EIH launches another Oberoi in Gurgaon

The hotel space in Gurgaon, the upmarket business and residential suburb of Delhi, is getting a little crowded, with EIH Ltd, the listed group that runs Oberoi Hotels and sister-brand Trident, opened the Oberoi Gurgaon on Tuesday, right next to the existing Trident.

Under a management contract with Orbit Resorts, which owns the land, the 202-room luxury Oberoi Gurgaon was built at a cost of Rs400 crore. With charges at the higher end, it is expected to mainly cater to business travellers.

With a Leela Kempinski and a Westin already in Gurgaon, the competition is likely to get stiff. In fact, reports say the Trident has already reduced its prices by 15-20 per cent. The kind of packages these hotels offer is expected to be a key differentiator.

Last month, EIH Ltd had raised Rs1,179 crore through a rights issue. Of this, Rs 900crore will be used to retire debt, and some of it utilised for setting up flight kitchens in Delhi and Mauritius.

''We are a very asset-heavy company and want to build our focus on only managing hotels,'' said Arjun Oberoi, chief planning officer and joint managing director of the Oberoi Group.

The company is planning to open five more hotels in India and abroad, with a mix of management contracts and equity, Oberoi said at the hotel's launch. The group will open its Trident property in Hyderabad with 320 rooms, followed by a 250-room property in Dubai.