Vimal J. Singh in Calcutta on Tuesday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, March 6: The Golden Tulip hospitality group, owned by US Investment group Starwood Capital, is looking to add eight properties in the country by the end of this year.

The company has selected locations such as Mumbai, Kufri (Himachal Pradesh), Bangalore and Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) for its premier brands — Royal Tulip and Golden Tulip — and Mussourie, Ahmedabad, Vadodara (Gujarat) and Jaipur for its budget brand Tulip Inn.

“These hotels would be joint ventures with private owners where we would provide management services and in some we could also pick up stakes,” Vimal J. Singh, managing director of Louvre Hotels and Golden Tulip South Asia, said while inaugurating its 46-room budget hotel in Calcutta. He, however, said the company was yet to decide on the size of the stake.

Golden Tulip has partnered city-based Shiraj Hotels to develop the property in Calcutta. Total investment in the property is Rs 50 crore.

Singh said the company was looking at a room count of over 2,000 under its India portfolio once the expansions were in place.

Golden Tulip operates over 200 hotels in 40 countries. In India, it has 10 properties in Amritsar, Bhilai, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Calcutta, Mandawa (Rajasthan), Hyderabad and Ranchi.

Singh said the company was focussing on the eastern region and was scouting for locations in Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Durgapur, Asansol, Darjeeling and Calcutta.

He said discussions were on with private developers for setting up hotels in these places. The company is planning to set up a second hotel in the city at Rajarhat. Most of these hotels are expected to be budget and mid-scale hotels.