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Taj sunsets sub-brands as part of restructuring exercise

Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. (IHCL) announced on Thursday it will sunset its Vivanta and Gateway brands and bring all properties under its flagship Taj brand.

Under the rebranding exercise, the Mumbai-based company with 101 hotels said it will up upgrade the 53 Vivanta and Gateway hotels before migrating them to the umbrella Taj brand. Further, all hotels will be divided into four sub-categories—Taj Hotels, Palaces, Resorts and Safaris, depending upon the location and nature of the properties.

The new IHCL competitive direction comes at a time when global brands such as Marriott International and AccorHotels are growing their portfolios in India. “We wanted to turn the clock back and get back into full-blooded Taj hotels, but this time we resisted the temptation of saying luxury, upper upscale or upscale,” IHCL Managing Director and CEO told local news outlet, Mint. “We said let’s abolish the word luxury and speak of world-class hotels. So, we made our decision that we will exit Gateways and Vivantas, define them as world-class hotels and tag them as Taj Hotels.”

Sarna said this exercise would also lead to exiting some of the properties if the company feels it is no longer relevant or not contributing to its revenues.

Last year, the company launched a ‘Tajness’ marketing campaign to aid sales, which have been suffering for the last few years. For the last two years, IHCL has been undergoing a restructuring exercise – cutting operational expenses and selling assets such as the Taj Boston – to reduce its debt.

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