Hyatt Hotels Corporation, one of the world’s biggest hotel chains, is not worried with the DB Realty’s scam. The Chicago-headquartered group is going ahead with plans of opening five hotels with the Mumbai-based DB Group. The latter is presently embroiled in the 2G telecom spectrum scam, its Managing Director, Shahid Balwa, having been arrested (he had resigned after this took place last month). DB Hospitality is building five premium properties in Mumbai, Pune, Mundra (Gujarat) and Goa. These will be handed over to Hyatt for management, upon completion.
Steve Haggerty, global head, real estate and development, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said, “The plan is intact. The hotels we intended to do with DB Hospitality, we still plan to open, and they remain in the pipeline. We have no further comment or information to share. We cannot really comment on what has happened with DB Realty.”
“We have taken no action so as far as our role and our position is concerned, it hasn’t changed. All the signed projects with DB Hospitality are in various stages of development. We expect to open Goa this year and construction on Pune is quite advanced,” Haggerty told the media.
While both DB Hospitality and Hyatt state that work on their projects is on, some are behind schedule. For instance, the 314-room Grand Hyatt in Bambolim, Goa, is six to eight months behind schedule, to open in the second half of this year.
A 255-room and 55-service apartment, Park Hyatt, will come up inside a 125-storied skyscraper to be built at Marine Lines in Mumbai. This project, due for completion by 2014, is also reportedly behind schedule.
“We are not sure if the Marine Lines project will be finished by the given date but as of now, 2014 remains our target,” stated a senior executive from DB Hospitality.
