We liked Louvre's attitude: Anil Madhok

It was finally official on Thursday that France-based Louvre Hotels Group, owned by Chinese travel major Jin Jiang International Holdings Co Ltd, has picked up a majority stake in country's largest hotel chain Sarovar Hotels Pvt Ltd. Though the details of the deal between the two is not known, Anil Madhok, executive chairman of Sarovar Hotels, told Praveena Sharma that they have made sure that operational control remained with them. Louvre will continue a separate partnership for its luxury brand Royal Tulip in India.

Both Sarovar and Louvre have very strong brands in all segments. Is there a possibility of co-branding?

Possibly. But at the moment, there is no such thing.

What really clinched the deal?

We had a lot of suitors. What I liked (about Louvre) is their attitude, which is to not interfere (much); like they did not say we (Louvre) know everything and we will tell you what to do. They told us we want you to do more of what you are doing.

Will you have enough say in the operations?

Yes, absolutely. We made sure of that.

What do you get out of this deal?

What we gain is access to the Chinese market, which is phenomenal today, and moving up in a very big way. Jin Jiang group is very big. It's the biggest group in China. In Europe, Louvre is strong so that will give us their reservations, marketing, etc. They bring in a lot of synergies. It's up to us what we draw out of that.

By when do you expect a Sarovar Hotel in Europe or the US?

I don't know about Europe. At the moment, we are focusing on Africa. We don't have the bandwidth (for Europe right now). India is a phenomenal opportunity. Believe me, you still need ten times more hotels than we have. We are doing Africa and it has turned out to be very good for us. We don't have the bandwidth to go to Middle East or Far East. If I had it (bandwidth), I would love to do it but I must have the strength to cover so many areas. In Africa, we have five operating hotels and another 3-4 hotels coming up. I need to focus on that market before I run all over.