Best Western finds new partner in Sorrel Hospitality

American hotel chain Best Western International has finalised a new partner to further its plans for the Indian hospitality market now that its pact with Cabana Hotel has ended. In fact, dna has learnt from industry sources that the US hotel chain has already inked a master licensing agreement with Delhi-based Sorrel Hospitality Pvt Ltd.

The new agreement, sources said, will be in force for a 10-year period, post which both parties will mutually take a call on its continuation.

David Kong, president and CEO, Best Western International, could not be reached for a comment on the development. Queries emailed to Kong's office in the US remained unanswered at the time of going to print. The new India partner acknowledged the association. Speaking exclusively with dna, Gurmeet Singh Uberai, director, Sorrel Hospitality Pvt Ltd, said that a master licensing agreement with Best Western International has been entered into.

However, dna also learnt the new agreement has not come into force owing to pending financial / commercial issues issues between existing Best Western hotel franchisees in India, Cabana Hotel (the former master licensing partner) and Best Western International. "Payments in terms of franchising fees have not been cleared by the existing hotel owners and or Cabana. Hence, the new India partner will have to get those cleared before getting on with business," said an industry source familiar with the development.

Commenting on the operational issues, Uberai said, "We have established communications with all the parties involved and are collectively working with Cabana and Best Western International on the same. I don't see too much of an issue or dispute here as we are all on the same page now and hope to resolve the matter at the earliest possible."

This is also one reason why Uberai has not invoked the right to this master licensing agreement for now and has given all parties involved a month's time to iron-out all the issues and disputes.

"Once everybody's issues have been addressed, I will be in a position to go out officially," said Uberai, adding that the company wants to start working on the Best Western franchise on a clean slate. Industry sources also indicated of a possible (behind the scene) involvement of Ranjan Bhattacharya (the foster son-in-law of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) in the new Best Western master licensing company. Sources said that executives working with Bhattacharya's firm Country Development & Management Services (CDMS), a joint venture with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, have been absorbed by Sorrel after Carlson bought out Bhattacharya's stake in the JV. Interestingly, Uberai was also a director in CDMS that managed a portfolio of mid-market hotel brand 'Country Inns & Suites By Carlson' in India.

Clearing the air, Uberai said that Bhattacharya was not at all involved in Sorrel Hospitality and that he has nothing to do with the new master licensing agreement with Best Western International. However, he did confirm that some of the finance and accounting executives earlier working with CDMS were being employed by Sorrel Hospitality.

The master licensing agreement with Sorrel Hospitality is Best Western International's third such association in the last over two decades. In the year 2005, the mid-market hospitality chain's Indian arm, then headed by Anand Gupta, president and CEO, Best Western Hotels India, had wrapped up India business, leaving its network of hotels and their respective owners with no clarity on the hotels company's future plans. However, in 2007, president of Best Western International David Kong along with Cabana Hotel Management, re-approached the Indian hospitality market promising a rebound. And the plans didn't really pan out the way it was envisaged.

With a new partner in the form of Sorrel Hospitality on board now, it remains to be seen if Best Western International is able to bring about a change in the way it is pursuing the Indian hospitality market.