The Shangri-La in Mumbai opened less than nine months ago and already the luxury operator has given up on it. But one hotel company's waste is another's treasure. Reuters writes Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is in talks with the property's owner to take over management under its St. Regis flag.
Hong Kong-based Shangri-La reportedly exited as the Indian hotel operating landscape slows due to oversupply and dwindling rates and occupancy.
But while some global operators are leaving, others like InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt Hotels Corp and Starwood are jumping in, using the now unbranded hotels to accelerate their expansion in a country they believe has long-term potential, Reuters continues.
"More than half the future deals we are looking at are conversions in the four- and five-star category," Dilip Puri, India head and regional VP for South Asia at Starwood, which currently runs 38 hotels in India and plans to have 100 in operation or under construction by 2015, told Reuters.
Puri declined to comment on the former Shangri-La. The hotel is currently called the Palladium, and is owned by mall developer Phoenix Mills Ltd.