The Hindu Business Line : ‘Taj repair costs to be lower than insurance cover’

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‘Taj repair costs to be lower than insurance cover’

Tower block opens with 65% occupancy.

Shubhra Tandon

Mumbai, Dec. 21 The cost of repairs and renovation of Taj Mahal Palace and Towers in Mumbai, which was damaged during last month’s terror attacks, will be less than the hotel’s insurance cover of Rs 1,000 crore, said Mr R.K. Krishna Kumar, Vice-Chairman, Indian Hotel Company, which owns the Taj group of hotels.

“The insurance cover against damage to the physical assets is Rs 750 crore and loss of profit is covered up to Rs 270 crore. We are yet to file our full claims. However, we have no problem with the insurance companies in receiving the claims. Even before we asked for a claim, they came in to give us the first cheque,” he said.

Talking to the media on the eve of the opening of the Taj, Mr Krishna Kumar said the number of casualties inside the hotel was 31, way below the figures being quoted in the media. This includes 12 employees of the hotel, he said.

He said on the day of the attack, the Taj hotel had 77 per cent occupancy with 450 rooms being occupied and around 700 people in banquets and restaurants inside the hotel.

The tower block of the hotel reopened on Sunday with 65 per cent occupancy in the rooms and restaurants running overbooked. “We have done the best in putting the tower block back into operation. Tower wing did not call for any major changes in the interiors,” he said. The Heritage wing, the 5th and 6th floors, where terrorists had parked, suffered serious damages. It will take a longer time to complete the repair of this wing.

However, he said the North side of the Heritage wing, which suffered relatively less damage than the south side, will reopen in February. It will be only towards the end of next year that the entire hotel will begin operations, he said.

Indian Hotels is also looking at redefining certain sections of the hotel. “Though it is tragic the way the hotel was attacked, it also gives us the opportunity to redefine those spaces. For example, our presidential suite which has been there from almost the beginning will no longer be in that space, it might occupy much more space.”

He said Shapoorji Pallonji was involved with the construction of the damaged structure. Five interior decorators are working on the redo of the suites and other interiors.

On the impact of the attack on the hotel industry, he said the entire industry went down quite sharply not just because of the November 26 incidents but also due to the general depressed economic environment. However, the company is seeing a “rebound” on that. By Christmas, they will be back in the general swing, he added. “Taj will do better than the competition.”

The hotel had a large collection of art works. Mr Krishna Kumar informed that of that 90 per cent are untouched, ten per cent suffered damages.

The hotel has appointed an international agency to advise the hotel on security set-up and systems. “We will be using advanced technology to ensure security so that the guests will have minimum inconvenience.” There will be a little bit of inconvenience like at an airport when you take a flight.

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