ITC ties up with RP Group to manage hotels in India, Dubai

Properties, under the new MoU, will open in Kerala and Calicut under the brands WelcomHotel Raviz and three Fortune Raviz hotels in Dubai and Calicut

ITC Hotels has tied up with the Bahrain-based India born billionaire Ravi Pillai to manage five of its hotels under WelcomHotel and Fortune brands in India and Dubai. For Pillai-led R P Group, this is the second big tie-up with any Indian hospitality chain. The company had bought Leela Hotel's Kovalam property for Rs 500 crore two years ago.

 

The company did not share the duration of the management contract. The properties, under the new memorandum of understanding, would open in Kerala and Calicut under the brands WelcomHotel Raviz and three Fortune Raviz hotels in Dubai and Calicut. Raviz is the hotel brand owned by the R P Group. In India, Pillai has invested Rs 1,000-1,500 crore in the past year, most of it in the hospitality sector.

 

R P group is also building two five-star hotels in Kozhikode. It has business interests in construction, healthcare, travel and tourism and education sectors, with an annual turnover of $3 billion.

 

ITC Hotels and R P Group signed a memorandum of understanding for managing these hotels on September 15. “We will expand both through management contracts and ownership model. Our strategy is to be asset right. For international expansion, if there is an opportunity and a brand fit, we are open to exploring,” said Nakul Anand, executive director, ITC Limited.

 

As part of its expansion plans, ITC Hotels would add a “super-premium luxury hotel” in Mahabalipuram, a WelcomHotel in Jodhpur, Patna and Chandigarh in the next four years. It also has a pipeline of over 30 hotels under the Fortune brand by 2017.

 

The company currently owns and manages close to 100 hotels in over 70 destinations.