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Newstrack
Technology corridors lure hotel chains to IT hotspots
Aparna Ramalingam - Chennai
A road less travelled. This is what IT executives and foreign clients could
say now. They no longer have to commute long stretches before hitting India's
IT corridors, as hotel chains are increasingly targeting these executives and
setting up shops in and around the IT hotspots.
Picture this. Fortune Park Hotels, a subsidiary of ITC, has Fortune Select Palms
in OMR, Chennai's IT highway. Roots Corporation's (a subsidiary of the Indian
Hotels Company) Ginger Hotel and Sarovar Park Plaza's Radha Hometel are doing
brisk business in Whitefield, the IT hub in Bangalore. Lemon Tree hotel in Pune's
infotech zone has seen a 70 per cent occupancy since it opened in March.
Interestingly, it is the mid-priced hotels that are setting up base in the country's
IT corridors. And it makes ample business sense too. "In India, land accounts
for 50 per cent of a hotel's project cost, whereas it is 20 per cent in the
US," says Rahul Pandit, head-operations, technology and electronic distribution,
Lemon Tree Hotels. Adds Roots Corporation's chief executive Prabhat Pani, "Travelling
businessmen are looking for decent accommodation closer to work place without
compromising on quality ."
Also, by having hotels in IT corridors, the hospitality segment hopes to address
the travel woes of frequent flyers. "Distance is increasingly getting measured
in time than in distance and it becomes imperative to cater to the needs of
busy executives," quips Pandit.
When it comes to occupancy rates, properties in business areas tend to fare
better than leisure ones which are largely seasonal driven. According to industry
data, properties in leisure destinations had 60 per cent occupancy while business
hotels clocked 80 per cent last year.
The latest entrant to OMR is Asiana Hotel. "Many IT companies here are
planning to double their capacities and this is a good sign. Apart from high
occupancy, we also expect to do brisk business in F&B (food and beverage)
as many executives would drop in for lunch or an evening drink," says Asiana
Hotel's sales & marketing director Shafee Ahmed.
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