Radisson to Expand in Eastern India, Eyes Bihar

Bengaluru, Sep 21 (PTI) Radisson Hotel Group, whose India portfolio includes over 200 hotels, is seeking to expand its footprint in eastern part of the country, with a top company official saying the hospitality giant's focus is on "balancing" location of properties in both key and tier 2 cities.

In an interview to PTI here, chairman of the group's South Asia operations, K B Kachru, also pitched for preserving and "restoring historic buildings" to redevelop them as heritage properties rather than demolishing such structures and replacing them with "big boxes".

"One of the reasons for our growth has been that we are focussed on key locations pan-India... In fact, we are doing equally well in tier 2 and tier 3 (cities) as in tier 1. So, that's very gratifying," Kachru told PTI.

Representatives from senior management of various leading hotel chains participated in a national tourism and hospitality conference hosted by the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) at a luxury hotel in Bengaluru from September 18-20.

Tourism ministers of Karnataka, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh also attended and addressed the gathering at the mega event.

Kachru and top officials of ITC Group and The Postcard Hotel also took part in a panel discussion on 'Building Iconic Indian Hospitality Brands that Travel the World' during the event.

On the sidelines, Kachru shared insights about the journey of the Radisson Hotel Group in India and its plans for the road ahead.

"We started close to 28 years back (in India) with nothing. We are now 207 hotels in India, and growing," he said.

And, at the 55th annual convention of the FHRAI, "great ideas were floated" to boost the brand value of Indian hospitality as a whole, both from the government and the industry sides, the chairman of the group's South Asia operations said.

"And, what is really pleasing to all of us is that the government has taken certain initiatives which are focussed on how to get more inbound tourists and consolidate our domestic tourism. There is a clear action plan. And, we as an industry are participating fully in it," he added.

"We are 207 hotels at the moment, and about 50 per cent of our properties are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities," he said.

In April this year, the hospitality giant had announced that with its ambitious growth plan for 2025, Radisson Hotel Group has reached a "historic milestone in India with crossing 200 hotels, following the signing of five new hotels".

If it plans to enter new markets in eastern India, Kachru said, "We are focussed on entire eastern India."

The group has shown interest to "go to Bihar," Kachru said.

"We are working on three properties in Bihar at the moment. The government recently, offering incentives, particularly in Buddhist sector, so we are going to focus there," he shared.

The Bihar government in recent months has announced that it plans to build three five-star hotels in Patna, including one at the site of the iconic over 100-year-old Sultan Palace.

The Bihar government had earlier proposed to dismantle the historic palace to make for a high-rise luxury hotel, but the move faced a public outrage and it later changed its plan, under which the site will be redeveloped as a hotel without compromising the heritage value of the old architectural landmark.

On whether such projects, especially in culturally-rich tier 2 cities, where many beautiful heritage buildings often make way for modern structures, enhance or diminish 'brand India', Kachru said, "I would use the word, 'we are restoring the properties ', adding value, we are not supporting anything where you demolish a heritage building and make a 'big box' there. We have to keep the identity of the town, the culture, the heritage, and we have to respect it."

He cited the example of a Radisson Blu property in Kumbhalgarh, an operating hotel in Rajasthan.

"We have created a modern hotel in Kumbhalgarh. And, not many people know after the Great Wall of China, the largest such wall is in Kumbhalgarh in Rajasthan," Kachru said.

Today's customers want basic facilities which are right, and they love the culture, the buildings, but will "not compromise" on facilities, so that is why "collaboration is necessary," Kachru added.