Berggruen Hotels to launch four-star chain

Kolkata: Berggruen Hotels is reported to be mulling the launch of a four-star, full-service chain in India.

Reports indicate that Berggruen is looking to set up eight or 10 four-star properties across India, and has so far only finalised Goa as a location.

According to Sanjay Sethi, managing director and CEO of Berggruen Hotels, the company is working with brand consultants in relation to the launch of the second brand.

Part of New York-based Berggruen Holdings Inc. the company had launched Keys, its three-star, full-service and value-for-money brand, in January 2007. Berggruen has been acquiring land for its hotel brands, while evaluating leasing opportunities for tenures of 50 years.

Reports indicate that the company has also decided to undertake management contracts also for greenfield projects.

It has three projects in progress at Bangalore, and one each in Cochin, Trivandrum, Kovalam, Goa, Baroda, Pune, Aurangabad, Jammu, Ludhiana, Lucknow and Kolkata.

Properties have on an average 100-odd rooms, with the largest one at Kolkata being a 285-room hotel. For its Keys brand, the company plans to follow a three pronged strategy of setting up resorts, hotels and service apartments, with room tariffs ranging between Rs2,000 to Rs2,500, and would have around 38 Keys properties operational by 2012, according to reports.