Lemon Tree Hotels is eyeing properties in New York, Bangkok, and Colombo

• India's largest budget hotel chain is looking to take its brand to more international cities.
• Chairman Patanjali Keswani reveals interest in properties New York, Bangkok, and Colombo.
• The properties in the new cities will be managed, not owned by, Lemon Tree Hotels.

Lemon Tree Hotels is India's largest hotel chain targeting middle-income customers. And the company is looking to tap the international market for Indians who frequently travel abroad.

Chairman and Managing Director Patanjali Keswani said that it is likely to close deals in the next six months to manage hotels in New York, Bangkok, and Sri Lanka and the talks are at different stages.

"26 million Indians fly out of India every year. And this is expected to double in the next five years. These guys stay 3-5 days in the places they visit. Which is 100 million room nights. Two-thirds of them stay in 8 cities only- London, New York, Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Colombo, and Kathmandu," Keswani said based on his findings.

"Out of the 100 million room nights, 60-70 million are in these 8 cities. So, if I have loyal members why should I not have hotels in these cities? But I don’t want to put capital at risk. We said we will manage for others," he added.

The company is betting big on its loyalty programme to retain customers as well as for value creation.

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