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Atlas Tours & Travels launches serviced apartments in Mumbai

Signs marketing, operation agreement with Beacon Hotels & Resorts

Sayoni Bhaduri - Mumbai

Tour operating company Atlas Tours & Travels has launched its own serviced apartments - Grand Residency in the suburbs of Bandra in Mumbai and signed a marketing and operational franchise agreement with Beacon Hotels & Resorts. The property currently has 35 fully-furnished apartments.

According to Afzal Patel, managing director of Atlas Tours & Travels, the group is also planning to expand to Bangalore, Pune and Chennai. "It has been a conscious decision to enter the hospitality industry because after spending so much time in the travel trade, one tends to realise how the market is going to look like in the future."

The facilities provided in the apartments at Grand Residency include safes, 24-hour security, babysitting, daily housekeeping services, grocery purchase and delivery, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Kitchen facilities include a refrigerator, microwave, tea/coffee maker, and basic cooking utensils. The property has 14 deluxe rooms, seven deluxe studio apartments, and 14 deluxe one-bedroom apartments which can be converted into two bedroom apartment.

The property will be used to house both long-stay and short-stay guests. Patel informs, "This is done because one never knows when the demand for hotel rooms fluctuates." The target clientele are high-end customer and MNC employees coming in for special projects. He added that although the ARRs are at Rs 7,000, there is a promotional rate of Rs 5,500 that is valid till December 2007.