Louvre Hotels looks to add 12 properties in India by 2018-end

Hospitality major Louvre Hotels Group has said it is aiming to add 12 properties across India by the end of 2018 as part of its expansion plans.

The group plans to add the hotels under all its three brands Royal Tulip, Golden Tulip and Tulip Inn, under which it currently has 27 properties in India.

"We will add 12 hotels to our Golden Tulip portfolio across India by end of 2018," Vimal Singh, Managing Director (South Asia), Louvre Hotels Group, told PTI.

The hotels will be in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Rajkot and Amritsar among others, he added.

"The hotels will be under all the three Golden Tulip brands as the company targets all the market segments," Singh said.

The budget and mid-market segment will remain the biggest growth segment in India, in terms of producing the numbers, not only for Louvre Hotels Group but for the entire sector going forward, he added.

When asked about the business model, the company will take for expansion, Singh said: "The hotels will be mainly under the management contract model. We are also now looking at leasing hotels."

On the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Singh said that for the "hospitality sector, it is a positive thing. It will make things simpler for us."

In January this year, Louvre Hotels Group had acquired a majority stake in Indian hospitality chain Sarovar Hotels for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 1976, the Paris-based hospitality major is part of Shanghai based Jin Jiang International Holdings Co Ltd, one of China's largest tourist and travel conglomerates.