Business Times

Local Taj properties to be re-branded

By Jagdish Hathiramani

Two of three local hotel properties managed by Taj are to be re-branded with significant double digit investments expected in them. The first, Taj Exotica in Bentota, was already been re-branded as the Vivanta by Taj Bentota (attracting the upper upscale consumer segment) as of last Friday, September 24, at 8.50 a.m. while the second, Taj Airport Gardens, would "migrate" to Taj's Gateway brand (targetting the upscale consumer segment) by January of 2011.

However, room rates are not expected to change at any of Taj's three local properties, according to comments made by a group comprising Taj's parent's, Indian Hotels Company's Chief Executive (Raymond Bickens) and its heads of finance (Anil Goel) and sales / marketing (Ajoy Misra) who were in Sri Lanka to launch the company's new local brand offerings.

Also noted was that Taj's three local properties had all experienced a "dramatic turnaround" over the last 12 months, with room rates having gone upto a current level of close to $100 while occupancy had also improved. The group also indicated that over the 25 years that Taj had been in Sri Lanka it had invested a total of $75 million.

In addition, for the first time, Mr. Bickens also made known his company's plans for China, indicating that by the end of next year it would be opening its first hotel there at the "Temple of Heaven". It was also announced that the second of the company's Chinese properties will also be following soon after at upmarket Hainan Island, while Beijing was also suggested as a possible third, unconfirmed destination.

It also emerged that the company would be opening a total of 13 hotels over the next year, one every three weeks, with the next opening being a palace-type resort in Hyderabad, India. Responding to questions from the media, Mr. Bickson said his company is also interested in setting up hotels on both Sri Lanka's coastlines but these opportunities had not as yet even been looked at. Additionally, the company's local Taj property in Colombo would also be revamped next year as it needed a lot of work.

Top to the page  |  E-mail  |  views[1]
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
 
Other Business Times Articles
Investors eager to verify future of BOI
Banks in the dark over deposit insurance scheme
SEC's 'goni billa' formula still un-decoded
FCCISL members say hold AGM by Oct.
CPC gas oil deal with a UAE firm raises controversy
Toasting the Queen of England
Comment - Investments: With or without the BOI
Feature - Road to realise ‘Mahinda Chintana vision’
New forms of building construction seen at Construction Expo
Sri Lanka’s Entrepreneur of the Year awards in September
Why investors can never be completely educated
A reality check – the feedback loop
Fitch reviews Aitken Spence ratings
Sri Lanka Telecom introduces SLT QuickMeet
Sri Lanka short of trained personnel for tourism boom
Casino type trading similar to Indian bourse trends
Dankotuwa supplies John Lewis of UK
Softlogic-controlled Capital Reach joins rights issue bandwagon
Over 500 bribery cases currently pending
New plans to garner investments from New Zealand, Australia
International securities expert in SL on Tuesday
Free tickets from Emirates in travel insurance promotion
Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association grants a monthly scholarship to Shyamali
Quality of education essential: German Ambassador
Victoria's Secret Pink impressed with MAS Linea Clothing, Kandy
Indian brokerage IIFL takes IronOne Technologies’ Atrad stock market solutions
Special fund to promote and market “Ceylon Tea”
Local Taj properties to be re-branded
Nokia aims to regain smartphone market with new offers
Sri Lanka Tourism –Marketing and manpower
New BOI: Will it be a Rajapaksa-controlled unit?
Post-war recovery begins to draw foreign investor interest
Personality development issues at the Business Club
Lankan banks urged to cut interest rates on lending: CB
Shirley Jayawardane, re-elected President of Central Province Women’s Chamber
Heladiv Tea, unlocking the potential of Sri Lanka’s oldest crop

 

 
Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page.
© Copyright 2010 | Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved.| Site best viewed in IE ver 6.0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution