Reinventing Legacy

REVITALISING TAJ HOTELS TO RESHAPING STRATEGY-PUNEET CHHATWAL HAS TURNED IHCL INTO A HOSPITALITY POWERHOUSE.

- BY AJITA SHASHIDHAR

HAVING WORKED IN Germany for the greater part of his career, German comes naturally to Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL).

At his office in Mumbai, Chhatwal effortlessly comes up with at least half a dozen quotes in German. One of them being—'the one who doesn't go with time goes with time' (You have to keep reinventing and reimagining yourself with time to address the needs and wants without changing the core). When he took over the reins of the Tata group's hospitality business in 2017, the mandate given to him was exactly that—reimagine and reinvent the legacy hotel chain.

However, his new role then was far from enviable. The company was loss-making and had debt of ₹3,159 crore on its books. Over 80% of its revenue came from Taj, but the flagship brand had lost its sheen over the years. The younger clientele had started leaning towards global ones such as Marriott, Radisson and Hilton. IHCL's other brands—Vivanta (business hotels) and Ginger (focused on the value segment)—were not going anywhere either.