MBD All Set to Open & Operate Steigenberger Hotels In India

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | June 29, 2016 | News

MBD Group Steigenberger Hotels

The MBD Group, one of India’s leading hospitality companies and Steigenberger Hotel Group, the largest German Chain of hotels and resorts have announced a joint venture to open “MBD STEIGENBERGER” hotels across India. The MBD Group responsible for the management of the company will take the majority stake of 51%, while the rest 49% will be held by Steigenberger. The joint venture targets to open at least 20 hotels in India over the next 15 years with a projected annual revenue of hotels under management and/or franchise of nearly 2000 cr.

MBD would be  looking after the India wide operations of the brand including business development, management and franchising of hotels, India marketing, pre-opening, and post-opening assistance etc, wherein Steigenberger would be providing international sales and marketing support, training, and brand standards to be deployed in the Indian region to suit the expectations of a luxury traveler.

MBD STEIGENBERGER, in-line with the international positioning of the Steigenberger brand, shall target the rapidly growing luxury segment in India. The ‘MBD Zephyr Bangalore’ will be flagship hotel under the JV. Located in the heart of Whitefield Bangalore, Zephyr will offer 184 rooms and 118 service apartments.
 
Commenting on the partnership, Sonica Malhotra, Managing Director of the Joint venture and Joint Managing Director of the MBD Group, said, “We are extremely proud to announce our association with Steigenberger Hotel Group. The association will ensure that German excellence joins hands with the warmth of Indian hospitality providing the next level experience to our guests across the country. We will be focusing on key cities in the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Kolkata, Pune, Indore, and other cities where we want to come up with Luxury Hotels and cater to the crème de la crème in each city.“
 
Puneet Chhatwal, CEO, Steigenberger Hotel Group, remarked, “We are extremely honored to associate with our appreciated partner MBD and become a part of the Indian hotel landscape. This is an important milestone in our history of international growth. As a company with German roots Steigenberger Hotel Group enjoys a good reputation worldwide. It is the “Germanness” what is associated with precision, reliability and quality all around the globe. Our brand represents excellence, perfection and a wealth of tradition. We are very excited to bring our hospitality to the Indian market.”
 
Talking about their strategy, Malhotra elaborates further, “We have been in the hospitality industry for over a decade and have successful proven ourselves by exuberating excellent the hospitality performance in Delhi and Punjab both on financial parameters and also overall guest experience. Steigenberger understood our key strengths and also the potential of the Indian hospitality and has accordingly put MBD Group on the lead for managing the joint venture in India. MBD Group comes with its key strengths understanding the socio and demographic profile of the country because of our hospitality company and also because of the fact that we are the largest education company in India working across more than 62 locations. Our first property under this joint venture will be the iconic MBD Zephyr – A MBD Steigenberger Hotel in Bangalore exuberating lifestyle, luxury and surprise and after that we will be looking at potential projects either in greenfield and brownfield stage in gateway cities.”
 
The Joint Venture will primarily function as a Management Company where MBD Group will manage the assets under the brand MBD Steigenberger in India and will be headquartered out of MBD’s Corporate Office in New Delhi.

MBD Group is one of the leading education companies in India with over 6 decades of experience and has diversified into various industries including E- Learning, Skill Development, Eco Friendly Notebooks, ICT Infrastructure, Hospitality, Project Design and Construction Management, Real Estate, and Mall Development and Management. The Group has also successfully established itself in the hospitality industry with its maiden venture, the Radisson Blu MBD Hotel, Noida (Delhi NCR). 

Resonating top-class European hotels, the Steigenberger name stands for incomparable hospitality and exquisite service of over 85 years, with over 550 million Euros (INR 4300 crores) in total turnover. From its Head Office in Germany, the Steigenberger Group operates 116 hotels in 12 countries on 3 continents.