In a major re-branding and re-structuring exercise, post the acquisition of The Regent (Mumbai), re-named the Taj Lands End, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) is aggresively moulding its new acquisition to its brand.

With personal letters to corporate clients from the company’s managing director, to aggresive sales and reservations by its dedicated marketing team, the hotel’s occupancies are expected to jump, post the acquisition, from 30 per cent to 60 per cent within the current financial year.

According to Taj Lands End general manager Farhat Jamal, re-branding the property is top priority for the hotel. "We have already removed all signs of the previous brand ‘The Regent’, since we believe that our guests need to identify the Taj name with the property. We have customised the Taj logo completely in the hotel and will be advertising the property in the near future at destinations such as the airport as well," he said.

"In a move to inform our clientle of the presence of The Taj in North Mumbai, IHCL managing director RK Krishna Kumar will be sending out personal welcome notes to our corporate guests. I will be doing the same with our international guests. Any correspondence by any IHCL staffer via e-mail will be accompanied by a small banner describing the property," Mr Jamal added.

The hotel will also be targetting the conference and convention clientele and is already agressively marketing itself over its centralised reservation systems. "Our marketing offices, both domestically and internationally, have been given complete information regarding Lands End, and will let our customers know of the additional presence of the Taj in Mumbai. With the synergies in place of the Taj group, this hotel’s occupancies will rise from the current 30-40 per cent to 55-60 per cent within a year," he said.

Mr Jamal added, "We are still understanding the product, but as we see it, only a few changes, such as re-vamping our Food and Beverage (F&B) outlets, are really needed. F&B contributes 40 per cent of revenues as of now and we want to see that percentage grow."

"The North Mumbai market is seeing a growth of 33 per cent annually and that is the fastest growing market domestically. We were losing out without a presence here and this acquisition is probably one of the best made by our group," he said.