Hilton Hotels Corp. entered a joint venture agreement with DLF Ltd.--based in Delhi, India--to build between 50 and 75 hotels and service apartments over a seven-year period in India.
DLF is one of India's leading real estate developers. A Hilton spokeswoman said this is the first significant international expansion opportunity for Hilton Garden Inn (pictured) outside North America. Hilton's joint venture company plans to develop and own the hotels and serviced apartments. The formation of the joint venture is pending receipt of formal written approval from the Indian government.
The joint-venture-owned hotels will represent several brands from the Hilton portfolio, including Hilton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Residences. The joint venture will develop and build these properties, while Hilton will manage them. "When you look at India as an economy, its GDP is growing at a double digit rate - much faster than most economies in the world - and one of the things happening as a result is a huge middle class developing," Tom Keltner, president of Hilton's brand performance and development group, told CPN. "There are more hotel rooms in Orlando than in the entire country of India with its 1.1 billion population. It is a great time with a rapidly growing economy with great growth in the middle class."
With discount air travel in India growing, too, Keltner said it is a good time to be in the hotel business there. Additionally, he said partnering with an established company in the region was ideal. Hilton will invest up to $143 million on individual projects to fund its share of the projects as the 26 percent shareholder in the venture, Keltner said.
The initial stage of the joint venture will involve 20 hotels in key locations including Chandigarh, Chennai and Kolkata. A large number of these hotels are expected to be Hilton Garden Inn properties--a business hotel brand, offering focused service. Beyond the initial 20 sites, the joint venture will continue to identify and acquire sites and undertake new hotel developments.
Hilton Garden Inn is an upscale, mid-priced, focused-service hotel concept. According to Hilton's website, Hilton Garden Inn is redefining the upscale, mid-priced lodging category with aggressive expansion. With more than 300 properties open or in development since its initial launch, Hilton Garden Inn is the fastest-growing brand in the Hilton Family of Hotels. In addition, Hilton Garden Inn is considering conversions with a focus on urban locations and other "hard-to-develop" markets. Through its alliance with EIH, Hilton Hotels Corp. has nine existing franchised hotels in India under the Trident Hilton and Hilton brands. Another hotel is currently being developed by EIH and will be franchised as a Trident Hilton under this arrangement. These properties are managed by EIH while Hilton is responsible for international marketing, promotion and reservations through the Hilton global network.
Hilton will manage five additional hotels under development--Hilton Bangalore, Hilton Residences at Embassy Gold Links Bangalore, Hilton Chennai, Hilton Hyderabad Palace and Shilim Retreat by Hilton. In October, CPN reported that Hilton Hotels Corp. has a deal in the works to sell the London and Birmingham Metropole hotels to Dr. Edward Wojakovski's family-owned Tonstate for ?417 million. The transaction is expected to go through before the end of the year.
Labels: Delhi, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton_Hotels_Corp., Tom_Keltner
