Hilton plans to expand dual-branded hotel for Bengaluru

Hilton is expanding its portfolio in India, following the signing of management agreements with Embassy Group to develop two hotels in Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore) on Monday.

The 500-guestroom dual-branded hotel will have a Hilton-branded property and a Hilton Garden Inn in the same complex as part of the 100-acre Embassy TechVillage Business Park. Construction of this new project is expected to begin this year and the hotels will be open by the end of 2021 or early 2022. As per the agreement, the property will be developed and owned by the Embassy Group and managed by Hilton.

This is Embassy Group’s third project with Hilton, following the Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks and the subsequent first dual-branded 620-room twin hotels at Embassy Manyata Business Park. Embassy is spending an estimated Rs 600 crore on the two hotels.

“We continue to see increasing brand awareness across our brand portfolio in India, and this agreement underscores our long-term commitment to this country as a strategically important market where we now operate 15 hotels across 11 cities covering most major markets in the country,” Guy Phillips, SVP of Development – Asia and Australasia, Hilton, said in a statement.

Chairman and managing director of Embassy Group Jitu Virwani said that the company's hospitality development would focus primarily on building hotels and mixed-use developments as part of its business parks.

“Hilton is committed to grow its operations in India,” Navjit Ahluwalia, SVP and Country Head, Hilton India, said. “We strongly believe that this dual-branded concept will immensely benefit our guests. India is at a cusp of growth in the travel and hospitality sectors. We are witnessing positive signs with an uptake in both domestic and international inbound travel.” Hilton, Ahluwalia added, is taking “rapid strides” to increase its presence in the growing Indian hospitality industry.