Premier Inn to Add to Mid-Market Hotels in India

India continues to lure hospitality firms with UK-based Premier Inn becoming the latest to express the willingness to expand India operations. Offering more options to tourists taking flights to India, Premier Inn will establish five hotels in the country.

Tourists taking flights to India in near future for business or holiday tours will have few more options as far as accommodation choices are concerned.

Premier Inn, part of the UK-based Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants has announced its plan to expand its presence in India. The group believes that apart from the international tourists, country’s growing domestic demand is going to offer ample of growth opportunities.

The group is looking to invest some INR 300 crore in the country’s hospitality sector and is seeking to set up five mid-market hotels in the Southeast Asian country.

Hotels in Bengaluru and New Delhi are already operational. Pune, Goa and Chennai are the other three cities where the group is planning to set up the hotels. While Pune and Bangalore are top business hubs that are likely to entice corporate travellers to plan India travel, Goa and Chennai are top holiday spots that charm vacationers into buying tickets on cheap flights to India. New Delhi remains the country’s major business as well as holiday hub.

Other than India, Premier Inn is eyeing various other markets of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka, Maldives, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia are few countries that seem to be on the company’s growth agenda.

In India, the property at Pune will be commissioned in July 2013; Goa by the end of 2013 and Chennai in 2014. From room strength of 245 each in New Delhi and Bengaluru, there will a further 505 rooms to serve middle-income travellers with cheap flight deals and the business executive segment.

Experts all over the world believe that India has the volumes to drive the hospitality business. Reports indicate that the country faces massive shortage of hotel rooms with around 15 million international tourists and millions of domestic travellers.