WelcomHeritage, part of the ITC’s
hospitality division, which is the largest chain
of heritage properties in India is looking at
acquiring stake in some of the properties owned
by the group. The company which is a joint
venture between ITC and the erstwhile Maharaja
of Jodhpur, Gaj Singh, has total 64 properties
across India, out of which three new were signed
on Tuesday in New Delhi.
“We
currently operate on the franchise model for all
our 64 properties. However, now we are looking
at an equity investment in some of the
properties,” Rakesh Mathur, president,
WelcomHeritage. Mathur said that the company is
currently in talks with some property owners in
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal,
North East and Uttaranchal for divesting their
stakes by having a joint venture partnership.
Having a JV with the heritage property owner
would mean that the company will have a
profit-sharing agreement with the hotel owner
rather than the current fee based system.
According to Mathur, presently WelcomHeritage
gets around 5%-8% of the properties’ revenues as
fees for services like marketing and branding on
a global level, consultancy in restoration
related work and assistance in sales among
others. The company is targeting revenues to the
tune of Rs 75 crore in the financial year ending
March 2009 as compared to Rs 60 crore it had in
the last fiscal.
Mathur said that company is looking at picking
up stakes instead of complete buy-outs as owners
are usually averse to the idea of completely
giving up their ancestral properties. The
11-year-old company is also looking at entering
into management contracts with more properties.
“Currently we manage around 5-6 properties,
however, we are looking at adding more in the
future,” said Mathur. In a management contract,
a company takes care of the day-to-day
operations of a hotel.
Talking about the expansion plans Mathur said,
“We are aiming to have 70 properties by end of
March 2010. With the addition of new three
properties, our portfolio now has 64
properties”. Among the new properties signed are
Shivavilas Palace at Sandur, 40 km from Hampi;
Sirsi Haveli, at the outskirts of Jaipur and
Naukuchiatal Resort, which is 30 km from
Nainital.
The
company, which has properties in 19 states has
the most presence in Rajasthan with 19
properties followed by Uttarakhand (8
properties), Himachal Pradesh (6 properties) and
Madhya Pradesh (5 properties). “We are now
looking at expanding our presence in South India
and North Eastern states,” said Mathur. He added
that the economic meltdown has not very severely
hit the heritage hotel chain with occupancy and
room rates remaining at the same levels as last
year. “Our occupancy level is 30%-35% on an
average and we are meeting targets this year,”
added Mathur.
