The world’s largest hotel chain, Best western International is planning to open 100 hotels in India to capitalize on the country’s chronic shortage of tourist and business travel accommodation.
The mid-tier four-star market is a segment that is almost non-existent in India today. For its development the Best Western’s licensee, Cabana Hotel Management will invest more than $1.2bn in the initiative over the next 10 years.
India has a short supply that luxury hotels they often charge $300-$400 a night for rooms that just a few years ago would have cost half or a third of that. Bangalore is one of the mid-tier cities and when the major event is hosted, the rates for five-star hotels can rise to as much as $800 a night excluding tax.
India has about 110,000 rooms in the organized hotel sector which is as little as half of what the market needed and a fraction of what was available in developed countries.
Best Western already has six hotels in India but the decision has been taken to expand the offering in a bid to target the travelers within the subcontinent and also the rising number of Indians traveling abroad for business and holidays.
Best Western has chosen Signet Hotels, a subsidiary of its partner Cabana Hotel Management as the initiative to roll out with. 10,000 rooms across India will be opened; each will be priced at 20 per cent to 30 per cent below rates at five-star hotels.
In India there is a shortage of trained workers for which Best Western and Cabana Hotel Management plans to begin work on a hospitality institute in India this month.
Source: FT.Com
