Hilton Worldwide plans 19 hotels in India in next five years

Mumbai, Jan 30 (PTI) To tap the growing hospitalitybusiness in India, the Hilton Worldwide is planning to develop19 hotels in the next five years, of which six will beginoperations in 2011, a top company executive has said.

"We are currently looking at 19 hotels in India thatare in various stages of development and spread across thecountry in a mix of tier I, II and III cities," HiltonWorldwide President, Asia-Pacific, Martin Rinck told PTI.

These will have approximately 3,000 rooms covering theluxury, full-and focused-service offerings in the next 4-5years, he said.

The US-based Group is expecting to launch operationsof six properties during 2011, with around 1,000 rooms, Rincksaid. "Our new openings consist of four Hilton hotels, oneDoubletree by Hilton, one Hilton Garden Inn and one Hampton byHilton. This effectively means that we will more than doubleour trading estate during this calendar year."

At present, Hilton Worldwide manages three propertiesin India � Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton New Delhi and the newlyadded Hilton Mumbai International Airport.

He said India''s growing hospitality sector provideshuge opportunity and there is still tremendous room for theentry of new brands to penetrate and grow exponentially in oneof the world''s fastest-growing major economies.

Asked about investment involved for developing theseproperties, Rinck said the company''s expansion strategy isprimarily through management contracts. .

"That does not mean we will not consider a strategic investment opportunity in a gateway city for one of our corebrands. However for now, our priority is to grow throughmanagement contracts," Rinck added.

Talking about global expansion, he said the HiltonWorldwide plans to add more than 130,000 rooms.

In Asia Pacific, the company is bullish onopportunities in India and China.

"China is our top international development marketfollowed by India. The Hilton brand has had a presence inShanghai and Beijing for many years and we now have 17 tradinghotels under four brands, with more than 60 propertiesin the pipeline," he said.