Accor plans to open 30 hotels

Vagator: French hospitality major Accor plans to open 30 new properties in India in the next three to five years to tap the huge potential here, according to its Senior Vice President Operations, India and South Asia, Puneet Dhawan. The hotel chain, which has nine brands in India out of 40 from its global portfolio, will also consider introducing more brands in the country to cater to different segments of customers here. “Currently our pipeline is about 30 signed contracts...These are expected (to be operational) in the next three to five years,” Dhawan told PTI when asked about the company’s expansion plans in India. These properties will be developed by local partners and run by Accor under its existing nine brands in India, including Fairmont, Novotel, Mercure and Pullman, among others. The investments on these new properties will be done by the partners. Some of the cities where the new properties will come up include New Delhi, Chandigarh, Mohali, Bhubaneswar and Amritsar.