ITC plans two luxury hotels at Devanahalli

ITC plans two luxury hotels at Devanahalli
To Invest Rs 1,200 Crore By 2010
Anshul Dhamija | TNN

Bangalore: ITC WelcomGroup has decided to invest Rs 1,200 crore in Bangalore to set up three-premium luxury hotels by 2010. With this, the group will have four luxury hotels in the city, including the existing ITC Windsor-The Luxury Collection.
Speaking to TOI, Pawan Verma, executive VP-operations ITC Hotels said: “We have identified two plots of land near the upcoming airport at Devanahalli and will be investing close to Rs 800 crore in developing two luxury hotels.
At present these projects are on the drawing board.’’ Each of these properties will have a room inventory between 250 and 300, with every single room absorbing around Rs 2 crore investment.
ITC’s another 300-room property, ITC Gardenia, which is being built on Richmond Road at an investment of Rs 400 crore, is schedule to be ready by 2009.
However, the company has not yet taken a decision on how it will position these new hotels in the premium bracket. ITC WelcomGroup in association with Starwood have seven properties across India branded under The Luxury Collection — one of Starwood’s premium brand offerings.
“We have not yet decided what brand of Starwood we will use, as currently we are negotiating to rope in their other premium brands like St Regis,’’ said Verma.
According to real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield by 2010 Bangalore’s hospitality landscape would have close to 8,000 rooms with over 50% of them falling in the premium-luxury segment, $350 plus per room night tariff.
While Taj plans to add another two luxury hotels one at Devanahalli and the other at Yeshwanthpur, The Oberoi group is also setting up two luxury hotels one at Hebbal and the other near Devanahalli.
Further, Fortune Park Hotels, a subsidiary of ITC, has opened its premium middle scale offering Fortune Select Trinity in Whitefield.
The 143-room hotel has an entry-level room night tariff of Rs 8,500 and offers suites at Rs 15,000.