Taj group plans Rs 50 cr revamp

Taj Business Hotels is planning to increase the number of its hotels in the coming years and also proposed to invest Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) to refurbish some restaurants and bars in its hotels during 2005-06, TBH chief operating officer Jyoti Narang said on Thursday.

"We are already looking at two hotels each in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai and one in Gujarat," she said while announcing the launch of a new 'Pan-Asian' restaurant 'Hip Asia' and a contemporary bar 'Distil'.

She said the proposal to acquire hotels was a long-term plan. In the city, we are not located in certain areas. A property we are looking at is in technology-airport area", she said.

TBH was growing countrywide and there was faster growth in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, in that order. "Probably in coming years, Chennai will overtake Bangalore," she said.

With more and more tourists frequenting hotels of Taj, the number of rooms in business hotels was expected to grow.

TBH is sending a team to Pakistan to "explore Pakistani cuisine next week. We are looking at Lahore and Peshawar in particular," she said.