New Ginger hotel inaugurated at Nashik
May 31, 2007

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) today unveiled its 'GenNext' 'Smart Basics' hotel Ginger at Satpur MIDC, Nashik in the presence of Prabhat Pani, chief executive officer, Roots Corporation and other dignitaries. The new 101-room hotel is the latest addition to the growing chain of Ginger hotels across the country, which now includes Bangalore, Haridwar, Bhubaneswar, Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Durgapur and Pune.

Ginger Nashik is the second hotel to be opened in Maharashtra after Pune. The company is exploring opportunities for opening more hotels in suburban Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Aurangabad.

Ginger hotels characterise freshness. The hotels are simple, unique, reasonable, basic, very different, light-hearted and innovative. Priced at rates ranging from Rs999 to Rs1,799, the hotels have created a new category in the domestic hospitality landscape, while giving a major fillip to Indian tourism and other ancillary industries. The primary objective behind the launch of these hotels is to provide a superior product offering and consistent experience to travellers, far beyond the present offerings in the industry.

Speaking at the launch, Pani said, "It gives us great pleasure to open our second hotel in Maharashtra. In the last few years, Nashik has taken rapid strides in setting up critical industries and is fast emerging as a favoured investment location and economic growth centre for the state. With Nashik's great infrastructure, numerous international quality wine-yards, and modern agricultural set-up, we are confident that it is the right time for Ginger to be present to cater to the modern day traveller."

Ginger hotels are modern, modular and scalable, providing guests with a consistent experience. The hotels have 100 / 200 well-appointed rooms, with a choice of single, twin and queen-sized rooms. The rooms are individually air-conditioned and are provided with posture-comforting mattresses, electronic locks, a work area, a 20-inch LCD television with satellite channels, direct-dial telephone including STD facility, mini-fridge and tea / coffee maker. Other guest facilities at these hotels include a restaurant, meeting room, gymnasium facilities, a cyber café, 24-hour reception, automatic check in-kiosks, ATMs, vending machines, digital safe-deposit boxes, 100-per cent power backup, as well as wi-fi connectivity in the public areas and individual rooms.

Indigenously designed and developed by IHCL, the guiding principle behind the design of the hotels was to create a unique space that is conducive not only for guest comfort and relaxation but also for their work requirements. The design of the hotel, from the rooms to the furniture and lighting systems, have been thoughtfully created to offer users a unique sense of welcome.

Ginger Nashik will also house a Café Coffee Day outlet providing an enhanced guest experience shortly. This is in keeping with Ginger's promise of providing a fresh experience, which is simple and affordable. The Café Coffee Day outlet will be accessible to all and not just the hotel guests.

Launched in June 2004, the 'Smart Basics' concept created a revolution in the world of Indian hospitality. 'Smart Basics' — a 'GenNext' category of hotels — signifies simplicity, convenience, informality, style, warmth, modernity and affordability. The concept was developed in association with renowned corporate strategy thinker, CK Prahalad. The hotels are built around a unique concept that provides facilities to meet the key needs of today's traveller, at surprisingly affordable rates.

Work on other Ginger hotels has commenced in Pantnagar, Baroda, Ludhiana, Goa, Pondicherry, Delhi, and Agartala and will also commence in Tirupur, Guwahati, Jamshedpur, Mangalore, Paradeep and Ahmedabad, amongst other destinations within the next couple of months. These locations have been identified after detailed studies across various parameters such as potential of the market, clusters of clientele and peak periods among others.