Country Inns and Suites, the upmarket budget category hotel brand from the $22billion hospitality major, Carlson, is on a massive expansion binge in India, and will be unveiling seven new hotels, three of them in the next 8-12 months.
Carlson's new hotels will be coming up in Mumbai, Calcutta, Katra, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Pune, Puri and there are four others under consideration in Delhi, Cochin, Goa, and Chandigarh, Atul Bhalla, regional manager, projects planning and development, Country Inns and Suites, India, said.
"Country Inns & Suites is by far the fastest growing chain of hotels in India and has established itself as a leader in the mid-tier segment of the Indian lodging industry,'' a spokesperson for Triumph Hospitality and Management Services (THMS), a leading Delhi-based hotel consultancy and technical facilities designing firm, said.
Regent and Radisson are the super luxury brands owned by Carlson, while Country Inn is the `upmarket budget category' brand from the Carlson stable. At present, the Country Inn brand is around 2 years old in India. "Country Inn's unique selling proposition (USP) is its competitive, low project cost, complete infrastructure support, strategic expansion and synergy between destinations. Country Inn has more greenfield projects than commission projects, underlining its financial and infrastructure-led strength, the THMS spokesperson said.
The Country Inn chain started out in 1992 with 22 hotels and has grown to 300 worldwide this year. For its expansion, Country Inn already has 5 marketing and project offices in place, Bhalla said.
Most international chains such as Radisson, Hyatt and Country Inn basically invest in management and marketing contracts and focus on infrastructure-led growth, THMS said.
Country Inns and Suites, India, is a joint venture with Chanakya Hotels which owns a 74 per cent stake while Country Inns & Suites of USA holds 26 per cent.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the travel arm of the $22billion Carlson group of companies, is expected to drive the group's hospitality division, which has brands such as Regent, Radisson, Country Inns & Suites, TGI Fridays and Italiannis in its fold.
The Carlson Travel Network has also taken a 50 per cent stake in Ind Travels recently and also made a strategic investment in Thomas Cook.
