The Indian Hotels Company Limited, owners of the Taj chain of hotels, has discontinued Vivanta by Taj and Gateway brands. With a new decision by the management, the chain has restructured its brand and now all the properties owned and managed by the group will fall under four new brands; Taj Palaces, Taj Resorts, Taj Hotels and Taj Safaris. This aligning of brand architecture is driven by the legacy of Taj across decades and reinforces the deep resonance of brand Taj with its guests. All hotels will have carefully designed product and service attributes leading to a certain guest experience.
Speaking about the move, Rakesh Sarna, Chief Executive, Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris said, “Today, we share continuation of Jamsetji Tata’s vision. We are the custodians of Indian hospitality. A couple of years back we thought that will Taj be relevant in the future with such great hospitality chains coming up. With this thought we started a project called ‘Tajness’. We will reset our journey and go back to the roots and we have taken a decision that we will move away from brands that don’t connect to the people. The new brand identity honours the renowned legacy of the Taj in a structure that will create greater brand resonance with our guests and also allow for considerable value creation for all our stakeholders. Taj as a brand, truly speaks to the nation’s pride and the redesigned architecture is a tangible step in celebrating our heritage while recognising the need to prepare for the bright future of India’s tomorrow.”
With this new restructuring of brands, all Taj properties will fall under the four brands. The brands will work on specific experiences which will be standardised in all the properties with a touch of its originality.
All Taj Palaces will have a rich regal history and lineage and will offer royal experiences that include themed suites that can be completely personalised to guest preferences, unique dining experiences and dedicated butler service for suites.
Taj Resorts will have distinct architecture and design that brings out the natural beauty of the locations where they operate. Resorts will offer complete personalisation for suites, sustainable food menus and signature Jiva Spas.
Taj Safaris located in or near National Parks will have sustainability as their core value. They will operate with lighter carbon footprints and will champion local community engagement. Highly trained naturalists will be the key to these safaris; experiences will include adventure trails, breakfast in the woods and other unique dining experiences with farm-to-fork concepts for guests.
All Taj Hotels, which will be their largest portfolio, will use technology as enabler for giving experience. The lobbies of the Hotels will be standardised as a living room. And food will be a major focus under this brand where the Hotels will provide not only local cuisine, but signature Taj dishes from across the globe.
Sarna added, “Internally we spoke to our owners, guests, stakeholders about this brand restructure and there was a common decision taken. This will help us give a better experience to our guests. Also, the number of Jiva Spa’s will increase with the time to come as we have decided to have a Jiva Spa in all our resorts. With this brand restructure food and experiences will play the major part.”
Transition of all hotels to the new architecture along with the Tajness guest experiences is expected to complete by December 2017.
