“We are in talks with Marriott International and are exploring possibilities for the Ritz Carlton or the St Regis brand for our second luxury hotel in Agra that is likely to come up in the next three years. We are planning to build a 180 rooms hotel and are planning to invest around Rs 600 crore. We have no height restrictions for the three acres land parcel, so our hotel will be the tallest building in Agra with a viewing deck and an infinity pool,” he said.
“We are looking at hotels in Goa, Udaipur and Noida as well, and a new hotel is being co-developed with a leading luxury chain in Rishikesh. We have bought the land in Udaipur and are in touch with Four Seasons for the Udaipur hotel and are looking at investing around Rs 600 crore in Udaipur,” he said.
Ladhani said the group is also investing Rs 55-60 crore in revamping and refurbishing the Taj Hotel & Convention Agra and the 240 rooms renovated hotel will reopen in mid-November with 90 rooms having a butler service. He is expecting a 40% uptick in rates for the refurbished hotel.
“For the next six months, we are expecting to grow by 20-25% in Agra simply because of the upcharge we are going to get with rates. We are looking at two boutique hotels in Goa and are also exploring possibilities of a mid-scale 200-250 rooms hotel in Noida. In the next four years, all these new projects should be in place,” he said.
“The luxury market is growing at over 30-35% every year in this country. It’s not just products but services as well and we would like to expand in the luxury hospitality space. India is a long term market. Across the world, post Covid, social media has taken precedence and people want to holiday in a big way,” he added.
