Hotel chain Holiday Inn Express has made its official debut in India with the opening of Holiday Inn Express, Ahmedabad. According to a press release issued by Holiday Inn Express on November 20, the hotel at Ahmedabad and 18 other properties under the same brand are being developed through a joint venture partnership between Duet India Hotels (DIH) which hold a 76% stake and IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) who have a 24% equity stake.
Located close to the airport and city centre, the 173-room property caters to the demand for quality mid-market hotels.
“We’ve identified a gap for quality mid-market hotels across the country and fulfilling the growing demands of these guests is our business focus. The mid-market hotel space in India offers a compelling investment proposition, with favourable demand-supply dynamics and an attractive build cost to operating returns equation,” the press release quoted Navin Jain, President, Duet India Hotels, as saying.
The release further says that DIH chose to invest in Holiday Inn Express because it is one of the largest hotel brands globally, with over 2,170 hotels. There are 37 Holiday Inn Express hotels across Asia Pacific and this will grow to nearly 100 over the next few years, making Holiday Inn Express one of the fastest growing brands in the region.
Douglas Martell, Vice President Operations, South West Asia, IHG said, “...Midscale hotels in India currently represent just 15 percent of all hotel rooms and this means there’s incredible headroom for growth. If you look at domestic trips, Ahmedabad is one of the cities benefitting from a strong, local travel base and a clear gap exists here in the mid-market segment.”
