Trident's Middle East, SE Asian foray next year

MUMBAI: After snapping ties with international chain Hilton last year, the Oberoi Group has revived its Trident brand of hotels, and now plans to take the 5-star brand to South East Asian and Middle East markets next year.

The group, which runs 27 hotels under the luxury Oberoi and 5-star Trident brands, is set to revive its overseas expansion plans with the global economy showing signs of recovery from its worst recession in several decades, a company executive said. "We do not have confirmed details to share," said Rattan Keswani, president of Trident Hotels.

Trident went through a rebranding exercise after terminating the tie-up with Hilton last year. "We lost around 5% of our customers through the GDS (international computer reservation system used by travel agents),��� said Mr Keswani. The branding initiative helped Trident generate an average 20% of its business through the GDS system within 45-60 days.

The brand is expected to grow fast following a pick-up corporate and business travel in the last few months. It���s opening a new Trident in North Mumbai on December 17. The group, which owns most of its hotels, will own this p roperty too, but it���s actively looking at management contracts for the 5-star brand.

Out of the three new Trident projects, two���in Bangalore and Hyderabad���will be part-owned by the group with equity infusion, while the third in Dehradun will be through a management contract. The hotels, scheduled to open by 2013, will take the number of Trident hotels to 12.