The properties, which will come up in leisure destinations, will be owned and operated by Berggruen Hotels.
The first 38 value-for-money hotels housing a 4200 room inventory are expected to come up by 2012 according to hospitalitybiz. Properties will come up in Ludhiana and Bangaluru (formerly Bangalore) by the end-2009. Berggruen will invest US$ 175-300 million into the expansion over the next two years
Berggruen Hotels is owned by the billionaire Nicholas Berggruen who is best known as a backer to financial companies. He backed the stock market listing of a hedge fund group GLG in 2007 and owns stock in many similar funds. He decided to sell his real estate prior to the financial crisis and now lives in hotels only. He is behind the Indian budget hotel venture.
Despite his riches Nicholas is a man of simple habits. Last year, he told the Wall Street Journal he wanted to become more involved in socially responsible investment: “Everybody is different and I think that we live in a material world. But for me, possessing things is not that interesting. Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal. Whatever I own is temporary, since we’re only here for a short period of time. It’s what we do and produce; it’s our actions that will last forever. That’s real value.”
Perhaps that explains his drive to expand his budget hotels so people who are obliged to travel and stay in other cities can do so within their economic means. |