of the Indian market: "India is an outstanding market for hotel development, given its powerful combination of economics and demographics. Hilton will build on its collective experience in India and the opportunity with DLF is a compelling next step to capitalise on the development momentum and build our Hilton Family of Brands in India."

Shakti Singh, director (Hospitality Business) of DLF said: "We are very excited about this venture with Hilton. We see tremendous opportunities for growth in the hospitality sector in India, given the attractive tourism and business avenues unfolding in the country. Through this strategic partnership, we are confident of bringing world-class hospitality and services across the country, further strengthening the benchmarks that DLF has established as a pan-Indian developer."

Accor, India's Nirmal Lifestyles in hotel deal
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-11-28T191655Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-278133-1.xml&archived=False

Real estate developer Nirmal Lifestyles Ltd. on Tuesday signed an operation and management agreement with French hotel firm, Accor SA, to set up five hotels in a single campus at a Mumbai city suburb. Nirmal will invest 10 billion rupees in the project to build a total of 1,080 rooms and a convention centre and hopes to complete it in five years, Dharmesh Jain, chairman and managing director, told reporters. The project would be part of Nirmal's proposed integrated township in Mumbai suburb Mulund, he said.


Accor Takes a Major Step in its Expansion in India
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-27-2006/0004480085&EDATE=

of its global development strategy Accor has signed today significant
partnerships that trigger a major expansion in India. This expansion plan
covers the full spectrum of the hotel market in India, including budget
Formule 1 hotels, economy Ibis hotels, mid-market Novotel hotels and
upper-upscale Sofitel properties.

Budget and Economy Hotels: Formule 1 and Ibis

Gilles Pelisson, Chief Executive Officer, Accor, and HE Mohammed Ali
Alabbar, Chairman, EMAAR Properties, signed today an agreement to develop
100 Formule 1 hotels in India. This agreement will involve a joint
investment of US$300 million in phases. These hotels will be located in city locations and will feature upwards of 80 rooms with en suite bathrooms, restaurant and a 24-hour reception service. Sites for the hotels are currently being finalized and 10 hotels are scheduled to open in the next two years. The EMAAR group has already developed in India the Novotel Hyderabad and Hyderabad International Convention Centre that Accor manages.

Moreover, Accor and its joint-venture partner InterGlobe are also
developing a network of Ibis hotels around the country. Projects include,
in addition to a complex combining Ibis and Novotel in Bangalore (380
rooms), hotels in five key business centres - Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur
and Hyderabad. By the end of 2007, Accor and InterGlobe expect to have up to 15 Ibis hotels (2,700 rooms) under development, for a total investment of US$ 180 million.


Midscale hotels: Novotel and Mercure

Accor will expand its Novotel brand in India. A Novotel is presently
under construction in Gurgaon, a business precinct of New Delhi. The 320
room hotel will be managed by Accor and is scheduled to open in mid 2008.
Accor currently manages Novotel Hyderabad adjacent to the Hyderabad
International Convention Centre, opened earlier this year. Accor is in discussion with leading Indian business groups for a vriety of developments, including the launch of the Mercure brand in India.

Upper-upscale hotels: Sofitel

On Tuesday, an official ceremony will be held to announce the
development of the new Sofitel Mumbai in the prestigious Bandra Kurla
Complex (BKC), one of Mumbai's most important precincts. The US$ 106
million project of around 300 rooms is due to be completed in 2009, and is
being developed by a joint venture comprising Accor and prominent local
developer, Naman Developers Limited.

A second Sofitel - and Accor's first resort property in India - is
being built in Goa. Accor will manage the Sofitel Cabo de Rama, which is
being developed by Uniworth Resorts, a member of the JB Group of Hong Kong. The resort is located on the oceanfront adjacent to the historic Cabo de Rama fort and will feature 260 rooms and a spa and is scheduled to open in
2009.

Announcing Accor's ambitious expansion plans in India, Accor Chief
Executive Officer, Gilles Pelisson said: "India is one of the world's most
dynamic economies, with rapidly growing inbound, outbound and domestic
travel sectors that we hope Accor's development strategy will cater for.
The Indian outbound market is also very important for Accor's global
network, and we will be able to grow our market share through greater
visibility of our brands across India. There is currently a very large
shortage of international-standard accommodation in India: Accor's unique
experience across the full range of hotel accommodation styles will be an
immediate and significant answer to it."

Accor Asia Pacific Chairman, David Baffsky, said that the company had
plans to open more than 5,000 rooms in India over the next five years.
"Accor successfully launched the Hyderabad International Convention Centre
and the adjacent Novotel this year," he said. "We believe that we have the
partners, the expertise and the brands to build a substantial network in
India. The industry is predicted to grow at an annual rate of at least 9%
over the next 10 years, double the rate estimated for overall world tourism
growth. With such a strong economy, growth in new airlines and the
Government's commitment to accelerate infrastructure development, India
offers remarkable potential for growth in business and leisure tourism."

from HT

MULUND WILL soon have the country’s biggest hotel.

A cluster of five, to be exact, with as many as 1,050 rooms. For some perspective, the second largest in the city, Hilton Towers at Nariman Point, has only 547 rooms and 44 suites.

The Mulund hotels, to be built along LBS Marg near Nirmal Lifestyle mall, will be in the luxury segment. The project will be jointly developed by Mulundbased developer Nirmal Lifestyle and global firm Accor SA.

Architect Hafeez Contractor has been appointed for the de sign. Managing Director of Nirmal Lifestyle Group Dharmesh Jain, however, was tight-lipped about the details, including the rationale behind such a project in Mulund.

“The hotels are not going to be in the budget category,” was all he would say .

Accor SA is an international company which specialises in hotels, both in the luxury and budget segment.

Property consultants are, however, surprised that Mulund is the chosen place for such a big scale hospitality development.

Akshaya Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Colliers Jardine, a property consultancy firm, is one of them.

“Prima facie, it sounds a little illogical to set up a huge venture in Mulund, both from the business and the leisure points of view.” Mulund isn’t an office belt, despite its proximity to Navi Mum bai and Thane, which again have their own share of economic hotels. Secondly, Mulund is not the usual popular sites which visitors to the city frequent.

But Kumar was positive.

“Mulund provides a new kind of positioning for such a venture and considering that there is an existing dearth of hotel rooms in Mumbai. It remains to be found out who is going to stay in these hotels.” It’s hard to find such big hotels even in the city and suburb.

Triton Hilton Hotel, expected to be open in 2008 in BandraKurla Complex, has 437 rooms.

madhurima.nandy@ hindustantimes.com

With 1,050 rooms, the planned hotel will be the country’s largest. Here are the top four in the city
Hilton Towers, Nariman Point 547Rooms 44 Suites
Taj Land’s End, Bandra 368Rooms 15Suites
Grand Hyatt, Kalina 547Rooms 38Suites
Hyatt Regency, Sahar 397Rooms 22Suites
The Oberoi, Nariman Point 337Rooms 22Suites
Taj President, Cuffe Parade 300Rooms 20Suites

Hafeez bhai again!

Hmm, apparently Mumbai and Delhi and other Indian cities do not need budget hotels, according to the hoteliers and the babus.

I am not sure why Ms Nandi calls the Nirmal-Accor hotel complex - the biggest hotel in Mumbai. The complex will have 5 hotels not one hotel.

That way if you add the Hilton and the Oberoi (both are owned by Oberoi) and adjacent to each other, total rooms are around 900!

taj mahal palace & tower would be quite big also. but yeah in the end she is right about the new one being the largest, though not about the size of the second largest!

Exciting stuff!

The hospitality sector in India is taking off and set to take off even further. Excellent news for employment and India does have shortage of hotel rooms in many towns and cities.

Im surprised the Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower is not mentioned in the above list. It only has 565 rooms and 46 suites!!!!!!! Its bigger than the Grand Hyatt in Kalina!!!!! which makes it the largest hotel in the country? It has one of the best & unique locations in the city too.

The two new hotels in Mumbai (Bandra-Kurla) sound interesting. These are the Sofitel & Hilton Trident.....photo's anyone?

Lanka firm plans $100mn India resort spend

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=18089


Sri Lanka's biggest hotel chain John Keells Holdings plans to invest $100 million to build resorts in the Indian states of Goa and Kerala.

John Keells, which runs nine hotels in Sri Lanka and five in the Maldives, hopes to develop three properties in India, the group's deputy chairman, Ajit Gunewardena said.

"Unlike the Maldives, at the moment, Sri Lanka doesn't look too good for us, because of the security situation," he said.

Gunawardena says the Indian investment is part of the group's strategy to foray into South Asian markets. "South Asia has growth opportunities and we want to extend our hotel footprint into the region".

Hmm, apparently Mumbai and Delhi and other Indian cities do not need budget hotels, according to the hoteliers and the babus.


India really needs lots of nice, clean, mid priced hotels. The luxury hotels are unaffordable for most people and the low priced hotels are awful.

Ginger is a nice attempt but wish they added many more hotels to this chain.

http://www.gingerhotels.com/

The just have six locations - Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Durgapur, haridwar, Mysore, Pune, Trivandrum

My point exactly Sun. Most of the projects announced in the country are for 5 star hotels, while very few companies are thinking about the budget traveller.

Here are some brands that I can think of....

Tata owned Ginger Hotels, they are planning to add another 30 properties to their current 6 locations.

theres Hometel: http://www.hometel.co.in/

Owned by Sarovar Hotels. Currently only in Bangalore, but looking to expand to Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, Pune and Baddi.

They also own the Sarovar Portico brand, which is 3 star and which I could also classify as mid-budget hotel.

http://www.sarovarhotels.com/hotel-brands.html

Now of course Accor is coming in with Formulae 1 & Ibis, both budget hotel brands, and its Novotel and Mercure brands as midscale brands. dont know about the initial number of properties.

EasyHotel, owned by the EasyGroup, is planning to come in with their hotels partering with Istithmar Hotels of UAE. They will first establish hotels in 8 locations at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad by 2009.

Hilton's budget hotel brands are next. Dont know about their number and locations.

These are all that I can think of at present.

There is Lemon Tree Hotels too.

http://www.lemontreehotels.com

By 2009 they should have several hotels across the country. They have two operational in Gurgaon now and one due to open in Goa.

India set for budget hotel boom (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=BO&autono=266677&chkFlg=)

India is set to add 10,000 budget hotel rooms in the next two years in response to the burgeoning demand for low-cost accommodation across the country.

According to department of tourism estimates, India currently has nearly 30,000 rooms in the three-star category priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,500.

A host of global chains and domestic operators are opening budget hotels, buoyed by estimates that international tourist arrivals are rising by over 15 per cent and are set to touch 14.5 million by the end of this year. The business travelling segment is rising at an even faster pace.

The average price of these rooms will be Rs 1,500-2,000 per day compared with five-star accommodation that comes at an average rate of Rs 13,500-Rs 15,000.

Industry analysts say till recently there was a lack of clarity in the segmentation of hotels in India because all five-star hotels were considered as luxury hotels and everything else as budget. But hoteliers in India are catching up fast with the global segmentation of luxury, mid-scale, budget and economy hotels.

More than five foreign hospitality brands and seven domestic brands have already announced plans to set up budget and economy hotels in the country.

An executive of the Taj group, which operates its budget hotels under the Ginger brand name, said with tourist inflow increasing rapidly, hotels in the country were eager to tap the potential in the mid-market segment.

Ginger, which has already launched hotels in Hardwar and Pune, plans to open 30 more in places like Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Durgapur, Panjim, Agartala, Tirupur, Pondicherry, Baddi and Nashik, adding 3,000 rooms by the end of 2008. The average room rent in these hotels will be Rs 1,000.

International hotel chain Accor recently entered into a joint venture with Emaar MGF to bring its Formule 1 brand of budget hotels to India. It will build 100 hotels over 10 years with an investment of Rs 1,350 crore. It will also launch its Ibis brand. Accor’s Formule 1 rooms will be priced at Rs 1,500 in major cities and Rs 1,000 in Tier II towns.

On the other hand, players like Sarovar Hotels have entered this segment with its brand Hometel. It will build Hometels in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore and Chandigarh at a cost of Rs 230 crore over the next two years.

South India-based Choice Hotels will also set up 8-10 budget properties each year, in the next 2-3 years with an investment of Rs 700-750 crore.

There is Lemon Tree Hotels too.

http://www.lemontreehotels.com

By 2009 they should have several hotels across the country. They have two operational in Gurgaon now and one due to open in Goa.
Whoa, it costs nearly Rs. 8,000 per night. For that much, I can find a hotel in Chicago or San Francisco. I wouldn't call that a budget hotel. Compare it to Ginger, whose prices start at Rs. 1000 a night. Considering India's PPP multiplier of 5, and a hotel is not "imported", the hotels are way overpriced. Ginger sounds like a good idea. Let's see.

Interesting!

CNN-IBN news about Ginger Hotel Advertisement

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/26976/hotel-mocks-its-way-to-publicity.html

ha ha, very nice!

Lalu's hotel dream interests builders
RAJAT GUHA & MAYUR SHEKHAR JHA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2006 02:19:09 AM]

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s call for private-public partnership in setting up budget hotels has generated tremendous interest among real estate and corporate biggies.

As many as 56 corporates are jostling to grab the pie to set up 20 budget hotels across the country. Companies such as Emaar-MGF consortium, Ajay Bijli-promoted PVR industries, Simplex Infrastructure, Xander Realty Fund, MGM Entertainment and Spanco Telesystems Solutions have bid for budget hotel sites on surplus railway land. This will be the first test case for private-public participation in creating hotels in the budget segment.

Railways has chalked out plans to set up 100 budget hotels across the country over the next three years to create an inventory of over 10,000 rooms. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has asked for bids from private hospitality developers and foreign players for setting up two to three star hotels in 20 locations under the Rail Ratna brand. These include Madurai, Vijaywada, Secunderabad, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Tirupati, Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Nagpur, Ooty, New Jalpaiguri, Agra, Pune, Darjeeling, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Sealdah and Bikaner.

On an average, each property will house around 100 rooms. Indian hospitality market has around 1,00,000 rooms in the organised segment with over 80% of them being in the star-category. The industry needs to double its room inventory over the next three years.

These bids are for developing, operating and maintaining Rail Ratna brand of hotels on licence basis for 30 years. With nearly 4.23 lakh hectares of land across the country, Indian Railways is one of the largest land owner in the country.

While around 3.19 lakh hectares have been used for Railway operations including construction of rail tracks and other structures, 43,000 hectares is lying unutilised and thus available for commercial use. Around 2,240 hectares of railway land have been encroached.

Indian Express (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=212318#)

ITC group of hotels has announced to set up a super deluxe hotel in Ahmedabad with investment of around Rs 300 crore. This was announced by ITC executive director S S H Rehman, at the ‘National Tourism Conclave - Exploring the Magical Tourism Journey of Gujarat’ being held in the city.

The conclave, being jointly organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL), is aimed at promoting tourism in the State.

Minister of State for Tourism C D Patel said that Gujarat had all the facilities — safety of tourists, uninterrupted power supply, good road network — it still had a long way to go before it became the most favoured destination.

Tourism Secretary R M Patel said funds earmarked to promote tourism had been increased to Rs 100 crore in the 2006-07 budget from Rs 30 crore the previous year. From the allocated funds, 60 per cent had been set aside for developing tourism infrastructure at important sites. Besides, district tourism committees, headed by collectors, have been given special grants for strengthening local tourism network, he added.

Global hotel chains check in to India (http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=148398)

A buoyant economy and a woefully inadequate supply of hotel rooms are drawing global chains to India, where pricey real estate is forcing them to partner with local developers to get off the ground quickly.

There are an estimated 105,000 hotel rooms in India--compared with 135,000 in Shanghai alone--and only a quarter of these are in the branded segment. Another 100,000 to 125,000 rooms would be needed over the next five years to meet demand.

Room rates--at $150-$300 in premium hotels, and going up to as much as $550-$650 in the peak tourist season from November to March--are already among the highest in Asia-Pacific.

Rates are expected to climb a further 20-25 per cent over the next two to three years, according to industry estimates.

But the pitfalls are many in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.

"India is a tough country to do business in because real estate is not transparent, so it's better to join hands with someone who knows the market and has a land bank," said Manav Thadani at hospitality consultancy HVS International.

"Plus, when you're looking for economies of scale to maximise returns, you need to start with 15-20 hotels at one go, and that's only possible with a developer that has land."

Hotels can free up precious capital, while a franchise deal or management contract also minimises operational risk, he said.

But hotel chains are not alone in the chase for land.

Land prices in India's top cities have doubled in the last two years as hoteliers, retailers, commercial and residential property developers and multiplex operators fight for space.

A recent report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers said slower growth at home and booming markets in emerging economies such as India and China were drawing global hotels to these markets.

French hotel group Accor SA, owner of the upmarket Sofitel and budget Ibis brands, plans to open 200,000 new rooms by 2010, with two-thirds of them in emerging markets.

In addition to an earlier joint venture for 25 Ibis economy hotels in India, Accor recently signed deals with Hindustan Construction Co, GMR Infrastructure Ltd developer Nirmal Lifestyles Ltd and Naman Developers Ltd.

Accor also has a joint venture with Dubai's Emaar Properties for 100 budget hotels in India at an investment of $300 million. Emaar MGF owns more than 5,000 acres across India.

Hilton Hotels will invest $143 million in a venture with developer DLF Ltd for 75 hotels and serviced apartments.

For developers, hotels are more commercially viable than retail, as the floor space index is double that of malls.

Wyndham to open 10 Ramadas in India

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8LSU9L80.htm

Wyndham Worldwide Corp. on Friday said it signed an agreement with Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd. of Bangalore, India, to develop 10 Ramada hotels with at total of at least 1,000 rooms.

Royal Orchid said it will invest about $100 million, to build four-star-quality Ramada hotels in India over the next four years.

Wyndham Hotel Group also franchises Ramada, Days and Howard Johnson hotels in India. Royal Orchid operates four hotels there: Hotel Royal Orchid, Royal Orchid Central, Royal Orchid Harsha in Bangalore and Royal Orchid Metropole in Mysore.

India's 10 Best Hotels

Hotel
City

Amanbagh
Rajasthan

The Imperial
New Delhi

The Oberoi Amarvilas
Agra

The Oberoi Rajvilas
Jaipur

The Oberoi Mumbai
Mumbai

The Oberoi Udaivilas
Udaipur

Taj Lake Palace
Udaipur

The Taj Mahal Hotel
New Delhi

The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
Mumbai

Wildflower Hall
Shimla

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/08forbes.htm

If you want a room in Bangalore's Leela Palace Kempinski, the country's most expensive hotel, you will have to wait till March next year. The hotel, with an average room rate of Rs 18,000, is full till February, when the Air Show is scheduled to be held in the city.

The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, the second most expensive hotel with an average room rate of Rs 15,000, is also booked till March. The Oberoi Rajvilas has rooms in two categories -- premier and luxury tent -- available at Rs 26,750 and Rs 31,200, respectively. Despite its high prices, its booking have been soaring.

"By the end of this season, we expect to close with a higher occupancy compared with the same period last year," said an Oberoi spokesperson. Even when the Oberoi Rajvilas' average room rate touched Rs 20,000 during January, no rooms were available.

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/11hotels.htm

deleted

MUMBAI: The Armani brand of luxury boutique hotels which primarily caters to premium customers is setting shop in India, starting with markets like Mumbai, Delhi and Goa.

Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties will launch the luxury hotel by 2008. Emaar MGF had recently tied up with France-based Accor group to launch the 100 Formule 1 hotels in the Indian market.

Emaar will handle the construction, management and operations of the hotels while the leading Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani will oversee the content, design and style including interiors.

“The construction activities have started and we are deliberating on the number and size of the rooms for each hotel. It’s going to be a 7 star hotel and will only come up in major metro markets,” says Shravan Gupta, executive VC and MD, Emaar MGF.

Branded as Armani Hotels, it will be an integrated project which will house apartments, malls along with hotels. Armani Hotels for the last one year has been actively developing the design concepts under the close supervision of Giorgio Armani, who defines the look and feel of the hotels and resorts.

Emaar’s iconic ‘super’ tower Burj Dubai, the tallest in the world when completed in 2008, will feature the first Armani luxury hotel in Dubai. Emaar’s partnership with Giorgio Armani is to build and manage 10 Armani hotels and resorts around the world.

Plans are on for setting up Armani hotels in major cities across the world -- Milan, Dubai, New York, Paris and London. The Italian fashion house is also looking at developing 100-odd malls which it plans to build globally; out of which 50 is understood to be set up in major Indian cities, it is learnt.

The Armani Group is one of the leading fashion and luxury goods and designs accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery, home interiors, fragrances and cosmetics under brand names like Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans and Armani Casa.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/825144.cms

Oh, for a few thousand more hotel rooms (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=269157&leftnm=5&subLeft=0&chkFlg=)

A booming economy has every chain worth its salt building for the future, but there’s little to show for it this year and next.

Fake a call to any five-star hotel in Delhi or Bangalore, ask for a room and you might be surprised by the room rates.

$300 is the norm but it can easily go up to $450-500 if the standard room isn’t available! Room rates in the top 10 cities of India have gone up by 30-55 per cent in the last one year, which, says Manav Thadani, managing director, HVS International-India, is not a healthy long-term trend. It is likely to turn away leisure traffic as well as the lucrative conference segment from India.

No wonder all major international hotel companies are sneaking into India (some are making big noises as well!).

According to Manbeer Choudhary, past president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), the hotel sector is getting an investment of $250-350 million of which 70 per cent is foreign direct investment (FDI). The Indian government allows 100 per cent FDI in hotels.

Move beyond this rosy picture and the thorns might prick you. India needs at least 1,00,000 rooms across the country by 2010.

For the Commonwealth Games in 2010, the NCR region needs a minimum of 10,000-15,000 rooms, but the pace at which things have progressed in 2006 has scared industry members.

To begin with, let’s talk about the land auctions in Delhi carried out by Delhi Development Authority. The authority tried to auction 22 land plots for hotels across Delhi, but hasn’t managed to auction them all.

Prices of DDA land have been astronomical to say the least. Earlier in the year, two five-star hotel sites at Jasola in south Delhi fetched Rs 388 crore against a reserve price of Rs 118 crore. Emaar MGF bagged both the plots.

Thadani feels that some of the auctions are happening way beyond the justifiable price for a hotel project. Internationally, land cost is 15-20 per cent of the total hotel project cost.

In India, traditionally it has been high at about 30-40 per cent but recently, it has gone up to 50-60 per cent of the total project cost, making some of the projects unviable. The solution: higher Floor Space Index (FSI) and stricter parking norms for hotels. Lahore has an FSI of 12 compared to 1.75 in Delhi.

What is encouraging though is the number of international chains entering the Indian market. Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced that it would create a joint venture company with DLF to develop and own 75 hotels and service apartments over the next seven years.

Accor formed a JV with Emaar MGF to bring the Formula-1 brand of budget hotels to the country. The JV Budget Hotels India plans to develop 100 hotels adding upto 10,000 rooms.

Mumbai will get a Four Seasons in a couple of months; Lodhi Hotel in Delhi is now being renovated as an Aman resort; there is plan for a Ritz Carlton in Bangalore; Shangri-La is already there in Delhi and more are coming up in Bangalore; there’s talk of an Oriental Mandarin... the list goes on.

The demand for budget hotels too is growing at a very fast pace. According to Thadani, about half of the current demand, countrywide, is for budget accommodation.

Earlier, Accor had announced plans for at least 25 budget category Ibis hotels along with InterGlobe Hotels; now the latest plan for 100 Formula-1 hotels along with Emaar MGF; Lemon Tree is looking at more hotels and the same company is launching another budget brand Red Fox; Sarovar Hotels has firmed up plans for its Hometel brand... so the list goes on. Many budget hotel brands have also ventured into smaller cities like Chandigarh, Haridwar, Rudrapur, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada.

“There have been a lot of announcements but how much will come on the ground will have to be seen,”says Thadani.

Happily, some states in India like Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have started creating land banks, offering specific concessions to hotel developers.

Many five-star hotel groups eye Nagpur (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?leftnm=1&subLeft=1&chklogin=N&autono=269171&tab=r)

Nagpur seems to have appeared simultaneously on the radar screens of many five-star groups as teams from three more chains are understood to have made initial surveys to locate their properties here.
Two hotel chains Kamat Group and Radisson Hotels and Resorts have committed investments of Rs 100 crore and Rs 35 crore respectively.

Now, Le Meridian, Ginger Hotels of the Tata Group and the Hyatt Group are understood to have sent advance teams to the city to scout for possible locations for their properties.

Interestingly, all of them have shown keen interest in land bordering the Wardha Road even as they also looked up some other sites. Builders and property agents said that if any one of them comes up with a firm offer, land rates may shoot up all over again.

Already, property rates on Wardha Road are at their zenith and nobody is willing to hazard a guess on how high they could go.
Kamat and Radisson’s too have decided on Wardha Road for their respective properties.

A four member team from Le Meridian, a company with several five star properties across the country, visited the city recently.

Though the amount of investment and the standard of facilities that it is planning to offer, are not known, an industry insider said that the company was planning to start operations here within 18 months.

“The team was here for a feasibility study of the region. They did some survey on the viability and the prospects of a project here and checked out on the rules and regulations for constructing a property in the city,” brokers said. Plans, however, are yet to be finalised, they said.

Realty dealers also disclosed that Ginger Hotels, a chain of budget hotels of the Tata Group, visited the city for purchasing a plot, again, on Wardha road.The group, reportedly, failed to zero in on any particular site that could fulfill their needs.

Hyatt Group of Hotels too have checked up on the city. Another group of economy hotels,[b] Lemon Tree Hotels[b], has also shown interest in Nagpur.

Cool good news.

Is Nagpur a up and coming city?

Any pics of hotels around India?

^^
Nagpur is a pretty chilled town. You can find some pics of Nagpur in the thread in my Signature. Nagpur airport will soon become a major cargo hub + will Boeing's regional maintenance site. TCS plans to open a big training center in Nagpur.

In case you didnt notice,there's a thread on Hotels in India

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=254384

:cheers:

GOURI AGTEY ATHALE

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, JANUARY 05, 2007 07:45:34 PM]

PUNE: If hotels count as infrastructure, then cities like Pune and Nagpur are going to get more than a fair share of such infrastructure development.

In Pune, the immediate driver for the addition of rooms, apart from the manufac-turing and software industrial growth, are the Commonwealth Youth Games, scheduled to be held here in October 2008.

Pune, which is set to add over 7,000 hotel rooms over the next two-three years and see the entry of top global brands, is also getting a helping hand from the state government. The state government's push is being helped along by Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the organising com-mittee, CYG and president of the Indian Olympics Association (IOA).

In Nagpur, the momentum comes from the setting up of the multi-modal cargo hub (MIHAN) and Boeing's maintenance and repair organisation (MRO) opera-tion which are to come up there.

The state's directorate of sports and youth affairs has signed an agreement on a build- operate-transfer (BOT) basis with the Mumbai based BSEL Ltd and Unity Partners, for a 400-room, three star property, in Pune. The six acre plot at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex at Balewadi, on the NH 4 by pass, is being leased to the special purpose vehicle (SPV), Unity Partners, created by the two construction companies on a 60 year lease, Yogen Lal, chief operating officer (COO), Unity Infra Projects Ltd, said.

Dharmendra Raichura, managing director, BSEL Ltd added that they will exit af-ter the construction phase, handing over to a hotel management company.

"We are in talks with Tuli International and Vithal Kamat's Orchid group," Mr Raichura said, indicating they could also hand over the proposed Nagpur property to Tuli International. The finalisation of the handing over to the hotel manage-ment company will happen in the next fortnight.

In Nagpur, the JV will set up a 300 room, business budget hotel. This will be on a two acre plot of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) which will be leased for a 30 year period.

Mr Lal added that in view of the deadline of the Commonwealth Youth Games, the first phase of the six acre project in Pune would be completed in the next 15 months.

"After the Games, we are targeting the IT park at Hinjewadi and the regular trav-ellers on the Mumbai-Bangalore, National Highway 4. The Games Village is coming up on the Pune by-pass of the NH 4," Mr Lal said. He added that they have the potential to develop 5.5 lakh sq ft, there will be scope to add entertain-ment facilities there.

"This is a strategic location and we want to develop it as an entertainment, com-mercial hub, with a Club, convention centre, banquet hall," he remarked.



http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Pune__Nagpur_to_check_in_hotel_demand/articleshow/1066711.cms

Thanks so much indiansunite!!!!!

Hotels include holy places on the menu (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=270716&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

With the domestic tourism booming, holy places have started figuring on hotel chains’ radar. A number of hospitality groups have drawn up plans to start hotels in places of pilgrimage.

The Taj group-promoted Ginger Hotel, for example, is looking for the right place to house its new facility in Tirupati, where one of the richest shrines in the world is situated.

The group has already a hotel operational in the temple town of Hardwar and construction is in full swing at Nashik, another holy place in Maharashtra.

Sarovar Hotels, too, is planning to build hotels in Pushkar (Rajasthan), Mathura and Amritsar. The group has hotels in Badrinath and also Shirdi, where the famous Sai Baba temple is situated .

The group's interest in Pushkar is because of its proximity to another well-known place of pligrimage Ajmer Sharif.

Amritsar’s Golden Temple is a hot spot for both domestic and NRI visitors.

A group of 20 investors, lead by US-based NRIs, are planning to build upmarket dharamshalas in 20 religious places in the country.

The hospitality groups are also looking at a different and 'genuine category' of well-heeled religious tourists. "Organised trips are arranged to these places. Also, the strength of domestic tourists is big enough for the hotels to make a good business,” said an analyst.

However, lack of proper amenities are keeping people in the age group of 30-45 away from these places and this segment needs to be attracted," said an analyst.

However, not only the hotel industry, but temple boards too are realising the potential of tourists.

For instance, Sri Nathdwara temple in Rajasthan is developing the temple and its surrounding area with the help of Hiranandani Builders.

Leela in Global Hotel Alliance (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=271394&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Mumbai-based Leela Palace has joined the largest hotel alliance of the world, the Global Hotel Alliance, which has been formed on the lines of that set up by airlines.

Leela Palaces and Resorts will be the only Indian hotel group to join Global Hotel Alliance. The Leela has signed a five-year membership agreement and will shortly open a Global Hotel Alliance office in its Mumbai premises.

Following the agreement, the Leela group will get marketing and sales support from Global Hotel Alliance members such as Kempinski Hotels (Europe), Omni Hotels (North America), Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts (Japan), Rydges (Australia), Dusit Hotels & Resorts (Thailand), Landis Hotels & Resorts (Taiwan) and Marco Polo Hotels (China & Hong Kong).

The Global Hotel Alliance is an international grouping of independent and individual hotel brands.

On January 1, the Global Hotel Alliance merged the Asian Hotels Alliance to become the world's largest hotel tie-up by adding three chains. This alliance now consists of nearly 200 upscale and luxury hotels and resorts, spread over 40 countries.

Hotel Leela Venture Chairman CP Krishnan Nair told Business Standard that the Global Hotel Alliance would give the Leela an edge in marketing and sales as the group will assist other members in bookings in India and vice versa. Moreover, travellers can avail guest recognition programmes launched by members of alliance hotels.

The Leela group operates four hotels in India, of which three have a management alliance with Kempinski. It is expanding its portfolio and will run more than 10 hotels in India in the next two years.

The current portfolio of the Leela group includes properties in Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa and Kovalam Beach (Kerala), with hotels under construction in Chennai, New Delhi, Udaipur, Pune and Hyderabad.

Hotels to put Rs 10,635 cr in Gujarat (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=151849)

Tourism sector in Gujarat has attracted dozens of hoteliers, who have lined up mega bucks for their hotel and resort projects. Around 30 players have evinced interest in setting up hotels, resorts and tourism projects in the state. All the proposed projects would bring an investment of Rs 10,635 crore in the state providing employment to close to 26,370 people.

More than 30 firms have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Gujarat government for setting up hotels and resorts in the state. Interestingly, this time it is not only Ahmedabad that has caught the fancy of hoteliers, but also cities like Surat, Morbi and Kutch, too, have attracted the attention of hoteliers.

Gujarat Heritage has proposed an investment of Rs 327.50 crore for setting up beach and heritage hotels at Kutch and Morbi. For a five star hotel in Gujarat Hotel Crown will invest Rs 325 crore, while Divisions DLF Ltd will infuse Rs 250 crore for business hotels at four locations. Among other players Royal Manor Hotel plans to expand Taj Ummed hotel and set up another five start hotel in the state. New Jersey-based Apex Hospitality and Mohit Industry Ltd propose to invest Rs 100 crore each for five star hotels in Gujarat. Mohit plans to set up a five star hotel at Surat.

Florida Metal Trading Ltd have also entered into a memorandum of understanding to set up golf hotels and village hotels in Surat. The firm proposes to invest Rs 355 crore for the project. In addition to this, Itina Filmcity Private Ltd, Bangalore, plans to invest Rs 2,240 crore for setting up a filmcity, while Pleasure Park will infuse Rs 330 core for pleasure park in the state.

^^ i see ahmedabad becoming the next big thing in the next five years.........

Citigroup to invest $30 mn in Bangalore hotel project
Bangalore, Jan 16 (IANS) Citigroup Property Investors, the New York-based real estate investment management arm of Citigroup, Tuesday announced it would invest $30 million (Rs.1.35 billion) in a luxury hotel project being developed in the city.

The proposed five-star hotel, estimated to cost about $100 million (Rs.4.5 billion), will have 250 rooms and become operational in 30 months. Being developed by Nitesh Estates, it is located in the prime area of the central business district.

'Citigroup is partnering with us in the hotel project with $30 million investment in the first round of funding. It is expected to make additional investment in phases as the project gets going,' Nitesh Estates managing director Nitesh Shetty told reporters here.

Citigroup Property Investors managing director for Asia-Pacific David Schaefer said the investment in the project would transform the hospitality section in India's silicon hub.

'We believe the real estate sector in Bangalore has tremendous growth potential. As one of the fastest growing integrated real estate property developers in India, Nitesh Estates will play a key role in the growth of real estate industry and raise the standards to be benchmarked with the best in the world,' Schaefer said.

Designed by leading global architects, the hotel is set to offer world-class amenities. Ernst & Young is the investment adviser to the deal.

Citigroup Property Investors offers private market real estate investment strategies designed to produce superior and risk-adjusted returns in North America, Europe and Asia.

Nitesh Estates, engaged in the development of high-end residential apartments, office buildings, hotels, gated townships and retail space, recently bagged the Rs.1 billion built-to-suit residential complex for ITC Ltd in the city.
© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service


from niteshestates.com
When you are a premium builder and are known to offer luxury at its best you are even expected to create architectural wonders that house 5-star amenities and facilities under one roof. The real estate leader in Bangalore , Nitesh Estates forays into the hospitality sector with the launch a 5-star luxury hotel in the heart of the city. The project by Nitesh Estates, entailing an estimated investment of Rs. 500 crores (US Dollar 100 million), marks one of the largest hotel deals in Bangalore in recent years.

The 300 rooms 5-star luxury hotel will be located on Residency Road, in the heart of Bangalore 's Central Business District (CBD). The five-star hotel will offer world-class amenities such as luxurious rooms designed to meet the needs of the modern traveller, a state-of-the-art spa, and 3 fine restaurants, convention centers. The hotel will commence operations by 2009. The project holds tremendous potential as the CBD area in Bangalore has only few other 5-star hotels viz. The Oberoi, The Taj Group, The Park and The Leela. Nitesh Estates has tied up with the world's largest hotel chain Operator from the U.S.

the website doesnot have any renders as of now.

fucking ridiculous prices, 900 crores for less than an acre. people have seriously gone mad. also wonder how much of the money will be put back into the city network, or will it go into the railways black-hole

Rly plot at CST fetches 903 cr for budget hotel

Devraj Dasgupta | TNN

Mumbai: The Indian Railways hit pay dirt on Thursday when its 3,900 square metre plot (less than one acre) near CST in south Mumbai fetched Rs 903 crore. This winning bid to build and operate a budget hotel on a 30-year lease came from a consortium of Essel Group company G L Hotels Ltd and Pan Indian Hotels Ltd, the Indian franchisee of the Inter Continental hotel chain.
The consortium beat five competitors when bids were opened at the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) office in New Delhi on Thursday.
Real estate sources say it’s yet another instance of the mad rush to snap up land in the city at mind-boggling prices. To put the deal into perspective, Mukesh Ambani’s RIL had paid Rs 1,104 crore for an 18.5-acre plot at the Bandra-Kurla complex last year.

70% of budget hotel rooms to be charged at market rates


Mumbai: Those who were in the race to buy the railways’ less-than-1-acre-plot near CST on lease were Indian Hotels (Taj Group), Delhi-based Zoom Royal Orchid, Signet Hotels run by a group of NRIs, Bangalore-based MRMGF-Aqua and Hyderabad-based Shree Shakti Hotels and Resorts.
According to railway officials who spoke to TOI, the winning bid is a “bombshell’’ of an offer and such a high price was least expected for the plot. Interestingly, the second highest bid lagged way behind at Rs 476 crore.
The Rs 903 crore bid includes a licence fee of Rs 866 crore and fixed use charges of Rs 37 crore to be paid to the Indian Railways over a period of 30 years. “On an average, the consortium will have to pay the railways Rs 30 crore per year,’’ sources said.
The land will be given to the consortium on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. Property market sources say the location is ideal for a budget hotel because of its proximity to the city’s largest railway station, which sees 70,000 outstation passengers passing through its gates.
Railway officials said that 30% of the rooms in the new hotel will be priced on par with railway retiring rooms while the remaining 70% will be charged at market rates.
Although, the bidders had initially insisted on a 50-year lease for a better rate of return, the railway ministry stuck to its tender condition of 30 years on a BOT agreement. The consortium will have to hand over the hotel to the railways after the lease is over. The hotel will come up on the land currently housing the Railway Claims Tribunal. The RCT will be soon be demolished to make way for the hotel.
R D Sharma, group general manager of IRCTC (West), while confirming the Carnac Bunder deal, said the railways expects to have four more budget hotels at Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Kurla and CST. Officials said the hotel will have two entrances, one facing P D’Mello road and the other one leading to CST station, said IRCTC officials.

Well for all the money they've paid, hopefully they'll build at least 2 dozen or more stories over there.

it comes to 2 lakh a sq. ft. they need an fsi of at least 10 to make it feasible. and i dont think they will get that

Gujarat to get 7-star deluxe floating hotel

Gandhinagar, January 17: Gujarat is all set to get India’s first seven star deluxe floating hotel that would include an international marina, golf course, and conference centers. A mega tourism project, an MoU for which was signed during the just concluded Investors’ Summit, would also see two passenger luxury ships with five star facilities, houseboats available on hire, yachts, amphibious buses, among others ply along Gujarat’s long coast.

With the promoters promising a new kind of lifestyle for the first time in India, the project is set to roll in the next six months, said Chairman and Managing Director of the Singapore-based Seaways Maritime Limited, Captain Savio De Silva Furtado. The MoU for the Rs 5,000 crore bunch of sea tourism projects was signed between Captain Furtado and Principal Secretary (Tourism) R M Patel.


Already in Zurich (Germany) to arrange for the vessels for the project, Furtado said he would start plying two luxury cruise ships in next six months along the Gujarat coast. For the floating hotel project, his group is keen for a location around Surat, with the international marina also at the same place.

“Our aim is to offer a new kind of lifestyle options to the people of India. Many other states were in the running but the Gujarat government was very quick with its support. We in fact wanted to be immediate but we need to create a berthing infrastructure for the floating hotel.

This might take some time. But the roll-on-roll-off (RO-RO) luxury passenger ships would start in next six to eight months,” Furtado said, when contacted. According to him, the international marina would be a complete world-class recreational harbour with houseboats, yachts, hotels, restaurants, and other facilities geared for a complete outing experience.

Promoters say they are keen on Surat owing to the customer profile, as also its proximity to Mumbai.

As per details of the project, the company would set up the seven star floating hotel at a cost of Rs 1,700 crore, the passenger RO-RO luxury ship at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore, a five star deluxe cruise liner at a cost of Rs 1,900 crore, and a dozen houseboats for another Rs 191 crore. As per the MoU the project is likely to generate an employment for 2,900 persons.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=218227

Taj checks into Rail Yatri Niwas with rejig deal (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=272041&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The hotel chain is set to renovate and mantain the railways budget hotel.

The Taj group of hotels has bagged the contract for renovating and running Rail Yatri Niwas, the well-known Delhi budget hotel owned by the railways, on a 15-year lease.

As part of the deal with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which currently runs it, the Taj group will renovate the Yatri Niwas and add food courts within the complex.

The makeover will be done on a redesign-operate-manage-transfer basis. The hotel will be run under the Taj group’s budget hotel brand, Ginger, which has hotels in Mysore, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Haridwar and Bhubaneshwar.

Confirming the development, a railway official said, “The contract with Taj is part of our attempt to upgrade all our four Rail Yatri Niwas hotels located in Delhi, Howrah, Ranchi and Puri.”

Explaining that the Taj group was awarded the hotel as part of IRCTC’s bidding process, Prabhat Pani, CEO, Ginger Hotels, said the hotel would be closed for renovation once it was handed over.

IRCTC has also awarded contracts for renovation, upgrade and running of its Yatri Niwas in Ranchi and Puri to the BNR group.

The Hotel Meghalaya group has bagged the contract for renovating and running the Yatri Niwas at Howrah.IRCTC also awarded the bids for setting up budget hotels at 11 locations to the private sector yesterday under the build-operate-transfer scheme.

US-based Signet Hotel group has bagged contracts for setting up budget hotels in Ooty, Kanyakumari, Jaisalmer and Rameshwaram.

The Zoom-Royal Orchid consortium has also bagged four locations — Darjeeling, Bikaner, New Jalpaiguri and Tirupati.

The Subhash Chandra-owned GL Hotels group has won contracts for Mumbai, Madurai and Sealdah. These hotels are expected to come up in the next one year.

IRCTC has charged a six month security deposit of Rs 1-2 crore from each player against a 30-year lease. The deals are to be on a 70:30 revenue-share basis in favour of the concessionaires.

The names of the hotels are to be decided in tandem with the players through co-branding. The railways had initially planned to call them Rail Ratnas.

In the second phase, IRCTC plans to award contracts to private players to set up and run budget hotels in eight new locations by the end of the month. The locations are Udaipur, Agra, Jodhpur, Chandigarh, Pune, Vijaywada, Nagpur and Secunderabad.

These hotels are to come up on vacant land near railway stations for passengers.

Marriott Int'l plans 3 hotels for Pune

[quote]
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) will manage three hotels representing 833 new luxury, deluxe and upper-moderate quality guest rooms in Pune, India which are scheduled to open over the next three years:




* the 153-room Courtyard by Marriott West Pune in the upper-moderate tier is scheduled to open in 2008;
* the 250-room JW Marriott Hotel Pune in the luxury tier is planned to open in 2009; and
* the 430-room Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Center in the upscale, deluxe tier scheduled to open in 2010

All three properties are being developed by a local property development group.

Read more-->http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressnews/marriottinternationalpune/marriottintlplans3hotelsforpune/market/stocks/article/265349

America's Best Franchising, Inc. - which franchises Country Hearth Inns & Suites - has signed a Master License Agreement with KI Group, Inc. to bring the Country Hearth hotel brand to India. The agreement calls for the development of at least 20 hotels throughout India, with an option to further develop the brand in other Asian Pacific markets such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

According to Malhotra, the Country Hearth hotels will be primarily new construction and developed in India's Tier 1 and II cities such as Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai (Tier 1), and Bangalore, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Pune (Tier II).

"The Country Hearth brand has a great tradition and respect for its guests," said Arun Malhotra, Director of KI Group, Inc. "With all the recent economic and commercial growth in India, there is a real need for quality mid-market hotels. Country Hearth, with its homelike feel, is the perfect fit and will be a welcome addition to the region's lodging market."

http://www.hotelmotel.com/hotelmotel/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=402992

NEW DELHI: It’s not only the promoters of US-based Patel Motels who are looking to re-create their success in India. Several US-based budget and economy hotel brands such as Super8 Motels, CountryHearth, America’s Best Inns and Best Value Inn are set to enter the Indian market through the franchisee route.

America’s Best Franchising Inc, which franchises Country Hearth Inns & Suites, has recently signed a master franchisee agreement to develop at least 20 greenfield properties in the metros and several secondary cities such as Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Goa and Pune over the next five to seven years.

The mid-priced hotels will combine the atmosphere of a bed-and-breakfast outfit with the convenience of a hotel, America’s Best Franchising Inc chairman Douglas Collins told ET.

The group is also looking at introducing the group’s America’s Best Inns & Suites brand in suburban markets and across various highways. Each Country Hearth Inns property is expected to house anywhere between 75 and 100 rooms.
To be developed in association with local partners, the total project cost is expected to touch $100 million. “At some time, we may even have a local chain. It could be named India’s Best Inn brand,” Mr Collins added.

Another hotel chain, Wyndham Hotel Group, which already has presence in the country with its Ramada and Days Inn brands, is now in talks with prospective partners to introduce Super8 Motels across state and national highways.

“Super8 is a roadway product. The highways and the national corridor that are currently being developed across the country offer a great opportunity to introduce this brand in India,” said Wyndam Hotel Group executive vice president (International Development) Reas Kondraschow.

There are plans to position both Days Inn and Super8 brands on the Indian highways, with the average room rates ranging between Rs 1,200 and 2,000 per night. “We would like to have up to 50 Super8 Motels over the next three years,” Mr Kondraschow added.

Several of such hotel brands are in talks with oil marketing companies whose outlets dot the Indian highways. Another US hotel group, Vantage Hospitality, owner of the Best Value Inn brand, is looking at franchisee operators.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/US-based_budget_hotels_plan_India_foray/articleshow/1630208.cms

Sarovar Hotels to invest Rs 200 cr in setting up 20 hotels (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200702210313.htm)


Hospitality chain Sarovar Hotels on Tuesday said, it plans to invest about Rs 200 crore over the next two years for developing 20 properties with a total of 1,800 rooms across the country.

"We will be investing Rs 200 crore in developing our own new properties in the next two years," Sarovar Hotels' Managing Director Anil Madhok said.

The group aims to add 20 new properties with a 1800 room capacity in the next two years, he said on the sidelines of a function to launch a co-branded credit card with ICICI Bank.

Sarovar Hotels already has 36 hotels across the country with a total of 2,500 rooms.

Chennai houseful!

With almost 100 per cent occupancy rates in star hotels, it is nearly impossible to get rooms in the city, SUDHISH KAMATH reports

The sun is shining over the hospitality sector. In spite of new hotels that have sprung up chock-a-block over the past two years, the occupancy rates in the city hotels have gone up. Is it a seasonal trend? Perhaps not. Some hotel managers believe that there is an ever-increasing demand for rooms in the city largely due to the growth of business, especially the IT sector, and cheaper airfares that have resulted in more trips, albeit, of shorter duration. Corporate tie-ups have ensured that rooms are occupied even during summer when the off-season begins.

As V. V. Giri, General Manager, The Park, says, "All of us in Chennai are out and out business hotels, not leisure hotels. About 99 per cent of our revenue from rooms comes from business. We support them (corporates) because they support us in the heat of the summer."

read further in
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/02/22/stories/2007022200470100.htm

fucking ridiculous prices, 900 crores for less than an acre. people have seriously gone mad. also wonder how much of the money will be put back into the city network, or will it go into the railways black-hole

Rly plot at CST fetches 903 cr for budget hotel

Devraj Dasgupta | TNN

Mumbai: The Indian Railways hit pay dirt on Thursday when its 3,900 square metre plot (less than one acre) near CST in south Mumbai fetched Rs 903 crore. This winning bid to build and operate a budget hotel on a 30-year lease came from a consortium of Essel Group company G L Hotels Ltd and Pan Indian Hotels Ltd, the Indian franchisee of the Inter Continental hotel chain.
The consortium beat five competitors when bids were opened at the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) office in New Delhi on Thursday.



Strange are the ways of Indian Railways and babudom.

Rlys cancels deal on Carnac Bunder plot

TNN

Mumbai: In a classic botchup, the Indians Railways has abruptly cancelled its plans for a budget hotel at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on the side facing P D Mello Road, doing a flip-flop on a process that’s been in the works for a year.

The railways had received a whopping bid of Rs 903 crore from a Mumbai-based hotel consortium, which wanted to develop the budget hotel at Carnac Bunder on an area of 3,900 square metres.

Real estate analysts described it as an extremely profitable offer for a piece of land less than an acre in an underdeveloped area ridden with encroachments.

Sources said the Railway Board has sent a note withdrawing the offer for the plot. They said the project was shelved at the last minute only to facilitate the development of the budget hotel by the newly formed Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA). It appears internal rivalry between the two organisations—IRCTC and RLDA—derailed the plan.

R S Virdi, divisional railway manager (DRM) of Central Railway, Mumbai division, confirmed the withdrawal of the project. He said the Railway Board had called for a holistic development of the complete 80,000 square metres plot available at Carnac Bunder.

“The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is already conducting a feasibility study on commercial exploitation of the Carnac Bunder plot. The budget hotel was cancelled so that it does not come as a hurdle to overall commercial development of the Carnac Bunder area,’’ he said.

This is the second time the Railway Board has decided to reverse a decision pertaining to a land deal in Mumbai. Six months back, it had asked the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to withdraw tenders inviting bids for a 45,000 sq.metre plot in Bandra (East). One-third of the money raised, approximately Rs 1,000 crore, was to be used for railway projects in Mumbai.

The sudden withdrawal of the Carnac Bunder plan comes as a surprise since railways stood to gain cash as well as developed space. A consortium of G L Hotels, a unit of Subhash Chandra controlled Essel Group, and Pan Indian Hotels Ltd, a sister concern of Inter-Continental Hotel, Marine Drive, had won the plot on lease for 30 years. The budget hotel would have offered outstation passengers accommodation at modest rates.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, an autonomous body under the railway ministry, had even prepared the blue-print for the budget hotel. The hotel was supposed to come up after demolishing the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) building.

Strangely, the Indian Railways knew that MRVC had asked a private firm to prepare a report on ways to exploit the 80,000 sq m plot at Carnac Bunder when it started the process of tendering for the hotel plot. Yet CR and IRCTC went ahead with the plans. And, they have now ended up reversing the plan.

Ginger lines up expansion for East (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=276809&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Jamshedpur, Haldia, Siliguri, Kharagpur, Paradeep, Angul, Jharsuguda, Agartala & Guwahati to get hotels.

After low cost airlines, it is the turn of low cost hotels to tap economy category travelers in India.

In a bid to capture the segment, Ginger hotel, a part of Tata group, is expanding the footprints of its low cost hotels in tier II and III cities of eastern India.

Roots Corporation Limited(RCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which manges the Ginger hotels has signed an MoU with Bengal Pragati Infrastructure Development Ltd, (BPIDL), a joint venture company of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and Pragati group, to build hotels in the new industrial and IT hubs of the state.

The company has identified land in Rajarhat, Haldia, Siliguri and Kharagpur for setting up 3-star hotels in partnership with BPIDL.

Without the price of land, the investment in each of the 100-room hotel would be around Rs 11 crore, said Prabhat Pani, CEO Roots Corporation Ltd.

At Rajarhat, the company plans to have a bigger hotel with 150 rooms, he said.

RCL would inaugurate its second Ginger hotel in eastern India in Durgapur on Wednesday. The first in the region was launched in Bhubaneshwar in September 2006.

RCL has major expansion plans for the eastern India.

In Orissa, it has already acquired land in Paradeep, Angul and Jharasugada.

It is also planning to expand in other parts of the state such as Duburi, Puri and Konark.

In the North East, Ginger hotels in Agartala and Guwahati were expected to be completed by the year-end.

The company is scouting for more land to set up hotels in the North East.

In Jharkhand, Roots has plans for a hotel in Jamshedpur.

By the next fiscal year, the company plans to have 25 hotels in the country, out of which seven would come up by the end of 2007.

Currently, RCL has six Ginger hotels in operation across the country.

The company is also eyeing a tie-up with the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) for remodelling 'Yatri Niwas'. "We have got the rights to remodel Yatri Niwas in New Delhi. We will be remodelling the interiors and the exteriors in accordance with the Ginger concept," said Pani.

As part of its expansion plans, Roots also plans to build hotels in shopping malls.

According to Siddharth Thaker, associate director — consulting and valuation at HVS International, there are 30-odd hotels being planned in the city at the moment. We hear that in a couple of years there might be three Marriott properties, a Hyatt Regency, Radisson, Novotel, Traders Hotel, Royal Orchid and Lemon Tree (the list is very long... and still incomplete) in the city.


According to some estimates, there are 20-25 malls being planned in Pune. As per Cushman & Wakefield estimates, there are 14 upcoming malls in the city that are in different stages of development — under construction and in the planning stages

These upcoming malls are located in the micro-markets of Aundh, Kharadi, Bund Garden Road, Hadapsar, Shastri Nagar, Kalyani Nagar, Karve Road, Raja Bahadur Road, Warje, Wakad, Ganeshkhind Road and Pimpri. Cushman & Wakefield says approximately 4.7 million sq ft of retail (mall) space will come up by the first quarter of 2009.

Commercial office space coming up in different parts of the city, such as Hinjewadi on the western side and Kharadi and Hadapsar on the eastern side, is reserved for mostly the IT sector.

Originally commercial space in the city was in the central business districts (CBD) at Camp, Bund Garden Road and Dhole Patil Road as well as off-CBD areas like Deccan Gymkhana, Senapati Bapat Road and Wakdewadi. According to an estimate by Trammell Crow Meghraj, there is about 20 million sq ft of office space being developed across the city.

Some of the bigger national developers are showing an interest in the city. DLF has taken some land near Hinjewadi on the western side; Unitech has been reported to be looking for land; Reliance is planning a mall close to the Armed Forces Medical College in the Turf Club area. K Raheja Corp is looking at a 1 million sq ft development at Yerawada near Lohegaon airport. This might be a mall-cum-hotel development.

National developers might be here but the flavour of this market is local, says Watve. There are over 300 local builders, some of the more prominent ones being Panchshil Realty, Gera Developments, Paranjape Schemes, Kumar Builders, Kolte Patil and DS Kulkarni Developers.

In Kharadi, Panchshil Realty is building a 4.5 million sq ft IT/ITes SEZ called EON. The first phase at EON with 1 million sq ft of space will be fully operational by July 2007, says Atul Chordia, managing director of Panchshil Realty. Corporates like Honeywell and VSNL have already got space here.

On Senapati Bapat Road, the company is developing 2.2 million sq ft of space which would include an international convention centre, a 430-room Marriott hotel, half a million sq ft of family entertainment centre, a mall, art gallery, high street retail, IT park and a trade tower.

More...
http://business-standard.com/search/storypage_new.php?leftnm=5&leftindx=5&subLeft=5&autono=274199

Royal Orchid launches 4-star deluxe hotel in Jaipur
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Hotels__Restaurants/Royal_Orchid_launches_4-star_deluxe_hotel/articleshow/1736693.cms

BANGALORE: Bangalore based Royal Orchid Hotels has launched its first four star deluxe hotel under the brand Royal Orchid Central in Jaipur.

This 70 room property has been taken on lease for around 20 years. Royal Orchid Central in Jaipur is part of the company's expansion plans to set up 40 hotels across India including 15 five star and four star properties by early 2010.

Is it just me or do many hotels in India really think small in terms of capacity? Or is it that they only have money to build 70 rooms?

For a tourist city like Jaipur, they could easily take it upto more than 200 rooms.

which is india's most expensive hotel according to the new data available???can anybody give the complete list of 5 star and 7 star hotels in india according to their ratings??????anybody plz help me out???????????/

Sant Chatwal to open 7-star hotel chain in India (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200703120314.htm)

Sant Singh Chatwal, a sikh Indian-American businessman, will invest Rs 4,500 crore by 2009 for setting up a chain of hotels, including 7-star, in India.

All hotels would be state-of-the-art with different food restaurants, discotheques and conference rooms. "We want to create convention centres with a capacity for 2,000-3,000 people in every hotel," Chatwal, President and CEO of Hampshire Hotels and Resorts (HHR), told PTI.

"We are doing the master planning for phase-I, which includes high-end 7-star hotels in major cities like Delhi/Noida, Mumbai and Bangalore and dream hotels in Kochi, Hyderabad and Chennai," he said.

"India is a virgin country in the hospitality sector... I would like to explore the potential here," said Chatwal.

Elaborating on the business plans, he said he has already acquired land in Bangalore, Noida, Kochi and Hyderabad while negotiations are on in Mumbai and Chennai.

HHR owns hotels in the US, UK and Thailand with over 2,500 rooms in Manhattan. Along with this, the $1.5 billion group has set up Bombay Palace locations around the world including Montreal, Toronto, New York, Washington, Houston, Budapest and Kuala Lumpur.

On the funding plans of the project, Chatwal said while 35 per cent would be through capital equity, 65 per cent would be debt. "Equity would be funded by internal accruals. In fact, land has been purchased through equity capital only.

"We are in discussions with financial institutions and banks for the loan component and that should not be a problem at all. As and when funds are required, debts would be raised," he said, adding all the hotels in phase-I would be completed and operational in 2009 before the Commonwealth games.

Chatwal said that he would be monitoring the execution of all his projects and make frequent visits to India.

"I would be travelling to India with my team of architects, designers and other members to look after the projects," he said.

The financial closure (tying up of all finances) would be completed within 60-90 days.

Foundation stone for the first hotel would be laid in May this year in Kochi followed by other sites, he said.

Berggruen begins work on `Keys' budget hotel in Trivandrum.

Our Bureau

Aims to have 40 international properties by 2010-11

Thiruvananthapuram March 15: Berggruen Hotels, owned by the New York-based Berggruen Holdings, has acquired hotel sites in seven locations across the country and is finalising the details of another 24 sites.

Announcing this on Thursday, Mr Sanjay Sethi, Chief Executive Officer, Berggruen Hotels, said the company has started construction work on its first property — a `Keys' boutique budget hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. In the next five years, it plans to build 38 budget and mid-market hotels and resorts under the `Keys' brand, he added.


`Keys' hotels will vary in size from 100 to 170 rooms and will be owned and operated by Berggruen Hotels. The company is primarily interested in buying sites or leasing them, but is also open to joint ventures, he said.

Rooms will start at Rs 1,400 a night, but prices will also be determined by the city in which the hotel is located, said Mr Partha Chatterjee, Chief Marketing Officer, Berggruen Hotels.

The 106-room hotel is expected to welcome its first guests in June 2008, Mr Sethi said. In Kerala, the company is also looking at sites in Kochi, besides the proposed resort in Kovalam.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/16/stories/2007031603300500.htmhttp://www.berggruenhotels.com/

Vascon to set up 4-star hotel at Balewadi

Express News Service

Pune, March 20: A 4-STAR business hotel Holiday Inn Pune, to be managed by Inter Continental Hotels Group (IHG), will come up near the Balewadi stadium and will be functional in 18 months, coinciding with the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Spread over three acres of land, the Rs 150-crore project will have 250 rooms, out of which 175 have been planned for the first phase of the project, while the rest will be added in the second phase.



The hotel will have state-of-the-art facilities such as health club, meeting rooms, business centre, 24-hour restaurants, swimming pool, multi-cuisine and theme restaurants, bar lounge, according to a press release issued by Vascon Engineers on Tuesday.

According to Vascon Engineers chairman R Vasudevan, “We plan to complete construction of Phase I and have the hotel in an operational mode before October 2008. Currently, there is a shortage of 2,000 rooms in Pune and Vascon plans to add at least 1,500 rooms in the next two to three years.”

Pune is hosting Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) in 2008 and the increase in investments and large number of companies coming to Pune has shot up the need for more business hotels. Holiday Inn Pune will cater to growing businesses in western Pune.

Vascon, Pristine and Jasper Developers are jointly promoting the venture. Vascon Engineers is already constructing the Hyatt Regency with about 250 rooms plus 75 service apartments that will be ready by March 2008, on Nagar Road.

Apart from this, they have tied up with Royal Orchid to manage 105 rooms and 80 service apartments coming up in Kalyani Nagar and starting operations from April onwards.


http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=227651

Innova Hotels to invest Rs 200 cr to develop Clarion

PTI[ MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2007 07:00:56 PM]

NEW DELHI: Innova Hotels and Resorts Pvt Ltd today said it plans to invest Rs 200 crore to develop and promote three Clarion Hotels, from the house of Choice Hospitality hotels.
Innova is a joint venture between the Gupta Group of Asian Hotels and US-based real estate company Hillwood.
Initially, Innova would develop three 150-room Clarion Hotels in Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. Land for these hotels has already been purchased, it said in a release.
"A total outlay of Rs 200 crore has been outlined over the next two years for development of these properties in the first phase of expansion," Innova Hotels Executive Director Sandeep Gupta said.
The company is looking for more sites in Chennai, Mumbai and Jaipur and plans to invest an additional Rs 250 crore in the next 5 years, he added.
Choice Hospitality is the master franchisee of Choice Hotels International for brands of Clarion Hotels, Quality, Comfort and Sleep Inns. Currently the company manages and operates over 30 hotels in India, with another 7 under different stages of development, it added



http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Innova_Hotels_to_invest_Rs_200_cr_to_develop_Clarion/articleshowcnews/1812469.cms

Bombay Dyeing to set up two hotels in Mumbai (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=279481&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Nusli Wadia-promoted Bombay Dyeing is foraying into hospitality with two hotels at Worli and Dadar in Mumbai.

The company is in talks with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, for its brands like Sheraton, W Hotels and St Regis.

Sources familiar with the development say Bombay Dyeing is also talking to Peninsula Hotels, which runs seven luxury hotels in the world. The Peninsula Hong Kong is considered the world�s most luxurious hotel.

With domestic and international tourist arrivals increasing every year, hospitality is a booming business in India. The country has a shortage of 1.1 lakh rooms, which has seen average room rates rise 18-22 per cent annually.

Bombay Dyeing owns 40 acres at Dadar and 20 acres at Worli. It is developing mixed use real estate comprising apartments, office space, malls and hotels at these two sites.

Of the proposed 142 apartments at Dadar, it has already sold 60 per cent. �We never advertised. It was by invitation only and the price was not negotiable,� Wadia said.

The cost of these 2,000-4,000 sq ft apartments recently touched Rs 18,000 per sq ft.

Wadia is looking at middle income housing as well and recently won a joint-venture bid for a middle income housing project in Pune.

St Laurn plans 30 hotels, global foray (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=279362&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

St Laurn Hotels has chalked out an ambitious plan to build as many as 30 hotels in the country. Besides, the company has planned an entry in the global hospitality scene by opening hotels in Europe and West Asia.

Managing director of St Laurn Hotels Limited Lakshman Kariyaa told the media on Thursday that the company would set up six hotels in Pune and its surroundings itself in the next three years.

�We will create four brands within the St Laurn umbrella, including St Laurn Business Hotels, St Laurn Suites, St Laurn Courtyard and St Laurn Towers,� Kariyaa said.

All these would be four-star category and above, he said, adding that the Towers category would come up in Pune subject to modifications of development rules governing the height of structures. St Laurn Business Hotel, the first to roll out from the company, will formally open its doors next month, Kariyaa said.

The property, built with an investment of Rs 45 crore has 63 rooms and facilities such as coffee shop, multi-cuisine restaurant, business centre and conference rooms.

Kariya said the company would build St Laurn Courtyard at Mundhwa, which will have 110 rooms, and St Laurn Suites in Hinjavdi - an apartment hotel with 88 suites. Both these properties would be operational by 2008 and require an investment of Rs 220 crore, he said.

A 16- room four-star hotel has also been planned at Talegaon, near Pune, to address the needs of multinationals such as General Motors, JCB or Volkswagon, Kariyaa said.

He said the company was looking at opportunity to set up hotels in tier two towns in India and has planned 30 hotels in the next six years.

First among these would be in Surat and Indore where the company will float joint ventures with local partners who will pool in their land for the hotels.

Five-star hotel boom reaches Bhubaneswar (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=279773&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The Orissa government has received five proposals entailing an investment of Rs 300 crore for setting up four five-star and one four-star facility hotel in the capital over the next two years.

The national and international promoters are ITC-Welcom Group Sheraton brand of hotels, Delhi-based real estate giant Unitech, BPR Hotels Limited in tie up with the Best Western Group of International chain of hotels and Lakshmi Franklin Hospitality Pvt Ltd.

The city-based Royal Mid-Town Hotel has also given a definite proposal for setting up a four-star facility hotel.

According to government conditions the hotels will have to be set up within 20 months from the approval of land given by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA). Land for the projects have almost been finalised and distribution is currently underway.

Out of the total investment of Rs 300 crore proposed to be made for setting up the hotels by the national and international chains, the five-start hotels would account for Rs 260 crore and the balance would go for the four-star hotel.

The city currently has two five-star hotels of the total 280 odd hotels spread in the higher, middle and lower segments.

The hotel business in the city currently hovers at Rs 750-800 crore and is likely to surge to over Rs 1,500 crore in the next two years once the 5-star chains start operations.

According to sources, the biggest investment for setting up 5-star facility hotels is being made by Unitech. The real estate major will invest Rs 110 crore in the project. This is possibly the first venture where the realty major is making forays into hotel industry.

Unitech will set up the five-star property in Bhubaneswar, Paradip and Satpada, the considered tourist destinations of the state. The government of Orissa has already allotted five acres for the project at Rasulgarh in Bhubaneswar. Land for Paradip and Satpada would shortly be finalised.

Sources said, ITC Welcom group with its Sheraton brand of hotels has given a proposal to invest Rs 50 crore for setting up a five star. This would be another feather in ITC Sheraton's cap, which already has 80 Sheraton brand of hotels spread out in 50 destinations of India.

The Orissa government has offered land to the premier hotel chain at Doomdooma near Bhubaneswar in Khurdha district. The deal would shortly be struck. A similar proposal for five-acres at Doomdooma has also been given to BPR Hotels Limited which has tied-up with one of world's largest chain of hotels - the Best Western Group of International Hotels. Best Western would invest Rs 50-crore for setting up the 5-star property.

Land for setting up the 5-star facility by Lakshmi Franklin Hospitality Pvt Ltd is currently being decided by the government.

Tourism department officials are confident of clinching the land deal within a few days. As for the city-based Royal Mid-Town Hotel the government had offered them 1.8 acres of land at the Infocity, the current hub of IT companies flowing into the Temple City.

Hmm, is Rs. 50 crores (~ 11.5 Million USD) enough to build a 5-star hotel? Unless they plan to make it a 30 room facility, which would be sad.

Best Western calls its luxury hotels 'Best Western Premier', and the only other one in the country is in Moradabad, UP with 74 rooms.

MUMBAI: Starwood Group, which operates leading hotels like Le Meridien, Sheraton and Westin, plans to roll-out a chain of 15 Aloft Hotels in India in 3-5 years.
With an average cost of USD 80,000 per room, Aloft Hotels could see an investment USD 192 million, though the company is yet to finalise its strategy.
"In 3-5 years, we want to start construction of all 15 hotels of our new brand Aloft. Investment per room is USD 80,000, excluding land and each Aloft will have 130-160 rooms," Starwood senior Vice President Thomas J Monahan said.
All Aloft Hotels will be in partnership with real estate developers.
"Investment depends on how the talks with real estate developers turn out to be. If we find the opportunity we are willing to invest in the country," he said.
The company may invest in partnership with real estate developers or may only provide the management or brand name, he said.
The group has also decided to announce the famous Westin Hotel in India. However, officials declined to share the location.
"In the upcoming Westin, we will provide only management," he said.
Initially, the group plans to open Aloft Hotels in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
"We will be more interested in the new town areas of the cities, IT parks and office campuses rather than in the heart of the city," Monahan said

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Starwood_to_bring_Aloft_to_India_plans_15_hotels_/articleshowcnews/1862586.cms

There are hotels in China that have more than a 1000 rooms. That is the kind of construction India needs to see to fill this gap. Have we even crossed 500 rooms for any hotel?

bombay has 4 hotels with over 500 rooms that i know of - taj mahal, oberoi, grand hyatt and marriott. grand hyatt probably the largest at 700-odd rooms. few more in the pipeline

JB group to foray in hospitality, mulls banking (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=280454&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Joining the big league of the global hotel chains expanding in India, Hong Kong-based $2 billion JB group will set up as many as 20 hotels and shopping malls in the country over the next three years. The group, run by NRI Surani family, will invest between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore in the venture.

The group will set up these hotels in Kolkata, Goa, Bangalore, Mumbai and other cities. Among 20 hotels, it is planning 10-12 three-star hotels, 4-5 four-star hotels, and 3-4 five-star hotels in the country.

According to the international hospitality consulting firm HVS International, there are over 150 hotel projects under various stages of development. The global hotel majors Starwood, Istithmar Hotels, Wyndham group, Hilton International, Four Seasons have all announced new investment in the hotel sector in the country. Indian realty firm DLF has tied up with Hiton International to develop and own 75 hotels and serviced apartments over the next seven years.

“India needs a total of 150,000 hotel rooms in the next five years. However, keeping in mind the kind of developments we are seeing in the country, I still foresee a short supply of over 50,000 hotel rooms. Thus, there is a huge opportunity for the Indian and international hotel companies, “ Amitabh Kant, joint secretary, tourism ministry said.

The group is planning to invest Rs 1200 crore in Goa with five projects in 300 acre of land, which it has bought in Goa. It will have India’s first Sofital resort, which is Accor’s Five-star brand, under this project. It is under talks with various global chains to set up another hotel chain in the land. It already has 40-room Coconut Groove Hotel in Goa.

Besides this, the group will set up 300 Timeshare villas under the Accor Premier Vacation Club in Goa. It is also planning to build 800-fractionally-owned villas under the project apart from a marina, a bay to park large and medium sized yatches, in Goa Surani said.

Globally acclaimed firm WATG (Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo), which has build the Sun City in South Africa, has designed and prepared the masterplan for these projects. The first phase of the project is expeted to be completed by the end of 2009.

In Kolkota, the group is developing a leisure boutique hotel under the name Raj Mahal. It will have the feel and touch of Rajasthani architecture. The group is investing about Rs 125 crore in the venture to build 125 suites.

which is india's most expensive hotel according to the new data available???can anybody give the complete list of 5 star and 7 star hotels in india according to their ratings??????anybody plz help me out???????????/

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2006/may/29slide1.htm

IHG signs six management contracts (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=280203&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), one of the world’s largest hospitality hotel groups, has signed six management contracts in India for InterContinental Pune and Holiday Inn Pune, Holiday Inn in Ernakulam, Kochi, Crowne Plaza Cochin, Crowne Plaza in New Delhi and Crowne Plaza in Southern India.

InterContinental Pune will be developed with the Poonawalla Group.The 200-room hotel will have the city’s largest ballroom with a capacity to hold 500 people.

Crowne Plaza Cochin, to be developed with KGA Group, will have 220 rooms. The 250-room Holiday Inn in Pune will be developed with Vascon Engineers. Holiday Inn Ernakulam Kochi will be developed with Indroyal Group and will offer 253 contemporary guest rooms.

-----------------------------------------------

Starwood to bring Aloft to India (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=280204&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Starwood Group, which operates leading hotels like Le Meridien, Sheraton and Westin, plans to roll-out a chain of 15 Aloft Hotels in India in 3-5 years. With an average cost of $80,000 a room, Aloft Hotels could see an investment $192 million, though the company is yet to finalise its strategy.

“In 3-5 years, we want to start construction of all 15 hotels of our new brand Aloft. Investment per room is $80,000, excluding land and each Aloft will have 130-160 rooms,” Starwood senior Vice President Thomas J Monahan said.

The group has also decided to announce the famous Westin Hotel in India. However, officials declined to share the location.

“In the upcoming Westin, we will provide only management,” he said.

Initially, the group plans to open Aloft Hotels in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

“We will be more interested in the new town areas of the cities, IT parks and office campuses rather than in the heart of the city,” Monahan said.

Good news, India needs many hotel rooms to cater the demand from tourists, business people and the up-coming games in Delhi esp.

The 4 Seasons Hotel in Mumbai should be opening shortly, next month?

RIL checks into hotels business (http://business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=280724&leftnm=1&subLeft=0&chkFlg=)

The Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries is entering the supply-deficient hospitality business and is in talks with big international names such as Walt Disney, Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons for managing some of its hotels.

The diversified group intends to set up all categories of hotels — luxury, business and budget — across the country. Within the luxury category, it is also looking to set up hotels with themes, such as those run by Disney in the US.

The sector has been attracting a bevy of new entrants. Nusli Wadia’s Bombay Dyeing recently unveiled its hospitality foray by setting up two hotels in Mumbai. Many real estate developers too have announced plans of entering the sector. The New Delhi-based real estate giant DLF Ltd has forged a joint venture with Hilton International to build 75 hotels and service apartments.

Reliance’s hospitality blueprint revolves around leveraging its petrol pumps, large retail complexes and the special economic zone in Haryana.

“The Haryana SEZ will have an entertainment city consisting of theme parks, for which talks are on with Walt Disney and Universal. Like Disneyworld in Florida, Reliance is looking to set up luxury hotels based on themes,” said sources. For business hotels, the company is talking to Starwood Hotels & Resorts for its brand, Four Points By Sheraton.

While forging management contracts for luxury hotels, Reliance intends to establish and run budget hotels and motels itself at its petrol pumps across the country.

It is also planning service apartments, besides hotels, at its retail outlets. These could be branded, but managed by the company.

Reliance has land use permission for building hotels at 10-15 per cent of its planned 5,849 petrol pumps. The pumps are located primarily on expressways and highways.

Its plan to set up an entertainment city outside Ahmedabad, which would also have a few hotels, may now be reworked, following the recent announcement of a cap of 5,000 hectares on the size of SEZs.

RIL checks into hotels business (http://business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=280724&leftnm=1&subLeft=0&chkFlg=)

Going by the scale at which Reliance does things - maybe they will soon have a Reliance Bed, Bath and Breakfast in every street corner.


:)

Hotel sector may see Rs 52,000-cr investment (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/04/12/stories/2007041204760500.htm)

Over the next two years, close to 80,000 hotel rooms are expected to come up in various categories across the country, according to Mr M.N. Javed, Deputy Director-General, Union Ministry of Tourism.

Currently, India has some 1,975 hotels with over one lakh rooms.

However, it is estimated that there is still a shortfall of about 1,50,000 hotel rooms.

Industry experts said that such a development would attract investments to the tune of Rs 52,000 crore.

"A luxury deluxe room would require an investment of Rs 1-1.2 crore while the cost of a room in the budget category would be Rs 35-45 lakh," said Mr Lemuel Herbert, General Manager, The Park Hotels, Bangalore.

"On an average, 70,000 rooms across categories would require an investment of Rs 65 lakh per room," he added.

The boom in Indian hospitality has attracted global hospitality majors including Hilton Hotels Corporation, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Intercontinental Hotel Group and Accor Hotels, who have either announced or expressed interest to set up shop in India.

According to industry experts, the steep rise in room rates and strong occupancy level in city hotels are the prime drivers of investments in this sector.

"There is certainly a need for quality hotel rooms in India. Global players have expressed keen interest in investing in the hospitality sector," said Mr Ankur Srivastava, Managing Director (India), Debenham Tie Leung DTZ, a global property consultancy firm.

"Indian hoteliers are in expansion mode. They are now also focusing on non-metro tier-I cities," Mr Herbert said.

Starwood seems to be on expansion spree. Apart from everywhere else, they are also rapidly expanding their presence in US. Until about 4 years ago they had 2 hotels on Fort Lauderdale Beach in Florida. Now they have 4 operational and 2 more coming up...

ITC forays into luxury brand segment

The ITC Welcomgroup has signed franchise agreement with Starwood. That would mean ITC would be able to use Starwood's premium brand luxury collection across seven of its key properties.

The ITC-Starwood deal is almost delivered, as just the government's nod is awaited.

What's interesting is the fact that both ITC and Starwood are also talking of collaborating yet compete in different non-conflicting segments of the hospitality pyramid.

That means both are open to strategic partnerships with other parties as they go along, of course, subject to the first right of refusal clause.

"The luxury collection is exclusive to ITC but there are other brands in the Starwood portfolio, which they are free to give to others," said Yogi Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC.

"People transit from one brand to the other in that level there will be competition. We are also free to date but long-term satisfaction is the issue," he added.

Flexible approach

In seven premier properties in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata Bangalore and Agra ITC Welcomgroup will now get to use the much sought after luxury collection brand.

The hotels are ITC Maurya, New Delhi, ITC Maratha, Mumbai, ITC Sonar, Kolkata, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai, ITC Windsor in Bangalore, ITC Mughal, Agra and ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad.

However, that would also trigger a re-branding exercise in four more hotels in Chennai, Jaipur and Delhi as Sheraton.

"India is a huge market with huge possibilities. We are also looking at partnering with others even open for equity participation as and when we get an opportunity. Our approach is flexible," said Miguel Ko, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific.

Such flexibility will help Deveshwar, as ITC is getting ready with its expansion blueprint. ITC's 28 new properties are in various stages of development, which will add over 3,200 rooms in the next three-four years.

Greenfield properties

ITC is investing Rs 5,000 crore to develop Greenfield properties alone in the next five years.

With such plans in place ITC is even open to give room to different strategic partners from other hotel operators to financial investors and even real estate developers via equity participation. Sources told NDTV that ITC is negotiating with Vatika Group for land banks.

"We are open about our plans. Even equity partners are welcome. If any realty developer is looking at partnering, we are there for national partnerships for SPVs," Deveshwar further said.

ITC's hotels have come full circle from riding the Sheraton brand to finding it too small for its dreams of becoming India's premier hotel chain.

http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/storybusinessnew.asp?id=37549&template=

Ginger hotels in Dwarka & Somnath

THE temple towns of Dwarka and Somnath are now beckoning Tata group’s Indian Hotels Company Ltd which plans to set up its ‘Ginger’ brand of hotels at these locations. The top executives from the company recently held meetings with officials of the state tourism department to discuss their plans.
The Roots Corporation Limited (RCL), 100% subsidiary of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, plans to come up with Ginger hotels at both these locations. According to sources, the company will be investing around Rs 10-15 crore in each project.
When contacted by ET, PD Vaghela, the managing director of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited said, “We have held meetings with top officials of RCL. The company has evinced interest in coming up with hotel projects at Dwarka and Somnath.”
The state government is already encouraging private players to come up with hotel and resort projects at tourist destinations through various incentives. According to government sources, RCL has also expressed interest in a few of the tourism department’s properties which are up for sale.
The company has already firmed up plans to launch hotels in Ahmedabad as well as Vadodara. In Ahmedabad, Roots Corporation entered into an agreement with city-based Rambrandt group which acquired Natraj cinema to set up a hotel on Ashram road.
The Ginger Hotels are budget hotels with around 100-200 rooms equipped with a gymnasium, yoga centre, restaurant, meeting rooms, ATMs.
So far, the key cities in the state such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat have been on the radar of the hospitality players. But now incentives being offered by the government are helping lure the players to tourist destinations as well.
NRGs and hotel firms such as Dawnay Day Group, IHHR Hotels, DLF group, Wyndham Hotel, Hilton, Radisson Mariott International and many more are logging into the key cities of Gujarat.

Economic Times. April 14, 2007.