Holiday Inn Bangalore, being developed by Brigade Hospitality Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brigade Enterprises in management contract with Intercontinental Hotels Group is slated to be operational by 2011. The 250-room business hotel is being developed near the upcoming Bangalore International Airport and will have a contemporary design.

Speaking to Express Hospitality, Vineet Verma, CEO, Brigade Hospitality said "We are in the process of identifying an architect. Our effort will be to create a landmark project which will be different in its look and feel from the other hotels which are expected to come up around the airport." Speaking about the Bangalore market, Verma remarked that Brigade would be treading cautiously in Bangalore. "We are not being overtly aggressive in Bangalore considering the existing inventories and occupancies. We will be taking considered decisions before moving any further in Bangalore," explained Verma.

Brigade Hospitality is at present developing properties in various cities in South India. In the pipeline are projects like the 285-room Sheraton in Bangalore being developed in contract with the ITC group and Sheraton Mysore, a 220-room convention centre which is expected to be operational by 2011. "We are presently only looking at entering into contracts with renowned international brands. However we are not ruling out the possibility of setting up properties under own brands in the future," informed Verma. According to him, all projects are being financed through debts, in-house financing options and also possible equity options. Brigade Enterprises had recently announced an IPO; part of the proceedings from which would be used to develop Sheraton Bangalore Hotel.

Speaking about the company's future plans, Verma said "Our focus will primarily be on developing clubs, service apartments, hotels and resorts. We would also focus on the hotel cum mall options as we feel that mixed use is the only way forward, especially when it comes to business and budget hotels." The Brigade Metropolis, a business hotel being developed at Chennai would follow the mixed use format of hotel cum retail under the same premise.

Source: www.expresshospitality.com