NEW YORK—Former AH&LA chairman John Russell is partnering with Auromatrix Group from India and a team of lodging veterans to launch Advaya Hospitality. Speaking before an audience of industry insiders at the International Hotel Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) in New York, Russell said the new global company aims to bring the next generation of lifestyle hotels and related products to major cities worldwide. The hotels will be green properties incorporating technologies ranging from key card based energy management systems to wind and solar power.
“Everything we do will be with a focus on sustainability,” Russell told Green Lodging News in an interview at IHMRS.
Advaya will develop, acquire, franchise and operate full-service and select-service hotels. The brands will launch simultaneously in the U.S. and India, starting in the second quarter of 2011 and then debut in cities around the globe. Hotels will be located in key cities, with targets that include: New York, Miami, Atlanta and Phoenix in the United States and Chennai, Tuticorin, Kakinada, Vizag and Vellore in India. Later expansion is planned with an eye on China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Brazil.
Market is Ready for New Product
“The timing is right,” Russell says. “The economy is starting to come back, and there are many properties and sites out there that present outstanding opportunities.
“We are increasingly becoming a transparent world, and there is demand for tremendous lifestyle products in economic centers around the globe,” Russell adds. “Advaya will make the most of these opportunities with exciting new approaches for expansion in the United States and internationally.”
Advaya merges all aspects of hospitality in one multifaceted platform. The company will acquire, develop, franchise, manage and consult across the full hospitality spectrum: land acquisition, design, construction, hotel management and tech support. It also will serve as a primary supplier to the hospitality industry.
Many Years of Industry Experience
Overseeing Advaya will be hospitality veterans in the United States and India with wide-ranging industry experience. In the United States, CEO John Russell is a founding partner of NYLO Hotels (he recently stepped down as CEO of that company) and former chairman and CEO of the Hotel Division of Cendant Corp., now Wyndham Worldwide. Chief development officer Chris Jones co-founded NYLO and gave that brand its unique urban style. General counsel and chief administrative officer David Klein has represented leading hotel companies worldwide. Chief real estate services and development officer David Young launched the International Hotel Division for Hospitality Franchise Systems/Cendant as part of the team that spurred HFS’ explosive growth in the 1990s.
The U.S. group is joined by senior executives with one of India’s top lodging companies, Chennai-based Auromatrix. Launched 20 years ago, Auromatrix today is a diversified, technology and hospitality-centric company with more than 750 employees in India, Sri Lanka, Iceland and the United States. Serving as Advaya directors, the Indian group is led by Auromatrix founder, chairman and CEO, Kumar Sitaraman, and members of his senior executive team.
Educated in the United States, these executives began their careers in the United States and then used what they learned as a template to drive India’s burgeoning hospitality industry. Along with Sitaraman, Advaya’s Indian group includes: Udday Kumar Krishnan, Shekar Sitaraman, Krishnan Sitaraman and Bala Kamallakharan. Acting as managing principal in the United States for the Indian group is Sonny Khalil, a real estate executive and Chicago resident for nearly two decades.
Groups Share Similar Goals
“There are incredible synergies between the U.S. and Indian groups, making Advaya one of the most versatile global networks our industry has seen,” Kumar Sitaraman says. “This partnership creates an exceptionally knowledgeable company catering across the board to all hospitality needs, from real estate and development to hotel operations and more. I am delighted to be part of this venture.”
“The common thread among all the Advaya partners is our focus on strategic expansion around the world,” Russell explains.
Having the assets required to fuel international growth, Advaya is committed to building 10 hotels in India over a two-year period starting in the second quarter of 2011.
The company also will create and manage a U.S. fund for real estate acquisitions to accelerate brand growth in key cities, such as New York, Miami and Atlanta. “During these next 18 months, we will see an excellent environment for acquiring hotels particularly in gateway cities,” Russell notes. “With access to capital, Advaya will aggressively leverage these outstanding opportunities for growth.”
NYLO Co-founder to Lead Design Efforts
Chief development officer Chris Jones has earned a reputation for creating high-concept design hotels at an affordable cost. Advaya will continue in this tradition.
The company will acquire, franchise and build full-service and select-service sister brands. In the United States, newly constructed properties will have 60 to 155 rooms, a restaurant, bar and lounge, meeting space, gym and business center. The hotels will cater to business and leisure travelers with a passion for music, technology, design and cuisine.
“Our hotels will be a lavish departure from others in their price category,” Jones says. “The bars and lounges will be destinations in themselves. With their rich textures, vibrant bars, and lobbies that are great places to meet friends and relax, these hotels will be a refreshing new experience and fun interjection to business travel.”
Eco-resorts Will Be One Focus
Advaya also will assist in the management and growth of hospitality-related businesses, including a mix of eco-resorts; contemporary business hotels; destination restaurants; and furniture, fixtures and equipment companies serving the lodging industry. These businesses include:
• Sparsa Resorts, a unique portfolio of eco-conscious properties, are set amidst jaw-dropping scenery in leading spiritual, adventure and vacation locales. Among the Sparsa destinations, Pasikuddah on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast beckons with Buddhist temples and elephant wildlife safaris. Kanyakumari, at India’s southern tip, is edged by mountains and the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
• Hospitality Furniture Collection serves as a strategic partner for Advaya businesses. This Burlingame, California-based furniture, fixtures, and equipment company has supplied product to such leading brands as Westin, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton and Fairmont properties worldwide. HF Collection combines the skills of artisans and master craftsmen with precision technology to produce high-quality furniture at an affordable price.
Go to Advaya Hospitality.
