Hyatt, Starwood Each Unveil Plans For India

Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts this week detailed their expansion plans in India, which include adding both upscale and midprice hotels in the country and breaking into India's secondary and tertiary cities.

About one-quarter of Hyatt's current global pipeline of more than 120 properties is in India, according to Hyatt president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian. During the next three years, Hyatt plans to increase its footprint in Delhi, Goa, Kolkata and Mumbai and enter 15 new markets, including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. The brand this year will open three Indian properties: Hyatt Regency properties in Pune and Chennai, and a Grand Hyatt in Goa.

Hyatt currently has five properties in India representing its upper tier brands. It also plans to introduce its select-service Hyatt Place brand in such markets as Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Mangalore, marking the brand's first properties outside the United States.

Starwood, which currently has 26 hotels in India, said it plans to add 15 hotels to the country by 2013, including three opening this year. Like Hyatt, Starwood's current India portfolio consists of its upper upscale and luxury brands, but its pipeline includes six properties under its select-service Aloft flag.

Starwood executives said India hosts about 5 million inbound travelers annually and should see that number increase considerably in coming years with more domestic and international travel. "India is one of the most promising markets within Asia/Pacific, with GDP estimates topping 7 percent for the next two years and a consumer market expected to rank as the world's fifth-largest by 2025," Starwood Asia/Pacific chairman and president Miguel Ko said in a statement.