Starwood Hotels which operates luxury and upscale brands such as W, St Regis, Le Meridien and Westin, plans to expand its midscale and upscale property portfolio in India to boost profitability.
The company will be opening five four-star properties, including twoAloft hotels and three Four Points by Sheraton hotels, entailing an investment in excess of Rs.360 crore over the next two years, company officials told Mint.
“Luxury properties in India, even if the numbers are less, they are profitable. For our midscale to upscale brands, which are smaller and affordable, we are focusing on more number of properties to drive profitability,” said Brian McGuinness, senior vice-president, speciality select brands.
“There are many markets which do not support our luxury properties because of pricing,” McGuinness said. “Thus, there is a huge opportunity for mid-market hotels in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which include some new markets, and micro markets like suburbs of major cities.”
The company currently has five Aloft and five Four Points by Sheraton hotels running in the country. Globally, it expects to have 80 Aloft and 200 Four Points by Sheraton hotels by the end of this year from the current 65 and 175 properties, respectively. McGuinness said the company also plans to bring in remaining midscale to upscale brand Element to India in the next three to five years.
All five upcoming properties under the Aloft and Four Points brands are greenfield properties, which the company will manage and operate.
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