Marriott invests over ₹300 cr in integrated property

Global hospitality major Marriott International has made its first investment in India in an integrated property that houses two of its popular brands for the corporate business traveller – Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott.

Located in Bengaluru’s IT hub, Outer Ring Road (ORR), the property was built and developed at an investment upwards of ₹300 crore.

Marriott has made the investment through a joint venture company with SAMHI Hotels Pvt Ltd, a hotel asset company that specialises in the development, acquisition and ownership of branded hotels in India.

Marriott holds 33 per cent equity stake and SAMHI holds 67 per cent equity stake in the JV company called SAMHI JV Business Hotels Pvt Ltd.

The property will give Marriott access to a dual revenue stream, from the management fee it will receive for managing the hotels and a share of the profits as a JV partner.

The upper upscale brand Courtyard with 170 keys and mid-market brand Fairfield with 166 keys are co-located in two acres, in the heart of ORR and are linked by one common floor which houses the pool, gym, spa and meeting rooms that guests of both hotels can use. While both the hotels were opened to guests from December 10, 2015, the integrated property will formally be launched on Thursday in the presence of Craig Smith, President and Managing Director – Asia Pacific, Marriott International.

Speaking to BusinessLine on the eve of the launch, Gaurav Singh, General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott said: “We now have 31 operating hotels in India with close to 40 hotels under construction. While occupancy rates in Bengaluru have registered 7-9 per cent y-o-y growth, in the ORR area occupancy has grown at 14-15 per cent y-o-y. To escalate our progress in coming to this location, Marriott chose to invest in this property along with SAMHI.”

Stating that Courtyard is the fastest growing brand of Marriott International in South East Asia, Singh said “With this launch we have introduced our 13th Courtyard and second Fairfield properties in India. Both are full service hotels and are priced at ₹8,500 for Courtyard and ₹6,500 for Fairfield.”

Ashish Jakhanwala, CEO of SAMHI Hotels Pvt Ltd told BusinessLine that the new integrated property was developed at an investment of over ₹300 crore, and the JV with Marriott was created specifically to invest and develop the Fairfield brand in India. Asked whether the JV would also bring in other Marriott brands into the country, Jakhanwala said, “The JV’s focus is Fairfield, however, this property was an exception with Courtyard.”

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