Newstrack

Berggruen Hotels signs up leading architects

Dinkar Farwaha - Mumbai

Berggruen Hotels has tied-up with internationally-renowned architects Kazuyo Sejima & Associates and Shigeru Ban Architects, both based in Tokyo, Japan to design its hotels. While Sejima, who has designed Museum of Modern Art in New York, will design the group's upscale city hotels, Ban, who is most famous for his work with paper tube structures, will design its upscale resort in Goa.

The group is aggressively eyeing presence in the high-end segment. Having already acquired land in Goa, it is now in stage of advanced negotiations to acquire land in Hyderabad and Mumbai (Andheri West). The group is also looking at acquisitions in Bangalore and Kolkata to build upscale properties. "We are working with brand consultants and will be launching the brand in due course," informs Sethi.

Meanwhile, Berggruen Hotels is eyeing more acquisitions for its budget brand Keys. After having completed two acquisitions in Bangalore (Hosur Road and Whitefield Road), Trivandrum, Ludhiana, Cochin, Kovalam, Pune, Nasik, Pondicherry, Aurangabad, Vadodara, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Baroda and Raipur, the group is now looking at cities like Vizag, Greater Noida, Chennai and Kolkata.

It has also tied up with Major Exports to manage an upcoming 120-room hotel in Jaipur under the Keys brand. This is the second property that the group has signed in the management model after the one in Mahabaleshwar. The group is also working on branding its restaurants and bars that every Keys hotel will have along with introducing innovative F&B concepts.