Indian Hotels Co. Ltd has signed a deal to run the historic The Claridges hotel in New Delhi under a 25-year management contract beginning in April, as part of the Tata group company’s strategy to strengthen its presence in key metro cities with similar iconic properties.
Indian Hotels will retain the The Claridges brand even as it renovates the property that was opened in 1952 in the heart of India’s capital.
“The hotel is a prominent landmark located in Lutyens Delhi and is an opportunity to grow our brandscape here,” said Indian Hotels managing director and chief executive Puneet Chhatwal, speaking exclusively with Mint.
“This (brand) presents an opportunity for us to evaluate extending our brand ecosystem within the luxury segment. To complete our brand landscape in central Delhi, which is among the most iconic and scenic locales globally, we are evaluating opportunities to add our Gateway and Vivanta brands here as well,” Chhatwal added.
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Indian Hotels has a portfolio of 17 hotels in the Delhi-National Capital Region, including the marquee Taj Mahal, Taj Palace, Ambassador, and The Connaught properties in South and Central Delhi.
Three other hotels are under development—a 380-room property by Delhi airport’s international terminal 3, a 225-room hotel at Sohna Road, and a 160-room Vivanta hotel in Gurugram.
“There will be multiple opportunities to grow our hotel portfolio in this region,” Chhatwal said. He had told Mint earlier this year that by December Indian Hotels would have 200 hotels in the country, up from 184 operational hotels at the time.
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The Taj spread
The Claridges, which was bought by businessman Suresh Nanda and family in 2003, has 119 rooms. The Nanda family later developed the Vivanta Surajkund property in Delhi-NCR, which is also managed by Indian Hotels.
The Nanda family also owned The SeaRock hotel in Mumbai, which the Taj group bought from them in 2009. The Nandas also own the Nabha Palace Hotel in Mussoorie.
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Earlier this week, Indian Hotels expanded its shares in Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels by investing ₹18 crore to purchase a 55% equity stake in its parent company Rajscape Hotels Pvt. Ltd. Tree of Life manages 16 boutique properties across India.
Kolkata-based Ambuja Neotia group acquired the Gurugram-based Rajscape Hotels, a hotel ownership and management company, in November last year under Ambuja Neotia Hotel Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of Ambuja Neotia Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
Mint had then reported that Indian Hotels would likely take over the management of these properties.
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