India Rising From Economic Crisis Rubble
<B> India Rising From Economic Crisis Rubble</B>
By Judy Jacobs
India is Asia's new hotel development frontier. While major travel infrastructure projects produced scores of hotels in cities across the region during the 1980s, India sat quietly on the sidelines waiting for the economic boom that seems to be arriving more than a decade later. The rise of a solid middle class and the growth of high tech and other industries are behind the drive to create a series of new hotels across the subcontinent, from New Delhi in the north to Madras (also known as Chennai) in the south.
"India is ripe for development," said Peter Blyth, president of development for Radisson Hotels Worldwide, who recently returned from the subcontinent, where he met with government officials and local developers throughout the country. "Once the elections are over, we're expecting a great deal more activity. Because of a slowdown in business travel, room rates have fallen about 50 percent since 1996, but with all the development in airports and infrastructure leading to increased business travel, occupancies and rates could once again be at the astronomical levels they once were not too long ago."
Radisson is bullish on India and putting much effort into expanding its presence there. The group opened the 260-room Radisson Hotel New Delhi at Delhi's international airport last year, the 160-room Radisson Hotel Chennai in May and a 160-room property at Raichak, a resort and conference destination located 30 miles from Calcutta.
The company also plans to further increase its India presence with properties in nine more manufacturing centers, including a 160-room hotel in Bangalore, India's high-tech mecca in the southern state of Karnataka; a 160-room resort and country club near Bombay's airport; and a 200-room hotel planned for Cochin's historic waterfront.
Meanwhile, the business travel market has spurred the further development of The Oberoi Group's second brand, Trident Hotels, which was created in the late 1980s with the opening of its first hotel, The Trident, Chennai, in Madras.
"The introduction of Trident Hotels was a conscious decision initiated by The Oberoi Group to meet a specific market requirement. Our two brands--the luxury Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and the first-class international Trident Hotels--cater to different guest profiles," said Ravi Bhoothalingam, president of The Oberoi Group. "Trident Hotels were created specifically to cater to the needs of a growing segment of business and leisure travelers, who wish to avail themselves of high quality hospitality services and contemporary facilities at 40 percent to 60 percent of the price charged by deluxe category hotels.
"Trident Hotels are a major thrust area for The Oberoi Group and will witness rapid growth in the next few years. We envisage tremendous growth potential in the first-class international hotel segment, where we have positioned The Trident brand," he added.
While thus far Trident hotels have opened in the tourist destinations of Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur, future properties are planned for Bombay (also known as Mumbai), Pune, Coimbatore, New Delhi and Chennai. The Trident Cochin opened in early June in the port city of Cochin in the southern state of Kerala.
"The importance of business travel, along with the meetings and incentives market, is reflected in the fact that a series of new properties are planned in the business cities of Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune. The Trident Chennai has, along with a business center, meeting rooms that can accommodate 500 persons. Trident Hotels planned for New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune would have similar conference and business facilities," said Bhoothalingam.
Meanwhile, other hotel groups are expanding in India. Hyatt will add another hotel in New Delhi, complementing its existing Hyatt Regency Delhi, in operation since 1983. The 390-room Grand Hyatt Delhi is expected to open in December in a new development area of the city near Jawarharlal Nehru University. Hyatt also will operate two hotels in Bombay. The first of these, the 667-room Grand Hyatt Bombay, will be ready in early 2001 and will include serviced apartments as well as guest rooms. The second Hyatt will open in mid-2001. Another company with plans for a Bombay hotel is Le Meridien, which will open a property there next summer.
Bombay already has seen a rise in luxury hotel rooms with the summer debut of The Regent Mumbai, a 508-room property located in Bombay's historic Band Stand area and managed by Regent International Hotels. The hotel is geared to business travelers, who are expected to make up 99 percent of its market, and includes 24-hour butler service for every room, with female butlers for women travelers. Among other facilities are a 24-hour business center, a spa and more than 70,000 square feet of meeting space.