In a bid to cater to the needs of the burgeoning business travellers in the country, Kamat Hotels India Limited (KHIL), the hospitality group known for its five star brand The Orchid, on Friday launched a new chain of luxury business hotels styled ?VITS?.
?VITS? will come up in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka, including major B and C category cities and towns. ?Stay is a big problem for a business traveller in interiors of Maharashtra. It is this gap that we are going to bridge with ?VITS? which will have all amenities needed for a business traveller,? said Vikram Kamat, director, KHIL.
In Maharashtra , KHIL plans to have 36 ?VITS? in the next five years, of which the first was launched in Mumbai at Andheri on Friday.
?We plan to open 36 ?VITS? properties in the next five years. We are also looking for fresh acquisitions to market the presence of ?VITS? in other regions as well,? said Vithal Venkatesh Kamat, executive chairman and managing director, KHIL.
After Mumbai, Belgaum, Aurangabad, Pune and Nagpur are the other destinations in Maharashtra where the ?VITS? is planned to come up in the 6?7 months, indicated Vikram. Among other destinations for ?VITS? include Ahmedabad, Baroda , Chinchwar, Hubli, Kolhapur , Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Solapur, Surat and Thane.
Each ?VITS? hotel will have 80-120 rooms, and would cost the group Rs 20 lakh per room, indicated Vikram. Other than ?VITS?, Kamat Hotels plans to roll out heritage hotels to be called ?Gadh? hotels by this December, with the first one at Pune. In the near future, it plans to have ?6 ?Gadh? hotels.?
For this, the group is acquiring fort properties across Maharashtra on lease for 60 years from the descendents of the Maharajas residing at these forts, indicated the chairman.
The company also plans to explore options arising in Gujarat for its heritage hotels. To start with, the heritage hotels will have around 40-50 rooms.
In 2005, Kamat hotels acquired ?Lotus Suites? in Mumbai and now plans to market it as ?Lotus Resorts?, a luxury hotel with spa, beach/backwaters as its features. The group will have one in Maharashtra shortly and the second one is expected to come up at Baroda in January. Each resort will have around 200 rooms.
Further, Kamat Hotels also plan to open 5 more of its five star luxury hotels, The Orchid, in the next five years. Currently, it has 4 five star hotels at Delhi , Vaishno Devi, Mumbai and Kerala.
Asked how the group plans to fund its expansion plan, the chairman said, ?Through internal accruals. We also have financial institutions with us. Money is not a problem.?