Crowne Plaza replaces Courtyard Marriott in Pune

Pune: Crowne Plaza of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has replaced the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel near Jehangir Hospital in Pune.
In April, Marriott had said it will no longer manage the Courtyard property in Pune beginning June 10 this year. It had, however, not assigned any reason for the termination of the agreement to manage the hotel.
At that time, Courtyard's owners Mumbai-based Neo Capricon had said they will not fire any employees from the hotel.The hotel is believed to employ over 200 employees. At the same time, one of Neo Capricon's owner - Deepak Bhagwandas Raheja - had said that they were in talks with a few players to manage the Pune property.
"The 173-room hotel will operate under a management agreement with The Advantage Raheja Group (also owned by Raheja) and has been rebranded from an existing property," IHG said in a statement on Sunday.
A source said the hotel will be upgraded to a 5-star property from 4-star and hire more people to enhance the quality of service.
"Furniture, fittings and other interior elements will be enhanced to create more inviting dining options and engaging spaces for both business and social interactions. Commencing June 2016, the refurbishment is anticipated to be completed by early 2017," IHG said.
IHG has 27 hotels across four brands in India including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express with 41 hotels in the development pipeline as on March 31 this year. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,000 hotels and nearly 742,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with nearly 1,400 hotels in its development pipeline.
Asked why Marriott decided to end the contract with Courtyard before the term expires, a Neo Capricon spokesperson had said in April, "It was a mutual parting of ways...World over such changes happen. We continue our relationship with Marriott in other cities of the country."
In a release in April Marriott had said, "that they have mutually agreed to terminate the operating contract for the Courtyard By Marriott Pune City Centre hotel effective June 10, 2016."