Oberoi axes Banyan Tree from spas

Oberoi group chairman PRS Oberoi has decided to go solo with his spa operations. Until a few weeks ago, all of BSE-listed East India Hotels Ltd’s spa operations were managed by the Singapore-headquartered spa specialist company Banyan Tree Spa. That arrangement has been discontinued and the Indian luxury hotel chain’s spa facilities will now be managed in-house.

Confirming the development to DNA Money, Liam Lambert, president, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, said, “We have come to an agreement with Banyan Tree just two weeks ago that they will withdraw and we will manage all our spa facilities ourselves. The reason being, we have critical mass and we now know how to best manage it.”

DNA could not ascertain if the Oberoi group will launch spa operations under a separate brand. However, senior company officials said spas at the Trident would be branded Trident Spa and in most likelihood, ones in the luxury brand would be branded The Oberoi Spa.

Lambert said the company will to re-open the Mumbai hotel in two weeks. That will be followed by The Oberoi in Gurgaon, which should open by September-October.

“Early next year (2011) will see our Hyderabad property getting operational. As for the international markets, we should be opening in Dubai, two hotels in Abu Dhabi, one hotel in Oman and another one in Morocco. All the international hotels will be operational in two years. This fiscal, we’ll add close to 700-odd rooms in India,” Lambert said.

Most of these developments are management contracts; a small number of them have equity participation.

InterContinental’s slice thins
InterContinental Hotels group’s stake in its franchised InterContinental Hotel at Marine Drive in Mumbai has been reduced. IHG had invested an undisclosed sum for approximately 11% in the hotel project at the development stage. That stake is now down to a little over 5% as a result of a fundraising exercise by hotel owners Graviss Hospitality, which saw Temasek Holdings pick up a stake.

Jumeriah-MGM have Indian plans
Hospitality chains Jumeirah group of the Middle East and the US-based MGM Mirage Hospitality are likely to announce their first hotel project in India by the end of this calendar. Gerald Lawless, executive chairman, Jumeirah group, said the company will bring in a new brand of hotels. Gamal Aziz, chief executive of MGM Mirage Hospitality said there is a lot of interest for the chain’s three brands viz MGM Grand, Skylofts and Bellagio. The MGM Grand is what would very likely be the first hotel brand to be signed. 

Pharma co Alchemist enters fray
Chandigarh-based pharmaceutical company Alchemist Ltd has forayed into the hospitality market with ‘G Hotels’. The hotels
will be owned and operated by its hospitality arm Alchemist Hotels & Resorts (AHR).

AHR is looking to launch its first G hotel at Kufri, a hill station near Shimla, in a few years. The company will also launch an affordable luxury hotel at Kufri, the brand for which has not been finalised. In all, AHR has identified three sites in North India and will invest close to Rs 500 crore, which will be funded by equity and debt.