The Economic Times

Multi-business corporation Dharampal Satyapal Group, which owns the Rajnigandha, Pulse and Catch brands and several hotel properties, is planning to invest ₹1,000 crore in the hospitality sector over the next three years, vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar told ET.
This includes investing ₹500 crore on expanding the current portfolio, besides allocating another ₹500 crore for new hotels, Kumar said in an interview.
"We are expecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 15% over the next two to three years in hospitality,” said Kumar. “Room revenues have gone up by about 12% over last year. The occupancy rate is at 75% as of date across all properties.”
The DS Group, which has hotels in Jaipur, Guwahati, Nainital and Jim Corbett, also has retail brands such as Le Marche and L’Opera in its portfolio. Earlier this year, it announced its partnership with luxury Swiss chocolate brand Laderach.
“I think hospitality has a good future for the next 20-25 years. The number of rooms in India is much less compared to other global markets. India is becoming an investment hub and that is also giving a fillip to tourism. Revenge tourism has picked up and demand is all year round nowadays,” he said. “We are looking at additions to our existing portfolio and are considering locations in the northeast and north India. We are in talks for multiple locations.”
Kumar said the company will be open to inorganic growth opportunities as the turnaround time is less than building a hotel.
The DS Group’s portfolio of hotels includes The Manu Maharani in Nainital; Namah in Jim Corbett National Park; Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati; Crowne Plaza in Jaipur; and the Holiday Inn Express in Kolkata. Both Manu Maharani and Namah fall under Radisson Individuals, a brand category launched under Radisson Hotel Group that allows hotels to retain their own individuality and characteristics while gaining the brand affiliation from the chain.
ET had reported in April that the group was the winning bidder for Viceroy Bangalore Hotels, which has been going through insolvency proceedings.