Under the JV, InterGlobe Enterprises and Accor will develop 25 'Ibis' brand of economy hotels, out of which, 20 such hotels will be opened in India, with the rest being developed in South-East Asia.
Commenting on the JV, Rahul Bhatia, managing director, InterGlobe said, "With growing travel preferences of the Indian middle-class, we believe it is the right time for us to enter into this joint venture."
Accor, which owns over 650 hotels across 36 countries was upbeat about entering India again after a gap of over 20years.
"This is the right time for us and we have got a right partner in InterGlobe. We can look forward to giving the middle-class a quality experience at the best value for money, said Michael Issenberg, managing director, Accor Asia Pacific.
The first two hotels in India will be in Bangalore and Gurgaon followed by Pune, Jaipur, Chennai and Mumbai.
"The first phase of investment will be to the tune of Rs 165 crore (Rs 1.65 billion). The Bangalore hotel with 250 rooms will come up by mid- 2006 followed by the Gurgaon hotel with 210 rooms by the end of 2006," said Uttam Dave, president and CEO of InterGlobe hotels.
The rooms will be priced between Rs 1800-Rs 2200 at the time of opening. We want to give an international economy class experience to the Indian middle-class at the best price, said Dave. Accor owns hotel brands like Sofitel and Novotel.
