30 minute interview

'We want to increase our presence through alliances'

Paul Kirwin President, Carlson Asia Pacific

In an effort to capitalise on the growing Indian tourism and hospitality market, Carlson Hospitality Worldwide (CHW) set up its Indian arm - Carlson Hospitality India Ltd. Paul Kirwin, president of Carlson Asia Pacific speaks to Express Hospitality about his plans and his views on the Indian market

What are the strategies deployed by Carlson Companies in the Asia Pacific, India in particular?

India has the perfect environment for growth of our brands, given the rate of growth of the tourism and hospitality industries. With strong growth expected throughout the region, especially in India and China, Asia provides investors with many opportunities for good returns over an extended period of time. Therefore, having a presence in Asia for CHW is important. We have offices in Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney, in addition to a small sales office in Tokyo.

Are you looking for a franchise model or management contract in India?

We started with franchising hotels in the region, which worked well until Asia's 1997-99 financial crisis. But we decided to come back as managers rather than franchisers. Perhaps, what we did two years ago should have been done five years ago. Nevertheless, we have been busy. We have signed contracts for 18 hotels, about 12 of them within the last two years. As these hotels start operating and get noticed in the market, our creditability will be established.

What about future plans?

We are planning to set up 18 hotels by the end of 2005. Most of these hotels will be under Radisson, Country Inns & Suites brands. We are also laying special emphasis on promoting the Park Plaza and Park Inn brands in the country. However, Regent will be our main focus in Asia in the coming years. We see this brand reinvigorating and India is certainly a key location for it.

Other properties on the anvil for the year 2005 as far as India is concerned include Park Inn in Pondicherry, Park Plaza in Gurgaon and Mumbai, Country Inn & Suites in Jaipur, Jalandhar, Pune, Ludhiana and Radisson in Delhi, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

What are your expectations from the Indian market?

India, in totality, provides ample opportunities for all segments of the hotel business. Now that air connectivity has increased, the future looks extremely promising and I am certain that in a short while India will witness an increase in tourists as well as rise in hotel development in emerging cities besides metros.

In order to capitalise on all this, we plan to increase our presence here through many alliances. It makes good business sense. As of now, we have formed alliances with the Unicorn Holdings, Sarovar Park Hotels & Resorts and Chanakya Hotels Ltd.