The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which operates hotels in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market through its various brands, is contemplating a new brand between The Gateway Hotel and Ginger in the next two years. Sharing this information, Raymond Bickson, MD and CEO, IHCL, said that the company would develop a prototype of the new brand that fits into the Taj brand architecture in a couple of years’ time.
“We believe that there is a space for a new brand between The Gateway Hotel and Ginger brands,” he said. He added that as per the new chain scale segmentation, branded hotels are grouped based on the actual average room rates at different chain scales. Citing an STR Global report, Bickson said that the new chain scale segmentation was luxury, upper upscale, upscale, upper mid-scale, mid-scale, economy and independents. While going into expansion, IHCL will be looking at the asset light model of expansion for the new brand. “The expansion in the Group will be majorly on the asset light model. We shall grow via the management route,” he stated. |