Marriott moves to anchor Fairfield brand in India

American hospitality company Marriott International, in association with hospitality investment firm SAMHI Hotels, on Wednesday introduced its first Fairfield property in Asia by opening the ‘Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar’, here.

Speaking at the inauguration, Marriott International COO (Asia Pacific) Don Cleary said, “Currently, we have 145 hotels in Asia, our intention is to more than double that over the next 3 years when we will have over 300 hotels. We expect that over the next 3-5 years we will see 100 hotels in India.”

The 148-room Fairfield brand is the company’s moderate tier segment offering, built at an investment of around Rs 100 crore, with a per room cost of around Rs 60 lakh.

Country of choice

On selecting India for Fairfield’s Asia foray, Cleary said, “We picked India as there is an emerging middle-class here, with demand for good hospitality options in the moderate tier segment.”

The company chose Bangalore owing to opportunities present here with the presence of so many global companies, resulting in a steady flow of business and corporate travelers.
Marriott has partnered with SAMHI Hotels for this project, which will also be supporting other properties in the future. “The Fairfield development is an integral part of SAMHI’s strategy as it allows us to capture the fastest growing market segments,” SAMHI Hotels MD and CEO Ashish Jakhanwala said.

The company has envisaged opening 12 Fairfield properties in India in the next three-to-four years. These properties are likely to come up in major cities, apart from smaller ones such as Amritsar and Lucknow next year. Besides, the company also plans to penetrate tourist destinations and pilgrim centres.

Marriott has also signed for additional Fairfield properties in other Asian markets namely Nepal and Indonesia.