New Delhi: The Tatas are planning to acquire luxury hotels in China and South East Asia and intend to invest Rs 1,500 crore to set up a chain of value hotels in the country.

“We are examining various prospects (for luxury hotels),” said group chairman Ratan Tata. 

Tata was speaking at the inauguration of the first Smart Basics hotel under the brandname Indione at Whitefield on the outskirts of Bangalore today.

The Smart Basics hotel is a new concept devised by management guru C. K. Prahalad for Indian Hotels Corporation (IHCL), the holding company for the Tatas’ hotel properties. The Tatas aim to set up nearly 150 such hotels in India and abroad over the next five years.

“We are likely to set up 12-14 Smart Basics hotel in the next one year. However, Bengal does not come within the region we are targeting in this phase,” said Sheila Nair, chief operating officer of Roots Corporation — a wholly-owned subsidiary of IHCL that operates Indione Hotels.

Raymond Bickson, managing director of IHCL, said the group was already looking at under-served markets in India, China, Africa and regions in the Persian Gulf to make a mark in this new category of hotel chains.

Indicating that Indione was a ‘no-frills hotel chain’, he said it would offer low-cost hospitality to customers who will get value for money at an affordable price.

The company is targeting secondary and tertiary markets as well as suburban locations, pilgrimage sites and cultural centres to promote this category of hotels.

“Last year, Indian Hotels celebrated the centenary of its flagship hotel in Mumbai. One of the challenges identified then was to innovate and to lead,” Tata said.

The Indione hotels will be priced at Rs 900 for a single room and Rs 950 for a double room. The one in Bangalore has nearly 101 rooms with a choice of single, twin and queen-sized air-conditioned rooms. The rooms are provided with electronic locks, wood-laminated flooring, a working area, a 17-inch flat screen colour television with satellite channels, mini-refrigerator, tea / coffee maker.

The Indione hotel also claims to have a restaurant, meeting room, gymnasium facility, cyber cafe, ATM, digital safe-deposit boxes, 100 per cent power back-up and wi-fi connectivity in public areas and individual rooms. 

A senior hotel and tourism analyst says, “This concept is catching up fast in India, primarily because there is a massive dearth of mid-segment hotels that maintain quality and standards.”