Indian Hotels Company Ltd., which owns the Taj group, is planning to invest Rs 800 crore over the next three years to develop facilities at 17 new destinations. This also marks the group’s foray into budget hotels.

According to Mr R.K Krishnakumar, managing director, Indian Hotels, the 17 new destinations would be a mix of fresh new buildings and acquisitions in India and in the south-east Asian countries. However, the group will plan its acquisitions abroad in a "fairly conservative manner." Among the hotels to be acquired, the Taj Group made a beginning by acquiring Hotel Blue Diamond in Pune and City Inn at Baramati recently. Among the new hotels planned, is a 93-room hotels to be launched in Jodhpur and a 140-room hotel in Goa, both of which will be launched by October this year.

Besides this, the group is also renovating its Falaknama Palace hotel in Hyderabad setting up service apartments at Wellington Mews in Mumbai. Both of these likely to be completed by the end of the year.

Mr Krishnakumar says that the group is undertaking a benchmarking exercise in order to match service with the best in the industry. The chosen bench-marks are hotels like Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons in the US and Europe.

The group which earlier rejected a proposal for a Rs 1,000 crore hotel and convention centre at the Bandra-Kurla complex in Mumbai, is now examining a smaller project which will converge commercial, and hotel facilities at its own land near Sahar International airport. This new project is expected to cost the company Rs 200 crore.

The Taj group recently sold-off properties such as the Lexington Hotel in New York for which the Hong Kong-based Taj International received a sum of $100 mn and plans to conclude the sale deal for the Executive Plaza at Chicago in the US soon. The company has entered into a joint venture with Crown Plaza, an international group of hoteliers, for St James Court in London which will be henceforth known as London St James Crown Plaza hotel.

To market itself better, Indian Hotels is creating a comprehensive website with an investment of Rs 80 lakh, with add-on features for browsers like a view of the rooms, public places and available tours along with facilities to book online.