Mahindra Holidays in pact with Austria’s Bon Alpina

MAHINDRA Holidays and Resorts India, part of the $4bn Mahindra & Mahindra group, has entered into a management contract with the Austria-based hotel, Bon Alpina. The skiresort hotel based in the Alps is the first overseas venture for the group. The company began due diligence for the Austrian property late last year, sources said. This 97-room, 4-star, Hotel Bon Alpina consists of three connecting buildings and Mahindra is currently refurbishing one of the buildings. It intends to finish refurbishing all the buildings by the end of this year, rebrand it (Mahindra Bon Alpina) and relaunch operations in December 2006. The group is expecting overseas revenues to account to 25% of total sales. Mahindra Holidays has already bought a few inventories (rooms) in Bangkok and Pattaya on a long-term basis (25-30 years) for its timeshare members. It is understood to be identifying resort properties in Russia and the US too, industry sources said. The acquisition of the Austrian property is expected to give the group exposure to international operations and services, especially in the Alps. This Austrian property based in the provincial capital of Innsbruck is expected to give ayurveda to international customers and offer different ski-choices to the Indian tourists during the winter months. “If this overseas venture is successful, we will set up greenfield projects in Alps. We are currently identifying locations,” a company official said. After having established itself in the traditional timeshare mode of operations, Mahindra is exploring opportunities for setting up hotels, market sources said. The company is looking at setting 12 more family holiday resorts in India, with an investment of about Rs 325-350 crore.

Royal India to build 15,000 budget rooms

Royal India Raj International Corporation, a US-based infrastructure company, has tied up with Choice Hotels India to build 15,000 budget hotel rooms in India under the international brands of Comfort, Quality, Sleep Inn and Clarion. RIRIC will be investing $4 billion in India to build these mid-price hotel rooms in next five to seven years. RIRIC has identified various cities for its hotel projects. During its first phase, it will cover cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Goa and Pune. In the second phase it will be covering tier II cities. RIRIC is now in the process of acquiring land.

Courtesy: EconomyTimes