THE Oberoi Group is a brand synonymous with its palatial uber-luxurious hotel properties under the luxury ‘Oberoi’ and five-star ‘Trident’ brands.
While the company had a tough 2009 with the global economic downturn, the Mumbai terror attacks and the swine flu pandemic, it is still going ahead with at least 12 new hotel properties under construction.
The Oberoi Mumbai, which bore the brunt of the terrorist attacks, is nearing completion of its renovations and is scheduled to re-open in 2010. The company has also recently opened its third property in Mumbai, The Oberoi Bandra Kurla.
Other properties under development are The Oberoi Gurgaon, opening mid 2010, Oberoi in Goa and Bangalore, the Rajgarh Palace near Khajuraho and new properties in the Maldives and Cambodia.
In addition, the company has a city hotel under construction in Dubai, The Oberoi Hotel, Doha which will be located at Al Wa’ab City is due to be completed in 2014. The company is also planning two further Oberoi hotels in Abu Dhabi and another in Oman.
Hemant Mediratta, vice president sales for The Oberoi Group said, “The Middle East has always been an important market for us, especially for our two hotels in Mumbai – The Trident Nariman Point and The Oberoi Mumbai. This last year, while occupancies have dropped by 20 per cent, the hardest hit were the European and North American markets.
However we are already seeing signs of recovery from these markets.
“Looking ahead, we are keen to tap into new markets such as South America, Turkey and Scandinavia.”