A 401-keys property is due to open in New Delhi under Hyatt’s “boutique-inspired” luxury brand, Andaz. The 25th Hyatt property will be the first Andaz in the country. Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, and Hyatt Place are other Hyatt brands in India.
Hilton will open its second Conrad in Bengaluru in 2017. The first one opened in Pune earlier this year. The group also has six Hilton, five DoubleTree, three Garden Inn, and one each of Hampton and Embassy Suites in India.
“Demand continues to grow and India is a strong market from the point of view of demand and the population base. We continue to make investments in infrastructure here to make sure we are ramped up for what’s going to happen over the next five to ten years,” says Kaushik Vardharajan, vice president, development, at Hilton Worldwide.
Carlson Rezidor is working on bringing its luxury brand Quorvus Collection to India. It will announce the plans in detail once the deal has been signed. Until then, it has confirmed the launch of Radisson Red in Mohali next year. Other brands by the group in India are Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Inn, Park Plaza, and Country Inns & Suites.
“Our target of 170 hotels by 2020 is well on track. We have 45 hotels in the pipeline across the country. This year, the momentum is strong and we are expecting to open eight hotels. We are also looking to sign 14 properties. Most of these are in tier-II and -III cities,” says Raj Rana, CEO, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts has been looking to aggressively grow in India. Last year it opened Four Points by Sheraton Agra, Le Méridien Gurgaon Delhi NCR, Le Méridien Mahabaleshwar Resort & Spa, Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel, Le Méridien Nagpur, Four Points by Sheraton Vadodara, and The St. Regis Mumbai in India.
“Our growth continues to be fuelled by strong domestic demand for quality and branded accommodations in tier-I and tier-II markets. India is already Starwood’s fourth largest market in terms of number of hotels and will soon be its third after the US and China. The momentum of 2015 will continue in 2016 with another eight to 10 hotel openings in the region,” says Dilip Puri, managing director, India and regional vice president, South Asia for Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Earlier this year the group opened its second St. Regis in Bengaluru and is launching its first W Hotels in Goa on September 30. Two more W Hotels are slated to open in Mumbai (2019) and Gurgaon (2018).
Sheraton, Four Points, Le Meridien, St Regis, and Aloft Hotels are the existing Starwood brands in India, apart from properties under The Luxury Collection and Design Hotels.
Some others in the expansion forecast are Four Points by Sheraton Vijaywada – opening in September 2019, Sheraton Vijaywada – opening in 2020, Sheraton Bodh Gaya Hotel -opening in 2019, Aloft Goa Calangute – opening next year, and Aloft Bengaluru International Airport – opening in 2019.
Dubai Holding’s Jumeirah Hospitality will also launch in Mumbai in 2019, followed by properties in Goa and other Indian metros. It will be situated in Mumbai’s popular business area, Lower Parel.
“The demand for five-star hotels in the Indian market has been robust and we are delighted to have initiated the first phase of our expansion into India with this landmark project in Mumbai,” says Gerald Lawless, president and group CEO of Jumeirah Group.
