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— Shashi Ashiwal

Back in business: Mr Rattan Keswani (right), President, Trident Hotel, and Mr Devendra Bharma, Executive Vice-President, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Mumbai, at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday.

Shubhra Tandon
P.T.Jyothi Datta

Mumbai, Dec. 20 The warm smiles, piped music and greetings with folded hands were back at The Trident lobby on Saturday, as it prepared to roll out its red-carpet to the public on Sunday — just weeks after the hotel witnessed a two-day siege by armed gunmen.

And looking to bridge hospitality and security, Trident Hotel’s President, Mr Rattan Keswani, said: “We are now working with a renowned international security agency. There is a constant dialogue with them on the security measures to be adopted. As guests come in, their baggage will be scanned. For any guest who walks into the hotel, we will have to seek a copy of their identification, like a passport or driver’s licence. We will open the valet parking shortly but only after checking the car.”

The hotel is looking to hone security measures and plans to have some entrances barricaded. “The time has come for a lot more barricades, and a lot more security will be seen by the customers,” he said.

“Bookings are slow, and 30-35 per cent cancellations are expected, however, it is only in early January that we can ascertain if there is a definite pattern,” he said, adding that the peak holiday season picks up from January.

As of Sunday, 100 rooms are booked at the Trident and the pace of bookings has been catching up in the last two days, he said.

New Year and Christmas will not see any “ostentatious parties”, but a special menu will be available for guests .

On restoration costs, Mr Keswani said: “Assessment for the Oberoi is that cost of restoration will be around Rs 40-50 crore at a fundamental level. Restoration of Trident will be in the range of Rs 40-50 lakh, with some bills remaining to come.”

The Oberoi Group has received Rs 25 crore from New India Assurance as an advance to help restoration efforts.

As the hotel management spoke of bringing back normalcy, a peek inside the shops saw owners taking stock of their business. A bookshop owner, who was in the shop when the gunmen stormed the hotel, told Business Line about how he put the lights off and tried to finish some work. But with repeated calls from home, he downed shutters and tried to run out with another shop owner, only to be rescued finally by a security guard. “But the scenes that I saw on my way … I can’t even describe. The moment I was out, I ran across the road and did not look back at the hotel,” he said.

He still suffers from sleepless nights but now feels more secure in the hotel with the new safety measures. As part of these rules, shops in the arcade will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. only. They were earlier open till about 10.30 p.m..

A Kashmiri shopowner, referring to his home state that is witness to strife, quipped: “This is new to Mumbai.” Pointing to the row of shops and the proximity to the doorway from where the gunmen came in, he added: “If any of the gunmen had attacked the shops, all that would be left is ashes.”

The carpet-seller has been part of the Trident’s landscape for the last 26 years, he says, and recalls the annual visit of members of Qatar’s royal family to these shops to buy furnishings and precious stones, among other things. Their trip this year, planned for early December, had to be cancelled after the terror attack, he says.

Though shops are hoping that business picks up, the carpet seller shakes his head with sadness, remembering the young hotel staff who fell to the gunmen’s bullets.

More Stories on : Hotels | Events | Terrorism

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