TAJ Group To Sell 7 Hotels

NEW YORK— The Taj group of hotels, as part of a restructuring exercise, is planning to sell seven out of its 60-odd hotel properties in India and overseas. Confirming the development, R.K. Krishna Kumar, managing director of Indian Hotels said: “We feel there are some properties that do not quite fit the Taj profile which we would eventually like to sell. In all, we have identified seven such properties.” However, Krishna Kumar refused to divulge the names of the properties which are to be put on the block. He added though that the City Inn —which it acquired along with Blue Diamond in Pune —in Baramati, Maharashtra, was one of them. According to sources, the reason for selling these seven properties could be their uneconomical size and lack of demand. “These seven hotel properties clearly are not up to the Taj standards and the image the group was trying to create,” Krishna Kumar added. The Taj group is Indias largest hotel chain offering 56 hotels in 40 locations across South Asia and 6 hotels in other parts of the world.