Kamat to add 40 business hotels in smaller towns

Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd plans to add 40 business hotels in the next five years in tier two towns and villages to benefit from being the first mover, its top official said on Friday. The `VITS` hotels would come up in Maharastra, Goa, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh under the models of ownership, long-leases, franchise and operation. There was a niche especially in district headquarters of each state. The company plans to bridge that gap. Most of them are places with enough tourism potential, but at the same time there is a potential also for business. Kamat plans to have 36 such hotels with pool, gymnasium and restaurants in Maharashtra. Each `VITS` hotel would have 80-120 rooms, and would cost the chain about 2 million rupees per room, said Kamat. Kamat Hotels also has plans to launch heritage hotels under the brand name `Gadh` in December. The first in Pune would initially have 48 rooms, he said. By 2010, the hotelier expects to have six heritage hotels.