Berggruen Hotels to launch 'Keys'- budget hotels

Mumbai, Jan 22: Berggruen Hotels, a new hotel venture backed by Berggruen Holdings Inc, will launch their new brand of boutique budget hotels, 'Keys' in India.

Berggruen Hotels, Founding Director on Board, CEO Mr Sanjay Sethi said at the press conference here today, ''With an equity capital of USD 100 million, Berggruen Hotels will build a minimum of thirty-eight hotels in the next five years in India, 24 sites are in active negotation and the launch of the first hotel is scheduled for June 2008. 'Keys' will be a chain of category defining boutique budget hotels in India, providing a stylish, cheerful and cutting-edge experience of our customers. We shall significantly raise the bar on the relevance and quality of service being offered through the launch of 'Keys' in India and plan to spread the brand globally in the near future.''

He added, '' The company's planned scale of operations and nmatched effieiencies in its processes and systems, will allow us to offer an attractive value pricing for a good quality product.

Berggruen Hotels will operate 38 hotels evenly distributed across tier 1, 2 and 3 locations pan India, each with 100 to 170 rooms and a company turnover in excess of Rs 350 crore in the next five years.

'Keys' rooms will all be double rooms with charges depending on occupancy. Initial pricing will be between Rs 1,400 and Rs 2,200 across the country,'' he added.

UNI