Berggruen Hotels, part of the New York-based $2 billion Berggruen Holdings, will invest Rs

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650 crore in 20 new properties it plans to own in India by 2015. Under its mid-market Keys Hotel and upscale Keys Resorts brands, the company has set a target to operate 40 properties in

India by 2015.

Berggruen currently operates seven hotels and two resorts under the Keys brand. The target is to have a total of 4,200 rooms under the brand in four years. Nine hotel projects are currently in different stages of construction. Five properties will be operational in 2011, another five by 2013 and by 2015, a total of 40 properties will be up and running, said Sanjay Sethi, CEO and managing director of Berggruen Hotels.

Of the 40 properties, Berggruen will own 20 and the rest will be managed by the group. In the owned properties, the company will invest Rs 650 crore of which 60 per cent will be debt and rest equity. In the existing properties, the company has invested Rs 350 crore, of which Rs 110 crore has been debt and the rest equity.

Berggruen finds a robust market for the mid-market hotel and upscale resort brands in India as they suffice the travel needs of the ‘young mid-management level corporate traveller’.

“Among the domestic business travelers, mid-management level corporate professionals account for a sizeable chunk. They prefer a mid-market no-frills hotel with a pricing of around Rs 3,500 per night for their business travels. Our upscale resort brand priced between Rs 4,000 and Rs 7,000 also fits well into their bill when they are on a leisure travel,” said Sethi. According to him, mid-market is the most resilient category among hotels in any financial turmoil.

With a management team based in the country and wide distribution network, Keys Hotels is confident of taking on the global hospitality brands that have recently become aggressive in the Indian market with their mid-market brands.