GUWAHATI: Indian Hotels Co (IHCL), the Tata group hospitality firm, is planning to do away with its Residency luxury brand. Concurrently, the country’s largest hotel company is gearing up for a stronger push for its Vivanta brand, which was launched in 2008.

Currently, there are three Taj Residencies - in Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore and Lucknow while three properties have been branded under Vivanta.
The three Vivanta properties are located in Goa, Bangalore and the Maldives.

R Krishnakumar, vice-chairman of IHCL, speaking on the sidelines of the stone-laying ceremony of the latest Vivanta hotel on the outskirts of Guwahati, said: “We will do away with all the Residencies. These could be branded as Vivanta.”

On Vivanta’s future plans, Krishnakumar said that the company wants to push the Vivanta brand, which has been positioned as “upper upscale” and placed in between Taj, which is a five-star super deluxe brand, and Gateway, with a five-star deluxe positioning.


IHCL is investing Rs 95 crore in setting up its fourth Vivanta property on the outskirts of Guwahati on 4.5 acres. In the first phase, the property will have 150 rooms. This will be Guwahati’s first five-star hotel and have convention facilities as well.

This particular hotel is a significant development for the Taj Group because Guwahati is the gateway to the North East. The group already has a 70-room Ginger hotel at Guwahati as well with provisions for another 30 keys.

Krishnakumar said the group is planning to set up six more Taj Safari jungle lodges across the country over the next 18 months.