Hotel managers, particularly those in the luxury business, are generally polite folk. But last month, when India’s Taj Hotels chain made what it said was a friendly approach to Orient Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises, the luxury hospitality group, the ensuing dialogue quickly degenerated into an uncharacteristically public spat.

Paul White, chief executive of Orient Express, wrote a blunt letter stating that any association with Taj, the luxury hotel operator owned by the Tata Group, one of India’s most venerable industrial houses, would damage the New York-listed company’s premium brand.