Biggies see growth in hotel biz

Mumbai, June 12: In the past, hotels were owned by players like East India Hotels and Taj. More recently, real estate players like DLF, Unitech, Runwal and Raheja got into the business. Apparently, there is room for more and there's money to be made.
Good enough reason for people like Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Vijay Mallya to dig their hands into the business.
Chandrasekhar made a killing in 2005 when he sold his stake in BPL Mobile for Rs 1,200 crore. A part of this money is now being used to invest in the booming business. Hindusthan Infrastructure Projects & Engineering (HIPE), an arm of Chandrasekhar's investment company — Jupiter Capital — has identified a 75 acre property at Chikmanglur in Karnataka.
"We will be buying another 2-3 properties in the current financial year," said an HIPE official.
The company is also looking to partner with state governments to develop large hotel projects. "Though the initial focus is on southern India, we are open to expanding anywhere in India, provided we get good land or a ready resort to acquire," the official added.
A year ago, Chandrasekhar, who also serves on the board of GoAir, had bought a 21 room heritage resort — Surya Samudra — near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. More recently, he bought 10-15 acres of land each to build hotels in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu and Kumarakom in Kerala. Then there is the flamboyant Mallya, chairman of the UB group.
While Mallya owns a few resorts in South Africa, sources close to him say he is now keen on spreading his wings in India.
These investments, sources added, will be made in his personal capacity and not through the Bangalore-based UB group that has interests in everything from beer-to-aviation.
Mallya's VJM Resorts is looking at owning resorts in coral island Lakshadweep and mainland Kerala. Mallya's hospitality interests could unlock synergies with his aviation venture.
Then there is Ramesh Mansukhani, promoter of pipe maker Man Industries. He too has been scouting the country for land to set up five star hotels. While all of these people are attempting to set up hotels, there is another breed of individuals like Jerry Rao, Ravi Jaipuria (Pepsi's largest bottler), and Gopal Jiwarjka (promoter of consumer electronics company Salora International), who have pumped in money as investors seeking good returns on their investments.
Jerry Rao, the founder of software company Mphasis, has invested in Royal Orchid Group of Hotels, while both Jaipuria and Jiwarjka have invested in LemonTree, a mid-market hotel chain.
Interests in hospitality business from the corporate world stems from growth rates in the industry as well as forecasts of explosive demand in the future on the back of domestic and international tourists. Clearly, everybody is hoping to cash in on the boom
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