India’s largest hospitality brand, Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), on Friday launched the Claridges Collection in partnership with Claridges Hotels.
Taking over The Claridges New Delhi under a management contract for 25 years, effective April 1, IHCL will move two of its properties — Connemara in Chennai and Blue Diamond, Pune — under the Claridges portfolio, expanding it to six properties soon, and to 20 properties by 2030.
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The company’s managing director and CEO Puneet Chhatwal said the Claridges brand will be a luxury portfolio equivalent to the Taj branded hotels. “Claridges will be in sync with other Taj hotels like Mansingh in Lutyen’s Delhi, enhancing our offerings and not cannibalising them,” he said.
Suresh Nanda, promoter of Claridges Hotels, said, “We are confident that this alliance will redefine industry benchmarks, showcasing the best of both partners.” He, however, evaded a question whether other Claridges properties in Mussourie and Haridwar will also be given to IHCL. This is the fourth property IHCL is taking over from Nanda. Vivanta Surajkund was previously a Claridges hotel.
The Sea Rock Hotel in Mumbai, to be built as Taj Bandstand, was acquired from Nanda, who has also built a Taj in Business Bay, Dubai, for IHCL.
On IHCL expansion plans, Chhatwal said the company next year plans to open around 30 properties. At an average of 150 rooms per hotel, this would bring the company’s targeted addition to around 4,500 rooms in FY26.
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In FY25, the company added 25 new properties. As per its Accelerate 2030 strategy, the company aims to almost double its portfolio to 700 properties by 2030 from the existing 375. It is also targeting to double its consolidated revenue to Rs 15,000 crore by the end of the decade.
IHCL operates a diverse portfolio of hotel brands, including Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta and Ginger. Chhatwal said in the next few years, the company expects the majority of the growth to come from the Ginger and Gateway brands. He also said the company would continue to invest around 5% of its revenue towards new investments.
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