The Taj group is set to open an airport hotel—its first in the national capital. The new hotel will be within walking distance from Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 3 and Terminal 2.
The airport hotel will be run on a franchisee agreement with Chalet, a leading developer, asset manager, and operator of high-end hotels in the country.
"This signing is in line with Indian Hotel’s vision to expand its footprint in gateway cities,” said Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Indian Hotels, the parent company of the hotel group.
“The world-class Taj branded hotel at one of the busiest airports in Asia will be a significant addition to our portfolio in the National Capital Region.”
Taj already operates two flagship hotels in the national capital, the Taj Palace as well as the Taj Mahal Hotel, often referred to as Taj “Mansingh’, besides others. But the new 400-room airport hotel will be its first at Delhi Airport and is expected to open in about two years.
Delhi Airport’s adjacent Aerocity area already features a clutch of top hotels, right from JW Marriott to Andaz by Hyatt, though the upcoming Taj hotel will be much closer to the terminals.
Taj’s first airport property in New Delhi is part of its strategy in recent years to focus on airport hotels. The company already runs Taj Santacruz outside Mumbai’s Terminal 1 as well as Taj Bangalore within the Kempegowda International Airport land in Bengaluru.
Chalet, part of the K. Raheja group, already runs several high-profile five-star hotels across the country like JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar (which is just outside the international airport in Mumbai), The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace and Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield. In the pipeline for Chalet in addition to Taj Delhi Airport are some marquee properties, including a second Westin hotel in Hyderabad, Novotel Pune as well as an additional 140 rooms to be added to Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield.
Sanjay Sethi, managing director & CEO, Chalet Hotels Limited, said, “We are delighted to partner with Indian Hotels for our upcoming hotel in New Delhi with the signing of this franchise agreement. It was a well-thought-out decision to choose the ‘Taj’ brand for this marquee asset. We look forward to a grand opening of the Taj at the New Delhi Airport in a couple of years.”
Taj had also recently signed an agreement to run the upcoming airport hotel of Cochin International Airport Limited in Kochi, Kerala. The hotel is expected to start operations by next year, a year ahead of the Taj at Delhi Airport.