- GRT to add eight hotels across South India.
- Working with Marriott to open a Ritz-Carlton near Kodaikanal.
- Open to developing mixed-use projects
GRT HOTELS & RESORTS plans to add eight hotels in tier-2 and tier-3 markets, spiritual tourism circuits and hill stations across South India. The Chennai-based company, part of the GRT Group, is working with Marriott International to open a Ritz-Carlton near Kodaikanal and is developing a property with the group in the Maldives.
It has begun renovating older properties, including the Radisson Blu Hotel & Suites GRT Chennai near the airport, The Economic Times reported. Work will begin on the Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay, Mamallapuram, which the company bought in 2001. The resort dates to 1955.
GRT Hotels, led by CEO Vikram Cotah, owns 22 properties across South India.
“Hospitality is a strong indicator of economic performance—it grows alongside it,” Cotah told The Economic Times. “That’s why we are investing now, so we are ready for the next wave. Our aim is to unlock the potential of each location.”
Cotah said the company decides which locations to develop under the GRT Hotels brand and which to partner with established chains, taking a brand-agnostic approach as an asset owner.
“We are focusing on the spiritual tourism circuit and exploring tier-2 and tier-3 locations, as well as developing properties in hill stations under the GRT Hotels brand,” he said.
He said tier-2 and tier-3 locations represent the future of India.
“That’s where the growth and opportunity lie—and that’s where we’re expanding next,” he said.
“We plan for each hotel’s life cycle—when it will start making money, peak, and decline, and what to do then, whether to renovate, rebrand, or refresh the concept,” he said. “We have the tools, expertise and people to do that and reinvest accordingly. Not all our hotels are positioned as luxury or mid-tier; the strategy depends on the asset’s potential.”
He said the company is also open to developing mixed-use properties. In Coimbatore, for example, it owns land and plans to build a mall and a hotel on the site.
The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts recently acquired a 76-acre resort in Coorg, Karnataka, entering nature- and wellness-focused hospitality.
