By Shilpa Phadnis www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
BANGALORE: Praveen Gupta has a swanky address: 23rd floor, Four Seasons Private Residences, Bangalore. The 40-year old tech entrepreneur has booked a home that emulates the Four Seasons promise—unmatched living experience.
The one-foot in and one-foot out Gupta has stayed in Four Season properties on his overseas stints. “I put the comfort of the brand as a priority before zeroing in on a branded home. I can access hotel-like services sitting at home,” he said.
Gupta’s hotel home comes with bespoke design features. The advantage of a living in a hotel branded residence gives him access to an array of services provided by the hotel including 24-hour concierge, valet parking and limousine and in-room dining service. Gupta will move in to his Rs 5 crore trophy home within two years.
Buyers are homing in on branded residences managed by big hospitality brands offering year round services associated with the hotel brand. Many Indians are shopping for branded residences after getting a taste of it in the US and Europe. After Trump Tower in Mumbai and Armani Residences in Delhi, Bangalore too will soon have branded homes backed by big hotel brands.
CityView, a joint venture of London-based developer Westcourt, Goldman Sachs and citybased Century Real Estate, has launched Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences in North Bangalore. “Branded residences have become coveted in major world cities. The big difference is these residences are serviced by high quality operator. We undertook a comprehensive design process along with Four Seasons to create a tight integration between the Hotel and Private Residences,” said Vinay Kapoor, CEO, Westcourt. The Rs 1,200 crore project will house 105 residences. These hotel homes measuring 4,000 to 6,500 sft costs anywhere from Rs 4 crore to upwards of Rs 10 crore.
Branded residences provide steady cash flows to developers from pre-sales. Since hotels take a few years to turn profitable, this is a good bet to meet the initial capital expenditure. “Branded residences as a product is sold on the strength of the associated brand and not that of the developer. It’s not just hotel brands introducing branded residences; fashion brands like Armani have tied up with Lodha’s for signature homes. At an individual level, renowned architect Norman Foster is planning to take up assignments in India to do such homes,” said Anand Narayanan, national director, residential agency, of Knight Frank India.
In a first, Sotheby’s International Realty, the real estate arm of the auction house, is marketing Four Seasons Private Residences. CityView is leveraging the equity of Sotheby’s auction house to reach out to NRI buyers. “We are touring London, New York and San Francisco in June to market the property to Indians staying here. We are talking to customers visiting the auctions to market the property,” said Philip Grant, project director, real estate sales and marketing, Sotheby’s International Realty.
Prestige Estates Projects has tied up with Hilton Hotel to develop Hilton Residences that is expected to come in Ulsoor. The project will have 23 branded residences costing Rs 25,000 per sft, according to industry sources. Nitesh Estates is launching branded residences in Chennai, Kochi and Goa.
