epages News [Restaurants, February 2004]

• Taj gives a facelift to Connemara
• Ohri's plans to set up hotels in Karnataka & Maharashtra
• Jet Airways ties up with Hyatt hotel chain
• Hotel room e-sales zoom 71% to $24 m
• Back to Restaurants Archives

Taj gives a facelift to Connemara

Feb 11, 2004: Chennai: In line with the makeover at Taj Group’s business hotels, Taj Connemara in Chennai has been spruced up to suit the modern business traveller. The facelift programme is underway at Taj’s business hotel properties in Mumbai, Bangalore , Chennai and Columbo. The division has set aside a capital expenditure of Rs 50 crore on renovating the three properties in India . The division spent about Rs 35-40 crore last year on renovating the properties in Bangalore and Mumbai. Post-renovation, the tariff at Taj Connemara the hotel will increase by 15-20% from Rs 5000 charged at present. All the 65 rooms at Connemara have been renovated.

Ohri's plans to set up hotels in Karnataka & Maharashtra

Feb 20, 2004: Hyderabad: After establishing four restaurants and food courts in different places in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, the city-based Ohri’s Group is planning to expand its operations into the neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra. Ohri’s Group of restaurants are looking at places like Pune and Bangalore for opening new restaurants and planned to open ‘Havmore’ ice cream and desserts restaurant in Pune and Cuisine Court in Bangalore. Speaking to the media on the eve of launching ‘Ohri’s Banjara’ food court complex, built on 26,000 sq ft at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore, Mr Amar Ohri said the latest one in Banjara Hills is the group’s fourth restaurant in the city.

It set up the first one, Hotel Basera, in Secunderabad in 1981, and subsequently, it opened two food courts in Bashirbagh and in the recently opened Prasad’s Imax Theatre. “But, our latest venture, Ohri’s Banjara has been set up as a different concept, what is known as a boutique food court, which has three restaurants: Havmore, Tadka and Far East, and 25-rooms of three-star standard,” said Ravi Kumar Ohri, chairman and managing director. While Havmore and Tadka are set for formal launch on Friday, the other one, ‘Far East’ restaurant, a one-stop place for popular Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Singaporean dishes, would be opened in a month.

Jet Airways ties up with Hyatt hotel chain

Feb 21, 2004: New Delhi: Keeping in view the increased chances of government allowing private domestic airlines to fly abroad, Jet Airways has entered into a global tie-up with the international hotel chain Hyatt, making it its first global hotel partner. The premier domestic airline connected its three-tier frequent flier programme, Jet Privilege, with the global alliance, making a JP member earn 500 miles if they stayed at any property of Hyatt Hotels and Resorts worldwide, the airline said in a release. It said the JP members would get extra benefits while staying at Hyatt hotel in India and Nepal through 2004. The JP Gold member would also be entitled to a complimentary room upgrade to the next category at all Hyatt hotels and resorts in India and Nepal till 2004-end.

Hotel room e-sales zoom 71% to $24 m

Feb 27, 2004: Bangalore: The Indian hospitality industry is virtually rocking on its electronic or e-distribution channels, the primary source of the dollar tariffs earned by its rooms. Its share in the industry’s topline has increased from a modest 8-10% to 12-18%. The US, of course, is the biggest customer for reserving rooms on the global distribution system’s (GDS) hotel and travel websites. A distant number two is the UK, followed by major European markets and rest of the world. The key metros of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa and Jaipur have together generated in excess of $24 million of dollar revenues against room bookings in 2003, climbing an impressive 71% over the previous year.

The forex bookings on the GDS follows two routes—a negotiated rate format popular with large corporates and the unstructured market. The latter involves walk-ins to travel agents and direct buying off the Net by corporate as well as holidaymakers at higher than the negotiated tariffs. While hotels typically place between 15% to 30% of their room inventories on the GDS, some hotels are known to open up their entire capacity on the system. On a nationwide scale, Leela Palace in Bangalore averaged the best dollar rates through the year, at $191, followed by Intercontinental Marine Drive in Mumbai, Oberoi Mumbai and Imperial in New Delhi.