ELEGANT HOTELS GROUP PLC is pressing on with its expansion strategy.
Elegant chief executive officer Sunil Chatrani said he company would continue to “focus on under-performing hotels that can be refurbished, repositioned and replaced, both in Barbados and throughout the Caribbean”.
He was speaking in a recent interview published by directorstalkinterviews.com following the announcement that Elegant was acquiring Treasure Beach Hotel in Barbados.
“Our unrivalled experienced as an independent operator in the region means that we are well placed to continue competing and gaining market share as we develop our operations in Antigua and St Lucia, we will benefit from having platforms for further expansion in the Caribbean,” Chatrani said.
“The Group is progressing well, at the time of [initial public offering] we made it clear that we wanted to expand in both Antigua and St Lucia.”
The hotelier, who is immediate-past chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, said Elegant’s management contract with the Hodges Bay Resort in Antigua was “an excellent opportunity for the group to expand beyond Barbados as it requires far less capital investment than full ownership”.
“The agreement also allows us to spread the Elegant Hotels brand further across the Caribbean and enables us to gain experience operating on other islands and acts as a platform for further growth,” he added.
He was confident that the acquisition of Treasure Beach would benefit Elegant.
“Elegant Hotels now owns a continuous 300 metres stretch over the prestigious West Coast of Barbados, from Treasure Beach to the House, including Tamarind and Daphne’s in between, the guests of Treasure Beach will also be able to make use of the facilities of the neighbouring property, Tamarind hotel, as well as our restaurant Daphne’s,” Chatrani said.
“We also operate the Taste of Elegance Dine Around Programme allowing our guests to dine at any one of our other hotels in Barbados. As the largest independent operator in Barbados, we are uniquely placed to operate Treasure Beach and optimise its potential as an adults-only European Plan hotel.”
The CEO also noted that “following the acquisition, the group’s portfolio will comprise of circa 600 rooms, making it twice as large by number as its closest competitor in the Barbados leisure market”. (SC)