Thaindian News

Chennai, July 18 (IANS) The Kolkata-based Daiwik Hotels Private Ltd,, operating on the pilgrimage hospitality concept plans, will have five hotels in major pilgrimage centres in the country over the next two years, said a top company official here Wednesday.

“In two years’ time, we plan to have five greenfield hotel properties in major pilgrim centres like Tirupathi (Andhra Pradesh), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Dwaraka (Gujarat) and Katra (Jammu and Kashmir),” Debashis Ghosal, managing director and CEO of Daiwik Hotels, told IANS.

Currently, Daiwik Hotels has one 90-room four-star property at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu built at an outlay of Rs.29 crore.

“We are in the process of finalising land acquisition in Dwaraka. However, our next property will be at Tirupathi with 140 rooms involving an outlay of around Rs.50 crore. We are also looking at cities like Madurai, Kanyakumari, Velankanni in Tamil Nadu,” Ghosal said.

Expecting the Rameswaram hotel to break even in two years’ time, Ghosal said the room rent is expected to provide around 55 percent of the revenue and the balance will be shared by food and beverages, banquets, tours and travels.

He said though the hotels are located in major pilgrim centres for various religions, the properties are secular in nature.

“Our USP (unique selling proposition) is giving out authentic information about the town and its history after detailed research by qualified people,” he said.

Earlier, addressing the media here, Ghosal said that with the growing influx of middle income and high income group pilgrims, there is a huge unmet demand in the contemporary pilgrim requirements of quality hotels and a stress-free holistic pilgrim experience, which so far is largely unorganised.

He said the Daiwik Hotels Rameswaram will offer a special tour package ‘In the Footsteps of Lord Rama’ that includes visiting various locations visited by Lord Rama, before his conquest of Lanka.