HOSPITALITY: Hotel expects 25-30 per cent occupancy on December 21 when it throws open its doors.
Less than a month after terrorists invaded the Mumbai Trident at Nariman Point, the hotel is all set to reopen on December 21. And bookings have started trickling in. Senior executives of East India Hotels, the company that owns the property, are confident of 25-30 per cent occupancy on the very first night.
The hotel was one of the three spots in the city which were taken over by the terrorists on November 26. The security forces were able to flush out the armed men, but not before the Trident’s interiors were damaged. But now the hotel is all set to throw open its doors to guests once again.
"We have got communication through e-mail from customers around the world confirming their presence on the day of the opening. We are not expecting a great occupancy on Sunday (December 21) but we should be able to do 25-30 per cent," says East India Hotels Vice-Chairman SS Mukherji.
Trident regulars are preparing to return to the hotel sooner than later. "There is no reason to fear. I will definitely go back at the first opportunity," says Milagrow Founder Director Rajeev Karwal. A resident of Delhi, Karwal spent almost all his weekdays between January and December 2006, when he was working for Reliance Retail, at the hotel. "I had tears in my eyes when I saw what was done to the hotel."
Mukherji, to be sure, is only too aware that it will be a while before business is like old times once again: "A loss in profit is certain. But we should be able to increase occupancy levels to 40-50 per cent in the next few weeks."
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Hotels, worldwide, are reeling under the economic meltdown. The terror strikes have only made matters worse for Indian hotels. The period around Christmas and New Year is generally considered to be low season with regards to business travellers, though leisure travellers more than make up for the loss. If the Trident reaches 40-50 per cent occupancy, it will be no minor feat, experts say.
The Trident, executives of East India Hotels say, is fortunate to have survived the attacks with only minor damage, unlike the neighbouring Oberoi or the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower at Colaba. While Taj Mahal Tower too will open on December 21, the Oberoi and the old Taj Mahal hotel will take longer.
According to Mukherji, some window panes and wood panels of the 15th and 16th floors, the marble floor of the lobby and the hotel's front porch suffered damages during the attack and they are being swiftly repaired. Fortunately for the hotel, there was no damage done to the structural columns of the building.
"We had retained certain amount of the marble used in the lobby when it was originally made. This helped us save time and money. We preferred not to go in for a 'quick fix' which included temporary replacements, as this method would have failed to serve any purpose", adds Mukherji.
The hotel has 550 rooms and suites and almost 1,300 employees on its rolls. The hotel staff is learnt to be working round the clock for the restoration. The company will throw open the entire hotel for business including rooms and suites, restaurants, business and conference centres and the fitness centre on the scheduled date.
In keeping with the gravity of the gloomy situation that currently exists among Mumbaikars, the management has decided to keep the opening of the Trident a low-profile affair.
According to the Trident's website, the cheapest room available on December 21 is for Rs 13,000. Rates for other rooms facing the sea will be charged upwards of Rs 14,500. The average room rate for the Trident has been about Rs 15,000-Rs 18,000 earlier. Loyal customers have decided to come back to the hotel. A senior executive of the company says: "People and our clients have supported this cause and have requested us to book them in the hotel."
The company is learnt to have asked top travel agents and tour operators to come and stay at the hotel on December 21. The idea is that they can see the hotel themselves and then recommend it to their customers in India as well as abroad.
What these people will definitely like to check out is the new security measures put in place by the hotel, so that a repeat of last month’s events does not happen. East India Hotels, on its part, has stepped up security measures for the Trident, which is meant not only to act as a precautionary measure but to make guests comfortable. "There will be visible security measures in place which will help make our guests feel at home," says Mukherji.