Carlson-Rezidor Group eyes 100 hotels in India by end-2018

International hospitality chain Carlson-Rezidor Group is planning to operate 100 hotels across its various brands in India by the end of 2018, a top company official said. Presently, the group operates 89 hotels across the country and plans to open one hotel every six weeks. “India is the fastest growing market for Carlson and it is the second largest international brand in the country. We currently operate 89 properties across various brands in the country. We plan to add 11 more by this year-end,” CEO of Carlson-Rezidor Group Raj Rana told reporters. Rana said that India is a growing market and there is plenty of opportunities for international brands to step up their presence in the country. The Group has 10,000 rooms as of now, and another 1,500 would be added when the number of hotels touches 100. Rana said besides these 100 properties, another 41 are in the pipeline which are already in construction stage, he said. He also said that at present, demand for rooms outweighs supply, and the room rates are expected to go up which would result in good return on investments made by the property developers. The Carlson group today upgraded the Park Plaza Ballygunje property, which started operations in 2012, into the upscale Radisson brand. The Kolkata property had been developed by city-based Mukti Group, which plans another Carlson brand hotel in Siliguri. Carlson-Rezidor has brands like Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns and Suites and Park Inn.