Thursday, February 28, 2008

Shop till you drop and then check in

Until now, you have shopped in five-star hotels' premium retail outlets. Now what about doing some shopping in a mall and enjoy the hospitality of a good hotel in the same complex? A successful business in countries such as Dubai, Singapore and Thailand, the mall-hotel concept is all set to script its India story.

The model goes like this-retail outlets on the first two floors, upper floors are eatery- the hotel comes up on the top floors. The aim is optimum utilisation of available space in complex, given the escalating real estate prices and lack of good locations at affordable prices. Moreover, with Commonwealth Games in 2010, when there will be a surge in hotel demand, the concept makes sense.

Developers in not only Tier-I cities, but also in Tier-II and Tier-III cities are going all ga-ga over malls-hotels. Parsvanth Developers Ltd has plans to set up mall-hotels in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Mohali, Lucknow and Seelampur. It has already begun construction work in Mohali, Hyderabad and Ahemdabad.

While Ambience Group eyes Delhi and NCR and Vizag, Ansal API will complete its project in Greater Noida this year and Lucknow in 2-3 years. The target customers are domestic, international and business travellers.

Mostly, it is the one developer that develops both the mall and the hotel, but the operations and management rights lie with the hospitality partner. Emaar MGF has tied-up with partners Formule I, Premier Inn and Marriott. While DLF has joined hands with Hilton International Company, Ambience Group has tied up with Leela Group.

"It is a worldwide phenomenon, however, it is a relatively new concept in India. Until now, almost all the hotels have a floor or area dedicated to retail, which has been limited to a few luxury boutiques. But this concept allows an optimum usage of FSI complementing the components (commercial plus hotel), which may be unviable for a stand-alone project," said a source in DLF.

These hotels within malls are a mix of five-stars, four-stars, three-stars and budget hotels. Privacy is the biggest factor while planning the structure of the hotel and the mall. According to BP Dhaka, spokesperson & COO (MP), Parsvanth Developers Ltd, "While the mall and hotel will be interconnected, the entry exit and safety privacy of hotels occupants will be of utmost importance to us."

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