Dear Developers Private Ltd., owner of the Taj Hotel & Convention Center in the tourist destination of Agra, has announced plans to set up at least three super-luxury hotels in the near future under the Taj brand of Indian Hotels Company Restricted.
“We intend to open three hotels in the next three years and partner with Taj,” said Paritosh Ladhani, joint managing director, Dear Developers. “These will be very luxurious hotels with room rates of up to £40,000 a night,” he added in an interview.
Properties are expected to come up in pilgrimage towns and tourist destinations. Locations include Rishikesh, Dharamshala and Jim Corbett Park. The company is also planning to set up a luxury tea garden property in Assam.
“We want to capture the essence of the tea gardens there. For example, Taj Kutir is doing very well. And in this one area, even today, there is much more potential,” Ladhani said.
The company plans to build around 450 rooms (150 rooms each) on these properties with a total investment of around ₹ 1,000 crore.
“These hotels will be very high-end, very ultra-luxurious, you could call it ultra-luxury, and the price per night will be at least £35,000-40,000. I am not building a property that will go for ₹15,000-20,000 per night,” Mr. Ladhani said.
He added that demand for ultra-luxury hotels has skyrocketed among domestic tourists, as has demand for luxury homes.
“Even upper middle class people in India have become very ambitious. So, people whose salary is ₹5 lakh per month are willing to go on holiday with their children only once a year but stay in the best hotel,” he added.
He said that within 7-8 years, the company will eventually have at least 7-8 super luxury hotels.
“We want to have at least 7-8 luxury hotels in the country that will be among the top 15,” he said, adding that the top priority will be on sustainable development
