THE NAME GAME
Deep Saxena
deepsaxena@gmail.com
What’s in a name, you may wonder. A lot, else why Hotel Taj Residency, which falls in deluxe five-star hotel category, be called Vivanta by Taj, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow?
Three days back the Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), that runs the Taj chain of hotels, unveiled the new brand in Bangalore. Presently run in the business hotel category, this property is now being upgraded in the ‘upper-up’ category. Hotel’s general manager Shekhar Walavalkar tells HT City, “It will remain the Taj. The hotel is being upgraded from the present level and that’s a good news for Lucknowites. There are going to be lots of changes in terms of exteriors, menu, servicing and styling. There are some surprise elements in store and probably in the next three- months the result will be there for you to see.”
IHCL now has four categories — Luxury (Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai), Vivanta (19 hotels), Gateway (Taj Ganges Varanasi) and the economy brand Ginger. The word ‘Vivanta’ comes from Latin and signifies life, freshness and vivacity. The new name has evoked diverse reactions.
In a message to HT City, TCS principal consultant Jayant Krishna wrote: “What a shame (sic), we cannot buzz, ideate, energise and evolve at the Taj Residency Lucknow any longer, it is called Vivanta by Taj now. But then, what’s in a name, vive la the city’s romance with its very own Taj...”
Later, he says, “If we go back, when the hotel started in the state capital it was a luxury hotel called Hotel Taj Mahal but it was downgraded to a business hotel. Good that now it will be upgraded to upper-up category.”
HT City’s Facebook friends Somya Tripathi, Kunal Karnik, Abhinav Tewari and Vijay Kumar give the new name a thumbs down with messages like “omg… r u serious” and “is it heading for an Anta”. Some were caught unawares as the change has been done discreetly. Akanksha Dayal reacts, “it sounds very nice..!! btw wen wud it b implemented? (sic).”
Page 3 regular Sudhir Halwasia says, “It’s not connecting with the aura of Taj. The brand has its own identity and goodwill. I think it will only put a question mark on the brand and create confusion. Let’s hope it pans out well!”
(With inputs from Qazi Faraz Ahmad)
