Meininger Hotels to open in India
Meininger Hotels, owned by Cox and Kings is expanding its footprint into the Indian market. The brand has 16 existing hotels in Europe and plans to diversify to different countries across continents. They have shortlisted locations in South Asia, the USA and Canada as of now.
Navneet Bali, CEO, Meininger Hotels, says, “The company should be able to sign its first property in India soon and will be able to make it operational within a year’s time after necessary refurbishments as per brand standards.”
The brand has identified properties in pilgrim cities such as Amritsar, Shirdi, Varanasi, Tirupati, as well as in business locations like Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Goa, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.
The Meininger Group is designing a budget brand that provides a hostel experience, giving guests the opportunity to book by the bed. This ranges from the classic double- twinor multiple-bed private rooms to shared dormitory rooms for groups. They believe that this new scheme will help them cater to school groups, corporate groups, backpackers, as well as large families. Air Asia India is offering its passengers a VIP treatment with their Red Carpet Service all the way from check-in to landing. The service is available for all flights of AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, in addition to I5 flights departing from selected destinations in India. The offer includes fast-track immigration, security clearance, and access to the lounge, priority baggage tagging, and loading and delivery of luggage at departure and arrival.
Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India said, “At AirAsia India, we strongly believe in offering highest levels of service and hospitality, which is very much a part of our Indian culture. We have seen that more and more travellers are willing to consider customised offers to save time and reduce other hassles while travelling. The launch of Red Carpet Service signifies our brand’s testament towards innovating our products and services at every stage of the airline’s growth. We are confident that this service will help strengthen the brand promise at AirAsia India.” Thai hospitality group, Onyx plans to open 10 new properties in India by 2022. It has already partnered with Kingsbridge India to open two high-end Amari hotels, one in Noida and the other in Ahmedabad.
Amari Noida will hold 120 rooms, 30 serviced apartments, three restaurants, a meeting and convention space, a swimming pool, a fitness centre and a spa. Amari Residences GIFT City at Ahmedabad will launch with 120 serviced apartments, a restaurant, a swimming pool and a fitness centre. Both properties are scheduled to open in 2019.
Peter Henley, Onyx’s president & CEO says, “India is ripe for hospitality development right now. As the economy continues to grow, and international visitors to the country rise, we see great potential for hotel expansion.”
The other cities on their radar are Delhi, Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi.