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Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s strategic tie-up with Ista Hotels has given a boost to the company’s expansion plans in the country. The company, which had earlier expected 4-5 hotels to open up in the next few months, will instead have nearly 10 operational hotels in the period. This will happen once the rebranding process of the already operational Ista Hotels is completed. Ista is part of IHHR Hospitality, promoted by Ashok Khanna, which also runs the Ananda brand.
“The strategic tie-up with Ista has been a game changer for us…. It will strengthen our brand’s distribution in the key markets of Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Amritsar,” said Ratnesh Verma, Senior Vice-President, Real Estate and Development, Hyatt Hotels.
The company is rebranding the Ista Hotels as Hyatt Hotels, which includes technology integration for booking and transaction with the Hyatt Platform, besides inculcating the Hyatt brand standards.
The company had earlier signed a joint venture for a six-hotel deal under its brand Hyatt Place with Emaar MGF, which never took off because of the economic crisis as well as the real estate company’s financial problems. Asked if the joint venture had been terminated, Verma said, “The venture is on hold. It still exists but there is no movement in construction. We will evaluate and any decision taken on the future of the venture will be a joint one.”
He, however, said that it had not affected the company’s expansion plans, as it either already has hotels in those markets or is in the process of pursuing opportunities. The company currently has nearly 50 hotels under construction.
Asked if the company faced any hurdles in opening hotels due the economic problems being faced by the real estate sector, Verma said, “Delays are a reality in India and can happen due to various reasons. But in the past three years, delays have become even more exaggerated due to economic conditions and liquidity crunch faced by the real estate sector.”
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