Gurugram-based Cygnett Hotels & Resorts is planning to set up hotels in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh soon, said a top official.
“Having established our presence in northern and western parts of the country, we are now eyeing overseas markets,” said Sarbendra Sarkar, founder and MD, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts.
“To begin with, we will enter Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before the end of fiscal 2018, followed by South Asia, Middle East, North Africa and the U.S.”
Eyes 1,800 roomsThe first hotel in Bangladesh (Dhaka) would become operational by March 2019, while it might take 18 months in Colombo. Eventually, Cygnett may manage 1,000 rooms in Bangladesh and 600-800 in Sri Lanka.
“Our investments in these properties would be minimal, as we follow asset-light model,” he said. “We help our partners in building these hotels as per our specifications in technology and in running the property.“The promoters have committed to invest about INR 40 crore in Bangladesh and INR 35 crore in Sri Lanka for 100 rooms each. The average per room investment in Bangladesh is INR 40 lakh and INR 35 lakh in Sri Lanka,” he added.
Though Cygnett Hotels has different categories of hotels ranging from from five star to three star, budget and economy, it would offer five star to three star services in Bangladesh, three and four star services in Sri Lanka.
“Three and four star hotels are [a] growing segment in Sri Lanka. We get good number of travellers from India. But, in the case of Bangladesh, we get travellers from China, Japan and India. There are no branded hotels and we can easily fit in,” he said.