Gurugram-based Samhi Hotels Pvt. Ltd. plans to expand its portfolio of global hotel brands,its CEO said.
“Currently, we have tied up with six global brands and this will increase to seven,” said Ashish Jakhanwala, managing director and chief executive officer, Samhi. “The tie-up with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) for Holiday Inn Express is the recent addition.”
Other tie-ups
Samhi also has tie-ups with Courtyard by Marriott, Sheraton, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Fairfield by Marriott and Four Points by Sheraton. “The latest tie-up is meant to convert about 2,000 rooms in [the] mid-market hotel portfolio to Holiday Inn Express. The re-positioning and rebranding of more than 1,900 rooms to Holiday Inn Express will be the largest such exercise in India’s hospitality sector to date,” he said.
As per the agreement, 14 Samhi Hotels will be rebranded as Holiday Inn Express. While four hotels are under construction at Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hosur Road, the 10 operating hotels are located at Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Vizag, Pune, Nashik and Mumbai.
“We have 25 hotels with 4,300 keys (rooms) operating in 14 cities. We are not discontinuing any of our existing brands. Only 10 operating hotels with 2,000 keys will get a new make over,” Mr. Jakhanwala said.
All hotels in the mid market portfolio will be closed while they are being refurbished and upgraded with the latest design directives, to ensure the portfolio is fully representative of the Holiday Inn Express brand globally. The hotels will feature the next-generation design, several additional public areas and feature brand hallmarks to enhance guest service delivery, he said.
“This is a significant move towards establishing IHG as a leading player in the midscale hotel segment in India,” said Sudeep Jain, vice president, development, South West Asia, IHG. “The agreement will increase IHG’s current system size in India by 34%.”
In India, IHG operates 30 hotels under InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands. Another 33 hotels are in the development pipeline. The SAMHI tie-up will see another 14 hotels added to the development pipeline.