Taj, make more room for young love

On Monday, Taj Hotels brought out an arresting full-page ad in this paper. With an image of a table set for a romantic candlelight dinner in elegant surroundings, the line said: 'This Valentine's Day, a romance like always.' And below this image-text, the image of a young couple, swoon-sitting on the marble steps of a Taj property, had the tagline: 'A romantic getaway like never before.' In this composite messaging, the luxury chain was not only cajoling high-end guests to 'experience Taj' during the 'season of love', but it was also specifically targeting a group: youth. Or, as they say in Valentino-speak: the young and restless.

The desire of young couples - regardless of socially-approved conditions of marriage being met or not - to seek out privacy becomes stronger during the F&B-hospitality sector-blessed 'V-Day season'. What Taj has done is seek out this amorously-charged cohort and invite them specially into their parlour. In the process, associating its own brand with something youthful - youth. Which, by itself, is something the not-so-young (but usually ever-so-wealthier) clientele sees as a cue to follow.

Taj's seductive gesture should be taken a step forward. Like any in-group, the young like 'hanging' among their own. This becomes amplified with the young in love, whichever way you want to look at that 'emotion-activity'. Playing curator-host to this PDA-happy group, Taj (or any other chain) should not just provide them special stay offers so as to make for an attractive Taj 'shopfront', but also curate bespoke theme-stays for young couples to mingle with other young couples 'experiencing Taj'. This, we hope, shouldn't unduly worry our self-styled custodians of morality if they are on the same page on wealth creation and India becoming viksit.