Date:01/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/01/stories/2006060103552100.htm

Back Chennai to have more star hotels

Nina Varghese

High occupancies driven by IT, construction sectors

J Hotels Pvt Ltd, which owns the Accord Metropolitan, has purchased land for a five-star hotel project with 150 rooms off College Road in central Chennai.

Chennai , May 31

With Chennai emerging as a centre for Information Technology (IT), manufacturing and tourism, more deluxe hotels in the five- and four-star category are to come up in the city in the next two-three years to meet the projected demand.

J Hotels Pvt Ltd, which owns the Accord Metropolitan in Chennai's central business and shopping district of T. Nagar, has purchased land for a five-star hotel project with 150 rooms off College Road in central Chennai.

Other projects

Two hotel projects are coming up in MRC Nagar, an upmarket residential area on the coast. One of them by the Leela group is a five-star deluxe hotel on a seven-acre plot near the Adyar River facing the Bay of Bengal. According to Leela's Web site, the Rs 327-crore project will have 15 floors with 350 guestrooms and suites with banquet halls and meeting rooms.

Hotel industry sources said that another five-star hotel has also signed up for a project in the same location.

Empee Hotels Ltd is promoting a 253-room five-star hotel near Kathipara Junction, close to airport, and has signed up with Hilton to manage and operate this property. This property is scheduled to open by the end of 2007.

The Taj GVK project on Club House Road off Spencer's Junction, which was scheduled for opening early 2006, is delayed.

A hotel project promoted by Malabar Hotels is coming up on the Old Mahabalipuram Road.

Occupancies high

Hotel industry sources said that traditionally the business in Chennai hotels during the summer is slack, as most people would postpone a trip to the city when the daytime temperature soars to over 40 degrees Celsius. The foreign leisure traffic also dries up by end-March, while domestic leisure traffic heads towards hill stations and places of religious interest.However, hotel occupancies in Chennai are high now, driven by activity in the IT and construction industries. Hotels in Chennai are reporting 65-70 per cent occupancy this summer, compared to the 40 per cent last year, according to industry sources.

Rack rate

The average rack rate in the five-star category is Rs 5,800-6,500, while that in the four-star category is about Rs 4,800, sources said.