The Hindu Business Line : Sabari Inn targets three-fold growth

Coimbatore, Sept. 18 The Chennai-based Sabari group, which is into both the top-end and mid-segments of the hospitality business, aims at a more than a three-fold growth in the next two years.

It plans to take the number of its rooms from around 300 now to a minimum of 1,000 by end-2011 when hotels under construction and on the drawing board would be commissioned.

The group, which took the inorganic route to propel its growth by acquiring the hotel chain under the Nilgiris group, has decided not to go for any further acquisition, according to Mr Ramesh Shiva, Chief Executive Officer, Sabari Inn Pvt Ltd, Chennai.

The group does not plan to enter the in-flight catering business in view of the slowdown in the airline industry , he said.

Addressing presspersons in Coimbatore on Friday, he said while three of the group hotels had a marketing tie-up with the Quality Inn group, three others acquired from the Nilgiris group were directly marketed by the Sabari group.

The group plans to open a luxury hotel in Coimbatore at an investment of about Rs 50 crore, in January. The company is negotiating with the Carlson group for a tie-up.

Hotel in Bangalore

The Bangalore 5-star hotel is coming up near the new international airport. It will carry the Radisson tag, a brand owned by the Carlson group, and would cost about Rs 50 crore.

Mr Shiva said the Sabari group planned to build hotels in Pune and Madurai. The construction in these places would commence by the end of next year.

Slowdown impact

He said the economic slowdown has had an impact on the hospitality sector. While the occupancy rate at one of its hotels in Chennai was very good, that in the other had seen a 15-per cent drop compared with last year.

While the occupancy of the rooms in the Rs 1,500-Rs 1,800/day tariff range was still robust, that in room in the Rs 4,000-plus tariff had taken a hit.

The company is planning several promotional schemes to perk up patronage by corporates.

More Stories on : Outlook | Resorts & Amusement Parks | Tamil Nadu

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page