The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHC) today unveiled its GenNext 'Smart Basics' hotel - Ginger - at Pimpri Chowk, opposite PCMC Office, Pimpri Waghere, Old Mumbai Pune highway, Pune. Ravi Kant, managing director, Tata Motors, inaugurated the hotel in the presence of Prabhat Pani, chief executive officer, Roots Corporation, and other dignitaries. The 100-room Ginger hotel in Pune marks the launch of the sixth such hotel in the country.

Ginger hotels charaterise freshness. The hotels are simple, unique, reasonable, basic, very different, light-hearted, Indian and innovative. Priced at Rs999 for a single room and Rs1199 for a double room, the hotels have created a new category in the domestic hospitality landscape, while giving a major fillip to Indian tourism and other ancillary industries. The primary objective behind the hotels is to provide to travellers a superior product offering and consistent experience that goes far beyond the present offerings in the industry.

Speaking at the launch, Prabhat Pani, chief executive officer, Roots Corporation, said, "It gives us great pleasure to unveil our first Ginger hotel in Maharashtra. Pune holds tremendous potential for this innovative category of hotels. Apart from being well-connected, Pune is also becoming a hub because of its extensive economic activities, trade, commerce and manufacturing, which makes it an extremely important city on our domestic circuit."

The Ginger hotels are modern, modular and scalable, providing guests with a consistent experience. These hotels will have 100 / 200 well-appointed rooms, with a choice of single, twin and queen-sized rooms. The rooms will be individually air-conditioned and provided with electronic locks, comfortable beds, a work area, a 17-inch flat-screen colour television with satellite channels, direct-dial telephone including STD facility, mini-fridge, tea / coffee maker, 24 hours hot / cold water and toiletries. Other guest facilities at these hotels would include a restaurant, meeting room, gymnasium facilities, a cyber café, 24-hour reception, automatic check-in kiosk, digital safe-deposit boxes, 100-per cent power backup, as well as wi-fi connectivity in the public areas and individual rooms.

Indigenously designed and developed by IHCL, the guiding principle behind the design was to create a unique 'space' that is conducive not only for guest comfort and relaxation but also for their work requirements. The design of the hotel, from the rooms to the furniture and lighting systems, have been thoughtfully created to offer users a unique sense of welcome.

Launched in June 2004, the Smart Basics concept created a revolution in the world of Indian hospitality. Smart Basics - a GenNext category of hotels - signifies simplicity, convenience, informality, style, warmth, modernity and affordability. The concept was developed in association with renowned corporate strategy thinker, Dr C K Prahalad. The hotels are built around a unique concept that provides facilities to meet the key needs of today's traveller, at surprisingly affordable rates.

By the end of the year, Ginger hotel will also be launched in Durgapur. Work has commenced also in Goa, Nashik, Pondicherry and Agartala and will also commence work on hotels in Tirupur, Varanasi, Pantnagar, Baroda and Ahmedabad, amongst other destinations within the next couple of months. These locations have been identified after detailed studies across various parameters such as the potential of the market, clusters of clientele and peak periods, among others.