Hikari Hotels, an Indo-Japanese joint venture, has launched Niko Hotels, their first property in Kochi. Set up at an investment of Rs.10 Cr, Niko Hotels, a business hotel inside the city and located on the KP Vallon Road, was inaugurated by K Mohammed Y Safirulla, the District Collector.
Davis Sebastian, Managing Director, Hikari Hotels, said the newly opened Niko Hotels will be the first in a chain of hotels the company is planning to set up in future. The 17,000 sq ft, 32-room hotel project is a 50:50 joint venture between Kochi-based Indocosmo Group and Tokyo-based Chiyoda Building Management Company.
Davis Sebastian also said that Niko Hotels is modelled after Japanese business hotels focusing on cleanliness, comfort and affordable prices. “For instance, our laundry-room has got a self-operation option for the comfort and easiness of stay for the business travellers,” he said. The hotel is planning to provide Ayurvedic treatment facilities as an additional offer to the customers as the traditional Indian healthcare system is becoming popular among the Japanese. “A lot of business travellers are visiting Kerala from Japan and we want to club their business stay with Ayurvedic treatments,” Sebastian added.
Davis Sebastian’s Indocosmo group has also been active on the CSR front and the company was instrumental behind the twinning programmes of CUSAT and Rajagiri with the Japanese educational institutions including Kurume Institute of technology, Sojo University and Shimane University.
In the hospitality sector, the group plans to set up a chain of hotels in the near future, including a couple of bigger properties.
