Luxury hotel chain The Lalit will invest Rs 1,200 crore to expand its business in the next three years, which also includes entering the mid-level segment, a top official has said.
Besides foraying into the mid-level segment by opening of properties in tier-II and tier-III centres during the period, the Lalit Suri-founded chain is also aiming to enter the international markets.
“The company will also expand its domestic footprint in the premium segment,” Chairman and Managing Director Jyotsna Suri told a group of media persons over the weekend.
“We have already made plans to raise Rs 1,200 crore through debt from institutions and internal accruals for the expansion,” she said. The 25-year-old hotel chain will invest Rs 700 crore to open eight new luxury properties in cities like Chandigarh and Kolkata and will spend Rs 500 crore for 25 mid-level hotels, which will be branded as ‘Lalit The Traveler’.
The mid-level segment will entail commissioning properties beyond the metros with a focus on business and religious travellers, she said.
Suri, who took charge of the company after the death of her husband Lalit Suri in London in 2006, said tariffs for the mid-segment hotel chain would range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per night.
All budget properties, to come up in centres like Amritsar, Pune, Mundhra and Ludhiana among others, will have a maximum of 50 rooms and entail an investment of Rs 20 crore to Rs 50 crore apiece, she added.
A majority of hospitality chains have dedicated offerings for the mid-segment like the Ginger chain of hotels by the Tatas.
When asked if the timing of the move is right given the gloomy economic landscape, she said the company has drawn plans from the long-term perspective and said even if such a scenario materialises, it has managed to stitch-up the required funding requirement.
