The Hindu Business Line : `We are looking at assets that fit our profile'

AFTER buying The Pierre Hotel in New York, the Taj Group is now entering Australia. It is acquiring The W, a 100-room luxury hotel in Sydney. Director of Finance at The Taj, Mr Anil Goel, says that the Taj group is looking at assets that fit its profile. The company is eyeing opportunities in China and Brisbane in future.

You are acquiring The W in Sydney. Would you look at other `W' Hotels across other geographies?

It's not that we have purchased a `W' Hotel itself. We have purchased a hotel that is owned by Hari-Leela family out of Hong Kong, who had an independent management contract with Starwood. They had attached their `W' brand to run this hotel. In future, our growth has nothing to do with chasing future hotels of a particular brand. Essentially, we are looking at assets that fit our profile.

Which are the other destinations that you are looking at to expand your global footprint?

At this point, we would be happy to look at opportunities in China — Beijing and Shanghai — for some time. We hope that we will be able to close out something in these two destinations. We are also looking at South-East Asia for the expansion of leisure hotels — Taj Exotica. In future, I do not see a huge growth in Australia. At present, we would be happy to run this current acquisition for some time. Then, we may look at expanding into Brisbane because there is synergy between Sydney and Brisbane.

How much will international operations contribute to your revenues by the next financial year?

At this point of time, 20-22 per cent revenue comes from international operations. In future, we would like to see the mix improving in favour of international operations. More importantly, we would also like to see profitability grow from international operations.

Domestically also, you are looking at expanding. How many hotels do you see by the end of next year?

We have already committed funds for five new hotels within India. We are doing new hotels in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Coimbatore. A fair amount of capacity should be entering the markets soon.

What is your outlook for the next two quarters?

I think that outlook is quite positive, because we are in season now. There is every reason to believe that the business should do well over the next few months. Are there any specific numbers in occupancy and room rates that you are expecting?

We are doing well and are hopeful of ending the year on a strong note.