The most expensive city in the country, when it comes to hotel room tariffs - Mumbai, is going to see the opening of its first Ginger hotel soon. Roots Corporation, the 100 per cent subsidiary of Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which runs the Taj chain of luxury hotels in Indian and overseas, will open its 26th Ginger property in Mumbai on October 22.
Ginger Hotels, which primarily caters to budget travellers, will open its property in Andheri (east), a suburb of Mumbai, from where the city airport is at a distance of less than five kilometres. The hotel will be launched by Raymond Bickson, MD and CEO of IHCL.
The economy brand, which enjoys a strong brand pull in the market boasts of an annual average occupancy rate of more than 70 per cent. Launched with an attractive price tag of Rs 999 per night eight years ago, the average room rate at Ginger today is Rs 1,800-2,000.
In the branded sector, the only competition for Ginger is Formule 1 hotel brand from European hotel giant Accor. However, Formule 1 has two operational properties, and yet to finalise a deal in the Mumbai area.
Roots Corporation has already invested Rs 400 crore so far in expanding the Ginger footprint. A majority of its properties are owned by the company. Future expansion of the brand will be now more in metros and tier I cities.