This would be the first time in India that Le Meridien would be entering into a marketing alliance for a hotel property without its brand name.

Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts area director (sales and marketing) (India) Huzan Motivala told The Financial Express that the possible tie-up would be in tune with Kerala turning into a hot destination for tourist traffic. Le Meridien is scouting for 25-50 room hotels or cottages with the right facilities, said Ms Motivala.

Le Meridien would be marketing the stand alone hotels with whom it enters into a marketing alliance through its world wide offices and reservation systems. It is also investing around Rs 52 lakhs to bring in its international reservation system `Fortres' to India to enable online reservations with all hotels in India to provide real time quotes. Le Meridien is planning to throw open its sixth hotel property in March 2001, at Kochi in Kerala - the third in six months time after Chennai and Mumbai.

The Kochi property spread over an area of 12 acres, having a room capacity of 150 rooms of which 55 would be opened by March and the rest by September, she added.

The Kochi hotel property will take Le Meridien's room tally in India at all the six locations to 1,291 rooms. Le Meridien's hotels in India currently enjoy an average occupancy rate of 70 per cent, Ms Motivala said. Kochi already has a 100-room hotel by the Taj and another 90-room by the Trident Hotels in the same category. With the Cochin airport likely to be thrown open to international airlines, added room capacity would not forsee any occupancy hitches, she added.

The Kochi hotel property also has adjacent to itself a convention centre with nine conference halls to accommodate around 500 to 2,000 people. The convention centre would have the distinction of being the largest in South India, Ms Motivala said.

... plans commercial complex in Mumbai
Le Meridien is planning to come up with a commercial complex adjacent to its 171-room hotel in Mumbai. The details of the same are currently being worked out, Ms Motivala said. This would be its second commercial complex after the one adjacent to its hotel in New Delhi.

Commercial complexes adjacent to five-star hotel properties are becoming the order of the day. Hotel Leelaventure has recently opened a commercial complex at its Bangalore hotel.