Asian Hotels To Ink Pact With Sphc

The SPHC group, formerly Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation, is close to clinching a deal with Asian Hotels Ltd for managing a 300-room hotel under the Park Royal brand in Calcutta.

The SPHC group is also in an advanced stage of talks for a hotel in Mumbai where the group plans to introduce its mid-market brand of hotels, called Centra. SPHC group's first hotel, Park Royal, opened in Delhi four months ago after two years of litigation problems.

Both, New Delhi Park Royal and Asian Hotel, refused to comment on the issue. However, hotel industry sources revealed that the management agreement between the two parties for the Calcutta property is expected to be finalised soon.

 

The SPHC group - part of the Hyatt International Hotel group which has an agreement with Asian Hotels for operating Hyatt regency brand in India - is also believed to be aggressively marketing the two brands, Park Royal and Centra, in India. The group manages hotels for their partners, but the New Delhi Park Royal is managed under a franchise agreement which SPHC has with the Eros group-promoted Nehru Place Hotels Ltd.

A hotel in Madras is already under construction and other places where the SPHC is concentrating includes Jaipur, Udaipur and Hyderabad.

The Australia-based hotel major had been looking at collaborating with erstwhile rulers of two Rajasthan provinces to operate forts and palaces as hotels and lodges.

However, Park Royal's Delhi-based general manager, Joseph Nietlisbach, expressed his ignorance about the negotiations with the former maharajas of Rajasthan provinces. Jaipur and Udaipur have just been earmarked for properties and no negotiations are underway, he clarified, adding that in both these places the proposed properties would be operated under the Park Royal brand.

The SPHC group is also scouting around for a property in Goa.