Tag Archives: Lemon Tree Hotels

Patanjali Govind Keswani, CMD, Lemon Tree Hotels during his address at the first National Conclave on India 2047, said, “Tourism sector has the potential to resolve 50% of the country’s employment challenges with the right government support adding that India’s tourism sector is on the verge of hitting the inflection point.”

During a panel discussion at the 38th IATO convention, Vikramjit Singh, President, Lemon Tree Hotels, revealing their expansion plans shared that the brand is to inaugurate India’s largest hotel in Mumbai, a 669-room property, scheduled to open in October.   

Lemon Tree Hotels will be operating 85 hotels with 8,674 rooms across 57 cities by FY2021, informed Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels and Director, Carnation Hotels. He said, “This year, we have enjoyed very high occupancy, close to 79 per cent. We have opened a few properties this year, including Dehradun, Pune, Siliguri and Morjim. We should be able to open an owned hotel in Mumbai, followed by Kolkata. Then we should be able to open a managed property in Kalina, Mumbai.”    

Lemon Tree Hotels has formed a joint venture (JV) with an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, to create a co-living platform. The JV marks Lemon Tree Hotel’s entry into a new business segment focusing on the development of institutional-grade rental housing accommodation serving both students and young working professionals across major educational clusters and key office markets in India. Following Warburg Pincus’ successful partnerships in China and Hong Kong, this investment represents the first co-living platform which the firm has backed in India. An affiliate of Warburg Pincus and Lemon Tree Hotels will hold 68 per cent and 30 per cent stake, respectively in the JV, with the balance 2 per cent to be held by Patanjali Keswani. The JV partners will initially invest Rs 1,500 crore in equity over a period of time followed by an additional infusion of Rs 1,500 crore in equity at the option of the partners, to develop rental housing projects through a combination of greenfield purpose-built properties, refurbishment of existing under-managed/stressed commercial and residential assets taken on lease/acquisition basis as well as management of existing for-rent accommodation projects. The platform aims to provide affordable and conveniently located co-living spaces for students and young professionals, who are increasingly looking to be part of a vibrant community with like-minded individuals. Patanjali (Patu) Keswani, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels, said, “We are delighted to once again partner with Warburg Pincus at an early stage of this exciting new business opportunity, which will allow Lemon Tree Hotels to move into a segment which is nascent but closely aligned to our existing target customers and which is expected to …

Lemon Tree Hotels has announced the formal opening of Lemon Tree Premier, City Center, Pune. Comprising over 7,000 sq ft of modern banquet space, including large conference rooms and an open business centre, for meetings and events, this is its first ‘premier’ property in the state of Maharashtra and second ‘owned’ hotel in Pune city. Speaking on the launch, Mahesh Aiyer, Sr Vice President-Operations (South & West), Lemon Tree Hotels, said, “We are pleased to open our second and most anticipated property in the heart of Pune city. Known for its landmarks as well as noteworthy businesses, educational institutions and manufacturing companies, Pune has always been an important nerve centre of Indian culture and economy. With this hotel opening, we further strengthen our footprint in this demand-dense market. We expect to make a mark by offering a high-quality stay experience with our impeccable service and great price.”

Displaying an aggressive growth over the last few months, Lemon Tree is now on an expansion spree. Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels, says, “As far as our expansion is concerned, we will go where a larger section of Indians tend to go. In both Sri Lanka and Dubai, the largest inbound is from India. We are focussing on these two locations because we know here the brand strength will create the guests for us, without having to work much hard.” Keswani reveals that the brand is chasing a few pieces in both these places. “Our strength is our loyalty programme and depth in the Indian customers. About 90 odd per cent of our customers are Indians. So, that’s our focus but we have not scored any goals that I can talk about at this moment.”  

Hotelivate has kicked off its 6th Hotel Operations Summit India (HOSI) at Taj Palace, New Delhi with stimulating discussions on topics pertaining to the hospitality industry. HOSI, the only dedicated forum for hotel professionals in the region, aims to empower today’s hospitality leaders through enabling conversations on management and operations-related issues, the rapidly evolving marketplace, latest industry trends, benchmarking and best practices. With the focus on increasing the diaspora of the speaker by bringing in leaders from businesses that are intricately tied up with the hospitality industry, the programme encompassed a series of keynote addresses by distinguished speakers and thought-provoking group discussions. Notable speakers included industry leaders such as Anshuman Bapna, Chief Product Officer, Goibibo; Dilip Puri, Founder and CEO, Indian School of Hospitality; Jiggs Kalra, Mentor and Culinary Director, Massive Restaurants; Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer – South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group; Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels; Navjit Ahluwalia, Senior Vice President and Country Head – India, Hilton; Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO Rooms; Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO, Indian Hotels Company, to name a few.

Lemon Tree Hotels has recently announced the formal opening of Lemon Tree Hotel, Banjara Hills, its fourth hotel in Hyderabad. The hotel is strategically located adjacent to CARE hospital, in close proximity to major commercial hubs and popular malls. It is easily accessible from RGIA Airport, and is only a 45 minutes drive from Hyderabad Railway station. The hotel is conveniently located near popular tourist places like Birla Mandir, the Necklace Road and a short drive from the Secretariat, the Assembly and various heritage sites like Charminar, Mecca Masjid and Golconda Fort. Commenting on the launch, Vikramjit Singh, President, Lemon Tree Hotels said, “A very demand driven micro-market with immense business potential, Banjara Hills is an urban commercial centre of importance. We look forward to welcoming our discerning guests here. With this opening, Lemon Tree Hotels further strengthens its footprint in the city.” Lemon Tree Hotels, Banjara Hills will have 85 rooms and will cater to travellers looking for value-for-money accommodations in Hyderabad. Each room has been tastefully decorated and suited to meet the specific needs of a business traveller with a full sized working desk and an ergonomic executive chair, to make business-on-the-go productive. With this new opening, Lemon Tree now holds a cumulative inventory of 663 rooms in the city.

Lemon Tree Hotels announced the formal opening of its new hotel, Lemon Tree Hotel, Siliguri, marking its entry into West Bengal. Carnation Hotels, the hotel management arm of Lemon Tree Hotels, will be managing this midscale hotel owned by Unitech Mercantile. The management agreement was signed by Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director – Lemon Tree Hotels & Whole Time Director – Carnation Hotels, and Binod Kumar Gupta, Co-promoter, Unitech Mercantile. Speaking on the occasion and overall expansion plans across India, Keswani, said, “We are delighted to add Lemon Tree Hotel, Siliguri, West Bengal to our portfolio and look forward to welcoming our guests here. This hotel opening brings us another step closer to our aim of becoming the fastest growing hotel chain in the country. This occasion marks a few firsts for Lemon Tree Hotels (through our management arm, Carnation Hotels) that will be operating in Siliguri.” Speaking on the hotel launch, Parvez Gupta, Co-promoter of Unitech Mercantile said, “This is the first hotel project undertaken by the company. With Lemon Tree Hotels as our partner, we are able to fill the gap for a good branded hotel in Siliguri.” The hotel boasts of a vibrant lobby, innovative interiors and inspiring artwork that make for a setting that is truly refreshing, contemporary and stylish.

Carnation Hotels, the wholly owned subsidiary and management arm of Lemon Tree Hotels, has signed an operating agreement for the groups’ first Red Fox hotel in Morjim, Goa with Unicorn Real Estate. With this signing, Lemon Tree Hotels doubles its consolidated inventory in the city. Red Fox Hotel, Goa will have 111 rooms and cater to leisure travellers looking for a pocket-friendly experience in Goa. The hotel is strategically located just a stone’s throw from the Morjim beach known for the fabled Olive Ridley Turtles and the golden sands. The hotel will be refurbished and renovated as per the Lemon Tree brand standards in the next few months and is expected to open doors to guests by October 2018. With the signing of this contract, Lemon Tree Hotels now has a development pipeline of 3096 rooms in 27 hotels across 22 new cities of India.