Roots to spend Rs80 crore on new hotels this year

Roots Corporation of India Ltd, a subsidiary of Indian Hotels Co Ltd, will invest about Rs80 crore in the country for setting up seven to eight hotels in the current fiscal, its managing director and chief executive Prabhat Pani said in Jamshedpur on today.

The company is planning to have 60-70 hotels in various locations across the country in the next four-five years, with seven to eight hotels planned for the current fiscal. The cost would vary between Rs8 crore and Rs10 crore for each hotel and the proposed hotels would be located in western and southern states, including in Pune and Chennai. Pani said the expense of each venture would depend on the location. 

The locations have been identified after detailed study taking into account various parameters such as potential of the market, profile of clientele and peak occupancy period. Asserting that the hotel industry has a great potential to grow, he expressed hope that the sector was likely to contribute six per cent to the national GDP in next few years. 

Pani claimed that RCL did not fell the pinch of global meltdown but rather, it had a positive impact ''which led us to grow even during the recession''. The company recently inaugurated its Ginger brand of hotels in Jamshedpur, the first in the state of Jharkhand. It was built over 1.3 acres land at a cost of Rs11.5 crore.