Chalet Hotels launches ATHIVA Hotels and Resorts brand

Mumbai, Oct 15 (PTI) Chalet Hotels on Wednesday announced the launch of ATHIVA Hotels & Resorts, debuting across six properties with over 900 keys and a capex of around Rs 1,500 crore.

The brand ATHIVA, positioned in the upper upscale category, will debut its first property with the opening of 147-key The Dukes Retreat in Khandala, Maharashtra, on October 16, Chalet Hotels MD and CEO Sanjay Sethi told reporters.

The five other properties include a fully renovated business hotel in Navi Mumbai, The Resort at Aksa Beach, a K Raheja Corp Group Hotel and three greenfield projects under development -- two in Goa and one in Thiruvananthapuram.

All six properties, with 900 keys, are expected to be operational by 2029. For this, we had a capex of around Rs 1,500 crore, most of which has already been spent. We raised the funds through internal accruals, Sethi told PTI on the sidelines of the launch event.

He further stated that the company's debt-to-EBITDA numbers are very encouraging.

So, we have the headroom for growing the portfolio through a mix of debt and equity. And right now our belief is that all the future hotels that we have in our pipeline will be funded through internal accruals, he added.

He said, in the next three years, Chalet Hotels, with an annual addition of 300-400 keys, is expecting to double the operating as well as the pipeline of ATHIVA, which is 900, to 1,800 rooms.

When asked about the geographical location where the company is keen to expand ATHIVA, Sethi said, we will continue to focus on India now for the expansion of ATHIVA. Within the country, we will look at tier I, deep markets of Goa, Rajasthan and the Himalayas. And then Trivandrum, a couple of other locations, which have multiple business drivers.

Chalet Hotels Limited (CHL), part of K Raheja Corp, is an owner, developer, asset manager, and operator of hotels and luxury resorts in India.

It comprises 11 operating hotels & resorts with 3,351 keys across hospitality brands, including JW Marriott, The Westin, and Novotel (licensed). PTI SM RSN SHW