New Delhi, Sept. 14: Hong Kong-based luxury hospitality chains Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts has opened its first hotel in India today. The group has plans to open 6-8 more hotels in the country over the next three years.

For its first property, developed by the Delhi-based Eros group, the Hong Kong hotelier has entered into a 10-year management contract. Under this arrangement, Eros will pay 7 per cent of the annual revenue as management fee to Shangri-La Hotels, which will provide in lieu its technical, management and marketing support.

The Shangri-La Hotel came up where the erstwhile government-owned Kanishka Hotel was situated. Eros Group bought over this property in 2002 when the ITDC hotel was put on the disinvestment bloc.

It was then rebuilt by Hong Kong-based Leese Robertson & Freeman Designers Limited into a 17-storey luxury property for which Eros group had spent Rs 300-crore. The hotel, which saw a “soft opening” today, will be ready for a grand launch in November. When completed, the five-star hotel will have 323 guestrooms including 36 suites offering exclusive retreat.

The Eros group is targeting a revenue of Rs 40 crore from this deluxe hotel by the end of this calendar year. The hotel authorities claimed they have ‘some confirmed businesses’ in the pipeline and they had ‘strategic alliances’ with 33 international airlines.