In a significant move to bolster its portfolio, Samhi Hotels Ltd has acquired a 142-room, four-star hotel in the bustling Whitefield area of Bengaluru for ₹205 crore. Previously managed by ITC under the Fortune brand, the property will now be known as Trinity Hotel, following Samhi’s acquisition of Innmar Tourism and Hotels Private Ltd.
This strategic acquisition, funded through internal resources, aligns with Samhi’s approach of enhancing its market presence by purchasing established assets at lower costs instead of developing new hotels from the ground up. The company plans to further elevate the property’s status from upscale to upper-upscale by adding an additional 200-220 rooms in a new building. This expansion is expected to increase the total room count to between 340 and 360, alongside new food and beverage outlets, as well as enhanced meeting and banqueting facilities.
Ashish Jakhanwala, Samhi’s chairman and managing director, expressed optimism about the potential for revenue growth, stating, “We believe that the revenue per available room (RevPAR) can see significant improvement following the renovations and the addition of new supply.”
While Jakhanwala refrained from detailing the financial implications of the redevelopment, industry estimates suggest that costs could range from ₹200 crore to ₹250 crore, reflecting typical expenses associated with constructing upper-upscale hotel rooms.
Bengaluru’s robust demand for hotel accommodations, driven by limited supply and the city’s annual addition of 10-12 million square feet of office space, fits seamlessly into Samhi’s long-term growth strategy. Jakhanwala emphasized the promising landscape for hotels in the area, noting that Samhi’s existing six business hotels position the company to effectively capitalize on the growing market.
In a related development, Juniper Hotels has secured a ₹280 crore agreement to sell a 220-room, five-star hotel near the Bengaluru airport to Lulu Group’s Twenty Fourteen Hotels India Pvt. Ltd. This property, currently in a shell stage and covering 6.5 acres, is set to undergo renovation and will be rebranded under an international hospitality label. Initially, Lulu Group sought around ₹2 crore per room, estimating the hotel’s valuation at ₹400 crore.
The Indian hospitality sector is experiencing a notable upswing in transaction activity, with JLL’s hospitality division projecting deal volumes to reach $413 million by the end of the year—a 22% increase compared to the previous year. In the first half of 2024 alone, 19,442 branded hotel rooms were signed, and 6,071 opened across the nation.
Both Samhi’s acquisition and Juniper’s sale underscore the growing interest in premium hospitality assets in India, as operators and investors prepare to leverage the rising demand for high-quality hotel experiences.
