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| EXPANSION DRIVE |
Calcutta, April 22: US-based hospitality and travel firm Carlson is looking to expand in India by opening 50 mid-scale hotels under its Country Inns & Suites brand within 10 years.
At present, the firm operates 11 hotels under this brand in the country. Five of the new hotels will become operational within this year.
Carlson targets to have more than 100 hotels in India by 2015.
The hotels will be managed through Country Development and Management Services (CDMS), a joint venture between Carlson and Delhi-based Chanakya Hotels, which has been operational for the last 10 years. Chanakya Hotels holds a 74 per cent stake in the venture, with Carlson owning the rest.
K.B. Kachru, executive vice-president (South Asia) of Carlson Hotels, said Carlson had extended its joint venture agreement with Chanakya Hotels till December 2020.
The five new hotels are 37-room Carlson Delhi Satbari, 50-room Carlson Mussoorie, 190-room Carlson Gurgaon, 71-room Carlson Ajmer and the 130-room Carlson Mysore.
Country Inns & Suites is a mid-scale brand that targets business and leisure travellers.
The brand, which has been designed by London-based company Virgile and Stone, highlights Carlson’s strategy for India. It plans to expand in primary and secondary cities in line with the developing economy, demographic changes and growth in travel and tourism.
“The mid-scale market represents a significant opportunity and Carlson is pleased to be able to grow Country Inns & Suites in this market through its strategic partnership in CDMS,” Kachru said.
“The brand’s rapid expansion aligns with Carlson’s Ambition 2015 strategy to have more than 100 operational hotels in India by 2015,” said Simon C. Barlow, president (Asia Pacific).
“I am confident that the new version of the brand will be very attractive to both Indian travellers and developers,” CDMS managing director Ranjan Bhattacharya said.
At present, the 11 Country Inns & Suites have 800 rooms.
In 10 years, the brand is targeting a capacity of over 5,000 rooms.
