Dawnay Day to invest $300 m in setting up Ten Hotels

NEW DELHI: Dawnay Day International, a London-headquartered group with gross assets to the tune of $4 billion, is setting up a chain of four-star hotels in India, starting with a Jaipur property that is expected to be opened in November. This will be followed by two other properties ��� one each in Ahmedabad and Pune. The group has also identified seven more projects in India and is planning to invest $300 million by 2010. Dawnay Day Hotel India, the Indian subsidiary of the Dawnay Day International, is looking at development of new hotels and may consider acquisition of properties only if good deals are available.

The chain���s properties in India will be branded as ���Ten Hotels��� ��� seeking to offer perfect services. ���We plan to provide premium services at our four-star properties, at par with those expected from super premium categories. Training will be the focus of this service edge,��� said Dawnay Day Hotels India managing director Mandeep S Lamba. The parent company, Dawnay Day International, specialises in property investment, fund management, financial services and principal investments. The group has a net worth of more than $1.5 billion and manages assets to the tune of $10 billion.

In India, the group is looking to offer quality services at affordable costs to cater to the growing domestic travel demand. Tariffs may sober down over the years as capacity gets built up and good value-for-money prepositions would succeed in the long-term, Mr Lamba told ET. A prototype design has been developed for the ���Ten Hotels��� brand and it will be adopted at all properties of the chain.