Bonjour, new guests from small-town India
Puneet Dhawan of Accor is brimming with ideas on ways to revive the hospitality sector
International hotel chains are expanding their footprint in Kolkata. If market sources are to be believed, at least 1,500 rooms, at an expected investment of ₹2,250 crore, are likely to be added over the next three to five years by four international chains.
The Carlson Rezidor; Marriott International; Accor and Starwood are amongst the major groups seeking a foothold through brands like Radisson, Radisson Blu, Country Inns & Suites, JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Novotel and Westin.
“Kolkata, as a metro, has the lowest room inventory; even compared to Hyderabad and Pune. It is expected to double its current room inventory over the next three to four years given the projects in the pipeline,” Mandeep S Lamba, Managing Director - Hotels and Hospitality, JLL India, told BusinessLine.
Kolkata has 2,100 upscale hotel rooms. This includes three international brands, 480 rooms shared by Swissotel , Hyatt and Carlson Rezidor’s Park Plaza. The rest are owned by Indian chains, Taj Group’s Taj Bengal and Gateway; ITC; Park, The Lalit Great Eastern and Oberoi Grand.
Over the last 18 months, three major hotels added 370 rooms. Another 170 keys will be readied as soon; in a phase-wise manner.
Under constructionAmongst the international hotels under construction are Accor’s Novotel, Starwood’s Westin, Carlson Rezidor’s Radisson Blu and Marriott.
The 346-keys Novotel at Rajarhat will open its doors around September this year. Two of its other brands – iBis and Formule1 – are also exploring opportunities.
Starwood’s Westin is also coming up at the satellite township of Rajarhat. The ₹600-crore hotel will have around 323 rooms. It is expected to be operational in October 2015. Carlson’s second hotel, 100-key Radisson Blu, is coming up at Hastings in Central Kolkata.
Sources say Carlson is keen to bring in its Radisson and Country Inns & Suites brands to the city and is negotiating with the Noida-based DS Group for management of its properties near Kolkata airport.
JW Marriott’s 300-room facility is also coming up on EM Bypass.
The target primarily, according to Abhijit Das, Office Director, East India, Cushman & Wakefield, is the business traveller and the MICE segment (meetings, incentive, conference and exhibition), apart from domestic demand.
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