Golden Tulip Bhiwadi, India
French hotel company Louvre Hotels Group’s acquisition of a majority stake in Sarovar Hotels has propelled it to become one of India’s largest hospitality groups.
Sarovar Hotels is a strong mid-market player in India with 75 hotels under the Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico and Hometel brands, plus 20-25 more openings in the pipeline.
The Louvre Hotels Group currently manages 22 hotels under its Golden Tulip umbrella brand, and has been owned fully by Chinese firm Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Group since late 2014.
“We started in India about 10 years back and felt that now is the right time to scale up our operations here,” Pierre-Frédéric Roulot, CEO of Louvre Hotels Group commented, adding that he also sees good potential in introducing Sarovar brands in international markets with significant Indian population like the US.
Sarovar Hotels’ executive director Ajay Bakaya said: “This is a first combination of a large Indian management company and an MNC with European and Chinese lineage. The acquisition will offer owners a bouquet of brands to choose from and help Sarovar’s existing hotels to reach out to the global markets through synergies in distribution platforms, loyalty programmes, and sales and marketing initiatives.”
Boasting international operations in African countries like Kenya and Tanzania, Sarovar Hotels is also keen to introduce its brands in overseas markets like the Middle East, where Louvre Hotels Group already has a strong presence.
