Taj hotel information

Product Element
This gracious turn-of-the century hotel is located 32 km from the airport and
minutes away from Mumbai's commercial, shopping and banking districts. The Taj
Mahal Hotel has an old-world Heritage Wing and a contemporary Tower Wing. The
hotel's premium suites have been used by royalty and Heads of State.
Taj believes that the their core product is space. This space is supplemented
with the services they provide like the restaurants, health club, banquets,
discotheque, bar, business centers etc. Their other supplementary products also
include travel arrangements, ticketing, airport pick-ups, sightseeing etc. The hotels
various other departments like the house keeping, front office, food and beverage,
room service and maintenance, all provide the supplementary services to the
customer.
A few of the Facilities
Types of Accommodation
582

centrally

and

Services

air-conditioned

rooms

offered

are

including

as

follows:-

49

suites.

Tower Wing Rooms: With easy access to the Business Centre, these contemporary
rooms offer guest amenities like Internet connectivity, 2-line speaker phones with
international direct dial facility and voice mail. Mini bar, personal safe, channel music
and television with satellite programmes. A complimentary in-room fax can be
provided on request. Guests have a choice of rooms that overlook the city or face the
Gateway of India and the Arabian Sea.
Heritage Wing Rooms: These rooms are renowned for their architecture and exude an
aura of old-world elegance. Each corridor in this Wing resembles an art gallery, and
the design, dcor and furnishing ensure that no two rooms are alike. Guests have a
choice of rooms that overlook the city or pool or face the Gateway of India and the
Arabian
Sea.

Taj Club: Located on the top floors of the Heritage Wing, Taj Club is designed for
the discerning business traveler. Guest amenities and services include complimentary
airport limousine transfers, private check-in at the Club desk, in-room fax, personal
safe, a complimentary bottle of wine, valet service and complimentary deluxe
Continental breakfast. Taj Club guests can also enjoy complimentary tea/coffee
throughout the day and cocktails during the Cocktail Hour at the Club Lounge. Taj

Club also offers guests exclusive Meeting Rooms and a Business Service Unit on the
Club
Floor.

Suites: Choose

from elegantly appointed Junior Suites, Executive Suites, tastefully

decorated Large Suites, newly renovated Luxury Suites or spacious, plush Grand Luxe
Suites. The finest suites at The Taj Mahal are the luxuriously appointed Presidential
Suites. Each of these suites is decorated with original paintings and antiques that
transport guests into a world of regal luxury and grandeur. Grand Luxe and
Presidential Suite guests can also avail of a personal Valet Service.
Broadband
wireless
Internet
access
at
select
Taj
hotels
Now when you stay at select Taj hotels in Mumbai (including The Taj Mahal Hotel),
New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, you no longer need to be in
your room or at the Business Centre to use the Internet. Multiple 'hot spots' located
across the hotels lets you get onto the Internet from almost any place in the hotel quickly and without plugging in! What's more, there is a Cyber Butler on call, should
you need any
assistance with getting connected.

Facilities and Services

Swimming pool, fitness centre and spa, beauty parlour, barber shop, travel desk,
car rental, pastry shop, book shop, shopping arcade, currency exchange, doctor-oncall and babysitting. Complimentary use of steam, Jacuzzi and gymnasium at the
fitness centre for all guests. Arrangements for golf, badminton, squash, billiards,
tennis and table tennis on request. 24-hour room service and laundry service

Place and Time

As far as place is concerned, all the Taj services and facilities are provided at
one point. To ensure timely delivery of their services, they have set processes in place
and incase of failure or delay of service, they have built in contingencies and trained
their staff to communicate the delay to the customer in the right manner.
One of the incidents that Mr. Vivek Sah, the Training Manager at Taj provided us
with to explain this concept further is of the implementation of the contingency plan
during the breakdown of the elevator. In case of breakdown of the elevator, the Room
Service makes use of the elevator in the other wing to ensure timely delivery to the
customer.
They also have complaint management systems where they encourage customer
feedback. Each of their feedback form is numbered and hence if any feedback form is
missing, the staff is held liable for it. This is to ensure that the management views
every feedback form.
To ensure standadization in their services, they have Standard Operating Procedures
(SOP), e.g the food that is served in the restaurant will be of the same quality and
taste at any given day and time.

Process
In order to ensure that the core product and the supplementary product is
developed and delivered in the right manner and at the right time, the hotel has
formed certain set processes. When the room is being prepared for customer check-in
, the house-keeping department make sure that all the room amenities are provided
as per the check list. For e.g. certain room amenities like 3 embroidered laundry
bags, 2 closed slippers with logo, 2 shoe bags, etc. are provided by The Taj Mahal
Hotel.
Infact the processes are so specifically laid down that hotel staff are even advised on
what to say and what words to use while talking to a customer. The following example
will illustrate this better. When a customer asks for something to be done instead of
saying no problem, the staff is taught to say most certainly.

The Taj Blueprint

When the service provider comes in contact with the customer, he needs to surpass
the customers expectations, for which a blue print is made and followed by the
service provider, in this case the Taj Mahal Hotel.
Dinner Service Sequence
Procedure
1 Greet Guests
Entrance
2 Smile using appropriate
Entrance
salutation,correct posture,eyecontact and guest name where
possible.
3 Smoking/Non-smoking
Entrance
preference to be confirmed.
4 Assist guests to their seats.
Restaurant
5 Unfold the napkins, ladies first Restaurant
6 Suggest the Dinner buffet, and Table
describe the buffet highlights specials etc.
7 Present the food menu along Table
with the beverage list/ wine
menu, if A La Carte is desired
by the guest. Suggest daily
specials and advice non
availability`s, prior to food
orders.
8 Suggest bottled water and
Table
offer wine by glass.
9 For wine service, appropriate Table
glassware to be present on the

Host(ess) / Manager
Host(ess) / Manager

Host(ess) / Manager
Host(ess) / Manager
Captain
Captain / Manager
Captain / Manager

Captain
Captain / Server

table.
10 For all orders, serve ladies firstTable
11 Clear plates accordingly
Table
before guests return after
second helping from buffet.
12 For A La Carte orders, plates Table
to be cleared only after all
complete their meal.
13 Replenish the cuttlery
Table
accordingly.
14 Napkins to be folded neatly in Table
half and placed on the left
arm-chair, when guests leave
for second helping.
15 For A La Carte orders, offer Table
dessert menu and describle
items.
16 Offer tea / coffee after entre Table
and side plates are cleared.
17 Always maintain table top
Table
clean, before resetting the
table
18 Place bill folder with cheque Table
on table for signature, as per
guest convinience
19 Thank all guests using their Table
names respectively.
20 Bid farewell.
Restaurant
21 Upon guest departure, clear
table immediately.

Table

Captain / Server
Captain / Server
Captain / Server
Captain / Server
Captain / Server

Captain / Server
Captain / Server
Captain / Server
Captain / Server
Captain / Server / Host(ess) /
Manager
Captain / Server / Host(ess) /
Manager
Captain / Server

Productivity
The Taj as a hotel does not compare itself to only Indian hotels, but even with
the hotels internationally as it claims to have World Class Quality. In order to
ensure that its inputs are transformed into desired outputs, they provide extensive
training to their employees irrespective of the field they come from.
The Taj Mahal hotel has various quality tools to enhance quality. This involves
every department, as they have to make sure that the raw material as well as the
finished product is of top quality. At The Taj, it is the responsibility of the purchase
department to make sure that the raw materials are purchased at the Right Time,
Right Place, Right Cost and from the Right Source, in order to avoid any hindrances in
their productivity and quality.

Taj has developed enormous credibility in terms of trustworthiness being the oldest
brand of hotels, with the reputation of being World class and honest service provider.
Security, Communication and understanding the customer psychology are special
assets the Taj management has mastered with time.

People

People here mean the customers, employees, management and the society. It is
the final customer who is to be satisfied and this can be done only with the help of
the employees, who are directed and guided by the management. In the end the final
motive of Taj is to provide consistently and relentlessly an Indian experience of
warmth and hospitality by anticipating and exceeding guest expectations. They also
provide various customer services such as The Taj Inner Circle Group, Taj
Advantage and Taj Epicure.
In order to ensure the productivity of their employees they provide them with
various facilities such as medical help, consultation, traveling facilities, perks and
bonuses. The employers here each have their own lockers in which they keep their
uniforms and other belongings, they also have bunkers with small beds so that the
employees working in shifts can catch some sleep if need be.
In spite of the fact that human resources management is such an integral part
of the service industry of which hotels form a major part, its role has begun to be
acknowledged only recently. The Taj Group of Hotels is probably one of the first
Indian hotel chains to have recognised and respected the significance of HR in the
hospitality industry. Says K S Srinivasan, GM-corporate human resources, The Taj
Mahal Hotel, Mumbai, Functions like sales, marketing and HR are not hotel-specific,
unlike those of chefs, housekeepers, bartenders, stewards and the like. They are, in
fact, common to all businesses.
He asserts that HR, as a function, is like a partner in the business in any
organisation and not a stand-alone function. It is the key to effective utilisation of the
manpower that the hotel industry is so dependent on. And the Indian hotel industry is
among the most labour intensive since the number of people serving guests is the
maximum here. It is precisely for this reason that the significance of HR requires to be
appreciated.
It is not merely monetary rewards that employees seek today; the intriguing
aspect is the learning experience that the job promises. It is precisely with this very
thought in mind that the Taj Group of Hotels, a Tata enterprise and one of the oldest
hotel chains in the country, decided on a training programme for the operations
trainees, explains Srinivasan.
Interactive sessions between the Taj management and the director of the Tata
Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), a Tata educational and research institution, led to
an interesting and comprehensive tailor-made course curriculum being chalked out.
Thus was born the Taj TISS HR Associate Programme, a one-year course comprising
four modules that are designed to give equal importance to and impart balanced
knowledge of both the theoretical and the practical aspects of all HR-related
functions of the hotel industry.
After finalising the course details, the Taj made announcements about the
course, offering interested trainees with two to three years of work experience an

opportunity to apply. The response was encouraging and five trainees were shortlisted
for the first batch of the training programme.
Each of the four modules have four sections. The first stage consists of
theoretical lessons, providing a sound background to the practical application of the
knowledge required of them in the second stage. In the third stage, the students
return to the Institute and their performance is evaluated by professors of TISS. In the
fourth and final stage, grades are awarded. While practical training sessions for the
first three modules have been organised at the Taj hotels across the country, the
fourth modules practical sessions had students of the first batch working in Tata
companies such as TISCO and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). This gave them a
wider scope and more exposure, besides making them realise that HR skills in a
service-specific industry like the hotels are much more challenging than their
application in the manufacturing or any other industry, observed Srinivasan. He said
he himself had started off in the manufacturing industry and only later did he move
over to the service industry. I have been in the industry for over a decade now and
am well-set here, he added.
The key to retaining staff and ensuring the success of any business organisation
lies with the HR department and its effective functioning. Any organisation, including
hotels, incur heavy expenditure on their employees, especially between the time of
recruitment and the employees acquisition of the skills imparted during their
training. It can be inferred, therefore, that a high employee turnover rate lowers the
efficiency of the staff as a whole owing to their constant on-the-job training and skill
enhancement.
An organisation must be able to create for itself a unique place and image in the
minds of the employees, both present and prospective. This enables the employees to
aspire to be a part of the organisation, giving it their very best, says Srinivasan.
Though the training programme has and will continue to cost us money, we believe
that it is truly worthy investment, he added.
The Taj group, says Srinivasan, is an expanding organisation and we are a peopleoriented company. What we need are people who can match our organisational
standards. We are also looking to create and ensure a constant supply of good quality
HR professionals, which is why we decided to impart training of an extremely
specialised nature to our management trainees. I have observed them at the end of
the programme and must say that they appear all charged up and raring to go, he
remarked.
The Taj-TISS joint programme is expected to create a demonstration effect in the
industry with more hotel groups placing additional emphasis on the HR training
programmes.
To be a successful HR professional, what is required most is the aspirants ability to
challenge themselves as well as their colleagues. Only then can they get the very best
from themselves and their team. Challenges in the HR field are immense and since it
is so people-centric, it is only obvious that professionals should have strong people
management skills, explains Srinivasan. Besides this, a right attitude towards the job
and life in general is extremely essential. As a manager myself, what I would look for
in an applicant would be the ability to fit into my organisation perfectly and be

emotionally balanced, competent and above all, be a cultural fit, fulfiling the basic
values that the Taj is known for, concludes Srinivasan.

Promotion and Education

They carry out their promotions by the means of calendars, monthly letter to
their Inner Circle Customers, informing them about their upcoming events and
offers. Taj has television advertisements on popular channels like CNBC, and print ads
in magazines and newspapers. Taj takes part in exhibitions like wherein they promote
their holiday packages. They also have special offers during the off-season etc. Also
The Taj is the only hotel chain to personify itself and in promotion campaigns and
advertisements the Taj is often referred to as She The print ads for the Taj are :-

Physical Evidence
The Taj Mahal Hotel was built in 1903. The architect was Sitaram Vaidya. It had a very
ethnic look to it, which kept up their image of providing an Indian experience of
warmth and hospitality. They realized that modernization is the name of the game
and had The Taj redesigned by Mr. Chambers, Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Bernard from
Singapore.
Some of the recent renovations that have been carried out at the Taj are
The exterior has been given a new and modern look while still retaining the old world
charm of the building.
The entrance has splendidly carved bronze and glass doors Soaring onyx columns
stretch to a luminous alabaster ceiling; while underfoot, rich hand-woven carpets set
off a magnificent floor painstakingly inlaid with semi-precious stones. The eclectic
mix of western contemporary style and traditional Indian motifs creates a veritable
feast for the sense.
The city's most exclusive restaurant, The Zodaic Grill provides a graceful setting for
an intimate dining experience. Under a magnificent trompe l'oeil dome, they serve
the finest gourmet cuisine complemented by an extensive wine list, as a classically
trained pianist entertains patrons.

Price and Other User Costs

Taj realizes that their prices are high and not affordable by all, but this is due to
various overheads that it incurs and the superior quality that it offers. For e.g. a
roadside sandwich seller sells his sandwich for Rs.10 as he has no overheads and has
no quality standards to maintain, like the quality of the bread and the vegetables. But
at The Taj, they serve the best quality and also incur overhead expenses.
Also the target audience that the Taj caters to are the ones who come to the Taj for
its ambience and world class standards, therefore they say that their prices are
justified as they help The Taj retain the exclusivity that it stands for.