With 140 hotels in different brand names, including Radisson Blu, across India, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel group, will take the number of hotels to 170 by 2020, including four to five in south India, a top group official said today.

As the hospitality sector is now coming out of the stress of the last three years, the group started negotiating with prospective investors to establish hotels at strategic locations having resort and religious importance, Carlson Rezidor CEO for South Asia Raj Rana, who was here to inaugurate the 135-room hotel Radisson Blu, told reporters here.

The group has 15 hotels in south India and hopes to further set up in Coorg, Vizag, Udhagamandalam, Kumarapuram by 2020 on the hub and spoke model, but depending on business aspects.

When asked about the occupancy rate, considering the expansion plans, Rana said that the group hotels are doing slightly better that the national average of 67 per cent and there was scope for more occupancy in mid-scale facility with 120 to 150 rooms.

To a question on revenue, Rana said that the group achieved 7.5 per cent revenue per available room, while 11.1 per cent from the managed hotels, till October last.

The company is very serious about starting a hotel in Tirupati, a major pilgrim centre in south India, but the rate and locations were delaying the project, he said.

G Balasubramaniam, managing director of GBJ Hotels, running the Radisson Blu in Coimbatore, said that with 135 well-appointed rooms and suites, guests can enjoy upscale services and facilities that include 24 hour in-room dining, a business class lounge, business centre, swimming pool, spa and fitness centre. The new hotel was constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 180 crore.