Snippets

Savera to start a three-star brand across South India

Chennai-based four-star Savera Hotel is on an expansion spree with plans to launch its three-star brand, service apartments, budget hotels and motels across South India. The group, which runs a chain of restaurants, also plans to strengthen its restaurant brand Malgudi across India.

The hotel is looking at launching its three-star brand in the two-tier cities of Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tanjore and Vizag in the next two years, with Madurai being the first to open in September 2006. Speaking to Express Hospitality, Anthony Micheal, GM, sales and marketing, said, "We are looking at launching our three-star brand only in South India. Our service apartments will be concentrated in IT cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad."

Malgudi, its South Indian specialty restaurant, has already made its mark in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai and the group is now considering making a foray into Pune, Mumbai and Gurgaon. Simultaneously, the hotel is also looking at budget hotels and motels on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, Chennai-Hyderabad highway and Chennai-Bangalore highway. Micheal explained that these projects would take shape in the coming months.

TGI Friday expects to quadruple outlets in India

TGI Friday is aiming at increasing its outlet strength by four times in the next four years. In an extensive and aggressive growth plan, TGI Friday took a controlled initiative for India operations by acquiring 25.1 per cent equity of its franchisee and regional developer in India, Bistro Hospitality.

With the opening of another Delhi outlet (the third) this summer, TGIF's count will reach to six including outlets in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore. The company intends to take the number of outlets to 22-25 in the next four years in A-category cities, which will make India the country with the most number of TGI Friday outlets outside US. The new restaurants are to come up in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.