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Mumbai hotel set to reopen
(Volume 26, No. 520)
MUMBAI, India – One of the three luxury hotels in Mumbai that were stormed by Islamist militants nearly 18 months ago was to finally welcome back guests over the weekend, its owners said on April 21.
The Oberoi has been shut since the three-day siege in November 2008 that killed 166 and injured over 300, unlike the adjoining Trident and nearby Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, which both partially reopened soon afterwards.
“Every room was destroyed in the hotel. There were many explosions and many bullets,” president of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts Liam Lambert said. “All the rooms were affected either by fire, water or smoke.”
The five-star, seafront hotel reopens on Saturday after renovations costing US$35-40 million, he added.
Lambert told a news conference that the hotel has 37 bookings for this week and said he expected demand to pick up slowly, as the annual monsoon rains approach in June.
Before the attacks, the hotel pulled in revenue of about $36 million a year, he said.
The cost of the repairs has mainly come from “Mr Oberoi’s pocket”, Lambert said, referring to the chairman of the Oberoi Group parent company, PRS Oberoi.
An interim insurance payment of $14 million for loss of profit and reconstruction has also gone towards the revamp, he added. The total losses are still being assessed, he said.
A multi-faith religious service was held last week at the hotel, where little evidence remains of the carnage wrought by the heavily armed gunmen who attacked multiple targets across the city.
Thirty-five people were killed at The Oberoi and the Trident, according to official figures.
The number of rooms at The Oberoi has decreased by 50 to 287, with the addition of more suites, while three of the hotel’s restaurants have been renamed.
Security has been increased, with metal gates at the main entrance, more visible guards, a luggage scanner, body searches and a sniffer dog.
Lambert refused to divulge other measures but added: “Trust us. We have taken the advice of international security consultants and applied what’s appropriate for the environment.
“We want to be discreet and create as much convenience for the guests but still be as tight as we can.”
The Oberoi, which was built in 1986, has hosted famous guests including former US president Bill Clinton and pop star Michael Jackson.
Rooms cost from $500 to $6750 a night for the top executive suite.
The Mumbai attacks hit Indian hotels and the tourism industry hard, as foreign and business travellers in particular stayed away.
Tata Group’s hospitality arm, Indian Hotels Company Ltd, which runs the Taj Mahal hotel, saw its annual net profits plunge 96 percent in the financial year to the end of March 2009.
In the same period, East India Hotels Ltd, a unit of The Oberoi Group, which runs the Oberoi and the Trident, saw net profits fall by 20pc to 17 billion rupees ($384 million). – AFP
