KOCHI: Leading conglomerates including M A Yusuffali’s Lulu Group and big hospitality chains such as ITC Hotels and the Oberoi Group are likely to vie with the Tatas for the Taj Malabar Hotel on Willingdon Island after the Cochin Port invited bids for the iconic property. Tata Group’s lease for the property ended recently and it is running the property on extension.
The Cochin Port on Tuesday invited tender for a pre-bid meeting for the lease of the Port-owned buildings (Malabar Hotel) for a period of 30 years with an annual lease as a “tender variable on “tender-cum-auction for hospitality purposes”. While the pre-bid meeting will be held on April 19 (next Tuesday), the last date for submitting the bid is May 6.
“We have been flooded with enquiries about the property. We expect some good competitive bidding for the hotel,” said a Cochin Port official. While the bidders can be any business group and not necessarily a hotel chain, the property can be run only for hospitality business, the official said.
Taj has right of first refusal in bid
The Malabar Hotel, which offers stunning views of the Cochin harbour and the Arabian Sea, has been run by the Taj Group under the Indan Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) since 1985. The Taj Group has the right of first refusal in the bidding process, wherein it can retain the property by matching the highest bid by other companies, the official said.
“We have got several calls from north India and even from hotel groups in Thiruvananthapuram,” he added. When contacted, a spokesman for Lulu said he was unaware of the group’s interest in the Malabar Hotel property.
“We have the Grand Hyatt at Bolgatty and Marriott Hotel at Edapally. At this moment, we are focusing on our retail business,” he said.TNIE could not contact other hotel chains named in this report for comments.
The Taj Group currently pays Rs 71 lakh lease-rent per year for the property.