epages News [Restaurants, October 2003]

• Taj group to acquire US hotel
• Park Hyatt makes way for Four Seasons at Worli
• Back to Restaurants Archives

Taj group to acquire US hotel

Oct 02, 2003: New Delhi: Indian Hotels, part of the Tata group firm and owners of Taj hotel brand, have decided to go ahead with acquisition of a hotel property in the United States. The board of directors of Indian Hotels considered and approved the making of a non-binding bid by the company or through any of its subsidiary and associate companies for the acquisition. The acquisition of the US property, it said, would be subject to a due diligence process. A surge in business travel to India coupled with revival of domestic tourism had helped the Tata group hotel arm post an 86% growth in net profit during the first quarter of the 2003-04 fiscal. The firm had recorded a net profit of Rs 3.76 crore in Q1 this year, up from Rs 2.02 crore a year ago. This acquisition is part of a massive restructuring and expansion drive undertaken by the company. Under the exercise, it had recently decided to sell its Gateway Review Lodge in Chiplun for Rs 3.45 crore, to Chiplun Hotel Private Ltd. The sale was part of its objective of only owning properties that contribute to its brand or revenue.

Park Hyatt makes way for Four Seasons at Worli

Oct 31, 2003: Mumbai: The proposed Park Hyatt Hotel at Worli in Mumbai makes way for Canada’s premium hospitality brand — Four Seasons.The Canadian hospitality giant will take up an equity stake of 10-20% in its maiden property at Mumbai in India. It is also planning to expand its presence across South India. Park Hyatt is a boutique hotel brand of the US-based hospitality company Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. The promoters have parted ways with the US hospitality chain Hyatt International and have forged a tie-up with Four Seasons hotel group for a 175 room hotel at a cost of Rs 260 crore. It will be a 35-storey hotel building to be built on 2.56 acres of land.

In less than a year, Hyatt International is parting ways with one of its oldest partners for the second time. In October ‘02, Umesh Saraf terminated the contract with Hyatt International for the 390 room Grand Hyatt Delhi. The hotel is now known as Grand Delhi. Along with the Jatia brothers, the Saraf family and the Gupta family too have an equity in Asian Hotels (Hyatt Regency Brand) for over 20 years.