Taj Group of Hotels to come up with five more new hotels in the city

THE TAJ group is flooding the Bangalore’s booming hospitality market with the highest number of hotels nationally. The Rs 1,618-crore Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which operates under the Taj brand currently has four hotels in Bangalore and another five are in the pipeline.

Expanding its presence in the luxury and budget segments, the hospitality major is setting up five hotels in the city in three years. Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces, plans to launch four business hotels and one smart basics hotel Ginger. “We are looking at an additional inventory of over 900 rooms in Bangalore. According to current plans in terms of number of units, Bangalore will top the list but not in terms of total room inventory as other cities have bigger hotels,” said PK Mohan Kumar, area director & GM (The Taj West End), Bangalore.

The Taj Group is not just strengthening its presence in Bangalore, but also in Hyderabad and Chennai. The company has converted the Falaknuma Palace, the heritage property in Hyderabad into a 60-room hotel, which is expected to be launched next year. Currently, it operates three hotels in Hyderabad. In Chennai too, Taj is evaluating the market to add more hotels.

Meanwhile, in Bangalore, the Taj group is planning to set up a 200-room business hotel in Bannerghatta, on the outskirts of the city. ET had earlier reported about Taj coming up with a new offering in Yeshwantpur, 12-15 km outside Bangalore’s CBD. It is also putting up a hotel near the Devanahalli international airport, north Bangalore and another one in ITPL, the IT hub of the city. All these four hotels, which are expected to become operational between 2008-2010, will have an inventory of about 200-250 rooms.

Roots Corporation (RCL), the subsidiary of IHCL, which operates Ginger Hotels is adding one more hotel in Electronic City, part of the IT belt in Bangalore. Currently, the Taj group operates Taj Westend, Taj Residency and Taj Gateway in Bangalore. Its associate Kuteeram operates a nine-room resort on the outskirts of the city.

Source: Economic Times