British budget hotel chain Premier Inn is planning to open 13 properties in India by 2016, which will take the total number of rooms it has in the country to around 1,300.
Speaking at the launch of the chain’s third property, in Kharadi, Pune, Premier Inn’s South Asia MD Aly Shariff said: “We want to open six to seven new properties in India every year.” Going forward, growth will come through a combination of partnerships and managed hotels. In the medium term, the plan is to have 13 properties in India by 2016, he added.
The hotel and restaurant group owns and operates three properties in India, including one each in Bangalore and Delhi. Two new properties, in Chennai and Goa, are due to open later this year, taking the total investment in India to Rs 350 crore. With 109 keys, including four serviced apartments, Premier Inn Pune is the first in India to have been built with pre-engineered ‘POD’ bathrooms, which have been designed in the UAE.