Having established himself as one of India’s most profitable hoteliers, Arun Saraf’s next big gamble is mega hotel projects.
“The next big thing for me is mega hotels which combine leisure and convention facilities as a destination,” said Saraf at the HIFI 2010 in Mumbai recently.
His rationale is that multi-purpose destination properties have an inherent demand but are not present in India. “These projects are very viable as their demographic is wide. However, an essential factor is that they must be within one hour’s drive from the airport,” he added.
Though he declined to disclose the locations, he did admit that the 2009 recession drove down land prices allowing him to buy the parcels required for his mega projects. “I bought more land in 2009 than I did in my entire career,” he said.
Saraf’s present big ticket project is the setting up of a mid-market hotel chain across India, a project which will effectively transform him for an owner of large, luxury hotels – largely Hyatts – to a hotel operator. He will own, develop and manage all his hotels under his own brand.
