Roots Corporation COO Sheila Nair and Indian Hotels MD Raymond Bickson in New Delhi on Wednesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, June 30: The Tatas are planning to acquire luxury hotels at Beijing and Shanghai in China, Bali and Thailand in South-East Asia and Australia.

“We have been very actively looking at these destinations over the past year. While China is the chosen destination for five-star deluxe properties, we would like to expand our Taj Exotica brand in South-East Asia and Australia,” Indian Hotels managing director Raymond Bickson told The Telegraph.

The group is open to both acquisition and greenfield projects.

Moreover, the commercial operations of 80 Taj luxury service apartments, called the Wellington Mews in Mumbai, will begin in September. The group has identified Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore as the other three cities where such luxury apartments could be built in future.

These two, three and four bed-room apartments will only be available to customers for a minimum period of one to two months.

Bickson also said the two new five-star hotels in Kovalam and Gwalior are scheduled to open by the year-end.

Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL), which launched the ‘indiOne’ brand last week, has plans to take this ‘smart basic hotel’ overseas.

“We want to take forward this innovative approach of low-cost hospitality to countries like China, Africa and the Gulf. However, this is on our agenda only after we consolidate our new brand in India,” said Bickson.

Over the next 12 months, the group expects to have 12-14 indiOne properties in the country and approximately 150 over a period of three to five years. It will take nearly the same time to break-even in this segment. The group has estimated a total investment of Rs 1,500 crore in the so-called people hotels.

While Taj hospitality is playing aggressive on its low-priced no-frills hotel, there is a strong possibility that room rents may differ in metros like Delhi and Mumbai.

“We might tweak the room tariffs in these places primarily because of the price we will have to pay to acquire the land. It might cross the Rs 1,000-barrier also,” said Sheila Nair, chief operating officer of Roots Corporation — a wholly-owned subsidiary of IHCL that operates the indiOne hotels.

The hotel is priced at Rs 900 for a single room and Rs 950 for a double room.