Ginger plans expansion with a bit of frills

Country's first no 'frill hotel', Ginger, would now have a presence in Puducherry beginning Friday, December 7. This would be the tenth property of the three-year-old brand operated by Roots Corporation India (RCL), a Tata Enterprise.

Riding high on the highest growth ever in the service sector of 13 per cent in 2006-07 and also to target the expected growth of about 10 million international inbound traveller by the year 2010 coupled with an increase in the number of business travellers facilitated by the SEZs and new industrial hubs, RCL seeks to bridge the demand and supply gap in next phase of its expansion.

By the end of this financial year, RCL would have invested a cumulative figure of Rs 220 crore and made commitment towards another Rs 60-80 crore towards its expansion plans said Prabhat Pani, CEO and director, RCL.

The company is also slated to be close to finalising sites for its properties in the three metros of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

"We are at a striking distance from achieving a target of 60-70 hotels, we already have 10 properties up and running, another 10 are in gestation period while we have created a land bank of about 35-40," said Anil Goel, senior vice president, finance, Indian Hotels and RCL.

Targetting the tier III cities apart from tier I and tier II cities (30 in number) in this phase is what Ginger brand is looking at. It will position itself as a replacement for service apartments and guest houses in these cities.

"Pantnagar in Uttrakhand where Tata Motors and other auto component manufacturers are setting base, Paradip in Orissa where the steel plant might come up and also Baddi in Himanchal Pradesh are some of the small cities where we will have a presence," said Pani.

Already in the process of completing its first mall hotel in Ludhiana to tackle the steep increase in the real estate prices, RCL is in the process of finalising agreements with Ansals in Amritsar and Mohali and Himalaya Malls in Ahmedabad.

Also, to further the public private partnership under which it got a contract for the Rail Yatri Niwas in Delhi, Ginger would also look into converting the state tourism board properties under its own brand in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa.

"The concept is in advanced stages but the important thing is that we have to retain the touch of Ginger when we are looking at existing state owned properties," said Goel.

Interestingly, Roots is now looking at throwing in a bit of frills in some of its properties with a small space dedicated to a spa and also making available alcoholic beverages, dry snacks through vending machines.