Hero Group buys Gurgaon luxury hotel in new venture

The O P Munjal-promoted Hero Group, India's largest two-wheeler maker by sales, announced today that it has added a new vertical by acquiring an ailing deluxe hotel in Gurgaon, marking its first foray into the hospitality business.

The group has won a bid for the hotel in the posh Club Road area of Gurgaon, an up-market satellite of Delhi although located in Haryana.

While the Hero Group will develop the property, it will most likely be managed by the internationally reputed O&M Hotel Companies. But Hero is also looking at the managers of the Four Seasons, Conrad, JW Marriot or other major hotel chains.

''We have had initial discussions with a host of global hotel companies. We should be in a position to finalise the hotel management partner very soon after which interior work will start based on the management company's guidelines,'' said Pankaj Munjal, managing director of Hero Motors.

Industry observers say this is a decisive step that could change the outlook of the group for ever.

Munjal said, ''This is the first step towards building a new business vertical in the group. The hotel is on a 3.9-acre plot and will have 280 rooms in addition to a host of other facilities required to position it as a destination property.''