Hospitality chain Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is expanding its portfolio in India.
The group that owns the Le Meridien and Sheraton brands will be bringing two more of its brands — W Hotels Worldwide and St Regis Hotels & Resorts — to Delhi and Mumbai soon.
The hotels are under construction and announcements will be made by the end of this calendar year, said Mr Dilip Puri, Managing Director, India and Regional Vice-President, Starwood Hotels and Resorts South Asia.
By 2015, Starwood plans to set up 100 hotels under its various brands in India. It operates 29 hotels in the country under brands Aloft, Westin, The Luxury Collection and Four Points. Eighteen are under construction.
“We will start with one from each brand and then scale up as we go forward,” said Mr Puri, speaking on the sidelines of a press conference where the company discussed its plans for West Asia.
With these additions, Starwood would have brought all of its brands to India apart from its green property Element.
“Element is a hotel with 100 per cent lead certification and we are focussing on the US for its growth. It is a truly green product,” said Mr Roeland Vos, President, Europe, Africa and Middle East Division, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
Opportunities
Inbound and outbound travellers' traffic in India is growing and the global hotelier is looking forward to cater to the demand. It sees opportunities in targeted services growth such as wedding travellers and catering to the Bollywood brigade.
“More and more upper middle-class Indians are looking at getting married in a romantic overseas location nowadays. Mauritius is big and so is Venice. Other places like Madrid, Florence and Vienna are growing attractions,” said Mr Vos.