Taj to upgrade 17 Vivanta, 3 Gateway hotels

BENGALURU:

Indian Hotels Co

(IHCL), which runs the

Taj Group

of hotels, is upgrading a number of Vivanta branded hotels to its flagship brand across the country. This will mean provision of better service and facilities, but then it will come with higher room rates that could help the company boost its revenue.


The process, which began last year, will see 17 hotels being upgraded. The already upgraded hotels include the Taj Vivanta in Bengaluru and the Taj

Connemara

in Chennai, which have been renovated at Rs 100 crore and Rs 90 crore respectively. Taj also plans to upgrade certain Gateway Hotels to the Vivanta category. Once the entire upgradation process is complete, Vivanta will have 23 hotels and Taj 70.

“A lot of these hotels were Taj brands initially but were downgraded at some point. We are upgrading as we feel these properties can provide value based on their location,” IHCL CEO Puneet Chhatwal said. “The hotel at Yeshwanthpur (in Bengaluru) was a Vivanta but when I had a look at it, I felt it should always have been the premium brand. The main metros are the best supporters of the Taj, where you can charge more,” Chhatwal said.