Indian hospitlity company, MBD Group, and Steigenberger Hotel Group, a German chain of hotels and resorts, have announced a joint venture (JV) to manage and franchise hotels under the brand ‘MBD Steigenberger’ for the India market. MBD Group will have a 51 per cent stake while Steigenberger Hotel Group will hold a 49 per cent stake in the joint venture company.
Management of the JV company would be in the hands of the MBD Group – looking after the nationwide operations of the brand including business development, management and franchising of hotels, India marketing, pre-opening and post-opening assistance, etc. Wherein Steigenberger would be providing international sales and marketing support, training and brand standards to be deployed in the Indian region.
The JV would target to open at least 20 hotels in India over the next 15 years, with projected annual revenue of hotels under management and/ or franchise of nearly 2,000 crore.
MBD Steigenberger brand, in-line with the international positioning of the Steigenberger brand, will be positioned to target the luxury segment in India. The flagship hotel under the JV will be the ‘MBD Zephyr Bangalore – An MBD Steigenberger Hotel’, located in the heart of Whitefield Bengaluru – the silicon city of India – offering 184 rooms and 118 service apartments.
Commenting on the partnership, Sonica Malhotra, managing director of MBD Steigenberger; and joint managing director of the MBD Group, said, “We are proud to announce our association with Steigenberger Hotel Group. The association will ensure that German excellence joins hands with the warmth of Indian hospitality providing the next level experience to our guests across the country. We will be focusing on key cities in the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Kolkata, Pune, Indore, and other cities where we want to come up with luxury hotels and cater to the crème de la crème in each city.”
Puneet Chhatwal, CEO, Steigenberger Hotel Group, commented, “We are honoured to associate with our appreciated partner MBD and become a part of the Indian hotel landscape. This is an important milestone in our history of international growth. As a company with German roots, Steigenberger Hotel Group enjoys a good reputation worldwide. It is the “Germanness” what is associated with precision, reliability and quality all around the globe. We are excited to bring our hospitality to the India market.”
Talking about their strategy, Malhotra further added, “We have been in the hospitality industry for over a decade and have proven ourselves by exuberating excellent hospitality performance in Delhi and Punjab, both on financial parameters and also overall guest experience. Steigenberger understood our key strengths and also the potential of the Indian hospitality and has accordingly put MBD Group on the lead for managing the JV in India. MBD Group comes with its key strengths understanding the socio and demographic profile of the country. Our first property under this JV will be the MBD Zephyr – An MBD Steigenberger Hotel and after that, we will be looking at potential projects either in green field and brown field stage in gateway cities.”
The JV will primarily function as a management company, where MBD Group will manage the assets under the brand MBD Steigenberger in India and will be headquartered out of MBD’s corporate office at Bahadhur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi.