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Citrus Hotels and Check Inns, a part of Mirah Group, is planning to expand base in India over the next one year. The company will set up properties in Jodhpur, Pench (Madhya Pradesh) and Thekkady (Kerala) in the next six to eight months, Somnath Pal, Chief Executive Officer, Citrus Check Inns, told Business Line .
The company currently has eight properties, seven of which are owned and operated, while its new property in Gurgaon is under management contract. The eight properties are in Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Pune, Goa, Sriperumbudur, Bangalore, Gurgaon and Alleypey. Apart from these, Citrus Check Inns has affiliation with 40 more properties in India.
Right now, Citrus Hotels and Check Inns has 550 keys. “Our target is to reach 1,000 keys inventory by 2015,” Pal said. Mirah Hospitality has infused Rs 200 crore in Citrus Check Inns over a two-year period.
“We have plans for a property in Mumbai and will expand to other metros in a phased manner. We are also looking out for a property in Kolkata, Puri (Orissa) and Sikkim, he added.
Mirah Group, with a turnover of Rs 800 crore, is a diversified group engaged in real estate development, hospitality, travels, wind energy generation, textiles and international trading.
Citrus Check Inns, a time-share company, was incorporated in Mirah Hospitality in October last year and its first product was launched in April this year. The company plans to break even in the next 24 months.
“In Citrus Check Inns, we have 13 operational offices (distribution sales offices) across the country. In the next six months, we will take it up to 20 offices. Our distribution channel is through direct sales channel and direct sales agents (DSA). Through DSA, we expect to grow our footprint to 32 locations in the next six months. Currently, we are present in 17 locations through DSA,” Pal added.
While most companies in the time-share business have their properties in leisure destinations, Citrus Check Inns is also targeting the business and pilgrimage segments apart from leisure. “As of now, we do not have an owned hotel in the pilgrimage segment. We, however, have affiliate properties in various pilgrimage locations such as Katra, Shirdi and Tirupati,” Pal said.
The company has also tied up with Dial an Exchange, based on which, the consumers can access more than 2,700 properties across the world.
nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in
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