IHHR Hospitality's Amritsar hotel to become Hyatt Regency

"Thank you for calling Hyatt Regency, how may I assist you," a chirpy front desk executive responded to a call made to this hotel in Amritsar, Punjab. Tourists reaching out to this hotel for room reservations are being greeted in this fashion since over a week now. If you are still wondering what this is all about, read on.

The Hyatt Amritsar, formerly operated under the banner Ista Amritsar, is set to fly a different flag all over again. The hotel, which was taken over by the NYSE-listed global hospitality major Hyatt Hotels Corporation (HHC) under management contract from IHHR Hospitality in October 2012, has already been or will soon be rebranded as Hyatt Regency.

Changes have been made to the overall look and feel of the hotel that now goes a notch above its earlier market positioning under Hyatt brand.

While customers looking to book this hotel online will still find it listed as Hyatt Amritsar, the new branding – Hyatt Regency Amritsar – is set to kick in soon.

A new premium branding is not the only thing that's changing for this hotel. The asset owning company IHHR Hospitality is now managing the operations as well, thus converting the association inked back in 2012 to a franchise agreement now.

DNA Money had first reported the brand change and management to franchise conversion development in its issue dated April 12, 2017.

"The Amritsar hotel is the first among the existing five Hyatt hotels to be rebranded. In fact, another upcoming hotel at McLeod Ganj in Himachal Pradesh will be launched as Hyatt Regency under franchise agreement when it gets operational this year-end or early next year. The other four Hyatt branded hotels will also be rebranded under one of HHC brands gradually," said sources familiar with the development.

When contacted, Hyatt Hotels Corporation's India office did not respond to DNA Money queries.

Interestingly, Kurt Straub, vice-president of Operations (India), Hyatt Hotels and Resorts had, at the launch of Andaz Hotel Delhi in October 2017, said that "brand Hyatt will fade out and become Hyatt Centric".

Bhanu Choudhrie, founder and executive director of C&C Alpha Group, also the majority stakeholder in IHHR Hospitality, could not be reached for a comment. IHHR Hospitality is co-promoted by London-based Choudhrie family and Delhi-based Khanna family that owns a minority stake. The hotel company also owns and manages the award-winning destination spa resort 'Ananda in the Himalayas'

Confirming the development, Ashok Khanna, managing director, IHHR Hospitality, said, "Some of the properties are getting rebranded starting with Hyatt Amritsar. We have not finalised on the branding for others yet. That's because there is already a Hyatt Regency in Pune, which is just opposite the Hyatt Pune. It won't be prudent to have two Hyatt Regency hotels at the same location. That can't happen, hence there is no commitment on any of the others yet," said Khanna.

On the management of Hyatt Regency hotels, Khanna said, "IHHR will manage the McLeod Ganj and Amritsar hotels. Other four hotels will continue to be managed by Hyatt. We will see as and when what to finalise, how it goes. Right now there is no commitment on anything."

When asked if there was any possibility of looking at a different hotel brand altogether, Khanna said, "No, we will stay with Hyatt as there is a management contract with them. We can't move out of Hyatt because branding will change then."

Elaborating on the company's future development plans, Khanna said, "We have land bank in many cities across India. But there is nothing planned yet. As and when the economy develops and the cities can take another hotel we will plan something."

According to C&C Alpha Group website, IHHR Hospitality has a hospitality subsidiary called Shanti Hospitality Group Ltd, which has portfolio and pipeline projects spread across the Indian, Asian and European continents. The hotel company (Shanti) owns 12 operational hotels and resorts across the globe under the brands - Ananda, Nira, Amritara and Nidra. C&C Alpha Group currently has investments across five sectors viz. healthcare, hospitality, real estate, aviation and utilities.

PREMIUM PLAY

• IHHR to manage Amritsar hotel and MCLeod Ganj hotel under Hyatt Regency banner
   
• IHHR Hospitality also owns 12 operational hotels and resorts across the globe under the brands - Ananda, Nira, Amritara and Nidra