After Sheraton, it's Marriott in Nepal foray

With domestic and inter-regional tourism aiding hotel demand, a range of leading global hotel chains have planned their presence in Nepal.

It was Sheraton at first, and now Marriott International, a leading hotel chain based in Maryland, US. The list does not stop here. A leading FMCG multinational is also planning to establish a five-star property in Kathmandu.

On Thursday, Nepal Hospitality Group (NHG) signed a management agreement with a subsidiary of Marriott International to open a four-star property dubbed—Fairfield by Marriott Kathmandu.

The international brand, Marriott, will look after the management of the Fairfield by Marriott Kathmandu. The NHG is a group company of the MS Group, one of Nepal’s leading business conglomerates.

The proposed 10-storey hotel under construction in Thamel will have 108 rooms and is spread over two-and-a-half ropanis of land. “The hotel will be commercially opened by the beginning of 2016,” said Shashi Kant Agrawal, the vice-president of the MS Group.

“Around Rs 650 million will be invested in the hotel that aims to cater to people who have Kathmandu on their travel agendas,” Agrawal said. “We also hope to attract additional demand for tourism in Nepal by offering the branded, quality and consistent hospitality excellence that the Fairfield by Marriott brand offers.”

With 700 Fairfield properties throughout North America, the Marriott International is continuing to expand into Asia and South America.

Marriott International is a leading lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, with more than 3,800 properties in 74 countries and territories. It reported revenues of nearly $12 billion in the fiscal year 2012. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 18 brands.

Marriott International’s president and managing director, Asia, Simon Cooper, said, “We are delighted to have signed this new Fairfield hotel in Nepal with Nepal Hospitality Group. We have redesigned and configured the brand specifically for the South Asia market and we are excited that this will be our first hotel in Nepal when it opens in the beginning of 2016.”

The MS Group is also planning to open a five-star property in Naxal, Kathmandu. “We have acquired land for this,” said Agrawal, adding that the company gradually plans to make its presence felt outside the capital city.

A non-resident Nepali, Shesh Ghale, is also building a five-star hotel in Kathmandu. The property will be known as the Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel. Ghale’s MIT Group Holding Nepal recently signed an agreement with Starwood Hotels and Resort Worldwide Inc and set the project rolling. Slated to open in February 2018, the 225-room Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel will be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Ghale, 54, is on the list of 200 wealthiest Australians with a fortune of $225 million. Ghale had said that he would invest AUS$ 75-80 million in the hotel. The Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel will be located near Kantipath.

The Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel marks the re-entry of the Sheraton brand in Nepal. It had earlier managed Hotel Everest as the Hotel Everest Sheraton in the 1980s. After Hyatt Regency, no other international hotel chain has come to Nepal.

In recent years, luxury hotels have also been established elsewhere in the country, mainly in Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Lumbini and Nepalgunj.

These investments make huge business sense as there is optimism in the hospitality industry after the record number of tourist arrivals in 2010. “We have planned investing in the hospitality sector as we see huge prospects in the near future, although the investment environment has not been so far good at present,” Agrawal said.

source: the kathmandu post,31 may 2013