Indian Hotels Company Limited
The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is an Indian hospitality company that manages a portfolio of hotels, resorts, jungle safaris, palaces, spas and in-flight catering services. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group conglomerate.
IHCL was founded in 1899 by Jamsetji Tata and is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has more than 160 hotels in 80 locations and 12 countries, with over 20,000 rooms and 25,000 employees.[1]
History
Jamsetji Tata, an Indian industrialist who founded the Tata Group, incorporated IHCL in 1899 and opened its first hotel - The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India – in 1903. In the 1970s, IHCL expanded its operations by opening a Tower Wing to The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, the Taj Fort Aguada, Goa and palaces such as Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur and Rambagh Palace, Jaipur. It also expanded outside India by launching Taj Pamodzi, Lusaka in Zambia.[2]
In 2004, IHCL launched its midscale hospitality brand, Ginger Hotels, followed by The Gateway Hotels and Resorts (upscale) in 2007 and Vivanta Hotels (upper upscale) in 2010.[3]
IHCL also operates TajSATS Air Catering Ltd, in a joint venture with SATS (formerly known as Singapore Airport Terminal Services).[4]
Brands
Taj: Taj is the luxury brand of IHCL that operates 47 hotels in 34 locations. Its portfolio consists of luxury hotels, resorts, jungle safaris and palaces. In 2016, it was planned to include all the existing hotel brands under the umbrella of Taj, but the decision was reversed in 2018.[5][6]
Vivanta: Vivanta is the upscale arm of IHCL which has 25 hotels in 20 locations. IHCL has planned to migrate the existing Gateway branded hotels to Vivanta.[7]
Ginger: IHCL’s Ginger brand of hotels cater to the midscale segment. The brand has more than 45 hotels in 32 locations and is a major focus for IHCL.[8]
SeleQtions: The SeleQtions brand covers properties with a unique identity. This includes hotels such as The Gateway Savoy in Ooty, Vivanta by Taj President in Mumbai, Vivanta by Taj-Blue Diamond in Pune and Vivanta by Taj-Ambassador in Delhi.[9]
Philanthropy
IHCL and its hotels have been involved in philanthropic programs with a focus on sustainability and cancer treatment. It provides free breakfast and lunch to about 300 patients in Tata Memorial Hospital. Also, more than 65 IHCL hotels have received the EarthCheck Gold Certification.[10][11]
- ^ "Company Overview of The Indian Hotels Company Limited". Bloomberg. 13/08/2018. Retrieved 13/08/2018.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=and|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Rooms with a view of history". @businessline. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "Forbes India Magazine - Print". www.forbesindia.com. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "TajSATS to set up 15 kitchens at Rs 400 cr". The Economic Times. 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ Kirkman, Alexandra. "The Best Hotel Company in India: Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces Prepares For A Tourism Boom". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "DNA MONEY EXCLUSIVE: IHCL may scrap Gateway brand, merge hotels with Vivanta". dna. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "DNA MONEY EXCLUSIVE: IHCL may scrap Gateway brand, merge hotels with Vivanta". dna. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "Ginger Hotel plans to sell properties to become asset-light". Dalal Street Investment Journal. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "Reimagining the Taj culture!". BW Hotelier. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "A Mumbai Street Is Ground Zero for India's Unfolding Cancer-Care Crisis". The Wire. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "Travel News - 67 hotels under IHCL receives highest EarthCheck Gold Certification | TravelBiz Monitor". www.travelbizmonitor.com. Retrieved 2018-08-13.