Gopinath plans foray into hospitality business

Mini Joseph Tejaswi & Anshul Dhamija TNN
Courtesy: Times of India 07/08/08

Bangalore: After having crafted a new space in the Indian aviation realm, Captain G R Gopinath is entering the hospitality business.
He with a couple of others, has incubated a hospitality venture to set up a countrywide chain of mid-tier business hotels and resorts.
The promoters are targeting to build the country's largest mid-tier business hospitality chain of some 1,000 hotels across 100 cities and towns over a span of ten years.
Each hotel will have about 125 rooms and will need an investment of up to Rs 50 crore.
The other promoters are Madhu Konety, an investment banker from the US, and Girish Rao, former head of Tangerin Hospitality and former marketing head of Leela Hotels, Palaces & Resorts. Konety has interest and investments in India, Europe and the US.
‘‘It would be tough for the company to develop such a large chain on its own. Therefore, the plan is to adopt multiple models including completely (land and brand) owned hotels or just brand-owned, franchised hotels. Acquisitions are also planned,'' said a source at a merchant bank.
When contacted, Gopinath confirmed he was entering the hospitality business but refused to divulge details. Sources said an official announcement is expected in September.
The promoters are currently talking to leading private equity players and institutional investors for funds, said sources.