December 10, 2019 — NewcrestImage continues steady portfolio growth with its first international hotel – a Courtyard by Marriott in Vadodara, India. The 14-floor, 123-room property will be the first Marriott branded hotel in Vadodara, which has a metro area population of about four million people and is a major industrial, cultural, and education hub for the western state of Gujarat.
The hotel is currently under construction and is expected to open in March of 2021, featuring rooms with deluxe décor and amenities; a restaurant with private dining areas; a café; an outdoor swimming pool; a 30-car underground parking garage; and 13,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including an outdoor terrace and a rooftop deck for special events.
“With India’s hotel market growing at a compounded annual rate of about 13%, there is robust demand by both business and leisure travelers, especially in the mid-market segment,” explained Mehul Patel, Chairman and CEO of NewcrestImage.
Daxesh Patel.
“In India, American brands have a solid reputation for value and quality, so our Courtyard property can effectively build a special identity for ultra-comfortable accommodations, distinctive amenities, desirable meeting facilities, and superb service – all delivered at an attractive price,” added Daxesh Patel, NewcrestImage’s Chief Operating Officer – Construction Finance who is leading all aspects of the Vadodara project from acquisition and design through construction.
Vadodara, the third-largest city in Gujarat, is an established base for industries such as oil, chemicals, fertilizers, and power generation, and it is a growing center for IT and engineering. It also attracts tourist visitors to many palaces, temples, and other sites with historic or architectural significance.
According to Daxesh Patel, “There is approximately two million square feet of office space within walking distance of our new Courtyard in Vadodara, so we expect about 70% of our guests to be either domestic or foreign business travelers.”
In July of 2019, NewcrestImage launched an ambitious expansion program of $2 billion that includes raising and investing $250 million in equity funding over the next two years.
Those plans started to take shape with numerous significant property openings during the year, such as these two in July:
- dual-branded property in the Dallas suburb of Frisco that features a 150-room AC Hotel and a 150-suite Residence Inn as part of a unique “hotel campus” of four hotels with 600 rooms, and
- 10-story AC Hotel in downtown Houston that was a major historic renovation.
NewcrestImage also started construction in 2019 on multiple landmark projects, notably these two in September:
- four-hotel complex in September with 700 rooms and an 80,000 sq. ft., four-floor office building – both located in a 52-acre mixed use neighborhood in Grapevine, Texas, about two miles from DFW Airport, and
- 199-room, 13-floor AC Hotel in Phoenix that is the company’s first property in the western United States.
Also during 2019, NewcrestImage enhanced dining and beverage options at its properties by adding Starbucks coffee shops at four AC Hotels in Dallas and Houston, and by adding an upscale Las Brisas Southwest Steakhouse at the Embassy Suites Downtown Amarillo.
