As Oberoi Delhi hotel pauses for face-lift, employees to get postings abroad

Belvedere members at the Oberoi here Delhi will not be charged the annual membership fee of Rs 143,125 for the two years

Hundreds of employees at the five-star The Oberoi hotel here will soon pack their bags for postings elsewhere; the iconic property closes for a Rs 325-crore renovation next month, to be completed by March 2018.

While it shuts the 51-year-old property in Delhi for two years, the Oberoi group is inaugurating a new hotel each in UAE and Morocco this year. A third hotel coming up in Chandigarh will also accommodate some of the 400-odd staffers from Delhi. Some employees have decided to resign and join other options in the region or for other activities.

“The group is opening three new hotels this year: The Oberoi Sukhvilas (Chandigarh), The Oberoi Marrakech (Morocco) and The Oberoi Al Zohra (UAE) and a lot of our employees are joining these.  There have been a few resignations,” said a spokesperson for the BSE-listed hotel company, EIH.

Belvedere members at the Oberoi here Delhi will not be charged the annual membership fee of Rs 143,125 (including taxes) for the two years. They may also continue to use Belvedere at Oberoi hotels in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru for the period of renovation.

“The group is fortunate to have loyal guests.  We are confident that many of them will continue to stay with us (in this region) at The Oberoi, Gurgaon and Trident, Gurgaon,” the spokesperson said.

The 283-room hotel on Delhi's Zakir Hussain Marg contributed Rs 187 crore (Rs 1.87 billion) or 14 per cent to the company's annual revenue of Rs 1,341 crore (Rs 13.41 billion) in the year ended March 2015. The company's net profit was Rs 96.6 crore (Rs 966 million) in the year. The impact from closure of this hotel is expected to be more than offset once the three new hotels are operational.

All guest rooms, public areas, including the restaurants, bar, business centre, spa and shopping arcade, as well as all back-of-house areas of the hotel will be completely renovated. It is not clear if the number of rooms will go up.

Founded in 1934, the group operates 30 hotels under the Oberoi and Trident brands, and has presence in six countries. It is also engaged in flight catering, airport restaurants, travel and tour services, car rentals, project management and corporate air charters.

Photograph, courtesy: Oberoi Group