We will be managing more than 85 hotels by 2014: Anil Madhok

Q&A with managing director, Sarovar Hotels

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, which  manages 60 hotels and resorts across 40 cities in India and overseas under Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico, Hometel, Park Plaza and Park Inn brands, is now on a major expansion spree with focus on South India. The plan is set for next two years.

The company will  manage more than 85 hotels by 2014, said Anil Madhok, managing director. Sarovar Hotels operate Park Plaza and Park Inn in India under a franchise agreement with Carlson Hotels Worldwide. He spoke to Business Standard recently. Edited excerpts:
 
What is the global expansion plan for the next couple of years?

 

Apart from expanding our strong hospitality base in India, we are also focusing on expansion in East Africa. At present we operate 3 hotels in Africa – Ole Sereni in Nairobi; New Africa Hotel in Dar-es-Saleem and The Heron Portico in Nairobi.  The company is planning to add two more hotels - a 100 room hotel in Nairobi and another hotel by the Game Park.

How many hotels will be added to the net work  in India in next two years?

We will launch 25 hotels across the following cities in India in next two years. The  cities/towns  we propose to add -  New Delhi, Shahdara,  Shantiniketan, Jaisalmer, Solapur, Thekkady, Bhiwadi, Jalandhar (2 properties), Dera Bassi, Zirakpur, Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Raniganj,  Vadapalani - Chennai, Vandalur-Chennai, Tirupati, Bodhgaya and Rishikesh. 

Of them how many own hotels Company plans to add?

We are first and foremost a hotel management company. However, Sarovar has invested in 3 hotels they are Sarovar Portico at Indore, Hometel at Chandigarh and Hometel at Roorkee and fourth property Hometel  Sriperumbudur, Chennai is expected to commence shortly. 
 
What you consider unique about the cities/towns where you propose to start hotels?

Each destination holds up unique features for business, leisure and  MICE [Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions] section. Like Golden Sarovar Portico at Amritsar, Sarovar Bodygaya, Rishikesh and Tirupati will cater to the growing number of tourists and pilgrims whereas Zirakpur being the wedding capital of region, a Park Plaza there will cater to particular wedding market. Simultaneously,  Jalandhar will accommodate business and  MICE traveler around the world into the city as like Guwahati which is the gateway to north east.

What will be the total number of rooms in your hotel chain by 2014?

The total number of rooms by 2014 would be around 7000.

Can you give the latest available financial details, like total revenue, net profit etc?

It is a privately held company and so financials are not available.

What are the projections on the financial side for 2012-13?

Our projections on the financial side for 2012-13 given the market conditions we expect to see a drop of 10  to 15%.

Why do you focus more on South India ?

South India is a focus for the company as it has become a major IT hub and attracts a number of business travellers. Also with the Telangana issue heating up in Andhra Pradesh most companies like Hyundai, Jindal are now moving to Chennai to setup new industries and plants hence creating an opportunity for the hotel industry to flourish in the region.

What is your plan for the South

Currently we have 13 operational hotels in different parts of South India and plans to open 8 more. Out of these four will be Chennai, two in Bengaluru and one each in Tirupati and Thekkady. Collectively this will add approximately 900 rooms to the already existing inventory of 1300 rooms.

What is your time frame to open these hotels?

We will open Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites at Bengaluru this year itself. This will have 135 rooms. Thekkady facility, with 50 rooms will be operational in 2013. The other six hotels are scheduled to open in 2014. This includes Park Plaza in Chennai [140 rooms], Homtel in Vadapalani, Chennai [100], Sri Perambadur [170], Vandalur, Chennai [100], Rajaji Nagar, Bengaluru [140] and Tirupati [120 rooms].