ITC Hotels, Ravi Pillai sign pact

Company had also bought Leela, Kovalam hotel for Rs 500 crore two years ago

ITC Hotels has tied up with Bahrain-based India-born billionaire Ravi Pillai to manage five of its hotels under the WelcomHotel and Fortune brands in India and Dubai.

For the Pillai-led R P Group, this is the second big tie-up with an Indian hospitality chain. Two years ago, it had bought Leela Hotel’s Kovalam property for Rs 500 crore. The duration of the management contract was not disclosed.

The properties, under the new memorandum of understanding, would open in Kerala under the brands WelcomHotel Raviz and three Fortune Raviz hotels in Dubai and Kozhikode. Raviz is the hotel brand of the R P Group. In India, Pillai has invested Rs 1,000-1,500 crore in the past year, mostly in the hospitality sector.

R P Group is also building two five-star hotels in Kozhikode. It has business interests in construction, healthcare, travel & tourism and education sectors, with an annual turnover of $3 billion. ITC Hotels and R P Group signed a pact for managing these hotels on Sunday.