Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO of The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), announced three upcoming projects in the Vidarbha region during a press conference held on Sunday, alongside the ninth convocation of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Nagpur.
Chhatwal revealed that one of the projects—a 40-room resort—is set to launch next summer in Tadoba. The other two properties will come up in Nagpur under the Gateway and Taj brands. All three projects will be developed in partnership with private entities through a management contract and revenue-sharing model.
Highlighting IHCL’s engagement with academic institutions, CP Gurnani, Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIM Nagpur, stated that the institute is keen to collaborate with IHCL for student placements once the new ventures become operational.
On the international front, Chhatwal announced that IHCL will open a new Taj hotel in Frankfurt within the next six months, further expanding the company’s global presence. In 2024, IHCL achieved 35% EBITDA, signed 74 new agreements, and inaugurated 26 new hotels, including one in Imphal. The company also strengthened its international footprint with new properties in Dubai (3), Bahrain, Mecca, Riyadh, and Bhutan (2).
Addressing concerns about the impact of current Indo-Pak tensions on the hospi-tality industry, Chhatwal ac-knowledged that hospitality is often among the first sec-tors to be affected during geo-political crises.
He noted that IHCL’s operations in Rajasthan, where it has 18 properties, have ex-perienced more disruption than those in Jammu & Kash-mir, which houses only two hotels in Srinagar. “We cannot respond emotionally to such situations as they involve national interests.
The industry must learn to navigate through these challenges,” Chhatwal remarked. Supporting the sentiment, Gurnani added, “These are temporary set-backs and are unlikely to impact corporations.”
IIM Nagpur to start new programmes
IIM Nagpur Director Dr Bhimaraya Metri announced the introduction of three new programs starting from the upcoming 2025 academic session. The new offerings include a General MBA for working professionals, an Executive MBA in Energy Management in collaboration with the National Power Training Institute (NPTI), with a portion of the program to be conducted at NPTI’s headquarters in Faridabad, and an MBA in Data Science Management. All three programs will be delivered in a hybrid learning format.
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