Taj kicks off revamp of leisure sites

Our Corporate Bureau

Mumbai, Nov 27: The Taj Group of Hotels is undertaking a massive renovation programme at their leisure properties across the country. The group has renovated parts of the Taj Malabar in Kerala, Fisherman’s Cave in Kerala, Aguada Beach Resort and Taj Exotica in Goa and Lake Palace in Udaipur.

Chief operating officer, Leisure Division of Taj Group of Hotels, Jamshed Daboo said the renovation work was conducted at a cost of Rs 55 crore. He said the renovations are part of the repositioning exercise that began last year with the properties in other cities.

The renovations are part of the group’s efforts to offer the customers the highest quality products, food and beverage experience. The renovations include renovation of lobby areas and adding restaurants serving authentic cuisine. Mr Daboo added that the rates for the above mentioned hotels would be hiked to offset the investments. Regarding the fall in occupancy after the September 11 attacks on the US, Mr Daboo added that the group had been concentrating on the domestic passenger traffic since last year and this has helped in arresting the fall in traffic to 15 to 20 per cent.

However, the group has decided not to cut the tariff rates. Instead, special packages have been designed by the group to attract customers. Mr Daboo said that the group has developed special niche products to suit the needs of individual groups.