Newstrack

Choice Hotels to add 100 more hotels in next 5 years

Praveen K Singh - New Delhi

Choice Hotels is planning to add 100 more hotels in India in next five years through the management and franchise route. Talking exclusively to the Express Hospitality, CEO of Choice Hotels India, Vilas Pawar, divulged, "We target to add 100 more hotels in India, divided equally between the management and franchise route."

The company is also planning to add more service apartments to its Qutub property, which is being managed by Clarion Collection. "Since our's is the only hotel in the city which has service apartments, due to higher demand, we have decided to add more to the inventory and are currently awaiting clearance for the same," Pawar revealed.

At present, Choice's Qutub property has 30 service apartments, which are fully furnished. The company is also expanding its Qutub Hotel and plans to add more than 100 rooms shortly. "The exiting rooms have been refurbished with several technological upgradations like plasma TVs and Wi-Fi accessibility 24 hours a day," told Shivali Sharma, senior general manager- sales & marketing, Choice Hotels India.

The Qutub Hotel will also have a new F&B outlet soon, in addition to its existing Laidback Water and Terrazzo. Describing the company's focus, Pawar said, "Right now, we are trying to focus on the mid-segment, with the hotel business will witnesing the growth in this segment in the future." For the yet to be launched Sleep Inn brand, the company is currently searching for a location. "We are ready to expand the Sleep Inn brand, which will be another no-frills hotel," Pawar said.

Choice Hotels India, which is the master franchisee of Choice Hotels International, currently operates over 35 hotels in 26 Indian cities.