Taj expands footprint in city

Vivanta by Taj, the 5-star hospitality brand positioned in the upper-upscale segment and a part of Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces is all set to open five more properties this year across the country.

The hospitality major has already opened two properties this year. While it opened one in Srinagar earlier in the year, it inaugurated the Vivanta by Taj - Yeshwantpur in Bangalore on Thursday.

The third property under the Vivanta brand in the city and also the biggest under the Vivanta yet, with 327 rooms, saw an investment of Rs 230 crore on its construction. The property is a joint development with R N Shetty of the RNS Motors. With the launch of this new hotel, the overall portfolio of Vivanta by Taj — Hotels & Resorts goes up to 21.

While Yeswantpur property, though quite a distance from the CBD area, it could become a very significant MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) destination, said Pep Kumar, GM, Vivanta by Taj, Yeswantpur. The fact that the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre is just 6 km from the hotel only adds to the hope of the chain. The Vivanta by Taj’s first prototype was opened in Whitefield about a year ago.

Of the 1,000-odd rooms of the Taj Hotels in Bangalore that includes The Taj West End, Vivanta by Taj - M G Road, Vivanta by Taj - ITPL and Vivanta by Taj - Yeswantpur, the Gateway and Ginger hotels, about 700 of them are in the three Vivanta by Taj hotels. The hotel, with its positioning aims to tap the business traveller who are very good in number coming to the city.

Taj today has 21 hotels and resorts in the under the Vivanta by Taj brand in India and the Indian Ocean region.

The Taj Hotels now make up 25 per cent of the hotel rooms in Bangalore.