Indian luxury group Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, which is affiliated with Kempinski Hotels, is spending $270 million in an expansion that will add five new properties to its portfolio and nearly double its room inventory.
The group’s appetite for growth is also leading it to explore operating contracts in key source markets like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, according to a statement from the hotel.
It is also strengthening its international marketing and distribution infrastructure in UK, Middle East and North America by opening up its own offices in London, Dubai and New York. The group’s Dubai sales office will be handled by Dinesh Madhavan, its regional director for sales and marketing.
With increased connectivity between India and the Middle East, business for the group has grown considerably, both from locals and expatriates, particularly at their resorts in Goa and Kovalam.
Through focused marketing in the UAE market, The Leela hopes to carve a larger mind share among its target audience. Through increased investment in the UAE market, The Leela expects to better exploit the strong double digit growth being witnessed from the Gulf markets.
According to Peter J Leitgeb, President, Leela Palaces Hotels Resorts, the group is ideally positioned to tap this rise in demand with its existing family of hotels, and the five new world-class properties it is introducing over the next three years in Gurgaon-Delhi NCR, Udaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.