Branding budget hotels

After a slow start, Carlson's Country Inns & Suites has bagged several hotel projects in India

Country Development and Management Services (CDMS), a joint venture between Country Inns & Suites By Carlson (CIS) and Chanakya Hotels, is all set to increase the number of properties it operates in India.

At present the company runs the CIS property in Katra, near Jammu and Ffort Radisson, a resort in Raichak, near Kolkata.

According to Sanjeev Pahwa, general manager (operations), CDMS, by June 2004, the company will be all set to welcome guests to new properties being developed in Pune, Ludhiana, Paradeep, Jaipur and Jalandhar. The first three hotels will be operational by March.

And if things go according to plan then there will be four more properties coming up in Puri, Mumbai, Kumarakom and Gurgaon by June 2006. With all the hotels operational, CDMS will up its number of rooms from the current 77 to nearly 700. While most of the properties will be new constructions, three (in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Paradeep) will be given a complete makeover.

Interestingly, the hotels that will come up under the CIS brand name belong to different promoters ranging from garment exporters to NRIs to stevedoring companies. "We let them use the CIS brand name, help them set up the project and then manage and operate their property," explains Pahwa.

According to him, the brand name means consistency of service and amenities. The tie-up also helps the local promoter to leverage CIS' marketing network. What's more they become part of CIS' reservation network.

"With the tie-up, the local promoter becomes an international player," says Pahwa. For CDMS the money comes in from various fees, such as royalty, marketing, reservation and technical services.

Country Inns & Suites' new properties are aimed at the budget traveller looking at value for money. Depending on the city and location, room tariffs will range from Rs 1,600 to Rs 3,500 per night. The hotels are being developed for both the business and leisure traveller.

Industry watchers scoff at CDMS' plans saying that though the company has been in the business for sometime now, it has been able to develop just a single property. Pahwa is quick to defend saying that the lack of progress was more because of poor financial performance on the promoters part.

"There is a market for the mid-tier hotels. Average room rate at Katra has seen a jump from Rs 500 to Rs 1,800," he says. And adds that due to political disturbances in the Katra region, room occupancy has plateaued around 40 per cent. If things move according to the script, Pahwa is hopeful of doing a turnover of Rs 15 crore by March, 2004 from his five properties (Katra, Raichak, Pune, Ludhiana and Paradeep).

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson is part of the $31-billion Carlson Hospitality Worldwide group. Besides hotels (that includes the Radisson and Park Plaza chains), the group has interests in restaurants (such as TGIF and Friday's Front Row Sports Grill), cruises and leisure travel among others.