Newstrack

Fortune Hotels to build lodges

Plans to get aggressive with ownership model

Dinkar Farwaha - Mumbai

Fortune Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC hotels, has become the latest hotel chain to foray into the lodges segment. "We are eyeing acquisitions in Madhya Pradesh to develop our own lodges," said Pawan Verma, executive vice president - Operations, ITC hotel division. The announcement comes a few days after Taj Lesiure Hotels (which already manages two safari lodges in Madhya Pradesh, Mahua Kothi in Bandhavgarh National Park and Baghvan in Pench National Park Hotel) had told Express Hospitality of its plans to open two more wildlife lodges in Madhya Pradesh this year in Panna and Kanha. Besides Madhya Pradesh, Fortune Hotels, according to Verma, aims to develop lodges in states like Karnataka and Rajasthan as well. "We are focusing on one state at a time. After making our presence felt in one state, we will move to other states as well," informed Verma.

Fortune Hotels, which owns brands like Fortune Park, Fortune Inns, Fortune Resorts and Fortune Residences, currently manages 22 properties across the country. It plans to add another 28 to its kitty (which are in various stages of development) in the next few years. It also plans to open eight properties this year, which will take the figure to 30.

The group is also marking a presence ownership model and is set for an aggressive expasnion. It has plans to build properties in Kolkata, Coimbatore and Bangalore, where it already owns land banks.