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Hampshire Hotels & Resorts To Evolve New Brands In India
Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli | December 7, 2007 | 298 views
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Loading ...The New York-based hotel management company, Hampshire Hotels & Resorts (HHR), founded by Sant Singh Chatwal, has made its debut in the Indian market, with its first property under the Hampshire Plaza brand in Hyderabad recently.
The company, which owns luxury boutique brands ‘Dream’ and ‘Night’ is looking to develop new brands in the Indian market to be introduced worldwide. It had earlier been reported that the company would pump in Rs 4,500 crore by 2009 for setting up a chain of hotels, including super luxury hotels in India.
Speaking to Express Hospitality, Ram Gupta, managing director, Hampshire Hotels & Resorts (Asia, Middle East & Africa) revealed the company plans create different brands in India that caters to discerning travellers, which later would be taken to other markets across the globe. “India offers a great opportunity, especially in the business travel segment that caters to mid to senior executive travellers.
Hampshire brands will be positioned to fill the gap in the budget bracket. With the recently launched Hampshire Plaza Hyderabad, we plan to take the brand to other metros too. Also, we plan to establish two more hotels in Cochin, possibly under the super luxury brand category,” said Gupta. A company spokesperson divulged the possibility of a Dream Hotel in Cochin, though it is in the preliminary stages of planning.
The company has Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Noida on the radar for developing and managing properties over the next few years. Gupta is also looking at Jaipur as a location for a property, hinting it will be a super luxury brand. Speaking of the expansion strategy, he said, “We are looking at the ownership route but are also open to the idea of tying up with Indian hotel companies for management franchise opportunities. We will take up projects in various locations on a case-to-case basis.” The company, however, refrained from speaking about the financial investment in the Hyderabad property.
As per the plans, the Hampshire Plaza brand will have 100-150 rooms. Dream in the boutique segment will have 125-200 rooms, and the super luxury brand to be launched would have 300 rooms. The group also intends to create convention centres with a capacity for 2,000-3,000 people in every hotel.
The Hampshire group, which has its headquarters in New York, owns and manages properties worldwide. It has established super luxury brands like Dream, Night and Time in the boutique segment. HHR also has partnerships with Serafina Restaurant and Chopra Center & Spa.
SOURCES:
Express Hospitality
Topics: Hospitality, Business News |
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