A four-star hotel officially opened in a lane opposite Eco Park Gate no. 1 on Wednesday. Sarovar Portico Kolkata Rajarhat is the first footprint of Sarovar Hotels in Calcutta.

The property is a mixed development with residential towers with 400 apartments flanking the central tower housing the hotel with 128 rooms. “This is a new trend everywhere. We might give these residents certain benefits at the hotel in future,” said Shrayans Jain, vice-chairman of the Jain Group, which forayed into hospitality with Holiday Inn Kolkata Airport, near City Centre 2.

The hoteliers sounded bullish about both New Town and the hotel industry. “According to the Smith Travel Accommodations Report, which is a Bible for studying occupancy across the industry, hotels in New Town consistently enjoy six per cent occupancy higher than the rest of the city. The figures are consistent for the last five years. This is the area where the action is,” said Jain.

He said despite having Holiday Inn in close proximity, he did not consider any other area for his second venture. “All the companies are shifting here. And the travellers also prefer to be closer to the airport. The traffic situation is nowhere as terrible as that in Bangalore or the other metros where a one-hour trip is taken to be a short ride. Here a traveller can easily drive into the city on work and drive out. This is a better plan than putting up in the middle of the city and getting stuck amid high traffic density,” he explained, adding that if he would have to think of adding a third property he would stay put in New Town itself. “For now, we have 300 keys combining the two hotels, which is sufficient now for the area,” he said, adding that if he has to open a third hotel some day even that would be in New Town.

Ajay K. Bakaya, the chairman of the Sarovar Hotels and director, Louvre Hotels India, predicted a bull run for the next five years as well. “The way the economy is growing we, the hotel industry, will always play catch up. Our industry is capital-intensive. We need to rationalise the usage keeping the demand in mind,” said the head of the hotel group which is present in Siliguri and Dibrugarh in the east. “Three properties in Nepal — in Kathmandu and next to Chitwan Wildlife Sanctuary — along with the Buddhist pilgrimage site at Lumbini are under development for a 2025 opening,” said Bakaya.

Jain said Calcutta was waiting for this boom for a long time. “The city is finally getting its due with regard to growth.” The pandemic, he felt, had brought about a change in people’s mindset. “People are valuing themselves more. They would not stay in a hotel with bugs to save Rs 1,500 in room rent and would opt for trusted brands,” he pointed out.

Bakaya spelt out the Sarovar group’s simple philosophy. “Whoever walks into our hotel is treated a guest in our home. We must ensure that he walks out with a smile. We may not have marble floors and silver cutlery but whatever we have we keep clean,” he said.