Following is an excerpt from a report in hospitalitybizindia.com.

Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL), Hospitality Division plans to update its Bhubaneswar property, The Triumph Residency, to keep pace with the growing competition. Triumph Residency will go through a complete makeover in terms of interiors, rooms and public areas (lobby, bar and restaurants) as well as in terms of the power backup. The renovation process, which will last for a period of seven to eight months, is due to take off in mid-April 2008.

Speaking to Hospitality Biz, Dinesh Kumar, General Manager, OSL, Hospitality Division, said, “Over the past couple of years, the influx of business travellers to Bhubaneswar has gone up to 100 per cent due to various reasons like industrial congestion and high Average Rooms Rates (ARR) in the metros”.

Bhubaneswar has become well connected lately, which has led to an increase in the meetings and conferences held in the city. “The competition has also shot high, as the existing properties like Swosti Plaza and Mayfair are in the process of adding their room inventories. Alongside this, hospitality majors like Radisson, Sarovar Group of Hotels and Best Western Group of Hotels are coming up with their properties,” Kumar said. Ginger Hotels and Hotel Hindustan International are also coming up with hotels in the city with an inventory of 100 rooms.

Triumph Residency plans to add seven more rooms. The hotel will be operational during the renovation period. “With this revamp, we plan to target the high-end business travellers. We foresee ourselves to be at par with properties like Mayfair and Trident. Occupancy is expected to shoot up by at least 30-40 per cent, along with a doubling of ARR,” Kumar added.

Also under consideration at OSL is the possibility to create its own hospitality brand or to rope in any international hospitality major to brand all of its properties. The group is coming up with a 40-room property in Puri. … The property, which is under construction currently, is slated to be operational by the end of 2008.

OSL also plans to build a high-end flagship property at Chandaka, a place in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. “We have already bought the land. We intend to make this 150-key five star property the best in eastern India,” informs Kumar.