Jan. 10, 2011--US-based Chatwal Hotels and Resorts plans to invest '2,000 crore in India over the next five years to develop 52 new boutique hotels in the mid-scale and luxury segment.

"Chatwal Hotels, which has given the franchise and management rights of its 5-star deluxe brand Dream and mid-market brand Night to Wyndham Hotel Group, plans to expand them in India through the franchise model and develop them with the help of local partners," said Sant Singh Chatwal, chairman and chief executive officer, Hampshire Hotels and Resorts, the management arm of Chatwal Hotels and Resorts LLC on Monday.

"We will launch around 40 Night hotels and 12 Dream properties in India over the next five years," Chatwal said.

The Wyndham Hotel Group, part of Wyndham Worldwide, has around 7,200 hotels worldwide under the Ramada, Baymont Inn and Suites, Wingate and Days Inn brands. Chatwal and the Wyndham Group jointly run the 216-room Dream New York in Manhattan, a 72-room Night Hotel also in Manhattan, a 195-room Dream Hotel in Bangkok and the 151-room Dream in Cochin. Two properties have been planned for Jaipur, and one Night hotel each in Hyderabad and Kochi.

"Of the 52 upcoming hotels, contracts for 18 hotels have already been signed. Land for these properties have already been acquired and most of the approvals are in place. Of these 18 deals, we have bought equity in six hotels," Chatwal said.

Other hotels that are being planned include a Dream and a Night for Bangalore, a Dream in Goa, another Dream in Malad, and Night hotels in Raipur, Lucknow, Kanpur and Dehradun. Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive officer Eric A. Danziger said the Wyndham Group has its own expansion plans for the Indian market.

"The company plans to bring its affordable mid-segment brand, Howard Johnson, (to) India by opening 35 hotel properties in various cities of the country over the next five years," he said. For this expansion, the group has already tied up with Ahmedabad-based hospitality firm, Unique Mercantile India Pvt. Ltd.

"The Ahmedabad-based firm plans to spend '1,000 crore on the development of these 35 hotels. The first property under the Howard Johnson brand will come up in Udaipur followed by Bangalore and Ahmedabad," said Rahul Rai, executive director, Unique Mercantile India Pvt. Ltd.

Last year, Wyndham Group had announced that it plans to bring seven hotels to India under the Ramada and Days Inn brands. The company had then signed agreements with New Delhi-based real estate firm Aerens Goldsouk International Ltd to develop four hotels in Chennai, Kochi, Ludhiana and Hissar. [email protected]

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