Interglobe Enterprises and European hotel chain Accor have entered into a 60:40 joint venture envisaging an investment of Rs 850 crore over a period of 10-12 years.The JV will develop 25 Ibis brand of economy hotels out of which 20 hotels will be located in India.Rahul Bhatia, managing direcor of Interglobe, said: "With growing travel preferences of the Indian middle-class, we believe it is the right time for us to enter into this joint venture." Accor, which owns over 650 hotels across 36 countries, was upbeat about entering India again after a gap of over 20 years. "This is the right time for us and we have got a right partner in Interglobe. We can look forward to giving the middle-class a quality experience at the best value for money," Michael Issenberg, managing director of Accor Asia-Pacific, said.The first two hotels in India will open in Bangalore and Gurgaon followed by Pune, Jaipur, Chennai and Mumbai."The first phase of investment will be to the tune of Rs 165 crore. The 250-room Bangalore hotel will come up by mid-2006 followed by the 210-room Gurgaon hotel by the end of 2006," Uttam Dave, president and CEO of Interglobe Hotels, said.The rooms will be priced between Rs 1,800-Rs 2,200 at the time of opening. "We want to give an international economy class experience to the Indian middle-class at the best price," Dave said.
