HoJo makes its India debut
The most iconic of American hotel brands now finds a place in the multibrand market of India with Wyndham’s Howard Johnson making its debut in Bengaluru. This will be followed by new hotels in Vijayawada, Lonavala, Jaiselmer, Mumbai and Greater Noida.
Howard Johnson hotels, or HoJo as it is often called, has traditionally been independently owned and operated under franchise agreements. The same arrangement has been extended to India with all HoJo development contract awarded to a single real estate developer – Unique Mercantile India.
The Ahmedabad-based real estate development firm has acquired the exclusive contract to develop properties under the Howard Johnson (HoJo) brand by US-based Wyndham Worldwide across India for 15 years. It will develop and operate 35 HoJo hotels by 2020 with an infusion of `
1,805 crore over five years.
Rahul Rai, Director, Unique Mercantile India, says, "We will raise the capital through internal accruals only. We are a debt-free company and want to remain that way." The first HoJo property was launched in Bengaluru on October 10, 2014 at Manyata Embassy Business Park in Hebbal.
The land is owned by MS Ramaiah Group and the mixed-use project has a 117room mid-market, full service business hotel along with a
` mall. “We have invested 80 crore on this property. Bengaluru will be followed by Vijayawada, Lonavala, Jaiselmer, Mumbai and Greater Noida.”
Deepika Arora, Regional VP (Indian Ocean & EMEAI) for Wyndham Hotel Group, said, “In India, Howard Johnson will be a mid-market, full service hotel which is made for the everyday traveller and will target the costconscious leisure as well as business traveller across various markets.”
In Lonavala, a holiday destination between Mumbai and Pune, the developer will convert the already-existing Biji’s Hill Retreat into a HoJo property. “This 82-room heritage hotel will get an upgrade with an infinity pool in the first phase of development, following by an addition of 38 more rooms in phase two. Part of the hotel with 82 rooms will be ready by 2015-end,” he reveals.
The mixed-use development project in Greater Noida will have a 100-room resort in JV with Dhampur Sugar Mills and will open by 2017. This will be followed by the opening of the Mumbai property that will come up in Andheri’s international airport corridor and will be ready by 2018.
Unique Mercantile India will invest in both incomplete and existing hotels that are underperforming or in need of cash infusion. “We aim to convert such hotels into HoJo properties and upgrade them to international standards of operation and management,” Rai adds.