Oriental Hotels mulls opening 180-room Vivanta in Coimbatore

Chennai-based hospitality firm, Oriental Hotels (OHL) in which the Taj Group owns 34.47 percent stake, is planning to open a 180-room Vivanta by Taj Hotel in Coimbatore. The construction of the Vivanta by Taj is expected to start during October-November this year. Oriental Hotels at present runs eight hotels, including two in Chennai and one each in Madurai, Coonoor, Mangalore, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

OHL by adding one more block with 64 guest rooms is expanding the Vivanta by Taj-Fisherman's Cove in Chennai to its current 106-room capacity. Out of the planned 64 rooms, 14 rooms are under construction and the rest are completed. Simultaneously it is carrying out renovation work for the Taj Coromandel hotel in Chennai, and has completed works of a new swimming pool, retail shops, lobby, reception, lounge and entrance area.

In last fiscal, the expansion plans including the new hotel, addition of rooms, and renovation projects in Chennai, has lead the company to a capital expenditure of Rs 87.17 crore. As against 62 percent last year, the occupancy has increased to 68 percent during this year. And the room income increased 22.98 percent during the financial year to Rs 122.29 crore, as against Rs 99.44 crore posted in the previous fiscal.

Oriental Hotels has a portfolio of eight hotels with a room inventory of 836 rooms, located across four states in South India. The flagship hotels for the company are Taj Coromondal, Chennai and Vivanta by Taj - Fisherman’s cove, Chennai.