Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced on Monday its plan to open 49 mid-scale
hotels in the country under the brand name Park Inn in partnership with Gurgaon-based Bestech Hospitalities Pvt Ltd.
INTERVIEW: Hubert Joly, President and CEO of Carlson shares firms' India plans The company will invest Rs 214 crore in its first two hotels in Gurgaon and Mohali which are expected to be operational by 2015. "India's growing middle class will spur domestic travel demand in the mid-scale segment. Catering for this demand, we have decided to open 49 Park Inn hotels in partnership with Bestech," Carlson president and chief executive officer (CEO) Hubert Joly told reporters.
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Global hotel chains rush to India "It is unusual for us to invest in real estate. We are doing this because India is a strategic market for us," Joly pointed out. Therefore, the company is planning to bring its high-end hotel brand Hotel Missoni to India.
"We are engaging into talks with our parent company to launch Hotel Missoni in India. We have started holding discussions with interested parties," said K.B. Kachru, executive vice-president (South Asia), Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. However, he did not specify when will the brand Missoni be unveiled in the country. In addition to these 49 hotels, Carlson has also announced to launch 100 hotels across India by 2015.
At present, Carlson operates 52 hotels in India under different brands such as Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Plaza and Country Inn and Suites.
Park Inn brand is a mid-segment hotel that is priced in the range of $80-$100 per nights with about 200 rooms. Currently, Indian market contributes five per cent to Carlson's global revenues and 20 per cent of upcoming hotels ventures. The company expects the share to rise to seven per cent by 2015.
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