Peninsula Hotels scouting for locations in India

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) Hong Kong-based luxury hotel chain The Peninsula Hotels group is actively scouting prime locations here and in Mumbai to extend its footprint to India.

"We are currently looking out for locations that suits our needs. We want to establish our presence here as we believe in the future of India and its tourism industry," Peter Borer, chief operating officer, The Peninsula Hotels, told IANS Thursday.

Borer said the group was searching for centrally-located properties in both Delhi and Mumbai.

"The most important things is the location. We are looking for central and prime locations."

Borer refused to disclose the amount of investment for starting the India operations.

"We believe in the long term. We are long-term investors and not short-term investors. Every property of ours have different amounts of investments."

Asked whether the company would go in for a direct property purchase, or develop the hotel from ground zero, Borer said: "This will depend on the location factor."

The company said whenever it will enter the Indian market, it will customise its services to suit the local needs.

"Our whole concept of luxury, large rooms would remain the same. But we will tweak the concept a bit after studying the market situation."

Currently, the company operates nine luxury hotels in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing, New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Bangkok and Manila.

The company will start operations in Paris in 2013. It is looking for properties in London.