Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, that runs brands like Westin and Le Meridien, is set to bring in its eighth brand in the country. The global hotel chain has signed up to start with its first St. Regis property, a luxury brand, in Delhi NCR. This is part of Starwood?s overall plans to have 50 hotels in India by 2012 and 100 by 2015.
According to a recent report from global consulting firm HVS, the luxury hotel segment in India is expected to see an investment of about R16,400 crore by 2015. This is around 35% of the total investment of R46,200 crore required in the Indian hotel industry over the next four years. Of the 89,449 rooms proposed to be added during the period, 18% will be in the luxury segment.
?Starwood is in advanced stages of discussions for St. Regis with several partners. While we have signed the first St. Regis in India ? St Regis. Delhi NCR, no deal has been finalised for Mumbai as yet,? said a spokesperson from Starwood in India. ?It will be a managed property and is coming up on the Greater Noida Expressway.? The spokesperson did not give out more details of the property. At present, Starwood has 33 operational hotels in the country. Moreover, 17 new Starwood properties are under various stages of development. These include one St. Regis, two W-hotels, three Westin, three Le Meridien, four Sheraton, three Aloft and one Four Points.
Ajay Sharma, associate director (valuation & advisory services), Colliers International, said, ?St. Reg usually has six to eight categories of rooms. The room sizes vary from 480 square feet to 1,000 square feet depending upon the category. ?
Sharma said, ?Starwood has been looking at expanding its portfolio in India. One of the reasons for getting St. Regis here is Europe and US market continues to be weak and Starwood would look at newer markets to sustain the revenue model that comes with luxury brands like St. Regis and where else to find but India and China.? He further said that the shift to Asia comes with the purchasing power of people in the region increasing.
Kaushik Vardharajan, MD, HVS India, said, ?The luxury space has been growing in the country and will see new brands coming in the country.?
Interestingly, Noida where the St. Regis will be coming up has 30 odd proposed hotel projects.