07 Oct 2014
Taj Hotels pulls plug on Marrakech management contract
BY Helen Andrews
Tata Group-controlled Taj Hotels, has terminated its management contract for the Taj Palace Marrakech after only two years of operation.
Owned by JK Hotels, the 161-bedroom hotel opened its gates to guests in November 2012 under Taj management. The property also has a Taj-operated Jiva Spa which will be re-branded.
This is the second international hotel that Taj has pulled out of in recent months. In July, it sold the 100-room Blue Sydney hotel in Australia to Hong Kong’s Ovolo Group for AU$32m (US$28m, €22m, £17m).
“Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces will cease to manage the Taj Palace Marrakech, owned by the private Moroccan company JK Hotels, with effect from 10 September 2014,” read a press statement on the Taj Hotels website. “We continue to pursue our individual goals and vision. We wish JK Hotels all the very best for the future.”
The Taj portfolio now stands at 14 international properties, with its Africa locations down to two: the 193-key Taj Pamodzi in Zambia and the 166-guestroom Taj Cape Town in South Africa.
Taj Hotels has suffered losses due to a diminution in value of its investment in British luxury chain Orient-Express Hotels, now known as Belmond Ltd, according to the Times of India.
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