I have some very fond memories of running around the lobby of Taj Mansingh when I was a little kid living on Pandhara Road. Naturally, I was pretty disappointed that the hotel ended up getting tangled in a legal dispute. After three unsuccessful attempts to find a suitor, the Taj Mansingh auction result is finally out.
Another e-auction for the hotel was held by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation yesterday. See, they tried before, but the difficult conditions of the auction did not make other marquee hoteliers eligible for the bidding. So, the two contenders left were Taj Hotels and ITC Hotels. The minimum annual gross revenue of the hotel was set at INR 350 crores. A reserve price was set at 24% of this turnover which is INR 84 crores.
Taj Mansingh auction result
Taj Hotels (IHCL) was paying INR 3.94 crores per month as the licensing fee over the years. Now, this has ballooned to INR 7.03 crores per month. That translates to around 32% of the gross monthly revenue. A hefty price for a marquee property.
Now that IHCL has won the right to run this property for another 33 years, they have plans to revamp the hotel. I currently don’t know when these refurbishments would happen, but I expect them to take this step in an orderly fashion once all the formalities are completed.
Bottomline
Now we finally have some clarity regarding the future of the iconic Taj Mansingh Hotel. The Tata group gets to keep one of its jewels in the hospitality space in the country. Time and time again we’ve been seeing great hotels in India getting caught up in bitter legal disputes, right from the famed Searock Hotel to the Park Hyatt Goa. Whatever may be the reason, it is always the patrons who get the shorter end of the stick. Hope IHCL does a great job bringing the Mansingh back to its former glory.
[Eds Comments: Do expect a further rise in the price of the rooms at this hotel, now that they know they need to shoot for more!]
What do you think about the result of the Taj Mansingh auction? Have you ever stayed here? What has been your experience like recently?
Oh man, not another iconic hotel!
Sigh.. only time will tell the fate of this one.
@Jade you clearly did not read the article and only came to park your blog’s link here. Ironically, the fate has been decided for the next 33 years and you are wondering what is the fate.
How much price premium can they really get away with? Most business seems to be moving to Aerocity anyway with Hotels struggling to break the 10k per night barrier consistently. I would pay 8k for a room at the Andaz rather than 20k to the Taj but I am unlikely to be their target customer.
This will remain a go to hotel for Head of State visits and prestigious conferences / events.
Not to forget that a large part of the legal community considers Mansingh a second home, due to its advantageous location for the SC.
The 10 K barrier is easily beat in season time. This is also an important hotel for leisure groups, who use this as either the entry or exit point on their tours.
I fear this is a poisoned chalice. The revenue works out to effectively INR 1 Crore a day. Of course, this combines, rooms, F&B, and events.
On the bright side, now that there is clarity, IHCL can at least renovate the hotel, which has been a long pending issue.