Oberois to expand at home, abroad

The Oberoi Group, one of the leading hotel groups in Asia, plans to invest Rs 4,300-4,500 crore to increase its room capacity in the next five yeas.

The group will invest Rs 1,000 crore and the rest will be sourced from other channels.

More than 15 projects are under way in various parts of Asia, the Gulf, and Africa. The group is in the process of executing its properties in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Goa.

Some of the overseas projects are located in Dubai, Maldives, Cambodia, Morocco, Egypt and Bhutan. The Oberoi Group either owns or has substantial stakes in most of its hotels. As a consequence, the group has a large portfolio of investments in real estate.

The group's Shimla-based property Wildflower Hall was selected as India's best spa resort by World Travel Mart this year.

A company spokesperson told Business Standard that Shimla used to be the 'Summer Queen' but, of late, it had become a perennial destination for tourists. The Oberoi Wildflower Hall gets 30 per cent of the guests from the overseas. He said that the occupancy was about 45-50 per cent.

With the proliferation of air services for Chandigarh and Shimla the duration of stay of tourists at their spa resort had increased as the visitors spent the time saved on travel by prolonging their stay by a day or two, he added.

The group has built a luxury brand which it would like to expand worldwide. It is inviting investors to join the group in developing business and leisure hotels which the group shall manage, he added.