“We are profitable at a company level. We have institutional funds working with us. I think we are building the next level of global hospitality out of India,” said Chopra. Last year, on a conservative basis, it had ₹1,563 crore of hotel assets under management, he added.
“Our assets under management this year have crossed ₹2,672 crore. In the next three years, our aim is to have $1 billion (about ₹8,300 crore) worth of assets under management on the books for 20 years. That makes us a very serious global player in the business,” he said.
Architect Luca Franco, CEO of Luxury Frontiers that designs resorts, will make his India debut with the hotel at Ranthambore, known for its national park with a large population of tigers and safaris. Each room will be of about 1,950 square feet and all 14 rooms will have private heated pools. “For the next seven years, every quarter, a new Postcard hotel will open. And there’s a reason for that. There should be new options for customers, so every quarter has a new opening for guests to explore. Our ambition is to build the world’s foremost global luxury hotel company,” said Chopra, a former president of the Oberoi Group.
The company is scheduled to open Assam’s first luxury hotel in a tea estate in December. “The government has given a ₹2 crore subsidy and a reduced interest loan to the owners who are opening the hotel with us in the Durrung Tea Estate,” said Chopra. He said a luxury hotel in Tirupati would also be a first for that market. “Tirupati gets 100,000 tourists a day and has only 300 branded hotel rooms. Every day, they sell tatkal tickets. And 1,000 tickets are sold every day at ₹10,000 a person,” said Chopra.
