Hotel scapes june 2014 by Cross Section Interactive Private Limited

a cross section publication

Volume 3. Issue 5. June 2014. Rs 50

ALL ABOUT HOTELS & HOSPITALITY

Walls in the Rooms – The backend story Paying back the loyal customers Developing Revenue Sensitive Teams at the Unit Level

A good time for investors in Lavasa Dealing with HR’s problems The amazing restaurant story Local business brings new benefits in The Golden Triangle

EDITORIAL

Volume 3 Issue 5 JUNE 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE

a cross section publication

Volume 3. Issue 5. June 2014. Rs 50

ALL ABOUT HOTELS & HOSPITALITY

Walls in the Rooms – The backend story Paying back the loyal customers Developing Revenue Sensitive Teams at the Unit Level

A good time for investors in Lavasa Dealing with HR’s ground problems A good time for investors in Lavasa Local business brings new benefits in The Golden Triangle

Editor: Navin S Berry

Managing Editor: Priyaanka Berry priyaanka@crosssectionmedia.com

Features Desk: Anupriya Bishnoi, Nikita Chopra Advertising: Saurabh Shukla saurabh@crosssectionmedia.com

Design: Ashok Saxena, Neelam Aswani Circulation: Chandra Tamang HotelScapes is published and printed by Navin Berry, printed at Tara Art Printers Pvt. Ltd. A-46-47, Sector - V, Noida - 201301 (U.P.) and published from IIIrd Floor, Rajendra Bhawan, 210, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi - 110002. Editor: Navin S Berry, Tel: 91-11-43784444; Fax: 91-11-41001627. E-mail: info@crosssectionmedia.com This issue of HotelScapes contains 60 pages

Dear Reader, With the new government firmly in the saddle, and given its strong emphasis on tourism and hospitality for national growth and job creation, these sectors look forward to the union budget, due in a few weeks, with optimism. With the hope that the government will be able to not just pull the industry out of its current stagnation but also set the parameters for future growth, industry has engaged with it and highlighted its expectations. This issue of HotelScapes contains the set of FHRAI’s recommendations on various issues of direct and indirect taxation and financial policy pertaining to the hospitality sector which are likely to make possible the resurgence of ‘Brand India’, being the probable steps needed for its urgent revival. Also in this issue is the report of the remarkable proceedings of the National Restaurant Association of India’s CEO session, held this May, on expansion and sustainability in the restaurant business. This session, which featured many of the top restaurateurs of the country, provides unusual and key insights into the problems and prospects of this business. The director of South East Asia; SHG, IHG gets candid with us on the problems faced by human resource managers in maintaining a robust, dynamic and competitive workforce. We also analyze the importance to the Golden Triangle of Agra-Delhi-Jaipur of the slow but sure surge in MICE Tourism and the changing dynamics of this region’s customer base. We try to understand from the local hospitality industry the various facets of these changes. Also, we get into conversation with various chefs about the role of technology and high tech appliances in a busy and bustling kitchen. We talk to chefs too about how the omni-present onions shape their menu and what do they do without them. We also hear from an expert the possibilities of promoting MICE tourism in an otherwise monument and building-centric national capital. In a bid to understand how hotels are leaving no stone unturned to give the customers an ultimate stay experience, we discuss with industry insiders the emerging concept of wall art which gives character to hotel rooms. Customer loyalty programmes are the focus of another discussion with the professionals. We also learn from an industry expert how best to optimize revenue by ensuring employee participation. With this we wish you a happy reading!

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 3

Contents Union Budget 2014 6 FHRAI recommends a

rationalisation of the multiple tax structure

Hotels in the media 8 This summer’s news; the good and the bad

Discussion 10 For a grand revival of tourism and the promotion of brand India

One-on-One 12 Duncan O’Rourke on Kempinski

GM Speak 14 Bhaskaran T, General

Manager, Lalit Ashok, Bangalore: “Today it’s imperative to strive harder to continue the excellence”

Human Resource 16 Dealing with HR’s ground

problems with IHG’s Kaval Verma

Destination Report 18 A good time for investors in Lavasa

24 Local business brings new benefits in The Golden Triangle

Report 28 The amazing restaurant story Technology 36 The new age kitchen Chef’s Page 40 Onions – Can chefs do without them

43 “Indian food has a rich 2600

years old history which needs to be understood” – An exclusive interview with Chef Ranveer Brar

Loyalty 44 Paying back the loyal customers

Design 46 Walls in the Rooms – The backend story

4 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

Photo Feature 50 Lights and Chandeliers 54 News Snippets: International 56 Movements in the Industry Last Page 58 Developing Revenue Sensitive Teams at the Unit Level

Guest column 27 Subrata Banerjee, General

Manager, Radisson HITEC City Hyderabad on The current hospitality Industry in Hyderabad

38 Anil Bhandari, Chairman, AB

Smart Concepts on Promoting MICE Tourism

UNION BUDGET 2014

FHRAI recommends a rationalisation of the multiple tax structure This apex representative hospitality body has presented its pre-budget Memorandum for 2014-15 to the Union Ministry of Finance, in the hope that the new government, given its positive outlook towards tourism and hospitality, will be sympathetic towards the needs and requirements of the industry.

he Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), t he apex body of t he Ind ia n hospitality industry representing nearly 4000 members, including hotels, restaurants and associates, has presented its pre-budget Memorandum for 2014-15 to the Union Ministry of Finance, encompassing recommendations on various issues of direct/indirect taxation and financial policy, pertaining to the hospitality sector. A delegation from FHRAI, led by the President, SM Shervani also participated in a high-level pre-budget meeting, chaired by the Secretary (Revenue), Government of India, Rajiv Takru. FHRAI, President, SM Shervani, noting the circumstances in which this memorandum has been presented, said, “The past two years have been a particularly challenging phase for the industry, due to the impact of continued global economic uncertainties and a sharp domestic downturn. However, despite these adverse headwinds, the long-term potential of India’s tourism sector and its strategic role in supporting our country’s quest for inclusive growth remains undiminished. In this scenario, FHRAI’s recommendations for the forthcoming Union Budget have focused on policy measures which can allow our industry to deftly navigate the myriad nearterm challenges which we confront and also build a strong foundation for the sector's rapid and sustainable future growth. We believe that there are three key priorities which merit the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s urgent consideration: l Rationalisation of our industry’s multiple tax

6 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

UNION BUDGET 2014 structure, so as to position India as a globally competitive tourist destination l Facilitating a broad spectrum of institutional mechanisms by which the hospitality industry, including our small & medium enterprises, can access lower cost long-term finance l Offering fiscal concessions and incentives to help mobilise the massive capital investment of over `1,25,000 crore, which is required to augment the country’s hotel room inventory by an additional 1,80,000 rooms, in view of the ambitious targets envisaged in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) We were greatly enthused when the Hon’ble Prime Minister himself ver y eloquently articulated that tourism will be one of the five pivotal drivers of India’s transformational grow th. Recognising tourism’s multifaceted contribution as a key enabler of socio-economic progress through creation of jobs, enterprise, infrastructure development and foreign exchange earnings,

introduction of the GST regime. However, in order to achieve the overarching goal of a modern, simplified and efficient tax system, we have highlighted the following core issues: ◗ it is imperative that the GST should subsume, without any exceptions, all central and statelevel indirect tax levies (including Luxury Tax, Entry Tax etc). ◗ The composite tax rate applicable to the tourism sector under GST should be capped at 8%. ◗ The proposals to exclude certain products, like alcoholic beverages from the ambit of GST will lead to tax cascading, distortion of credit chains and significant administrative and compliance-related complexities for hospitality establishments, thereby being counterproductive to the very fundamental objectives of introducing the GST. l The minimum project cost mandated for inclusion of hotels in the Reserve Bank of India’s Infrastructure Lending List should be

IN VIEW OF THE SPECIAL LONG-TERM FUNDING REQUIREMENTS OF THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, WE HAVE FURTHER SUGGESTED THAT HOTELS SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS ELIGIBLE BORROWERS WITHIN THE RBI'S SCHEME WHICH PERMITS TAKE-OUT FINANCING ARRANGEMENT THROUGH EXTERNAL COMMERCIAL BORROWINGS (ECBS) FOR COMPANIES IN THE SEAPORT, AIRPORT, ROADS AND POWER SECTOR. his party’s election manifesto had proposed a visionary roadmap to more effectively leverage the sector’s vast untapped potential. We are optimistic that this unequivocal commitment will also be amply reflected in the government’s maiden budget, by way of giving a strong policy impetus to the hospitality and tourism industry.”

Major Proposals in FHRAI’s Pre-budget Memorandum 2014-15

l Pending the introduction of a unified Goods

& Services Tax (GST), hotel accommodation and air-conditioned restaurants should be included in the negative list for Service Tax. The same base of room and F&B revenue is already subject to the levy of Luxury Tax and VAT by State Governments and the additional imposition of Service Tax by the Central Government amounts to double-taxation. l F HR A I strongly suppor ts the early

lowered from ` 200 crore to a more reasonable threshold of `50 crore, so that a larger number of hotels across diverse market segments can benefit. Further, instead of being applicable only with prospective effect, this benefit should also be available to operational and under-construction hotels, and they may be allowed to switch over their existing loans to the terms applicable for infrastructure projects. Accordingly, hotels will become eligible for lower interest rates on project loans, longer repayment tenure of up to 15 years, higher debt-to-equity ratio of up to 4:1 and avail financial assistance, including refinance/takeout financing from specialised agencies such as IIFCL and the newly set-up Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs). In view of the special long-term funding requirements of the hospitality industry, we have further suggested that hotels should be included as eligible borrowers within the RBI’s scheme which permits take-out financing arrangement

through External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) for companies in the seaport, airport, roads and power sector. This would give hotel companies, the flexibility to substitute their high-cost rupee debt with relatively cheaper offshore loans. l Bank loans up to ` 10 crore (per unit/ borrower) extended to SMEs in the hotel and restaurant industry, should be allowed to be reckoned as ‘priority sector lending’ within the RBI guidelines. For the purpose of inclusion under the priority lending norms, the categorisation of SMEs in the hospitality sector should be delinked from the definition and criteria stipulated by the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 and instead be based on liberal, industry-specific and globally accepted parameters such as number of employees, annual turnover etc. l Selected Term-Lending Financial Institutions such as TFCI, IDFC, IIFCL etc should be permitted to issue a distinct category of taxfree “Hospitality Infrastructure Bonds” carrying a tenure of 15-20 years. The relatively low-cost funds mobilised from these bonds would be deployed exclusively to support asset creation in the hospitality and tourism sector and will help to reduce our industry’s reliance on banks for its financing requirements. l The investment-linked deduction currently available to hotels under Section 35AD of the Income Tax Act can be made more attractive by way of the following: ◗ The restriction imposed by Section 73A should be withdrawn, so that losses from the specified business under section 35AD may be set-off against taxable profits from any other business being carried on by the assessee ◗ Budget/mid-segment hotels should be permitted a weighted deduction of 150% of capital expenditure ◗ The benefit of the deduction under Section 35AD should be extended in the case of restoration and conversion of old buildings into classified heritage hotels l Section 10(23g) of the Income Tax Act earlier granted exemption to banks and financial institutions in respect of income from dividends, interest and long-term capital gains on their investments by way of shares or long-term finance in certain specified infrastructure undertakings, including hotels. To revive the investment cycle in infrastructure, this exemption which was withdrawn in 2007, should be restored. HS June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 7

HOTELS IN THE MEDIA

This summer’s news; the good and the bad Occupancies are lower this summer. There are various innovative hotels coming up and hospitals are now turning into resorts. HotelScapes brings to you snippets from various newspapers which have been talking about significant happenings in the hospitality industry.

Kerala hotels fail to meet new safety norms

ochi: Though the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has recently introduced stricter food safety regulation norms, most of the food sellers including the luxury star hotels find it difficult to comply with them. In fact, food business operators are bound to fulfill 30 guidelines on safety, hygiene and sanitary conditions. Many of the food vendors and petty restaurants across the state have been forced to close down as they found it difficult to comply with the norms. During the ongoing statewide raids on eateries, it has been found that even the luxury star hotels could not meet the norms. The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA), though it welcomed the efforts to ensure hygiene and quality of food, pointed out the difficulties in implementing the norms at a go, citing many factors including prevalence of migrant workers in the hotel industry. The Association also alleged that despite having no legal right, food safety officials were serving closure notice to eateries. “When hotels have been asked to comply with FSSA norms, Authority officials should also follow the legal procedures. The officials can only serve improvement notices and can close down eateries only if they fail to improve quality standards in 15 days. But, they are imposing dictatorial, undemocratic and impractical conditions on hotels,” said Jose Mohan, KHRA state secretary. He also pointed out that only an adjudication officer can impose fine on big hotels for violation of norms. “No adjudication officer has been appointed in the state so far. Other officials can slap fines only on petty restaurants and wayside and

8 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

street food sellers. We’ve raised these issues before the State Food Safety Commissioner and the Health Minister who have agreed to take up the matter,” he added. Earlier, the KHRA approached the High Court challenging the implementation of the 30-point norms. According to the Association, many of the regulations were impractical as they overlooked the ground realities here. Meanwhile, refuting the allegations, assistant food safety commissioner Abdul Jaleel told DC that implementation of food safety regulations was simple and no hotelier would be forced to close down. “Hotel operators can ensure implementation of all the norms in the given situation. The State Food Safety Commissioner has the right to impose a fine up to `2 lakh. If a firm is found to be functioning under very poor hygiene condition and selling stale food which is dangerous for human consumption, the inspecting food safety official can instruct the firm to immediately stop its operation,” he said. Regarding the prevalence of migrant labourers as hotel workers, he said that the hotel owners should provide proper training before allowing them to directly handle food. Many hoteliers have employed labourers from far off states after providing them training in basic hygiene and sanitation practices. “The State Food Safety Commissionerate has made the 30-point norms simpler and translated it into Malayalam, after consulting with the hotel owners’ association representatives,” the official added. Meanwhile, the public, especially those who depend on hotel food regularly, are in favour of regular raids on eateries. Deccan Chronicle 23 May, 2014

Hotel occupancy cools as summer peaks

actors cited include the large number of hotels; weekend packages now on offer The scorching heat seems to have affected not just the mood of the city’s residents, but hotel occupancy rates too. Peak summer is here and city hotels, witnessing a dip in the number of guests, are beginning to offer weekend packages to attract customers. A number of factors are believed to have led to the lowered occupancy — the global economic slowdown leading to a dull industrial climate and fewer meetings; the increased number of hotel rooms on offer in the city, decreased domestic travel to the south in the summer and even, according to some, the general elections. “There is no business activity this year. There’s hardly any spending on meetings, entertainment or travel. Room rates are under tremendous pressure too, as a number of new hotels began operations in the city last year,” said T. Natarajan, secretary, South India Hotels and Restaurants Association. Sources in the hotel industry said large hotels had an average occupancy rate of 55 per cent, with smaller ones doing slightly better with around 65 per cent. “Ideally, hotels look for 80 per cent or more occupancy. During weekends, there is generally a dip, as most official engagements are over. That is why weekend offers are given,” said M.K. Ajit Kumar, president and CEO, Asia Pacific Tours. At The Park, occupancy rates are just over 60 per cent on weekdays, and around 50 per cent on weekends. “The summer is generally bad, as not many people want to travel to south India because of the heat. Also, the financial year has just ended, so corporate travel decreases,” said Ivan Leo Woods, director of sales. The hotel has an occupancy rate of around 70 per cent on weekdays and 60 per cent on weekends. “Since we mostly cater to corporate travel we haven’t been significantly affected. However, the entire last week of April, our occupancy dropped as the elections were being held in Tamil Nadu then,” she said. The Hindu, May 16, 2014

HOTELS IN THE MEDIA

Mumbai to have a floating hotel

dding one more attraction for Mumbai, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), in partnership with WB International Consultants and AB Hospitality, has announced the launch of a first of its kind dining floating hotel (floatel), which will be docked at Bandra under the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The floatel, named ‘AB Celestial’, will be open to public from mid-August. The project is targeted at foreign and domestic tourists as well as food and fun loving Mumbaikars. ‘AB Celestial’ is a 3-tier luxury dinning facility with a sky deck, two galleys, and will have two multi-cuisine restaurants, including a club lounge, equipped with a 24-hour coffee shop. The overall capacity is 660 guests distributed across the four tiers of the vessel. The floatel, made and imported from the U.S. for an unspecified amount, will be docked at the Maharashtra Maritime Board’s jetty at Bandra, and will provide a 360-degree view of the city of Mumbai and the Sea Link. Profit sharing arrangement The entire investment for the project has been made by WB International and the floatel will be managed by AB Hospitality. The MTDC has a 10 per cent profit share arrangement, and will promote this project. “The Floatel concept was conceived and spearheaded by the Maharashtra State Government with numerous government bodies involved to make this a reality and jewel in the crown of Maharashtra. Maharashtra receives the maximum number of foreign tourists in India besides many domestic affluent tourists. This Floatel will certainly become a huge attraction for the tourists.” Chhagan Bhujbal, Tourism Minister, Maharashtra, said while inaugurating the Floatel. India already has several floatels in places like Kolkata, Goa, Kerala, but AB Celestial will be Mumbai’s first. Reportedly the State tourism department is planning to shortly have a five star 362 room floatel of the Gateway of India. The Hindu, May 23, 2014

Lie back! Future hospitals could be resorts

luxury healthcare centre in Florida provides a glimpse of what medical facilities might look like a few years from now Focus on wellness and preventative care is a driving principle of healthcare, so it’s no surprise that this is being reflected in the designs of hospitals. While no amount of preventative care will remove the need for emergency rooms, trauma centres and intensive care, the hope is that hospitals might expand their services that help keep people out of their sickest wards. In the future, “hospitals can and should become more of a centerpiece of the community, “says Charles Griffin, president of the Academy of Architecture for Health. “They’re transitioning from a place for sickness to a place where you can learn about health.” A growing body of research has suggested that better designed hospitals are actually associated with shorter stays and better outcomes for patients. Griffin pointed to Florida Hospital Celebration Health as a living example of what hospitals in the future could look like. The hospital was designed to feel more like a hotel, with grounds that are “landscaped to create a superior environment for recovery”. The resort-like hospital, built in 1997, is in the somewhat Stepfordian community of Celebration, the planned village that was designed by and is adjacent to Walt Disney World. “It was built specifically to be in Mickey Mouse land,” said Griffin. “They went way out of their way to focus on health and not illness.” To that end, it was conceived as a hospital that felt more like a community centre – somewhere you might want to stick around. “The hospital’s strategy is to offer a wide range of health services under one roof, as if combining a doctor’s office with a health club and a restaurant,” The Orlando Sentinel reported when the project was enjoined. “That way, patients can get a physical or a lab test and finish up the visit with a swim or a class in nutrition at an activities centre.” Luxury healthcare is not equally available to everyone. The Economic Times 06 May, 2014

Indian Hotels net loss widens to Rs365.46 crore

otal income from operations grew marginally to `577.72 crore against `555.83 crore a year ago Mumbai: Indian Hotels Co. Ltd’s net loss widened to `365.46 crore in the quarter ended 31 March against `338.90 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago on account of pressure on hotel rates. Total income from operations of the Tata group-controlled firm, which runs Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, grew marginally to `577.72 crore during the reporting quarter against `555.83 crore a year ago. While aggregate demand for hotel rooms continued to grow during fiscal year 2014, the continued introduction of net capacity across key markets put pressure on rates, Indian Hotels said in a statement. For the full financial year ended 31 March, the firm posted a net loss of `590.49 crore, against ` 276.61 crore the previous year. On an overall basis, the aggregate expenditure increase was limited to 4% over the preceding year despite a continued increase in power and fuel tariffs, higher depreciation, and higher expenditure on certain discretionary activities, the company said in the statement. As a result, the operating profit margin was 22% for the year. Full-year Ebitda – or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a measure of operating profitability – was `437 crore, Indian Hotels said. During the year, the company reported an exceptional expenditure of ` 715 crore on account of the impact of investments in companies including Orient-Express Hotels Ltd, BJets Pte Ltd and IHMS Inc. The earnings were announced after market hours. Shares of Indian Hotels rose 0.39% on Friday to ` 89.30 on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex index was nearly unchanged at 24,217.34 points. Live Mint 30 May, 2014

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 9

DISCUSSION

For a grand revival of tourism and the promotion of brand India We have a new government at the Centre, led by a party that uniquely included tourism in its election manifesto. Tourism is also one of the 5 T’s that were enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his election countdown. This is not a policy paper, just a brief wishlist.

T Narendra Modi Prime Minister, India

10 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

here is also a wish list for tourism, per se, not just for hospitality and aviation, but specifically a desire to push forward the tourism agenda. A host of issues, over the last decade have dented the flow of tourists from overseas. Yes, the Ministry of Tourism figures have continued to show some increase, from 4% to over 10% in a given year, but there are many who believe these are not genuine tourists but possibly Indian origin foreign passport holders, who are coming home to visit their own families. We need to have a grand revival for tourism, built around an Indian renaissance, ideally. A cultural rejuvenation must go alongside the promotion of Brand India, built around iconic Indian labels. Here are some bigger points for consideration:  24x7 PR mechanism: We need to put into place, plans and mechanisms that clearly insulate the tourism industry from negative incidents and their reporting patterns. Only some years ago, it was the foreign media that we had to be worried about. In recent times, the Indian media has become the bigger problem. Now, these press people are perhaps just doing their duty, performing their job functions, and in the process denting and harming not just the image of the country, but also impacting directly the flow of tourists to India. Take the case of the tragic Nirbhaya girl. Very sad, very tragic. But the manner in which it got reported, created an unhappy impression that India was not safe, which is fortunately for us not the case. India is among the safest countries in the world, but yet there was this horrible takeaway from this reportage. Something or the other keeps erupting, time and again. And our tourism process suffers from this adverse publicity. How can we set this right? We need a

mechanism at the government level, with officers roping in professionals, with I&B ministry heading this cell, with the MEA and Tourism within this ambit, ready to combat every given situation. Or, better still, a permanent cell with a dynamic website that keeps in touch 365 days with the press around the world – keeping posted India updates.  Incredible India – the next steps: Take Incredible India, as a brand, to something beyond. It was a great job, to begin with. As an exercise for the country's tourism and soon it caught the imagination of the world. It soon also went beyond tourism, so instant and effective was the branding. But then, brands can only be built with the experience and the delivery. And there possibly, there was inadequate back up from the products that made up the Incredible India destination. So now, we need to piece together the diverse and exciting elements where we can effectively deliver, create experiences around them, and then market them as specifics. Gone is the time when loose images could sell – tourists want specifics.  India needs more tourism products: We need to create new products and start promoting them. Those that are getting created by the ingenuity and innovation of the Indian entrepreneur are not getting noticed by the powers that be. These need to be identified and packaged and then sold around the world. The government should not shy from publicising private sector products. For long, there has been an unwritten code that government advertising will speak only of government products. If this is still the case, this must give way to an open and transparent embracing of private enterprise. The Incredible India experience is essentially a story of private individuals driven by passion, creating products out of nowhere,

DISCUSSION in the middle of the dessert, or in the middle of the backwaters, or high in the mountains. The sheer diversity of India is mind boggling – where has it been extolled?  Inclusive outlook, based on Indian psyche: Indian tourism needs to acquire an inclusive outlook and perspective. It is not meant to be just about 5-stars, elitist, about eating continental cuisine, dancing on the floor to the latest international music. Nothing wrong with these but there is so much more to India, that we do not seem to see or engage with, or promote as essential India. More 3 star driven, even without any stars at all, just gazing at the stars in fact, out in the open in the vast Indian countryside.  Integrated incentives that generate new incomes: Tourism is meant to be a strong economic activity. On the surface of it, is a cow that will generate much milk for the country. This is true, but it also needs good quality fodder, some nurturing. It needs good quality incentives to make people invest in the business. A clever mix of incentives is required, not just for the existing industry magnates, but equally for first time investors. Such investments must be both in cash and kind, including offers to get land at special rates. Government must become truly a catalyst. Land parcels can be made available and given to an anchor investor, who in turn develops entertainment hubs and recreational centres. Two successful cases on hand – the DLF Cyber Hub in Gurgaon is a great example of private sector initiative. The other is Aerocity at Delhi’s IGIA, that also has some lessons for us, on how to avoid pitfalls, on the need to have all clear signs from every government agency, or for the need for the government to show good governance and bring speedy re-dressal should ever the need arises for intervention.  Event-based and multi-faceted tourism: Today's tourism draw is not just about monuments and sightseeing. Modern India has so much more to offer. New strands such as sports should be brought within the loop of the country's tourism effort. We rejoiced for the sake of India when Formula 1 came to the country. A private sector giant showed the vision to put India on the world sports map. But then we soon floundered – why, we don’t know but this needs to be set right. In the capital, the much maligned CWG came and went, leaving behind some of the most

impressive sports facilities in this part of the world. These are languishing for want of a specific sports events calender. Big ticket events should be brought to India, we should become a part of the world circuit in every sport that we play ourselves as a nation. Event management agencies like Wizzcraft should be engaged. Festivals need a national grid and then be promoted accordingly. T he big p oi nt ab o u t t he m i s t he national awareness and pride that they instill. Domestically, they create a better understanding, goodwill and larger fellow feeling. Tourism build bridges, or cements them.  Domestic tourism is the base of the pyramid: Realise, strengthen and develop domestic as the base of the tourism pyramid. Foreign tourism is the creamy layer. This should be the basic theme of our tourism efforts. When the tourism effort started in India, it was divided between states looking after domestic tourism and the centre promoting foreign

does not even exist. It becomes stronger for every linkage that we empower it with. With every addition, it grows, and embraces more overwhelmingly what we call the tourism product.  Aviation and tourism go hand-in-hand: Most of all, given the fact that our foreign tourist arrivals are coming by air, we virtually have no road arrivals, we need to create a viable and long sustaining synergy with civil aviation. It is not often recognized that every worthwhile tourism nation needs an effective and strong airline to back its tourism effort. Take Singapore Airlines and Emirates as good examples. In India, our own airlines have provided little impetus in recent years. In fact, in our heyday, Air India was a powerful instrument to promote Indian tourism. An aviation policy is needed that integrates the tourism effort, and it is equally true the other way round as well. Tourism cannot grow in isolation. We therefore also need to bring the fruits of change to every nook and corner – new gateway cities such as Bhubaneswar a re cr y ing for more connec tiv it y. PM NARENDRA MODI HAS Depriving them of direct international EXHIBITED HIS BELIEF IN flights is ignoring their economic growth. TOURISM DURING HIS STINT  Tourism needs a new institutional framework: The Ministry of Tourism IN GUJARAT. THIS SAME needs a revamp. It needs a dynamic entity ENTHUSIASM BROUGHT to monitor and execute programmes TO THE CENTRESTAGE CAN – elements like the lowest tender will attract monkeys, and not high spending COMPREHENSIVELY ENHANCE INDIA'S IMAGE AS A DESTINATION. tourists to our country. We need to bring consultants to MoT, not all need tourism. Over the years, much has changed. to be imported. There is adequate experience Many an Indian state, notably Goa and Kerala, available within India. not surprising that they are also the front The present day MoT has little experience, runners today, has been promoting overseas as and the goalposts keep changing with every well. The centre has also taken upon itself the incumbent. Every time we get a new secretary, task of domestic tourism promotion. the person wants to leave his stamp on the  Tourism as patron of Indian arts and assignment, thinks out some bold new steps, heritage: We have often said that Tourism is an spends his entire tenure trying to execute it. effective catalyst for sustaining our heritage. Some manage to do so, others don’t, but either Years ago, we had recognizable patrons of the way it does not matter – the next incumbent arts, not so many today. But tourism, and more will create his own agenda anyway. lately, airports and hotels have built around In the states, too, the same is true and an Indian traditions and customs. This process institutional framework must get framed, the could have been more invigorating but in sooner the better. In some states, the tourism principle it exists and remains valid and most budget has been significantly enhanced in essential. We therefore need a mechanism that recent years and requires judicious spending. uses tourism to promote Indian crafts heritage The question is where will the expertise come and tradition in an institutional framework. from that can provide important guidelines for  Every linkage counts for tourism: development. HS Tourism is the sum total of so many disciplines by NAVIN BERRY that create this entity. By itself it perhaps First published in Destination India, June 2014 June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 11

ONE-ON-ONE

Duncan O’Rourke on Kempinski Duncan O’Rourke, Chief Operating Officer, Kempinski Hotels visited the capital recently where he discussed his brand’s plan globally and for India. HotelScapes got in conversation with him. He talks about his brand’s distinctiveness and his concept of ‘Luxury is Limited’.

Q &A Duncan O’Rourke Chief Operating Officer Kempinski Hotels

n a global platform, what are Kempinski’s strongholds?

Kempinski has established strongholds in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and China. In addition, Kempinski was the first luxury hospitality brand to enter Russia (1992) and China (1992). As of 2013, we attained both market leadership as well as project market leadership in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In Europe, we already have 34 fully operational hotels, in 16 different countries, In the Middle East and in Africa, we have 17 hotels already in operation across 10 countries and in China we have 18 fully operational hotels. In line with the development strategy, Kempinski will strongly focus on Africa in 2014. We see growth opportunities due to the continuously developing economic strength in the African continent. China, where Kempinski has had a joint venture with the Beijing Tourism Group (BTG) for more than two decades, also plays a vital role this year, with the opening of the exceptional Yanqi Lake project. We plan to open 12 hotels in the next 12 months: five in Africa, five in China, one in Saudi Arabia, one in Lebanon and one in Myanmar.

hat are the brand’s new expansion plans for India?

“

Kempinski only manages and operates luxury five-star hotels and we cater to a market which appreciates high quality services and facilities. We have thoroughly studied the Indian market and our customer base indicates that Mumbai, Kolkata and Kerala are the cities with the highest demand. Kerala as a resort would provide the added leisure aspects of travel to India to round out a visit. Along with the

existing property in Delhi, we aim to have at least 4 fully operational properties in the country by 2020.

hat are the factors that are making your brand distinctive from the other companies?

In a world where everyone claims to offer a luxury experience, Kempinski takes the path of timeless elegance, discovery and tailor-made adventures. Culture, Gourmet, Beauty and Savoir-Vivre are the key areas of the guest experience that epitomise Kempinski’s European brand positioning and brand values of being naturally stylish and refined, witty and daring and surprisingly warm. Based on these key areas, we set the stage for the guest to experience the ‘Remarkable European Flair’ of the brand. To create t his dis t inc t ive gues t experience, there are certain operational concepts which have been developed to distinguish Kempinski Hotels; “Resense Spa” is a spa experience inspired by ancient European bathing traditions; “Kempinski The Ball” is a revival of European heritage which also promotes local culture; the “Lady in Red” acts as Kempinski’s First Lady and is a highly recognisable point of contact; new Food & Beverage concepts are a key differentiating factor for the Kempinski brand.

n a recent press conference in Delhi, you have mentioned “Luxury is Limited’’. How are you relating it to your brand? Please elaborate.

Having achieved a considerably sized but homogeneous portfolio generating stable

We have thoroughly studied the Indian market and our customer base indicates that Mumbai, Kolkata and Kerala are the cities with the highest demand. Kerala as a resort will provide the added leisure aspects of travel to India to round out a visit.

12 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

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ONE-ON-ONE

financial results and with strong organisational foundations in place, Kempinski has paved the way to focus purely on achieving premium performance both financially and operationally. In line with Kempinski’s belief that luxury by definition is limited, we have introduced a strategic portfolio growth cap (number of hotels under operation pegged to the age of the company) to ensure that we can provide our customers with the customary and expected service standards and personalised guest experience.

he brand has only one property in India, that is, Delhi. Is there any specific reason for choosing the capital over other metropolitans?

As mentioned, Kempinski caters to a market which appreciates high quality services and facilities and has the resources to indulge in the same. We conducted a thorough research on the Indian market and found that this market exists in East Delhi and is continuously growing here. At Kempinski, we are very bullish on new markets and always try and establish a first mover advantage,

which we have accomplished with Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi at Shahdara. We are confident as the market leaders that the demand will grow in this direction and have already received positive feedback from our customers. In addition, India is a n ex tremely important market for Kempinski Hotels and we are looking to follow a strategic expansion plan to expand to other cities in the coming years. We are very excited about our future plans for India and the upcoming properties in Mumbai, Kolkata and Kerala, each of which will feature 150-250 keys.

ther luxury hotels/brands also operate in hotels from various price segments, however, Kempinski is only ‘’luxury’’. Isn’t that a disadvantage? Do you have plans to go in that segment in the near future?

Kempinski only manages and operates luxury five-star hotels. While the market for three and four star hotels may be growing, we have made a conscious decision not to enter it and do not plan to do so in the foreseeable

KEMPINSKI CATERS TO A MARKET WHICH APPRECIATES HIGH QUALITY SERVICES AND FACILITIES AND HAS THE RESOURCES TO INDULGE IN THE SAME. INDIA IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MARKET FOR KEMPINSKI HOTELS future. Ours has always been a five star luxury brand that caters to guests who appreciate and understand the nuances of high quality services and facilities. The Indian high-end segment is well established in the country and comprises of well-read well-heeled travellers who are willing to spend on quality services. This is the segment that we cater to; hence, we feel that we will do quite well in the coming years in the luxury hospitality market in India. HS as told to ANUPRIYA BISHNOI

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 13

GM SPEAK

“Today it’s imperative to strive harder to continue the excellence” Bhaskaran T, General Manager, Lalit Ashok, Bangalore talks to HotelScapes on the evolution in the role of the GM in the past decade, the challenges and opportunities for the hotel industry in a dynamic market for the times of come and the role of social media in connecting with the potential clientele with an ever evolving marketing strategy.

Q &A Bhaskaran T

General Manager Lalit Ashok, Bangalore

ow you going to apply your 16 years of hospitality experience to this new position as a GM at Lalit Ashok?

In my 16 years of hotel journey, I have got a lot of exposure to different cultures, consumer behaviours and markets. Whether the market is old or new, thorough market intelligence helps you to identify the opportunities and challenges that exist in it. With regard to the Bangalore market, I have spent my formative years in the city and understood the way the industry functions. It is a very dynamic market, where quality at the right price point is the key success mantra. With a competent team, my focus will revolve around bringing in more innovations to our services, enriching guests’ experience vis-à-vis global offerings. Given the various USPs of the hotel, we will drive our efforts in making the hotel a must-stay destination in the down south.

angalore is one of the fastest growing cities in the country blessed with all the top branded hotels. How will you be positioning your property?

“

Complementing its splendid legacy with contemporary ambience and trendy guest amenities, The Lalit Ashok has long remained the favoured luxury destination for business and leisure travellers. It is also the first luxury hotel in South India. Nestled amidst 10 acres of sprawling landscaped and manicured lawns, the hotel

offers best of rooms and F&B services. The various unique food concepts have made the hotel stand out amongst other players and have been receiving great attention and support from the patrons across. We will continue to build on the legacy.

ow are you preparing yourself for the challenges that might befall you/property?

Change is imminent and so is challenge. Today, business moves on relationship. Our objective is to enhance and cement the relationship that we have with our guests, our business partners and our team. Once we achieve that, the rest will we taken care of on its own.

ow are you marketing your property and what role does social media play?

Social media plays a huge role. Our marketing strategy revolves around both online and offline with equal importance given to both. We do spend a lot of time and money to review our online presence to ensure we are in accordance with the ever-changing consumer behaviour and industry trends.

here do you see your property in the next five years?

We have some exciting times ahead. We are planning to revamp our F&B and rooms. With this, we aim to give our guests an exceptional experience that makes them visit us again and again. HS

as told to ANUPRIYA BISHNOI

14 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

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HUMAN RESOURCE

Dealing with HR’s ground problems with Kaval Verma Local capacity building and mass recruitment tops the agenda of Kaval Verma, Director Human Resources, South West Asia, IHG to meet its constant growing needs. It also has ambitious plans to expand from a workforce of 3,400 to 10,000 in the coming years and also work on 46 hotels that are in the pipeline. HotelScapes talks to her about the challenges faced by HR at present, ways to overcome them and the group’s plan.

Q &A Kaval Verma

Director Human Resources South West Asia, IHG

“

hat is IHG doing to overcome shortage of skilled manpower in the hospitality industry?

The hospitality sector is a service industry, and people are right at the centre of its success. At IHG, our brands represent our promises to our guests, and it is our people who bring our brands to life. As one of the largest hotel companies in the world, ensuring we have employees who are trained in delivering the right brand experience is important. One of the ways we provide hospitality training is through our IHG Academy p r og ra m me – a pione e r i ng g loba l collaboration between IHG and local education and community providers. The programme aims to provide people with skills development and employment opportunities and create a sustainable talent pipeline for IHG. We currently have more than 300 IHG Academy programmes worldwide, and recently announced our partnership with one of India’s largest vocational skills development organisations, IL&FS Institute of Skills (IIS), to provide IHG approved vocational hospitality training across the country. This is our first vocational training programme in India and the 15th IHG Academy in the country. Participants in the programme comprise of predominantly young people from rural areas across India who are keen to gain vocational skills and employment opportunities. Under the partnership

participants will undergo three months of training which includes theory and practical work experience at one of our hotels in India. After the 90-day course participants will have an opportunity to apply for a role at IHG hotels across the globe.

o you think hospitality institutes can help solve the shortage of trained manpower?

According to a World Bank report, 250 million people will be joining the Indian workforce by 2030. There is an urgent need to turn the working-age population into an employable workforce whilst ensuring the skills of the workforce match the demands of the economy. This has become a national agenda, with the government recently establishing a new ministry to take up the agenda of skills development entrepreneurship with the aim to equip with skills and upskill 500 million people in India by 2022. Working with hospitality partners that offer quality training programmes is one way to address the need for more skilled talent in India. Through our IHG Academy programme we have trained over 10,000 participants to date and are aiming to help 20,000 more people build hospitality skills and improve their employment prospects in the next three years via IHG Academy.

here do you think the problem is? How can that be solved?

Ta lent shor tage is one of the main

There is an urgent need to turn the working-age population into an employable workforce whilst ensuring its skills match the demands of the economy. Working with hospitality partners that offer quality training programmes is one way to address the need for more skilled talent.

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HUMAN RESOURCE challenges faced by the hospitality industry as a whole. In making the most of the opportunity to train people it is also vital to provide them with on-the-job experience. This is the reason we’ve partnered with IIS to provide participants with 45 days of practical classroom training at the IL&FS vocational centre – including language and soft skills training, followed by 45 days on-the-job experience in one of our hotels for them to put into practice what they have learnt. Classes will run across the 30 IL&FS vocational centres in India.

hich sector of hospitality lacks man power the most and what solutions can be suggested?

IHG currently has 3,400 employees in India and we are looking to recruit 10,000 people to fill various roles in our hotels in the coming years. We are in the people business and our focus is on building local capability to support our current and future growth. We are constantly looking at expanding our IHG Academy programmes throughout our estate, and ensuring that the programmes deliver positive, good quality and transformational results for participants, IHG and our hotels, and will continue in this direction to support the 46 hotels in our pipeline in India which will open over the next three to five years. HS as told to ANUPRIYA BISHNOI

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 17

DESTINATION REPORT

A good time for investors in Lavasa Sachin Malhotra Hotel Manager, Mercure Lavasa Convention Centre

Lavasa receives leisure travellers and vacationers in peak seasons like the monsoon and winters, and especially during long weekends.

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The newest hill station of India, Lavasa, has a variety of hotels currently and many more coming up by the end of this year. On talking to the corporation of the city and hoteliers around there, HotelScapes brings to you an overview of the trends in the hospitality industry of Lavasa, its challenges and the growth potential.

avasa, the private planned city of India has a booming hospitality industry, with great average room rates and a potential to absorb new properties. While the city is being applauded by tourists, leisure as well as MICE. The only challenge currently is that the inventory is not enough. The occupancy rates are high throughout the year, as the different segments of travellers coming in complement each other. During vacations there are more leisure travellers as well as weekend guests, whereas during the rest of the year it sees a majority of corporate travellers coming for MICE.

Current trends

With one of the largest convention centers of India, Lavasa, the planned city near Pune has a booming hospitality industry with a good mix of hotels and service apartments functioning successfully and a new range coming up by the end of this year. “Lavasa being a hill destination receives leisure travellers and vacationers in peak seasons like the monsoon and winters, especially during long weekends and also during the summer and winter vacations when it is visited by families. The corporate MICE events are at its peak from August to February wherein we see a noticeable rise in our business profile guests patronising Mercure Lavasa,” says Sachin

DESTINATION REPORT

Rajiv Duggal

Senior Vice President, Lavasa Corporation

The inventory at present is very low and that is affecting tourism in a major way. In the limited 256 rooms that we have, we do an average annual ARR of over 82 percent.

Malhotra, Hotel Manager, Mercure Lavasa Convention Centre. Lavasa is a privately invested city and Lavasa Corporation has been working hard to sell it as a preferred tourism destination. Rajiv Duggal, Senior Vice President, Lavasa Corporation, says that the inventory at present is very low and that is affecting tourism in a major way. Further talking about the current trends in the city with regard to hospitality and how hotels have been performing, he says, “In the limited 256 rooms that we have, we do an average annual ARR of over 82 percent. Our room revenues are pretty strong and some of our hotels do the best ARR in the western region. So, at times we are stronger in ARRs and overpower Pune city also. This is not strange because right now the inventory is less so there is almost zero resistance to rates. As the inventory grows up, the rates also become an important factor. In Lavasa over the last year, with the support of marketing, we have also started doing major events, which have added vastly to the tourism of the city. Events add tremendously to the tourism and hospitality revenues of the city as a whole, because today you have so many stakeholders and the events add to their revenues. This is one of our key objectives, as holders of the tourism and hospitality portfolio.”

Lavasa enjoys the pleasure of serving both leisure travellers as well as corporate travellers. For the leisure travellers, the destination has its scenic beauty, whereas for the corporate travellers it has the convention centre. Talking about it, Jimmy Shaw, MD, Waterfront Shaw, says, “The traffic is broken up into weekday and weekend traffic. On weekdays we see a lot of corporate travellers coming in for their meetings and conferences. Then on weekends we have the usual weekend traveller who checks-in on a Friday and checks-out on a Sunday. They are the holiday makers, families who want to spend a night or two in Lavasa. So there is a very distinctive shift that takes place every week from corporate to families and back.” Considering the grow th in the visitor footfalls, the popularity of the destination and the vast development planned by the Lavasa Corporation, Mercure, the world’s largest brand of midscale hotels has immense opportunity before it today.

Challenges & solutions

Being a planned city, various foreseen challenges

have always been prepared for and arrangements made for many more. But still, being a first-of-itskind, there are some challenges and limitations that the city is trying to overcome now. “Today June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 19

DESTINATION REPORT

Jimmy Shaw MD, Waterfront Shaw

As Lavasa is a planned city, so the infrastructure challenges are very minimal. We don’t have any freebies, no subsidies, as a businessman in Lavasa I have to pay for everything that I demand and expect.

20 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

for the weekend we get around 27, 000 people and we have only 250 rooms, we can only offer our rooms to less than 1,500 people to stay over. So that is a huge challenge for me. Building a hotel and delivering doesn’t happen over a weekend. It takes couple of years. Weather is also a problem. We have torrential rains coming for the next four months and construction cannot be done that speedily as it is being done in the rest of the year. There are three to four months during the year when we slow down our construction because of the rain factor. Lavasa is an all-season destination and we are trying to build every season with a marketing strategy so that customers keep coming in, but it may not be true for every resort destination. So seasonality definitely becomes a challenge. Thirdly, I feel, on the infrastructure front, the time taken over construction, as compared to that in the plains is difficult at a hill station. That is a deterrent but otherwise, from the footfall angle, or meeting anxious customer’s requirements to come discover a new city and a new hill station, I have no complaints. Everybody has been supporting us so much,” elucidates Duggal, on the problems being faced by the city currently. Chetan Bhatnagar, General Manager, ITC Fortune, says that things are very systematic

in Lavasa, because of it being a planned city, but still there are some small issues which need to be taken care of. Explaining he says, “Procurement of material, people and getting quality staff is an issue. We have worked out various programs that we keep doing to overcome these things. Also, now that we have been here for around five years, we know how to work with the logistics and have arranged for the suppliers who can help us with this.” Sachin Malhotra believes that challenges are the most at destinations, but without a challenge one cannot carve a roadmap for the future. New ideas and innovations and professionalism helps in overcoming these challenges in destinations and that’s what Mercure Lavasa is equipped with to delight the guests every time. “Personalised nurturing of guests helps to bridge the gap and create a new relationship for the business. At Lavasa we offer a destination which provides Work, Learn, Live and Play as a concept to emerge as the leader in next generation living in India,” he adds. Lavasa also has a world-class hospitality institute, Ecole Hoteliere. This is a private autonomous institute for hotel and hospitality management and is located in Dasve in Lavasa. The students from the institute are sent for trainings and internships at hotels in Lavasa

DESTINATION REPORT

Chetan Bhatnagar General Manager, ITC Fortune

Procurement of material and getting quality staff are issues. We have worked out various programmes which we can keep doing to overcome these things.

and other places around the country and abroad as well. “Lavasa as a destination is a new city; it is a tourism destination and has also been proposed as an educational hub. It’s a great location to have residential programmes. On the Western Ghats, it is a great place to study. This is the first educational centres that has been set up here. There were many challenges in the beginning that we had to face. Firstly, Ecole was new to India. Secondly Lavasa, the city was just starting off. So, we had to start many things from scratch. The positive point is that we are located in Dasve, which is the first of the five cities that are going to be set up in Lavasa,” says Rony Kurien, COO, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa. He adds, “ Here the students have a n advantage of being away from the hustle bustle of the cities like Mumbai and Pune and so they can concentrate fully on their studies. Also, we have various brands here, like ITC Fortune, Accor Mercure, Ekant, Waterfront Shaw and others where students get an opportunity to work in these hotels and gain real-life work experiences.” There is no business complete without its share of limitations and challenges. Hoteliers in Lavasa also have their share of issues. Shaw says, “As Lavasa is a planned city, so the infrastructure challenges are very minimal. Having said

that, because it is a privately invested city, we don’t have any support from the municipal corporation as we have other cities like Mumbai, Pune and others. We don’t have any freebies, no subsidies, as a businessman in Lavasa I have to pay for everything that I demand and expect. I won’t call it as a limitation but that is the way the future cities will hold for businesses. So essentially you have to be extremely conscious about all costs and you can’t take anything for granted here.”

Growth & expansion

The city is now picking up in terms of tourism and also the hospitality industry, which is why it has plans of opening many more hotels in the near future. Duggal says that a couple of years ago they had around 450 thousand tourists coming to Lavasa, and last year they closed at 847 thousand tourists. He now hopes there will be over a million tourists by the end of June this year. As mentioned before, inventory is a challenge for Lavasa, and he tells us how they are overcoming this, “In the pipeline, over the next 11 months we have a Novotel opening up with 196 keys, a Formula 1 by Accor opening with 147 keys and a Holiday Inn Express opening with 126 keys. Lavasa city’s inventory of rooms will almost triple itself within the next 11 June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 21

DESTINATION REPORT

Rony Kurien

COO, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa

Lavasa as a destination is a new city; it is a tourism destination and has also been proposed as an educational hub. It’s a great location to study.

22 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

months which is a very positive sign.” With this new inventory coming up in the city, the present hotels will also be affected. It will definitely increase the footfalls in Lavasa. Shaw tells us how he sees the coming of these new hotels, “there will be more options for the customers with opening of these hotels. Currently, there is a mix in Lavasa which gives the customers different options to choose from. Waterfront Shaw manages the largest F&B and food choices in Lavasa. So, I am anticipating that when these hotels come and open shop, I will enjoy greater footfalls because people who stay at these properties will also try different options for food around the town, so we will benefit from that. I am waiting anxiously for them to come in. When these come up, our rates will also shoot because these hotels will charge a premium rate. So it will be a good situation for us. So, I see benefit on the rate front and I see benefit on the revenue front on my food and beverage also.” Bhatnagar says that from the day ITC Fortune has opened, we have been very successful and all the hotels in Lavasa have been seeing an occupancy rate of around 75% . There is no problem here, as far as occupancy is concerned. He adds, “It is easier to operate at places with no issues relating to things like, electricity, water, garbage disposal, etc. I believe things are very

systematic here. We hardly have any power cuts in Lavasa; also there is no water crisis. Also, with the way things have been going on, I think the supply chain will also improve in the coming times. With the coming of these new properties, business will also grow in the valley. Lavasa still has the potential to absorb the extra flow. At the moment, the hospitality industry in Lavasa is growing and the corporation has many things planned and if they fall in place, then the future looks very optimistic.” For the opening of a hotel, the most important thing for an hotelier to do is to get the different kinds of approvals. Lavasa Corporation has organised themselves very well on this part. Duggal explains, “Today when an investor comes to Lavasa and says that I want to open a hotel and need this much land, then it’s a one window, three day permission, which is very important and very positive, both for the investor’s prospectus and the operator that comes in. The operator looks at footfalls that are coming through tourism, and, fortunately, Lavasa has been handling that part very well now. It’s a very good time for investors and operators at Lavasa and that’s why we are seeing a lot of new hotels that will be announced, almost every six months, at least for the next three years.” HS by NIKITA CHOPRA

DESTINATION REPORT

Local business brings new benefits in The Golden Triangle The golden triangle of India is known to be one of the most frequented tourist destinations in the country. With the rise in mercury, travellers turn to colder regions thus affecting tourism in Agra, Delhi and Jaipur. But with corporate travelling and MICE picking up and a modification of the trends of travel of the local travellers, the hotels are experiencing a positive change. Hotelscapes talks to various hotels in Agra and Jaipur about business this season as compared to last year.

MICE picks up this year

Hospitality is such a business that it sees growth with every passing year. Due to this the seasons every year aren’t the same for the hotels. This year, the hotels had to go through the phase of elections too which may have affected business. C.B. Singh, General Manager,

Mansingh Palace, Agra is all set to face the challenges coming up with the new inventory that will be seen in Agra from the next year. He says, “The summer this season is not bad in comparison to last year. We are almost matching up to the occupancy that we saw last year. Things seem to be the same. We are not facing many

challenges this year, but we are preparing ourselves for bigger challenges that we foresee for the next year. The inventory in the city will increase by the next year as many more hotels are opening up. This can be a challenge for us, but right now things are running smooth.” Shagun Sethi, Director of

Sales and Marketing, Fairmont Jaipur agrees that the election time has made a difference. Explaining this, she said, “The election time has slowed down corporate travel to some extend but the high-end weddings have compensated for the period in a greater way. There is a great potential in the MICE market

Mansingh Palace

Suite Fairmont Jaipur

Jaypee Palace Agra

Lobby Jaipur Marriott

24 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

DESTINATION REPORT and we expect a revival postelections.” Adding she gives details of how this season is coming along as compared to the last year, “occupancy in the last quarter January – March has witnessed occupancy rate of 70 percent as compared to 58 percent during the same period previous year. We are optimistic that corporate travel will be on the upswing in the coming months. The average room rates last ye ar, ranged between `11,000 and `13,000 per room night. We are expecting the rates to remain stable this year as well.” Tourists travelling to India look forward to the Golden Triangle on the top of their mustvisit list. But the scorching heat in this part of the country in these months makes them move to

cooler places like the beaches and the hills. But corporate travellers and MICE business is what saves the business, says Rohit Dar, General Manager, Jaipur Marriott. He further adds, “The business has been stable as compared to last year. The market witnessed an increase in MICE, especially corporate groups, that has offered stability in this season in-spite of IPL not coming to the city. Our occupancy forecast for summer is strong; however the ADR’s have been under pressure.”

Local Business seems positive

Not every person is travelling out of station during summers. There are some local people who prefer having fun in the city. For this they look out for options at the nearby hotels and how they can

C.B. Singh

Shagun Sethi

General Manager, Mansingh Palace, Agra

Director of Sales and Marketing, Fairmont Jaipur

We are preparing ourselves for bigger challenges that we foresee for the next year. The inventory in the city will increase as many more hotels are opening up.

Election time has slowed down corporate travel to some extend but high-end weddings have compensated for the period in a greater way.

THE MIND SET OF PEOPLE IN AGRA IS CHANGING; THEY ARE NOW MOVING ON TO HOSTING THEIR GET TOGETHER AND CELEBRATIONS IN HOTELS RATHER THAN AT ANY OTHER VENUE. luxuriate at these hotels. Jaypee Palace Agra is known to be one of the most preferred hotels of the locals for weddings and other events as the hotel boasts of one of the largest banquet hall. Agreeing that local business is improving in Agra, SM Azmat, Sr. Jt. President – Sales & Marketing, Jaypee Hotels says, “Yes, the local business has improved this summer in terms of many aspects. We have many queries about the swimming pool and health club membership registrations on a monthly, qua r terly a nd yea rly ba sis . Moreover, with summer vacations round the corner, we are also planning to attract customers with a new 21 days swimming coaching programme for children and their parents with trained swimming coaches. Spa attracts local clients over the weekends especially women for various beauty and spa

therapies. Also, according to the Hindu customs, the auspicious dates for the wedding ceremony are numerous this summer. Therefore, a lot of our banqueting will happen.” The mindset of people in Agra is changing; they are now moving on to hosting their get together and celebrations in hotels rather than at other venues. Singh believes that this is becoming a matter of prestige for them. He says, “The trends among the people in Agra is changing. They are looking forward to hotels as venues for their parties and in this scorching heat, they prefer celebrating at our venues with good facilities. Hosting events and parties in hotels has also become a matter of prestige for the people in Agra, so we see this business growing in comparison to the last year. This season we

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 25

DESTINATION REPORT are planning to host a festival next month which would spread awareness about our hotel and its facilities amongst travellers and guests. Agra is the city of leisure travellers; the local business is increasing because of the Food and Beverage facilities. The increase that we see from last year is around 15% to 20%.” On the other hand, in Jaipur a lso t he lo ca ls a re lo ok i ng for leisure benefits in hotels. “Today our guests have certain parameters in selecting hotels and Jaipur has seen an increase in requests over the years pertaining to additional benefits such as gym, spa and pool facilities. Moreover in Jaipur, there are very few notable independent establishments offering such

benefits, hence at Fairmont Jaipur we offer exclusive and personalised experiences to our local guests to build preference.”

Key Revenue Drivers

Now that MICE has shown great signs of growth in this year, in comparison to the last year, the season seems to be good for the coming months too, both in Agra and Jaipur. Dar adds, “We hope to maintain the momentum throughout this summer. Revenues compared to last year have been healthy and with banquet business within Jaipur growing, we look forward to closing the summer with about a 10% increase over last year’s business.” Expecting a revival in the

The inflow of foreign tourist becomes a trickle in summers

Tarang Arora, CEO, Amrapali Jewels, Jaipur: “tourism in these months is a lot slower but people still want to come over in the offseason as they get a better price-point. We are a must-stop place for tourists who know about jewellery or want to get to know about Indian jewellery. India itself has to buck up a little bit. The positive story of India needs to be told to the outside world. Safety is a major concern. Also, the local transport needs to be improved in many ways. We see more local clientele as compared to foreigners during these months. These are the months for summer holidays. Parents from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi come here with their kids. For us at Amrapali, Indian tourist is more important as compare to the international.” Bipul Nayyar, Tourist Guide, Agra: “the inflow of foreign tourists lowers a lot in these months and it is only Indian travellers who visit Agra. Indians can face the heat comfortably but foreigners are not at all used to it and hence they do not come. Domestic tourists mostly come from places like Kolkata and also people from Benaras visit Agra while on their trip to Mathura. I only guide foreign groups so our business is almost nil during this season. Attractions like boat rides in the river Yamuna may help in attracting more tourists.” Sonali Madhok, Senior Manager, Anokhi: “Earlier foreigners were our major buyers but now, with the spread of the word amongst people, Indians are also catching up. Tourists coming to Jaipur whether for a day or two, plan a visit to our shop if not everyday then at least once. Lonely Planet is the major source which drives people are coming. We would want the government to be more sensitive towards foreign tourists and minimise hassles for them and locate cells/tourist centres around the city.”

26 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

S.M. Azmat

Rohit Dar

Sr. Jt. President – Sales & Marketing, Jaypee Hotels

General Manager, Jaipur Marriott

The local business has improved this summer in many aspects. We have queries about the swimming pool and health club membership.

The market witnessed an increase in MICE, especially corporate groups, that has offered stability in this season inspite of IPL not coming to the city.

THIS YEAR THE OVERALL REVENUE INCREASE HAS BEEN AROUND 7 PERCENT TO 9 PERCENT OUT OF WHICH THE MAXIMUM HAS BEEN COMING THROUGH THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SECTIONS. corporate travellers’ segment post the election period, Sethi from Fairmont Jaipur also expects a better season ahead. Talking about their key markets, she says, “Our main targets for revenue are MICE, Socials and leisure travellers. We have established ourselves in a thoughtful way where, in summers you can carry out an entire holiday like an audience in a palace. Fairmont Jaipur’s convention space has emerged as of the largest in the country and pioneers in the region in hosting high-end conferences and upscale social events.” Whether new in the city or old, hotels need to be updated with the happenings around them and keep introducing interesting incentives and packages to attract new sets of customers and to get a strong hold on their regular customers too. This is because

there are a number of options coming up every month that the hotels need to diversify in various segments. Singh says that they have been in the city for a some good amount of time now but still they need to have attractive activities to attract guests. “This year the overall revenue increase has been around seven percent to nine percent out of which the maximum has come through the Food and Beverage sections. T he impac t of the Ya muna Expressway has been very positive for the hospitality industry in the city. People from Delhi now come for weekend getaways and we generally see busy weekends in Agra with full occupancies in hotels. With easy connectivity, people from Delhi find it more comfortable to come to Agra, even in summers.” HS Researched By NIKITA CHOPRA

GUEST COLUMN

Subrata Banerjee

General Manager, Radisson HITEC City Hyderabad

The current hospitality Industry in Hyderabad

n era of ‘Policy Paralysis’ seems over. We have finally realised the age-old truth-too many cooks spoil the broth and decided to bring in Modi with a clear majority. His successful tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat and his pre-poll promises give us optimism and hopefully India will soon be on a growth path. Upturn in the economy is the buzz word in the market right now. The hospitality sector was eagerly looking forward to this. So I am quite confident that good days are back again in the hospitality sector and hotels will soon start showing better business across India in the coming days.

Having said that we must realise that t o u r i s m wa s n e g l e c t e d by s u c c e s s ive governments and as an industry we are deprived. Cost of electricity is very high; same is the scenario with gas and water. The market has taken its toll on food cost. To cope with day to day expenditure one needs to constantly look at employee emoluments. So the wage bill too is on the rise. On the other hand, more hotels are coming up in every market you can think of and the so-called over supply is putting a lot of pressure on the revenue earned and, finally, the margin of profit. So the biggest challenge for any hotel will be to stay profitable and bring

in the expected return on investment (ROI). Hyderabad witnessed a big decline in both occupancy and ARR due to supply pressure, global slowdown in the IT sector and the Telangana agitation. Political uncertainty is now over. The IT sector is poised to bounce back and HITEC City, with good infrastructure and low rentals, has already started emerging as the main business hub. In the future we are hopeful of a favourable impact on the city’s hotel market. The two major sources that are helping feed the Hyderabad hotels are Corporate and Mice. City centre hotels get a sizeable number of leisure travellers too. It is important that the new government takes enough marketing initiative to promote bra nd Hyde raba d i n t he nat iona l a nd international market to woo tourists as well as the MICE segment. Hyderabad is also very well known for its medical facilities. With the right marketing strategy from the state government, I am of the opinion that Hyderabad has the potential to receive good amount of MICE, leisure travellers as well as travellers seeking health-care. Radisson Hyderabad HITEC City opened its doors on 1st April, 2014. Located in the heart of Gachibowli, a new-age IT suburb of Hyderabad, Radisson is perfect for short as well as extended trips. Our 202 guest rooms are well appointed and suit every need of the business and leisure travellers. Demand of hotel rooms in Hyderabad primarily comes from the IT sector and its associates. It is also a hub for other industries such as pharmaceutical, engineering and R&D. We also have a large presence of PSUs. People of Hyderabad are foodies! With the industry as a whole looking positive, hotels in Hyderabad are sure to gain. ‘City of Pearls’, Hyderabad is a melting pot of cultural and linguistic traditions of North and South India. This ‘City of Nizam’s’ with its pleasant weather has a lot of places to see in and around the city. Charminar, Golconda Fort, Salarjung Museum, Hussain Sagar lake and other sites attract a large number of tourists every year from India and abroad. Hyderabad is a centre of diamond and pearl trade and is home to the Telegu film industry popularly known as Tollywood. Hotels here enjoy a fair amount of business from these industries too. The hotel industry here is all geared up to welcome visitors to the new capital of Telangana. HS

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REPORT

The amazing restaurant story On 5 May, 2014, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) conducted a power packed CEO session on Expansion and Sustainability in Restaurant Business. Among the panelists were industry leaders who represented the key segments of the restaurant sector. These speakers are notable for not just being a part of the dynamic Indian restaurant sector but for also having contributed immensely to its evolving landscape. HotelScapes brings you excerpts from this conference.

he panel consisted of AD Singh, Olive Bar & Kitchen; Ajay Kaul, Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino’s and Dunkin’ Donuts); Jay Singh, JSM Corporation (Hard Rock Cafe, Shiro’s and California Pizza Kitchen); Niren Chaudhary, Yum! Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell); Rahul Singh, The Beer Cafe and Riyaaz Amlani, Impressario (Smoke House Deli and Mocha). The session was moderated by Samir Kuckreja, President NRAI.

Discussion on when a restaurant/brand is ready to expand and what is needed for it to go multi-city

Samir Kukreja – We are going to start with when is a restaurant ready to expand and I’m going to start with Jay on this. You’ve done your first Hard Rock and you’ve done your first Shiros. And then you took your decision to move it to a second city. What are some of the things which said we are ready to go, we are ready to open. Now you are in many cities with these brands? Jay Singh: We opened Hard Rock, our first Hard Rock opened in 2007 and currently we’ve got eight of them and Shiros, which is our own in-house brand also we opened in 2007 and currently we’ve got – we had four and now we have three. In terms of when are you ready to step on the gas, as far as we are concerned, we will only grow when the store economics makes sense. Each one’s got their own way of measuring that but when we are confident about our unit store economics then we would step into a new city or new location. That’s basically what it is, however what we find in India as you grow is, what may work in one location of Mumbai may not work in another location of Mumbai because you’ve got very distinct and different micro-markets. And, of course, when you move from one city to another, that changes also.

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Samir Kukreja – I should actually give each panelist a few minutes to tell about the companies, the brands and on the focused expansion areas as its all about expansion. Jay Singh: Sure, so we started in 2007 and currently we’ve got 34 outlets. We are unique in the sense that we work with international franchises plus our own so currently we represent four international groups, one being Hard Rock Café, California Pizza Kitchen, Pinkberry (CPK) and Trader Vic’s. And then we have our own in-house brands, Shiro and we’ve got a couple of other smaller brands that we are currently prototyping to see how they develop and then roll them out. In terms of people visiting us, we have about two and a half million people visiting us a year. In terms of growth plan, again, I’m not a believer in measuring growth in terms of store count, so I’d rather look at revenue and certainly profitability being the main driver, but I’ve been asked to put some numbers on store count so I’m being very conservative about it and currently we are 34 and in a period of three years we’d aim to be about a hundred outlets. On average our outlets currently across the system are 6,800 sq ft per outlet. So certainly we are more focused on a bigger footprint as opposed to a smaller footprint. Thanks. Samir Kukreja – Thanks. Ajay? Ajay Kaul – Good Afternoon, everybody, Jubilant foodworks started as Dominos Pizza India Ltd way back in 1996. And today we have close to 750 Dominos stores. And close to 30 Dunkin’ Donut Stores. It’s more so in the last few years that we have kind of moved at a faster pace and I guess we’ll get an opportunity to talk about that story as the session progresses. I‘m not supposed to make any forward-looking guidance kind of statements given that we are a listed company but all I can say is that currently we are running at a pace where we are adding a store every two days. And we believe that

REPORT that is what we should be doing over the next few years. I think that’s it, year. That’s what we aim to go from a number perspective. Thank you. From a consumer perspective, what we need to be is, we want to be in the Samir Kukreja – AD? neighbourhood. We want to be a place where you can meet mix and discover. AD Singh – Good Afternoon, I started Olive in 2000 so we are 14 years We want us to be the alternative to coffee. We strongly believe that beer is a old. Our best known brand is Olive itself which is now across India in two better beverage. It’s the third largest beverage in the world. India is pretty low formats in six cities now. You probably know about Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore on per capita for beer, is 49th. Sri Lanka beat us at beer consumption so you but we are also in Pune, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. What we did with the can imagine how much we have to go. The irony is that the oldest brewery company and with our brands over the last three years is open a set of new in Asia was set up in India in 1820 by Edward Dyer. And since then entire restaurants new concepts, which are small, cheaper to do, more affordable, Asia has taken over beer and we’re still there so I think somebody has to be and therefore able to reach wider audiences. And the first one of that was the catalyst of change. the Olive Bistro which reached Gurgaon, Pune and Hyderabad. This year Samir Kukreja: Riyaaz? we also opened two new brands, one is Soda Bottle Openerwala, which is Riyaaz Amlani: I have to compete with beer. You can sell one cup of coffee our first foray into the Indian food space. It’s modeled on the madness of the but… five beers?! Kids out there if you ever need convincing that beer’s good Irani café, when we opened it in Gurgaon in the Cyber Hub. That’s been very for you, you should just take his number and… let him speak to your parents. successful so far. It’s just been four five months. We are looking to roll that – So, we started off in 2001. Our entire company was started of with a total across the country fairly aggressively. investment of `15 lakhs. And that was it. It’s been an organic growth story The other product that we opened which we are very proud of, was we for us. When we started, we started of with a coffee shop called Mocha and were able to invite two people who worked for us, two of our best people the first one was about 500 sq ft. which is about a 30 cover coffee shop. It to put some money in and we formed a new company with them and that kind of did really, really well. We had no idea what we were doing with it so company has been creating some young new products. The first was India’s we went to a friend of mine who was in the private equity business and said, first gastro-pump called Monkey Bar – I hated the name – but they loved look I put in 15 lakhs and I got my money back. I want to grow now and will it. And the point of this company was that we basically backed them and I get funded and then he laughed at me and said no you will not. So I said their vision. The Monkey Bar is already at three. Two in Bangalore and one in but I’m successful. And he said no, you’ll not get funded. He said why don’t Delhi. We signed a fourth one in Delhi and a fifth one in Bombay right now. you grow on the back of franchising. And that’s what we did for 5-6 years, Siddharth’s growing really well. And we are uptil 2008 we franchised our brands. That very happy with that model, something that WE ARE GROWING AT THE RATE helped us get a lot of visibility that helped we can reasonably recommend to a lot of provide proof of concept to a lot of private OF 150 STORES A YEAR. SO ONE equity players who then got interested. We the entrepreneur restaurateurs here as well. Apart from that we have a couple of smaller RESTAURANT EVERY TWO DAYS. raised our first round in 2008. brands but our main growth is being driven Alongside Mocha we dabbled a little bit in AND OUR NEAR TERM TARGET IS what they called fine dining restaurants and by these three brands. Olive Bistro, Soda Bottle Openerwala and the Monkey Bar. TO HIT A THOUSAND STORES BY when I say fine dining restaurants I mean, the Nerain Chowdhury: So hi, I work blur sometimes but, we started a brand 2015. AND THE AT LEAST 2000 BY lines for Yum restaurants which is one of the called Saltwater Grill. And then in Delhi we world’s largest restaurant companies. We 2020. SO THAT’S KFC, PIZZA HUT brought Smokehouse Grill. And in Pune we have brands like Kentucky Fried Chicken, had Stonewater Grill. So we had Mocha at AND TACO BELL. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. We came into India one end of the spectrum where people were almost 20 years back. 1994. And we have over seven hundred restaurants spending a hundred and fifty rupees a head. And we had our fine dining today across these brands having grown about three times in the last five which was bout `1,500 a head. And somehow we married the two and came years. And our goal is to grow another three times by 2020. So 700 stores right up with a café concept which is the Saltwater Café and Smokehouse Deli, now. We are growing at the rate of 150 stores a year. So one restaurant every so its still a café but it serves fine dining food. And going forward, we really two days. And our near term target is to hit a thousand stores by 2015. And like the café space. We like businesses that are open from morning all the the at least 2000 by 2020. So that’s KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Currently way to night – fine dining businesses tend to be weekend intensive and night out of the 700 stores we are in 75 cities already. We plan to be in about 100 intensive. So going forward we are going to focus on cafes. We just launched by the end of this year. And of the 700 half is KFC and half is Pizza Hut and a brand called Social. It will be one of our growth drivers. We opened one in Taco Bell is just coming out of incubation. We see that as also becoming a Bangalore. And we are going to follow that up with one in Delhi and one in significant growth engine in the future. Bombay before we can expand further. Samir Kukreja: – Rahul. Samir Kukreja: Ajay, three to four years ago you were not putting up Rahul Singh: Good Afternoon. I think sitting here gives me goose pimples 150 stores in a year. So that’s been a jump. So how do you get your team and with hundreds, two hundreds and seven hundred stores but… so we are 24 what are the key aspects in getting to that up from 50 stores a year to 150, 250 months and 9 days old. The youngest, like Samir had said. We are now 17 stores a year. What is the biggest challenge? What keeps you up in this aspect? stores. The brand is called the Beer café. That’s the only brand we own. And Ajay Kaul: The real story, to my mind which we should be debating is that’s the only brand we are focused on at the moment unless somebody gives how 17 can become hundred and how 30 can become hundred. Today when us more money and we can open another brand but at the moment that’s the I was coming here I was wondering how could I translate a global brand story brand we are looking at. 17 stores have opened and 13 are being constructed. into something which is insightful enough for the audience to pick up one We are waiting for the elections to get over and our fancy licence to come or two things which will hopefully help them to make them to make their in so we can start pouring beer. From a growth perspective we don’t have businesses successful. It was hard, it wasn’t easy but let me use this question. a certain plan. We look at flowing back our returns. Our returns are very I’ll have to go back seven-eight years. And we also had a chequered past when healthy per store so we compound that and open new stores. We are looking we made a lot of mistakes. And to my mind, while I was not in the company at a second round of funding very soon. I think there will be a discussion on at that time, some of our best learnings, and if ever a book was written on equity, we’ll talk about that. But that’ll probably take us to 100 stores by next Domino’s Pizzas journey in India, came from that period. I was not there but

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REPORT is, it is a bit of a different story, we were lucky also, to be honest with you, these learnings are embedded even with me. So, around seven-eight years back, we had the vision of taking this things fell in place, net, net, that is where we are currently, so, if I have to leave company into light, whatever, 150 cities today, 750 stores almost and so on, one or two messages with the group here, is, you have to think big, but at the but what we realised is people was one of the key challenges. And with all the same time the ecosystem is challenging. Probably today it is far better than turnover thrown in, and going into remote locations and so on, how would it was five-eight years back. There is some outstanding work being done by we almost create a machinery, a factory like approach but with the heart our friends on the dais here. So there are these vendors, there are the logistic setups, there are the firmly in place because this business at the end of the day, clichéd probably, but it is people’s business. So that’s one piece. The other was with regard to cold chains which are there in place which should not become a deterrent infrastructure which is when you get into the smaller locations, how does the for you. But at the end of the day, I’ll go back to what Jai said earlier. It is supply chain kind of measure up. How does the vendor ecosystem measure pennies business at the end of the day. You have to be ruthlessly focused on up? There are not many such stories in India. A few in Asia. And I guess this your every single penny while the brand is what you are building. You are list is pretty long. So what we did was on store growth, I remember in the infusing life into that. Through your people, again with the heart in place. Samir Kukreja: Thanks, now Nerain, you, had the advantage of the first year when I joined, we opened 12 stores. The next year we doubled it. amazing KFC story in China which I know you are definitely aiming to While we had the conviction, that we could probably open more stores replicate. I’m going to have some offline discussions on your development but we were also building the infrastructure and the eco-system on our own, making sure that we don’t make the same mistakes we did probably a few and challenges. So if you think of helping people in the audience. Actually years back. But more importantly, letting the ecosystem kind of also move at a lot of interesting brands, some as small as one-two, running five to fifteen a certain pace, where we won’t be left high and dry on any given day which to twenty and when they are looking to scaling up, what would your advice means a supplier didn’t have enough stocks to supply you or there weren’t be, from your learnings. Nerain Chowdhury: Well, just like Ajay, we also went to KFC China enough sites or we made the wrong selections and so on and so forth. So 12 to study because KFC China’s success has been extra-ordinary. And a real became 25 became 52 became 60 became 65. And I remember these numbers inspiration for all of us. So just to give colour to what Ajay was saying, there because that’s how we had etched them in our minds also. Moving from 25 to are 4000 stores and they are growing at about 800 a year. This absolutely 70 would have been probably hara-kiri. But after we got the confidence over the first few years, in the last three or four years, where we have actually been is mind-boggling. We thought we were doing well opening one store every two days. And then you look at what Yum getting into 20-25 cities every year, where we is doing at China and it’s staggering. So, just WHAT WE REALISED IS have been adding close to 100-150, in fact the a few perspectives, I want to share with all of last year was more than that. PEOPLE WAS ONE OF THE KEY you that, you are in an incredibly goldmine So given this canvas which was fairly of an opportunity in eating out. CHALLENGES. AND WITH ALL complex, the biggest challenge is with regard So firstly if you look at the opportunity to people, with vendors, the eco-system, and THE TURNOVER, AND GOING in eating out, it’s a 90 billion dollar eating there were no learnings in India, so we didn’t opportunity in India. Less than two per INTO REMOTE LOCATIONS AND have case studies, and I must, in fact, tell you is branded with brands, like ours, on that we did a close study of KFC in China. SO ON, HOW WOULD WE CREATE cent the dais, and most of it continues to be Probably a unique story of its kind. Where unorganised, unbranded. Therefore, it is a A MACHINERY BUT WITH THE many of the people in the room would know significant, massive, massive opportunity. that they have some, 4,600-4,700 stores today, HEART FIRMLY IN PLACE. So I think that’s really something to feel and between 2002-2012-13 is when they went good about. When we talk about building brands (is) in the context of this through this trajectory of 300-400-500 restaurants every year. So we actually terrific macro-opportunity. And within that by the way, by any comparison, went and did some study on that. We went to China to study them. We were keen to also appoint some people and I interviewed some people also. if you look at even eating out frequency, customers, what we have in India But nobody was keen to come to India and, probably 150-200 stores was not versus international markets, just like Rahul was saying, per capita beer exciting enough for somebody who had opened 300-400-500 restaurants consumption or per capita chicken consumption etc, is infinitely small every year. But it’s a story that’s different from most people sitting in the compared to many other developed markets. So the headroom for all is room, we had to actually look that much more distant into the future. At humongous. Now, within that scale of the opportunity, we tend to look at the time make sure while we had gone public, we had to count our pennies the development of brands in four stages which might help many of the everyday, because there were investors, there was a whole new ball game entrepreneurs who are thinking of creating and building your own brands, facing us. And there is a question on your list somewhere as a listed company which has to be followed through in a disciplined way. Like Ajay, I have what are the challenges, I’ll answer at that time and not bore you right now, a huge amount of respect for the people on the dais who build their own but to envision this whole dream, to my mind, it was, all stakeholders in the brands from nothing. I think it’s relatively easier to leverage a global brand system, to be brought in. So I remember when we went to each one of our and make it successful. But I think to actually come up with a local brand like vendors and had to openly share with them our next five year plan. And each Olive or Beer café is exceptional. So there are four stages, that we like to think year you had to live up to that plan in the belief or give them in the belief of when we are thinking of a new restaurant concept. The first is proof of the that they could also put their foot forward, and also invest in their business. consumer proposition. So even before you think about scaling or anything In a lot of cases we also invested along with them to give them the else you really say, do my consumers really like the brand that I have. What confidence that we are in this walk with you. Again because there weren’t is the unique offering that I am giving to my consumers that nobody else any precedents to this, there weren’t people coming forward who were gives that is differentiated and the consumers are really excited by. So this funding our vendors also. So we were sitting with the bankers of such measure is basically the number of footfalls you get in your store. You are not companies and based on the confidence that if dominos were to pick up so talking profits right now, we are just getting consumer excitement to land much stuff for them, there was a given demand for their products so people on an idea that really works. That’s stage one. That’s consumer proposition. could invest in their businesses. We even got into, call it backward integration If you have an idea that really works, second stage is business model. Do I of ideas with our vendors, with their financers and so on. Basically, the point really have a business model? So I invest my ratio between the revenues I

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REPORT get to the investment I make. And also my ongoing margins at my store. Do small when you remain big? And how do you retain that culture which is I have something which can give me a payback, which, typically, I think in then consistent across these seven hundred stores across 75 cities when you restaurants. We would look at a three year or less payback. So cash payback are not there to supervise things? I think that is a significant challenge and we want under three years. If we get that then we know we have a business I think for us the learning boils down to a very clear articulation of a core model that can be scaled. It’s very important at this stage not to get ahead of culture, which is a common set of values and beliefs that you externalise ourselves and say well, till the time I am absolutely convinced that I have a against which you hire people, you recruit them, you train them, you grow model, that I can give consistently a payback of three years, I’m not going to them, so that the culture becomes the embodiment of what you want the move forward. So first stage, consumer proposition, second stage is, do I have company to be. And therefore that allows you to remain small even when a model, third is to actually start ramping up. So now that you ramp up but you become big. I think that’s a really, really important challenge. you grow profitably. And here I think requires a different type of science. Samir Kukreja – I’m gong to ask Rahul, – Rahul, when we were chatting Which is where do I want to go, which cities, what format, how big should in Bombay you shared some very interesting people stories with me and the store be, what are the differences that I have in my commercials from the things that you’ve done for your people. You operate in a segment where cities in which I’m in to the other cities if I’m going to multiple cities, supply there is a lot of competition. Young company. How do you…what are some chain logistics and so on, but to do it in a very measured and deliberate way of the challenges, innovative things you’ve done to keep people. and not like a scatter-gun approach but in a very scientific way, thinking Rahul Singh – Like we all know, when we go to bars, places where you about the model at all times but you are scaling up, you are going much faster go to get a drink you are actually going to de-stress. On of the thinks that than what you have done before. So you are excited with the idea, you have you actually look forward to when this is a pub culture, whatever you call it, a model, you start scaling and finally you create shareholder value. That’s the across the globe, you actually look at the person who’s serving you, the person fourth stage, which is the only reason why all of us exist in this business – to behind the bar or the owner. And that connect with your eyes which is what create shareholder value. And once you have scaled, you have a model that happens in India, in Udipi restaurants, you know the owner is connecting you can replicate then how to you really explode that into disproportionate with you. He’s scanning you through and you’ve got the sense of comfort shareholder value that you can create. So those are the four stages that we because you see that person again and again. I would say what AD said, in the tend to think of once we grow our brands. We’ve done that repeatedly to similar lines where ‘the connect’ is extremely important. How to you connect all of our brands, so Taco Bell, for example, right now is the business model, when you have 400-500 stores, whatever, and when the attrition levels in proof just ahead of scaling up. The other our business are very high. One of the things brands that we have are all in scale up mode. have been that in our office – it’s very funny SO HOW DO YOU REMAIN Samir Kukreja – AD, we have a brand, – we don’t say consumer first. We always SMALL WHEN YOU REMAIN which is, to me, very wonderful, but its very say people first, consumer second. So that’s people driven, dependent on the quality of BIG? AND HOW DO YOU RETAIN something that we completely, from day one, the chef, the food, the ingredients, like some kind of made our motto. We said consumer THAT CULTURE WHICH IS THEN of the others but how have you managed to will come, our people actually come first for work on the challenge of consistency as you us. Our attrition has been very low and that’s CONSISTENT ACROSS THESE move from one city to five-six cities, what for two reasons. It’s a young company, people SEVEN HUNDRED STORES systems do you put in place to help? want to work in a brand that’s growing. More AD Singh – For us, the model of Olive, importantly, we have a system of a completely ACROSS 75 CITIES WHEN YOU as everybody here knows it was very people Door policy, where people come in and ARE NOT THERE TO SUPERVISE? Open driven, was very me-driven. I actually moved discuss. But I think one of the big glue is, like to Delhi to open Olive here many years back. And that’s a model that limits Nerain said, the fourth thing in making a business work is how do you create your growth. Over the last few years I have repeatedly tried to bring on board a shareholder value and the only way we could do this is make everybody a people who are, lets say, more like me or most of us. Basically who customers shareholder. So we actually fought around the system and we have Employee don’t mind talking to. People who’ve shared similar experiences, travel, etc, Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for every employee – 500 employees by this whatever. It’s been sort of mixed. It isn’t easy to find people like that. Which year end. Housekeeping people outsource. We have inhouse housekeeping is why for us the way it has really worked is, the example I gave earlier, we and every housekeeping person has a stake in the company, which makes formed a partnership with two of our best people and then they could build a lot of difference because, to me the housekeeping person actually is the the business. And they were present instead of me. We similarly opened a most hardest (working) person. He sometimes does a double shift. He’s the French Bistro, with a French Indian lady, who is very passionate about it, one who’s doing almost everything. He’s the one running around lifting kegs, didn’t really know food but was very excited, was learning, and she’s there and in India, because everything in housekeeping is considered menial, that’s every day on every table. So that helped us a bit to get around, the nature of the only guy I go and interact with personally. Every time I go to a store, the business that Olive was. But more than that what I said earlier was what only talk to a housekeeping guy. Manager I can bring him to my office and Olive did was now to create products which are not driven by people but give him a dressing down but the person I actually have eye contact with is by product. And we increasingly focused on that and the Olive Bistro is a house-keeping. We had a lot of problems because once you cross 50 people in very good example. It’s similar to Riyaz’s Smokehouse Delhi or the Saltwater a shareholding, it becomes technically a limited (company) so we had to bring Café, similar to the Indigo, Delhi, it’s that sort of space. And they have great it not like – we couldn’t issue them shares. So it is like stock options and plus potential to roll out on their own. we have a lot of regulatory issues but that’s the intent. Apart from that, one Samir Kukreja – Riyaaz good thing about our business, which is kind of considered a QSR (Quick Riyaaz Amlani – I think one of the biggest challenges we have is surely Service Restaurant), unlike a QSR, we definitely get a lot of people from my on the people’s side. And I think for us the gold standard is that the connect fellow mates here, and it is that these people are always standing on their toes. that you can have if you are running one restaurant, As an owner hire people They really have a sense of pride in what they do. So I’ve never taken anybody who are similar to you, similar values. How do you replicate that when you from a bar or a fine dine because they have a different hierarchy in their set become a big system. To give you a sense, we are hiring about 15,000 people a up where the guy will say talk to my manager, captain, steward, so it goes on year. We currently have about 30,000-35,000 as a base. So how do you remain and on. In our case everybody looks the same. The manager can punch in the

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REPORT order, the manager can serve. If there is nobody in the kitchen to clean the you’d have noticed is in all of us – we are all talking about scale, but here I am glasses, he can go and clean the glasses. So the whole – and used to notice with 34 restaurants next to someone with 700 and who thinks of opening this, I used to stand around a MacDonald when we were in Ambience Mall one in two days perhaps five in a day at some point in time. Now, if that is and I saw there was a fine dining Indian restaurant where the body language your definition of scale then the path you need to take is very different to of all the staff was so, kind of very stiffly as far as I’m concerned and they what I would define as scale in my business. So I think everyone needs to were doing half the sales of a McDonald and the McDonald manager would be very clear about what their vision is, where they want to go and then just come and sweep the floors without even thinking twice. He looked the accordingly learn from us and from other people. Samir Kukreja –I want to come to Riyaaz. You were mentioning the same as everybody else. So that’s the kind of approach we built where we believed that the people are extremely important for us. The other good other day that you were looking at expansion with Smokehouse Delhi and part is that being in the beverage or alco-beverage segment, we have a service Mocca through a franchising route. Mocca is a brand with a lot of elements, charge, which we didn’t have earlier, then people wanted to be served on the a lot of aspects – how do you maintain consistency to brand standards when tables, so we put up a service charge invoicing system. Nobody complained you are franchising? Riyaaz Amlani – When we – India is very franchise-oriented in the sense so that’s good. So now that goes back to the staff and the secret here is that almost every staff makes more money than their salary. That’s why it kind we are a very entrepreneurial country and we do like taking on franchises as such. Will I recommend franchising – perhaps not. It depends on the model, of works out. actually itself– the simpler the model, the better it is to franchise. When Samir Kukreja – Sure Rahul Singh – And why I’m giving this example is because while models become complicated like when you have a 100- 110 – 120 items on this journey started some years back, even when today some 25,000 own your menu, it becomes really, really difficult to start franchising. It’s ok when employees you know that we don’t sub-franchise. What we realised is that you have about 20-30 SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit) on you menu. You are even when we were just probably a three four thousand people and especially only doing pizza with different toppings or drink something which is very with the vision of getting scattered, getting into more and more cities. Apart very smaller in terms of your offering. It’s much more streamlined. You can from the heady stuff, which was achieve so much of sales etc, which is what franchise because you are controlling the supply chain. Not controlling the we are hired for, what we realised is the glue which emanates basically out supply chain is going to become very difficult. To be successful, franchising of culture, and there are not very many companies in the country who can in the country, regardless of whatever people might say, franchisers’ end goal and the franchisees’ end goal tends to be actually come and do a cultural mapping for different. The franchisee is more concerned you. Haven’t met companies which can give AND WE THINK THE with making revenue on the day while the me convincing answers as to this is the way FRANCHISING MODEL franchiser is more concerned with building we map culture. So we used our own crude brand equity. And more often than not ways to do it. But what we laid down was ek WORKS EXTREMELY WELL you’ll find these in conflict. And sometimes dil wali baat, what we call ambition within BECAUSE BOTH FRANCHISER it becomes very difficult to argue with your our own parlance. And this was driven – I franchisee. You can’t just keep laying down don’t want to walk away with the credit for AND FRANCHISEE, EVEN the law. Also there are always going to be this but what I’m saying is this – unless it’s THOUGH THERE MAY BE SOME some amount of violations. It’s in our culture driven by, in this case a professional CEO to, to kind of skirt the law – you can’t really DIFFERENCES, ARE UNIFIED IN in your case, owners. Every single employee say, ok, I’m going to shut your store down. carries a card in their wallet which says what THE END OBJECTIVE. You have to understand their limitations. are these ambitions and these are all dil wali baate – is me koi sale-shale nahi hai. I want to make my brand the most loved Profitability for them is also key. So you do tend to make sacrifices and brand in the country. I want to become the best employer and embed the compromises that hurts the brand and the franchisee. Samir Kukreja – I’ll bring Nerain in. You’ve got a strong franchising feeling of mera Dominos which is again a dil wali baat. And there are a few on Corporate Social Responsibility and all that. Today I can proudly say that with system, of which I was a part a long time ago, and you’ve got a mix, a mix of 25,000 employees with a fairly high degree of turnover which goes into 70-80- some of these big guys like Ravi Jaipuria, Devyani Laj, plus you’ve got some 90 per cent also. So we are almost recruiting 30,000-40,000 employees every of the smaller players, how do you balance them out, which one do you think year. This dil wali baat we try to embed it as much as possible. My message to is better for a brand like yours. Nerain Chowdhury – So I think we believe big time in the franchising you, is – and Dunkin Donuts we are trying to follow a very clinical approach. Somewhat like what Nirain was also alluding to, that when the brand is small, model. Globally, Yum is 85 per cent franchise so that’s a dominant growth the brand and the people behind the brand are the people. If you can infuse model for us. In India also we are 70 per cent franchised with some large that life and that culture and this ambition and this dil wali baat and also franchisees, 30 per cent is company owned. And we think the franchising support it structurally by ESOP schemes and all that, you know, that is the model works extremely well because both franchiser and franchisee, even magic formula for success according to me. There’s a dil wal baat, there is also though there may be some differences, are unified in that the end objective the financial inclusion in it. And the brand is what you are kind of behind is creating shareholder value. It’s what is relevant for them, relevant for us. and trying to make sure that through the funnelling process that the brand That’s why we come together. I think it comes down to firstly recruiting the has got, that power in it to sustain in the long run. That is the magic formula. right franchise partner. A person who has the same values and beliefs and systems you believe in, that is hugely critical in all markets and also in India. Samir Kukreja – Ok, Jay, you want to add to that? Jay Singh – I’m listening to all of this with great interest. And frankly my We prefer to have fewer larger partners and grow with them because we feel views on this are – a lot of what we are talking about is actually the luxury that the nature of the complexity of working in India and the difficulties that of the rich. So when I started JSM and we started opening out outlets, we you have, the larger well-capitalised partners are in a much better position had no clue what culture was. And we certainly did not have a minute to to do that and leverage it for us. So our model is a mixed model. We want start thinking about culture, start defining culture. So a lot of these things to grow with franchise and equity but predominantly with franchisees and happen once you’ve reached a critical mass and you can spend time and predominantly with larger, fewer well-capitalised franchisees who are aligned resources defining them and thinking about this. The other thing I think with the value systems that we have.

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REPORT asset turnover model. Which means that what’ll work for India, I believe is a modest margin and margins will always be under pressure. Supply chain inefficiency, infrastructure problems, electricity rates, rentals and everything else. So margins will always be under pressure. Therefore, you need to find ways to have a multiplier on the asset turnover. That is the sales as a ratio to the investment that you make. That I think is the unique situation about the India business model. So let me just elaborate. There are three dimensions here – sales, your investment and your operating efficiency. So on sales what it means is that you have to necessarily try and sweat the asset as much as you can. So like you said that’s why you want to sell beer for coffee – to coffee drinkers, so you start you day with beer. So you have to think of your concept as – can it have a plain breakfast, pre-breakfast, lunch, post-lunch, pre-lunch, after dinner and then in the middle of the night, late night, can you sweat the asset completely? So I think that’s one very important dimension. Can I also have on premise sale, can I have off-premise sale? So how do I leverage the best that I can online, off premise, you name it. How do I really sweat the asset. That’s the first piece. The second on the investment is, I think the – sometimes emerging markets one has this notion of large, big beautiful stores. Our learning is that small is beautiful. And smaller is even more beautiful. And the smallest is most beautiful. So therefore, I think, thinking of how you can optimise your footprint of the asset, without compromising on your seat density so that you are able to minimise your cost of investment, I think is an important dimension. And finally the third piece is on efficiencies. I think the most staggering one is on labour efficiency. So getting focused on productivity and efficiency early on is key. Samir Kukreja – I should say thank you Discussion on sustainability and SO WE ARE HAVING A Dr Chowdhury, very clinical and focused. innovation CHALLENGED YEAR. BUT Now, in addition, other aspects, other Samir Kukreja Ok, now to move on comments to add to sustainability driven quickly to the next kind of area. Broadly, WE LOOK UPON IT AS AN aspects, Jay? we said sustainability and its tough times. OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE Jay Singh – A short comment, we just I’ve had various CEOs tell me they’ve had had an offside, where a few hundred people such a tough year. Sales pressures are there. OUR GAME AND NOT BLAME from a company went and spent three days Negative sales growth across a variety of THE MACRO-ECONOMIC brainstorming, and what was surprising was brands, brand segments everyone, pretty we started talking about how to increase ENVIRONMENT OR THE much. Mostly I’d say 90 per cent of the 95 per cent of the people focused business. But there’s still explosive growth UNCERTAINTY OF THE ELECTION. profitability, on cutting cost. It’s a wrong perception that happening. We’ve already heard from the panel and everyone on the panel, at different levels, everyone is growing. you have to go in there and go cutting costs, cutting costs, cutting costs after So sustainability when the consumer also is very tough. The consumer a while it becomes a death spiral. You are better off spending 95 per cent of has no choice. You can’t pass on all your cost increases to the consumer. your time focussed on how to grow your top line in less time on your costs. So some thoughts on just the unit, economic model and sustainability Samir Kukreja – Thank you. Ajay? Ajay Kaul – You know, it’s a mix of whatever is being said. Let me and how do you manage that and give ideas to people on non-proprietary secrets obviously? So anyone who wants to pick this up and share some try to talk of what’s happening with us and how it relates to even a smallish picture. On the one hand we are adding one store every two thoughts on the topic. Nerain Chowdhury – So we are having a challenged year as you said. But I days. So the organisation, the employee, the 25,000th employee thinks think we look upon it as an opportunity to raise our game and not blame the the company’s growing. But when it comes to the machinery of stores, the macro-economic environment or the uncertainty of the election, or what’s profit generating machinery, with the stores that were opened 10 – 15 – 5 going to happen, but focus more on what we have control over. So we are years back and so on, that’s clearly going through a phase which is being hit saying how do we strengthen our brand and become more efficient. Let me by downturn and you know some of our numbers, there are zero percent just articulate the challenge that we have on the sustainability side in terms store growth kind of numbers. In such an environment, how do you, of business model in India. What’s unique is that we have first world costs, what kind of messages do you send internally. And I’m very clear in my like rentals and third world affordability. Per capita income, we are about, mind and so is my team, that this is not a moment of sending cost cutting maybe, 150th in the world. And if you talk about rentals in Khan Market messages for sure. While the employee may start going in that direction, they are probably higher than Tokyo. So how do you make that business we still believe that the big picture and the big story is really huge. I mean model work especially when the demand sort of weakens? So three areas. statistics can be thrown in terms of per capita consumption category by One is on the top line sales, what does that mean, the second is on investment category, sub-category by category. Even a very broad thing like what is out and the third is on operating efficiency. So first what it means is that in of home consumed food, unorganised, organised, whatever. Put together India, like it’s said very often, its not the best practice, it’s the next practice, as a percentage of food consumed. In countries like the US, it’s almost got because India’s truly unique. Whatever works everywhere else will almost to fifty-fifty level. Probably by 2015. Where as much money, nearly 700 certainly not work over here. So you have to reinvent and create something billion is going to be food consumed out of home versus around the same new. So I think that new for India, I believe is a modest margin and a high number which is food consumed inside your home. The China number Samir Kukreja – You can even debate whether you want to do one or you want to say you want to give only three or five. Even at a small brand, you can say I don’t want to go with a single unit. You want to at least find a guy who has the capability of doing three. AD, you have a point? AD Singh – As a company Olive has spent the last almost 15 years in building value on two sides. One is obviously in operating profits and the other is in building a strong brand. And of the last couple of years we are looking very seriously at how to exploit this brand value that we have created. I’m imagining that for many of you here you’ve already built anywhere from one to ten of a good product and are wondering now how to grow that and how to get more value out of what you’ve already worked hard on. So we are now looking at franchising. Our hesitation, like I’m sure yours will be as well, is it worth the pain. Why not just do it yourself? It’s not just the question of money. Money is available. But it’s a question of the headache, your time, the long-run, the relationship, etc. So as a company what we are trying to do is search out for the right franchisee. And in our case, that is, we are looking for people who are in the business already, who understand the food business. Either they got franchises somewhere else, in Nepal, and they want to add another brand. We are trying to take Soda Bottle (Openerwala) to Singapore with a group of people. We wanted one of them to be in the food business in Singapore. And so, side by side with that, we try and define the expectations that we are giving as being limited. You want to give our name, a design concept, recipes, upgrade them, initial training and try and limit the pain that we will feel with each one of these so that it is worth it for us to stretch that way.

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REPORT is, I’m told, around 20-25 per cent and in India the number is still very only to make profits. I’m not really worried about revenues. So, how do we small. And all these changes will come and I don’t want to bore you with attack the profit? To attack the profit we look at from the point that we all the demographic and other lifestyle changes that are happening. But the can’t cut costs. Our CFO is sitting here and I’ve told him, don’t look at the larger point is that the story is still intact. There is a temporary blip which telephone, don’t look at cutting costs now because that’s not going to help is probably extended a bit too long. But what we have done internally is, and it. How much can you move the needle there. So there are two things we that’s something very interesting and I’m sure can happen even in a smaller look at and that’s kind of drained into everybody. That we are a 50 seat cover organisation if it happens in a bigger organisation like ours is – three or four single outlet and we do thousand rupees per cover. That’s what our overall years back we started something called a suggestion programme, and you picture is right now. We say add just five more people each day, which is, in may argue suggestion programmes, they have their lives, they live and so Nerain’s words, sweat the asset. And make that bill go up by `100. Don’t ask on, but what we are calling this suggestion programme is basically micro- for something which is not achievable or realistic. `100 per bill extra, five innovation and that’s what I personally believe it is. In fact, we have had people per day extra. Turns into `35 lakh profit for us annually. That returns rallies, you know these offsides, we had 13,000 of these managers upwards. our asset easily. So that’s what we look at, that’s the only thing. Samir Kukreja – Riyaaz on sustainability and this takes us very naturally We met in Goa just last week. And I honestly told them it may have been the toughest year but honestly, if you ask me, it is the year which has given into our next topic. Seeing you do as a consumer, and a very fond consumer me the maximum satisfaction because the kind of micro innovation we of Smokehouse Delhi, different stuff, so there’s always some menu, there’s have done in our organisation. These are not cost cutting measures. And a fresh menu, there’s different stuff, isn’t that a challenge to keep doing it, you know, impulsively as Jay rightly said, you jump onto this cost cutting, how often do you need to do it in your café casual dining environment as kick people out and all that. It’s not the point. While there may be stark applicable to others in the audience? Riyaaz Amlani – We are talking and we are all doing different stuff. cases of extra labour, xyz, in the store, there are innovative ways and these ideas, 20,000 employees, last year we got something like 14,000 suggestions, Food purchase decisions are mood oriented. We have to understand that. workable suggestions from our employees. Out of which we have already What Jai does is very different from what Ajay does…he’s taking business implemented around 10 per cent, which is some 15-16 hundred. From a one away from us and getting into people’s homes! But listen everybody has rupee saving, to maybe a crore. But, to my mind, the message people should gone to a Hard Rock, everybody has gone and ordered pizza when watching give is not frenzied, cost cutting, kill the business and so on. No. We still cricket at home. Everybody goes to Ad when they want to feel really, really beautiful and have an elegant night out on have enough ideas. In this group somebody town. Pizza Hut and KFC for a quick bite, said juggad, I would say micro-innovation, WE ARE IN WHAT I WOULD you want to go out and grab something and which can take us past this hill as we get LIKE TO CALL THE EXPERIENTIAL you go to his place when you want a beer. into good times. You can’t paint everything with one brush. Samir Kukreja – Thanks, AD, innovation DINING SEGMENT, WHICH Very, very different, your company has to be in terms of, really in terms of your brand, MEANS THAT PEOPLE positioned very differently, your decisions menu and food innovation. To keep the are made differently, so lets not get confused COME INTO OUR SPACES consumer coming back, with so much with small is beautiful or big is beautiful. I competition and choice, how do you drive TO EXPERIENCE A GOING know what works for Jay and he will tell that? you that big models work really well for him TO A RESTAURANT AD Singh – We’ve done as a company, because, compared to the sales he does, his we’ve addressed the downturn in three EXPERIENCE. rentals - costs really start coming down. The different ways. One is where possible, we have tried to maximise our spaces. In Delhi space is available. Signature Olive, numbers change a lot. Perhaps in a small 300-500 sq ft kind of a Dominos you for example, is huge. 15,000 sq ft. It has many different areas. So last year are being able to do a great amount of sales and that makes a large amount of what we did was we remodeled our bar. It had been the same way for eight difference. The company has to be geared completely differently to address a years. It worked in other cities. We created a new bar product. Cost us about particular kind of mood or a consumer pattern within the food industry. It’s `60-70 lakhs. But the business really helped us. Particularly with a lot of new all very different. We are in what I would like to call the experiential dining banquet business. Our banquet business went up by about 50 per cent. And segment, which means that people come into our spaces to experience a going has remained at a much higher level since that time. So one was that we tried to a restaurant experience. People want to sometimes go to a restaurant and to use our spaces better. Second was that for our new spaces, very much like have a ‘I’m going out and I’m having lunch or I’m having dinner with my Nerain, we tried to make much smaller spaces. Optimise that. For you when friends’. It’s a social experience which is very different from a lot of what you venture out, I think that’s very important as well. As a company we happens here, so for us a large part of what is not just the commodity. It’s not only take in 2,500, 3,000 sq ft spaces. Somebody here mentioned their space the commodity that we are selling but the entire going out experience so our was more like 6,000 but we find with larger spaces investment is more, risks company is geared very much towards creating experiences. Ajay Kaul – Something we learnt not from Dominos but Dunkin Donuts are more. You’ve to fill it every day. So we are taking smaller spaces. Three, separately, and in any case we are working very hard on reducing CAPEX business here, while it’s also an international brand and so on. Right from the time we were recruiting people and it ties in a few things here and there, the (capital expenditure) particularly what you can’t take away. Samir Kukreja – Thanks, Rahul, you’re a different phase. Two years old, people we were recruiting, culturally what were they, what was the culture growing with this fast pace, but still in a competitive segment. You told me of the company. One of the things we realised is – it may be relevant to most that for you it seems sales growth is yet to come – its coming, coming. How’s people in the room – what I call B2B mentality. Which is build to break your thing on what you look at will be the key factors for sustainability for mentality. To be in an environment where you don’t get emotionally attached to something as simple as a dish on the menu to a big pricing decision to your brand to lose interest in consumers and keep the concept fresh. Rahul Singh – It actually stems from something we call think big but the way your store looks. You’ve got to built and break, you’ve to have that act small. So same store, sale growth from five stores which has taken one attitude – build, break it tomorrow and build again. year, it’s been 24 per cent. Like I said, at the end of the day that doesn’t really Discussion on profitability/FE funding matter as much as what can we do to actually make more profits. I’m here Samir Kukreja – This is coming back to profitability – I’ve heard lots of this

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REPORT – shareholder value, return on investment, stock market price – we haven’t is enough money. That’s the first thing. You just have to go and grab it. The heard as yet but we know – because a lot of people were at that stage, 10, 15 other side is the private equity partner is a shareholder but he’s a minority restaurants, I know some had even discussion with, have been debating this, shareholder. So that minority has to be kind of kept in mind. His job is to be and I can also shed some light, you’ve heard the advantages of getting the P the minority. You are the majority. He doesn’t add value, he’s only looking at funding and the challenges and the joy and I’ll ask any, the four of you, PE exit. Period. His job is to make money because he’s not owning the money. 3, Riyaaz know you have both P, strategic, so what value do they bring to The money’s owned by somebody else. He’s just managing the money. So the table besides the investment and the huge amount of financial analysis, his job is to basically make sure that he sweats his asset. That’s the latest I’m helping you with analysing it, what other values have your funds brought going to keep using – sweat the asset. So he’s going to sweat his asset where he you as you grow your businesses. PE VC side first, so, Jay? wants an exit. The exit could be an IPO, could be a strategic sell out, could be Jay Singh – I think when you raise private equity, I think you need to be another P. His job is only to look at his money and that’s it. So if you can ride very clear that you are the master of your business and you know the best the way with him, where he keeps getting excited on his, he’s actually going and if you go out and raise private equity, with the thought that someone to sell it on his own and, hopefully, you’ll make money in that. But having else is going to bring a lot of strategic and other added values, perhaps that’s a said that the discipline, the whole structure, the way you employ people, the false premise to start with. So be very clear about it, you are the expert of the way you kind of conduct your business, how ethical you are - there are a lot business, the partner is bringing in the money. He or she may be able to add of issues with that in India, because India’s had some really bad stories on the strategic value but that is not the primary intent of tying up with someone. private equity side. So, like I said, last man standing. If you can actually go I’ve spoken to a lot of people and a lot of people realise that post- doing deals. through it and actually see a little two of three years down the line, there’s a The other thing is – at various stages raising money is time-consuming thing lot of money out there. That’s what I believe. so when you go down that path, you sometimes get off the ball of what your Samir Kukreja – Nerain, you are in a different position. You don’t need business is all about. It tends to catch up with you sometimes. Also when funding but any thoughts and views – makes your franchisees, none of your you are raising money, be clear why you are doing it, why you are raising franchises are also public as of right now but any thoughts on this? the money, why you are doing it, where you want to be three to four of five Nerain Chowdhury – I think it’s been cleared. Private equity funds can years down the road, and my advice to anyone over here would be if you are add a lot of value to the rigour around how strong the business model is ever doing a private equity deal, is make sure you don’t do it on the upside, so and how you are pacing and sequencing your growth. I think it’s important you don’t get into structures where you’ve what Jai said, the control rests solely with the got warrens, don’t get into structures where BUT THERE IS ENOUGH MONEY. people who understand the sector and what you’ve got claw backs, none of those things, needs to be done to build the big brand. But THAT’S THE FIRST THING. YOU just go for a straight, simple, clean deal. I think because they invest and can hold you Samir Kukreja – Thanks. Riyaaz, accountable, I think that’s sort of positive JUST HAVE TO GO AND GRAB you have a mix with Meera Hospitality. pressure on ensuring that you are building IT. THE OTHER SIDE IS THE Strategic? it the right way. Riyaaz Amlani – We have private Moderator Samir Kukreja –Ajay, so PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNER IS equity in a sense which is pure financial different, you started as being the only and A SHAREHOLDER BUT HE’S A investment company that’s come in. We also for many years were the only and now there have a strategic investor who has come in are three listed companies, and there are MINORITY SHAREHOLDER. HE who’s also somebody operating in the F&B other parallels. We get Nerain’s figures from HAS TO BE KEPT IN MIND. business and now wants to invest certain Yum, so there’s more data out there, there money in a high growth company. What Jay said is true in a sense in that are other companies, but the challenges, you and I have had discussions, you understand your business a little bit better than the private equity guys this whole challenge of being a public listed company with such high do. Private equity guys come in with a lot of macros. They’ve seen how the expectations from your investors, from the market. How does that impact industry has grown internationally. They come in with a lot of macro aspects day to day business in the company? to it. And they try and give you the benefit of that information that may or Ajay Kaul – First, I would like to go back to what was being discussed, may not necessarily hold true in the current environment, in the current very quickly. I think post – call it – success of, let’s say, Jubilant Foodworks, economic system that you are operating in. However, what it does do is that and a few others, who have also done remarkably well, I think the inflow of it does bring in a lot of responsibility and discipline which is not bad for a private equity money has – and especially because the tranches involved company to have. You start reporting and you start weighing cost-benefit are not too big – in the two-three years as many as 30-40 transactions analyses a lot more. Reactions from the gut tend to be a little bit restricted have happened if not more. So money is kind of there. But I think the and you need to be able to explain things with an excel sheet. You do tend responsibility is as much – and you know this money has come in a period to become more responsible. So that’s not a bad thing. when the industry has been kind of going through this, call it the reverse Samir Kukreja: – Rahul wave, where consumption is not growing as much as we would have Rahul Singh – First and foremost, there is enough money out there. They expected it and so on. So the responsibility is as much to create stories keep saying we’re looking at good people. In fact, half the time - whenever out of these where prudent use of this money, in the most judicious I talk to a fund, or I talk to a house, they say, you know what, give us some fashion. Such stories come out so that more and more money flows into leads, give us some leads, because they are looking at India. India is their it. Otherwise, trust me, you know with these two three years being put land of last man standing, There will be a lot of dead bodies but there behind by private equity companies, they will have another four-five years will be one man standing on one foot and he’ll probably win. So, there’s to go before they can actually make money out of these deals. And that’s India the great story. Look at what a brand like Harry’s got bought over in a long period. That’s a long gestation period. There are some P guys sitting Singapore, 23 stores picked up at `100 crores. This is nothing for a brand in the room who’d vouch for that so, I think the responsibility is on us to of that size and that volume and that pedigree. In India, 100 crores is like make success out of it and prudently use this money, so, it’s like A leads to nothing. What is 100 crores for an enterprise value in food service. There B, B again takes us back to A. is a mark cap that’s beyond the principal itself. So crazy numbers. But there transcribed by AMIT JETLEY

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TECHNOLOGY

The new age kitchen Today, hotel kitchen workers know the true value of quality tools which help them get their job done in minutes. Hotel chefs are in charge of executing some of the most difficult tasks in the industry, like that of providing meals for groups ranging from 250 to 1,000 and, for this, possessing right equipment in the kitchen is a must. The era of traditional ovens, noisy hoods and clunky hand tools is over. New and contemporary gadgets are taking over. HotelScapes talks to different spokesperson of various hotels on technology. They are relying on these new tools to make their job (one of the most challenging in the industry) more productive and efficient.

Cutting edge technologies inside the kitchen

T he new age hotel’s e qu ipment isn’t just versatile, it’s also energy efficient. Spokespersons from different properties unveil their vital equipment used inside the kitchen and how these are making their work simpler, faster and convenient. Asad Gauhar, Food and Beverage Manager, The Leela Palace Udaipur, takes pride in his Paco Jet and says, ‘’It is one piece of machinery which is super good for making sorbets, glazes and instant ice creams. One has to make a mixture with the desired flavors and set it overnight in the freezer, blitz the mixture and the result is a sorbet which just melts away on the tongue with a creamy texture and without any graininess whatsoever.’’ Smoking Gun is equipment that he claims to be doing wonders inside his kitchen. ‘’The Leela Palace Udaipur uses this to smoke steaks post cooking, add a hint of smokey flavour to foams and even desserts. We recently used it during Christmas to create a spiced martini with a smoked cinnamon flavour, which was quite the hit’’, he adds. According to Amit Chand, Executive Chef, Novotel Pune, there has been a surge of home automation products to make our lives easier, more efficient and, in many cases, even more reliant on our basic necessities such as phones, over the past few years. With the kitchen being a central hub of activity, it’s no surprise that a lot of these advances in home tech revolve around the things we enjoy most — cooking, eating, and spending time with family and friends. Chand names some of his top gadgets inside the kitchen or rather, gadgets which every kitchen should possess. ‘Kitchen Aid’ helps speed up small mixing and whippings with utmost consistency and precision. It has proved to be very important equipment. Easy 36 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

to carry and transport, ‘The Dough Divider’, helps dough dividing with utmost care in the context of weight and size. It has proven to be a great help in bakery day to day operations, ‘Blend tech’ – blender might not be the first thing you think of when you hear high-tech kitchen but Blendtec’s appliances put that notion to rest. It is beautiful equipment for the ultimate control of your blending needs.’’ Raheel Ahmad, Executive Chef, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield, ‘’Gadgets like thermo mix helps in emulsification, pulverising and making sorbet in seconds. There are smoking guns which are small compact machines and give a nice smoky flavour to the dish. Products like Chadwick Pizza Oven is easily usable over gas stove besides thermo rods called Soud Vide. I heavily trust these pieces of equipment and they never disappoint me.’’ Vinayak Chaturvedi, Director Food

& Beverage, Moevenpick Hotel and Spa Bangalore believes technology in kitchens are ever evolving, right from micro purees to foams to bakes they all have been made possible because of the advancements in equipment in the field . “We use a nitrous charged dispenser to create foams and light soups. We use Pacojet to make ultra-fine purees and sorbets. Combination ovens for baking products are an ultimate relief. They each have varied functions and can be used in many a ways to assist chefs in creating dishes that require finesse and proper degrees of cooking. A Pacojet enables chefs to ‘fine-puree’ frozen foods into ultralight mousses. Thus, enabling a varied range of products from naturally fresh ice creams and sorbets or aromatic soups, sauces or fillings without thawing,’’ validates Chaturvedi. He also explains how combi oven is making his work simpler. ‘’A combi oven is an oven with three functions: convection, steam and combination cooking. The true genius behind the Combi oven is the combination mode which uses both dry heat and steam to maintain exact humidity levels, thus giving you more control of the moisture levels in food’’, he adds.

New additions in technology expected in the near future

At The Leela Udaipur they are keen to add a new grill by ‘LYNX grills’, which can be operated by voice commands, to our kitchen equipment collection. Chand says “with the global changing trends in kitchen we might look into transforming at a techno savvy kitchen since Accor is emerging as a world leader in hospitality.” Chaturvedi says “we intend to procure a sous-vide machine to deliver perfectly cooked pieces of meat and vegetables. It is

TECHNOLOGY

Raheel Ahmad

Asad Gauhar

Amit Chand Executive Chef, Novotel Pune

Executive Chef, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield

Paco Jet and Smoking Gun are equipment which are making my work simpler, faster and convenient.

With the changing global trends in the kitchen it might transform into a techno savvy kitchen since Accor is emerging as a global leader.

Today guests are well travelled so they get really excited if they come to know about these new gadgets being used.

Food and Beverage Manager, The Leela Palace Udaipur

a temperature controlled water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment for longer than normal cooking times – 72 hours in some cases – at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 °C (131 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) for meats and higher for vegetables. The intention is to cook the item evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and retain moisture.’’

How is it different using these gadgets from working manually

Gauhar says “gadgets can be used in the kitchen for two purposes, to make a task easier and more efficient, and to come up with something new for guests to delight them. An example of the first purpose is our state of the art gelato and sorbet maker which we use to make every single flavour of ice cream and sorbet in the Palace. It gives a stunning product which is free of issues as opposed to anything man made and provides a consistent product each time, which keeps guests coming back for more. An example of the second purpose is the smoking gun or an anti-grill which can be used to make food which is unique and distinguished from the rest.’’ Chand says “It’s a different experience using this modular kitchen equipment. Food is transforming and we, being an adaptive human race, are evolving with the changing global trends. People have become more

calorie-conscious and want to be updated on what to have and what to avoid. Now people need variety on the plate and are no more interested in heavy oil laden curries. Service has improved because of introduction of Molecular Gastronomy where this equipment has shown us the opulence they bring into our basic cooking and the level they can take us up to.” Ahmad says “There is a lot of difference in manusla operations and operations through high-end gadgets. The latter helps us maintain consistency and give accurate results every time. They are less time consuming as compare to manual work.” Chaturvedi says these gadgets, “increase productivity and helped elevate the standards maintained in the kitchen. In today’s dynamic scenario where time is money and quality just cannot be compromised, these machines are a boon.”

Brand of the gadgets

Gauhar discloses his favourite brands. He gives us the brands’ names along with there USPs. A few favourite his brands are – Matfer – This company makes everything from silicon baking sheets to microwave ovens which last for years, Polyscience – For their sous vide cooking machines and smoke guns, Gaggenau – They make the best induction tops and ovens which emit zero heat, hence can be used in the cold kitchen as well, without affecting air conditioning in that area. It helps

Vinayak Chaturvedi

Director Food & Beverage, Moevenpick Hotel and Spa Bangalore

Technology in kitchens are ever-evolving, right from micro purees to foams to bakes.

in keeping the staff comfortable and the work environment hygienic, Hobart – for their heavy duty machines which last for years. For Chand it’s Electrolux, Hobart, Robot Coupe, Salva & Caplain equipment majorly. “We do have a wide array of some custom made equipment as well to suit our operation and needs’’, he adds. According to Ahmad, Poly Science, Electrolux and 100% Chef have some very interesting cooking gadgets and are very playful. Inside Chaturvedi’s kitchen, some of the popular brands are by Angelo-po, Rational, Pacojet and Hobart are being used .

Spheres where service has improved after bringing gadgets in use

According to Ahmad, “today guests are well travelled so they get really excited if they come to know about these new gadgets being used , like in recent news introduction of 3D printer created lot of interest. Service level and expectation has improved overall with all the changes in technology and with a lot of travelling.’’ However Chaturvedi believes “Service has become more dynamic. The areas where the chefs can explore have increased ten-fold. It has resulted in a wide array of foods and experiences offered to guests thus creating a unique selling proposition and a name in the market.’’ HS by ANUPRIYA BISHNOI

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 37

GUEST COLUMN

Anil Bhandari

Chairman AB Smart Concepts

Promoting MICE Tourism – a Golden Opportunity

elhi was recently in the international limelight when Narendra Modi was sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy along with his ministers who also took their oath of office at a high-profile ceremony attended by top leaders of neighboring SAARC countries and a distinguished gathering of over 4,000 guests at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The spectacular swearing-in ceremony, telecast live, was witnessed by millions of Indians and people all over the world. They watched as the eminent personalities, India’s richest corporates, former Presidents, parliamentarians, diplomats, foreign dignitaries, bureaucrats, the cream of Hindu religious communities and Bollywood celebrities, all seated in the forecourt of the Presidential palace, bravely withstood the humidity with handkerchiefs to wipe their sweat as the nearly 100-minute-long function was held outdoors on a hot and dusty May evening. The mercury was touching 40° Celsius and the weathermen had predicted a light shower in the evening which did not materialise. Surprisingly, Narendra Modi, dressed in a white full-sleeved kurta, a beige Nehru jacket and a white pajama, looked cool. The visual of the ceremony, as seen on TV, highlighted a shortcoming of the capital of India, that despite the many occasions of pomp and show which come its way, Delhi does not have a meeting or convention centre large enough to accommodate more than 2,000 pax. The centrally-located Ashok Hotel Convention Centre can accommodate 2,000 pax, the premiere Vigyan Bhavan plenary hall has a seating capacity of 1,200 delegates while the Taj Palace can seat 1,000 pax.

38 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

The Indian capital needs a world-class Convention Centre even larger than the stateof-the-art International Convention Centre at Hyderabad which has a capacity of 5,000 pax and is the only one of its kind in India. A Convention and Exhibition Centre is an important part in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) segment of Tourism. The Tourism industry is a major revenue earner and generator of employment and MICE Tourism, a major constituent, is a niche product. Delhi’s advantages as a MICE destination include its rich heritage, culture, historic monuments, a world- class international airport, a large number of hotels, transport, shopping and entertainment centres besides infrastructural facilities to host mega-events. I suggest that steps be taken to promote this untapped goldmine by creating worldclass Convention Centres in Delhi. The mega-Convention Centre which had been approved five years ago at Dwarka should be immediately leased out to a private company with the condition that they should build it within three to four years. India Trade Promotion Organisation’s Convention-cumExhibition Centre at Pragati Maidan should also be expedited. E f for t s have b e e n made to upg rade infrastructure and to establish state-of-theart convention and exhibition facilities in India to tap the MICE market. The Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC); Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Mumbai; BM Birla Science and Technology Centre in Jaipur; Jaypee Hotels & International Convention Centre in Agra; Vigyan Bhavan and Pragati Maidan in New Delhi; and Cochin

Convention Centre are the leading Convention Centres in India. Except for HICC, Convention Centres in other cities have a limited capacity of not more than 2,000 delegates which is a major drawback in bringing MICE business to India. MICE Tourism is a rapidly growing section of the international tourism market. According to the International Congress & Convention A s s o c iat ion , 4 0 0, 0 0 0 con fe r e nce s a nd exhibitions are held worldwide every year at a total outlay of US$ 280 billion, and India’s share is pegged at US$ 4.8 billion worldwide, ranking 27th in the global MICE market in 2011. A major share of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions market goes to more popular locations in the Asia-Pacific region such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia. India can also become an ideal MICE destination, especially with its advanced technology and facilities, hospitality and rich cultural heritage. S i n ga p o r e , w i t h i t s we l l - e qu ip p e d MICE facilities, is one of the top venues for conventions in the region. The Singapore Tourism Board reported 2,130 MICE events in 2011, generating 2.2% of Singapore’s total tourism revenues in 2011. In Malaysia MICE generated US $ 278 million in revenue in 2011. Revenue earned from MICE Tourism by Thailand in 2011 was 32% higher than the 2010 figure. Seoul, capital of South Korea, also known as a Convention City, was placed fifth worldwide for the third consecutive year for the number of international conferences it had hosted in 2012. Seoul hosted 253 qualified meetings in 2012, a 10% increase from the 232 it hosted in 2011. India as MICE Destination: Advantages Rich cultural heritage, colourful landscapes, snow-covered mountains, sunny beaches, all ideal settings for MICE. Diverse activities including festivals and fairs and adventure holiday destinations which can be combined as pre/post-conference tours. Reasonably priced shopping centres. Network of international airports at major cities. Connectivity of national airlines operating on domestic routes. Tourist trains such as the Palace on Wheels and Royal Orient Express and pan-India connectivity provided by Indian Railways. National highways connecting tourist destinations and availability of luxury coaches from approved transport operators.

GUEST COLUMN Professional destination management companies, conference organisers, hotels and airlines specialising in MICE Tourism. Educated manpower base with skill in English and other international languages for interpretation purposes. Apart from these advantages, the creation of Convention and Exhibition Centres, would lead to an increase in the market of exclusive international and national business hotels and resorts with meeting rooms and a range of conference facilities and services with matching international standards. I have written to his Excellency Najeeb Jung, the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, suggesting that he take immediate steps to create a Convention and Exhibition Centre in Delhi through lease to a private company. During the 12th Five-year Plan (2012-17), more than one Convention Centre with a capacity of up to 500 pax has been planned in every state and Union Territory. A 500-pax Convention Centre will not serve any purpose as at present most hotels in both big and

DELHI’S ADVANTAGES AS A MICE DESTINATION INCLUDE ITS RICH HERITAGE, CULTURE, HISTORIC MONUMENTS, A WORLD-CLASS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, A LARGE NUMBER OF HOTELS, TRANSPORT, SHOPPING AND ENTERTAINMENT CENTRES BESIDES INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES WHICH ALLOW IT TO HOST MEGA-EVENTS. small towns have conference halls of 500-pax capacity. Development of Convention Centres with a capacity of over 4,000 pax would help in making India an ideal MICE destination. The government has sanctioned a Central Finance Assistance (CFA) of `10 crore for the development of each Convention Centre. Until now, a CFA of `5 crore for one Convention Centre was being provided under the existing Product Infrastructure Development for the Destination and Circuits scheme. CFAs could be better utilised if Convention Centres were made a part of the Tourism Parks which are

being planned or else land could be given on lease for developing Convention and Exhibition Centres. My suggestion to the Narendra Modi Government is to set up mega-Convention and Exhibition Centres at popular tourist places such as Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Agra and Jaipur as each of these cities have their advantages in the promotion of the ‘MICE experience.’ We should all take an oath that the 26 May 2014 swearing-in ceremony would be the last such occasion to be held outdoors across India. HS

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 39

CHEF'S PAGE

ONIONS Can chefs do without them? Continuing from our last issue, in which we talked about ingredients, this time we focus on the imperativeness of onion as an ingredient in food and how chefs are doing with or without it.

Challenges of cooking dishes without onions

According to Chef Vishal Atreya, Executive Chef, The Imperial New Delhi, the absence of onions is not really a challenge, we just need the right combination of ingredients in the recipe to churn out a palatable concoction. “Being a chef, I do not perceive the non-

availability of onions as a challenge in the culinary ‘savoir faire’. You just need the right combination of ingredients in the recipe to churn out a palatable concoction. In fact, many recipes not just work well but taste even better with the sulphur dose missing. I’ve met many people who do not like onions in any form green, white, red, chive, shallot, leeks anything; I

40 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

simply omit them from the recipes and add something else which balances out the end product’’, he says. However for some cooking dishes without onions can be a task. Anurag Mathur, Executive Chef, Jaypee Vasant Continental, New Delhi says, “It is quite challenging to churn out dishes without onions especially in

Indian cuisine as the onion forms the base of almost all gravies, provides flavour to the dish and is even healthy for human beings.’’ For Karan Thakur, Executive Chef, Four Points by Sheraton Ahmedabad food in India is very dynamic with multiple ingredients which give our dishes unique f lavours, thus, he considers it as a challenge

CHEF'S PAGE for a Chef when he has to cook and create something unique, something which is different from the contemporary cuisine. “We overcome the same by adding extras which give particular dishes a depth of flavour. It can be a simple spice such as fennel, nutmeg, mace or even substitutes like carrot puree, to get the sweetness which ideally only onion would give to a dish’’, he explains. Che f A s i sh Ku m a r R oy, Executive Chef, The Gateway Hotel, Kolkata delves into the past to explain the importance of onion as an ingredient in contemporary cooking and how it’s irreplaceable. “Researchers would agree that the history of the cultivation of onion dates back to a minimum of 5,000 years if not more. Starting its journey from Central Asia or Pakistan, it has travelled through the world. So it’s quite difficult to throw it out of the cooking pan of any Ethnic Cuisine that the world has ever tasted. Thus to replace the comprehensive qu a l it y a nd t he sha r p ne s s achieved in a dish with onion is quite challenging for chefs. Yes, of course it can be substituted with a proper combination of Garlic and Asafoetida. But again that can only be standby not really something a real gourmet (unless allergic) would look for. Be it the golden brown onion

ABSENCE OF ONIONS IS NOT A CHALLENGE, WE JUST NEED THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF INGREDIENTS TO CHURN OUT A PALATABLE CONCOCTION.

Vishal Atreya

Executive Chef, The Imperial New Delhi

Being a chef, I do not perceive the nonavailability of onions to be challenge to the culinary savoir faire. You just need the right combination of ingredients.

on top of biryani or combining it with other ingredients for the base of any sauce or Gravy is truly irreplaceable.” Rajeev Menon, Executive Chef, Crowne Plaza Kochi, “Onion plays various roles in Indian cuisine particularly. Most gravies call for onions to sautéed, fried, boiled or in a paste format. It is mostly to impart consistency, thickness and taste to the gravy. There are different recipes which use different thickening agents like coconut paste, coconut milk, tomato puree, potato etc., so these thickeners can be used as an alternative. Apart from using onion as a thickening agent it also imparts taste to the food and also colour. When it is lightly sautéed it gives a sweet taste and when browned gives a caramelised flavour and slight bitterness and also gives a deep brown colour. It can be substituted effectively in dishes where the impact is minimum.’’

Importance of onion as an ingredient

“In Indian cuisine, onions play

Anurag Mathur

Karan Thakur

Executive Chef, Jaypee Vasant Continental, New Delhi

Executive Chef, Four points by Sheraton Ahmedabad

It is quite challenging to churn out dishes without the onion, as especially in Indian cuisine the onion forms the base of almost all gravies that provides flavour.

The onion gives a certain type of pungency and sweetness in flavour and make thick gravy in the cooking process of a dish.

a vital role in determining the flavours of the dish”, says Atreya. If sautéed well, it gives caramelized sweetness to the dish. If just sweated, it provides the sulphur pungency. We can’t imagine a life without onions, and we’re sympathetic to anyone who has to. Still, this might be a great opportunity for some culinary creativity.’’ According to Mathur onions are impor tant for a healthy heart as it lowers the level of triglycerides in blood. Thakur says it is about the distinctive characteristics which onion gives to food. Onion gives a cer tain type of pungency, sweetness in flavour and even its characteristics to hold and make thick gravy in the cooking process of a dish. But coming back, there are a lot of creative ways in which you can create dishes as good as the ones which have onion in it. People have known of the health benefits of onions for thousands of years, but only relatively recently have scientists started to do a lot of research into the health giving properties

of this humble vegetable. Roy says ‘’Studies after studies have confirmed that onions indeed possess many active compounds that have been proven beneficial for all sorts of conditions. Onions are a very good source of vitamin C, B6, biotin, chromium, calcium and dietary fibre. In addition, they contain good amounts of folic acid and vitamin B1 and K. A 100 gram serving provides 44 calories, mostly as complex carbohydrate, with 1.4 grams of fibre. They also contain flavonoids, which are pigments that give vegetables their colour. These compounds act as antioxidants, have a direct a nt itu mor e f fe c t a nd have immune-enhancing properties. Onions contain a large amount of sulphur and are especially good for the liver. As a sulphur food, they mix best with proteins, as they stimulate the action of the amino acids in the brain and nervous system.”

Maintaining authenticity of food without using onions

Atreya says “There are many

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 41

CHEF'S PAGE other ingredients like celery and carrots in a chef’s mirepoix flavour base, and these vegetables can also build a lot of flavour in your dish even without onions. Cooking with stock, wine, and other liquids such as citrus juices added to water will also give your dish added flavours. One can also play around with the spices and aromas in his favourite recipes to see what other flavours can bring out.’’ Mathur says “to substitute onions we can use nuts, coconut milk and Magaz past to provide that consistency of the gravies. It provides flavour to all the dishes in all the cuisines (However certain communities like Jains are cooking tasty food without onions).’’ According to Thakur “a lot of people are unaware that in Indian cuisine, there are a lot of dishes which are actually made without onions. No unrelated vegetable has quite the same taste as onions or garlic. But, some aromatics that may be safe for your allergies are good options for cooking: Fennel has a liquorice-like taste but onion-like texture. Try it with chicken or fish, Celery is among the most common aromatics, Bell peppers are often used in Cajun cooking. Green pepper and celery are a good base for rice dishes or savoury stews, Carrots are used as an aromatic in French cooking in

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE THAT IN INDIAN CUISINE, THERE ARE A LOT OF DISHES WHICH ACTUALLY ARE MADE WITHOUT ONION.

can be done without onion and lastly murgh makhani, palak paneer and dal makhani all can be done without onions.’’

Maintaining authenticity without onions

Asish Kumar Roy

Rajeev Menon

Executive Chef, The Gateway Hotel, Kolkata

Executive Chef, Crowne Plaza Kochi

To replace the comprehensive quality and the sharpness achieved in a dish with onion is quite challenging for the Chefs.

Most gravies call for onions to sautéed, fried, boiled or in a paste format. It is mostly to impart consistency, thickness and taste to the gravy.

combination with celery, Celeriac, or celery root, is the knobby root of one variety of celery. Peeled and diced, it can be used as an aromatic in sauces or stews. “The onion is the richest dietary source of quercetin a potent antioxidant flavonoid, says Roy. Quercetin has been shown to thin the blood, lower cholesterol, raise good-type HDL cholesterol, ward off blood clots, fight asthma, chronic bronchitis, hay fever, diabetes, atherosclerosis and infections and is specifically linked to i n h ibit i ng hu ma n s tomach cancer. Another health benefit of onions is detoxification. To help keep your blood free of clots, and make the most of the health benefits of onions, eat them both raw and cooked. It helps in cancer prevention also. Onions have also been shown to have a significant blood sugar-lowering action, even comparable to some prescription drugs.

roasted pumpkin soup with herb crostini, summer vegetable and mango salad with citrus vinaigrette, spring chicken and wild mushroom fricassee are some of the delicacies that can be churned out well without onions. According to Mathur heeng dhania ke chatpate aloo, matarwali tikki, shadrsa subzian, Bhunee Chaat are all dishes without onions and are the most popular dishes of their Indian restaurant Paatra. Thakur gives a large number of dishes that ca n be made without using onions. Some of them are carrto and cucumber salad – kosumalli, puli upma, kuzhi paniyaram, coconut rice, coriander rice, mango rice, sweet corn rice – no onion no garlic, cabbage pakoda, potato cutlet, beans parrupu usili, vazhakai (raw banana) podimayam fry, beans curry, mango pachadi, tomato/thakkali pachadi, tomato swee t pachadi a nd cabbage pakoda. Menon suggests “fish moilee, raw mango fish curry can be done without onions, Kerala chicken stew, kalan, avial and thoran

Dishes that can be cooked without onions

According to Atreya maple

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Roy says “to be very honest it’s almost impossible to sustain the authenticit y by a Chef without onion. If you say “going by the book” is what retains the authenticity of any dish then yes the authenticity is somehow lost but taste wise we have reached a level almost where not many people can confidently deduce that the dish is without onion. The three main cuisines that we deal with every day in our Hotel that is, Indian, Continental and Chinese have its base rooted with this root vegetable onion. But, yes, as people are opening up to more cuisines and new dishes almost every day from some parts of the world, cooking without onion is a challenging situation for us. For an Indian dish we can substitute onion with a right ratio of garlic and asafoetida. While in continental food it can be replaced with leek and celery. In Chinese it can be replaced by leek, celery and some finely chopped fresh herbs.” Menon says “the vast use of onion shows that there are no real alternatives to onion and it would be very difficult to maintain the authenticity of food when using an alternative ingredient. However it can be replaced with various ingredients depending on the purpose for which it is used in the dish. For example, potato starch, coconut paste, cashew paste, tomato puree and yogurt for thickening leek can be used in western dishes. Tomato can give colour and taste to the dishes. Also, the wise use of spices like fennel can impart an onion like taste. HS by ANUPRIYA BISHNOI

CHEF’S PAGE

“Indian food has a rich 2600 years old history which needs to be understood’’ Chef Ranveer Brar gets candid about his new television show, his experience in the field, the present state of Indian culinary, and his own take on tweaking Indian cuisine. He also underlines the challenges ahead for the sector as a whole.

ell us about your new show? How do you think it will help in making people learn about new food trends?

My new show is called ‘The Great Indian Rasoi’. It’s a show that visits seven cities from a chef’s eyes and experiences the food of those cities in its current stage and also experiences the cultural evolution of this food. The best part about the show is that it’s not about the chef. It’s about food folklore and the “rockstars’ who define the local cuisine; it’s these cooks who create magic on the streets, in palaces and in homes.

aving 15 years of experience in the food industry, what do you think is the current status of Indian culinary scene?

In the current scenario food industry in general and restaurant Industry in particular is looking at really great days ahead. T he I nd ia n consu me r is now well travelled and now has a mature global outlook has gained has allowed chefs to express themselves freely and be appreciated for it. Indian cuisine in particular will see itself going regional, detail oriented and back to the basic as it was always known for, ‘Taste’.

“

hare the best part of your profession?

Creative self-expression is the best part of this profession. Being a chef allows you to be yourself and express your being on a plate or in a restaurant.

hat are the challenges that a chef faces every day and how can they overcome those challenges?

T he ex ter na l cha llenges of every chef working in India are consistency of ingredients and the lack of exposure at the lower kitchen levels. These can be overcome to a large extent by adopting smaller and local farms. The intrinsic challenges faced are the monotony and the industrialisation of cuisine that curbs self-expression, I overcome them by writing about food or shooting food or food travels, to keep that connect.

hat is that one thing that you want to modify/tweak in the Indian culinary scene and why?

I strongly believe that we young Indian chefs are trying to tweak Indian cuisine or twist it as per our experiences and make it a saleable commodity. Indian food has a rich 2600 years old history that needs to be understood and appreciated. It has a lot to offer in

its original form and that is what we should also look at showcasing to do justice to this great cuisine .

lease comment on how experimental really is the Indian food scene? Do we Indians really want to go beyond the parameters of what our scene has attuned us to when it comes to food?

After coming back from the US I realised that the Indian consumer is definitely more experimental and open when it comes to

trying out everything once, the next step now is adapting to various flavours and non-staple combinations.

hat is your favourite cuisine and why?

Indian cuisine is my favourite as it allows me to really be detailoriented in research and expression. From north to south, India offers every possible flavour, texture and taste possible and all that along with volumes of food folklore. HS by ANUPRIYA BISHNOI

”

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 43

LOYALTY If a customer is loyal to your hotel or your restaurant or spa, how do you plan to pay them back for their loyalty? Most of the hotels offer different loyalty card programmes to their guests who are regular at their hotel. Encouraging customers to come back is an important activity and should be taken care of to retrieve your clientele. HotelScapes talks to various hotels about their prime focus, how they are reaching their customers and what exactly the customer is benefitting from.

Paying back the loyal customers Prime focus

Some loyalty card programmes focus equally on all the services of a hotel, including accommodation, F&B and Spa whereas various hotels have a specific point towards which they focus the benefits of their loyalty programme and others serve an extraordinary experience through this membership. “Till a year ago, we used to sell this dining card which had free nights stays and other discount vouchers. The company realized that this card was being bought by people who wanted the free room nights and very few used the card to dine and stay in the hotel. We have now come up with a dining card called ‘Dining So Memorable’ which we gift to loyal customers – this card entitles the guest to a 20 percent discount on F &B, and on rooms (rack rate). We are looking at dinning as the prime focus. We want our customer to experience the one of its kind dining experience in our restaurants – Sampan (Pan-Asian) and Ssence (Global classics),” says Pankaj Mathur, General Manager, The Suryaa Hotel, Delhi. The Lalit focuses on serving a ‘wow’ experience to the guests who are members of their loyalty programme. Rewarding the loyalty of our customers, we offer different types of loyalty programmes to

our guests. Explaining the focus of the different loyalty programs, Shalini Tewari, Corporate Head – Spa & Loyalty, The Lalit says, “We have two very popular loyalty programmes on offer with The Lalit Loyalty which is valid across the entire Group and unveils a world of unbelievable privileges and benefits. We also have a special programme focusing on the spa enthusiast. The Spa Holics programme is for promoting holistic wellness programmes for the mind, body and soul across

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Pankaj Mathur

the Best Spas of the Group.” Pride hotels have very flexible cards and they allow their guests to book their stay as per their choice. “Our guests can experience the attractions of Jaipur, the culture of Kolkata, Nagpur, Chennai, the vibrancy of Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad, the scenic beauty of our Chandigarh hotel in the midst of the sprawling Golf Club, the picturesque landscape of Goa and an adventurous trip to Tigerwood resort at Kanha. The loyalty card will enhance their experience

around 15 cities,” says Satyen Jain, CEO, The Pride Group of Hotels. Hotels like Sarovar, Pride and various others have set their loyalty programmes with equally focusing on all the different services that their respective hotels offer. Putting it forward in simple words, Sajid Mahmood, Vice President, Marketing, Sarovar Hotels says, “Our prime focus is to get repeat clientele who gets hooked on to the program, thereby doing one level of brick walling against competitors.”

Shalini Tewari

Satyen Jain

General Manager, The Suryaa Hotel, Delhi

Corporate Head – Spa & Loyalty, The Lalit

CEO, The Pride Group of Hotels

We came forward and introduced the ‘Dining so Memorable’ card and now most of the customers are using the card for F&B and some for room discounts.

We focus on serving a ‘wow’ experience to the guests who are members of our loyalty program. We offer two different kinds of loyalty programmes.

We have different tiers of memberships available for our guests and upgrade them depending on how much they use the services of our hotel.

LOYALTY

Reaching your customers

The catch is in how you are marketing your membership p r o g r a m me s a nd who c a n participate and have access to it. Some hotels have a policy of offering these programmes only by invitation to select guests while others offer them to all their guests for free. Still all these hotels have their own exclusivity factors to encourage their guests to participate and be a part of the loyalty group of the hotel. Bradon

Sajid Mahmood

M Hamlon, Operations Director, 32nd Milestone, Gurgaon talks about their plans to reach to the clients who can subscribe to their loyalty program, he says, “We prefer sending mass emails and mass physical mailers with a personally tailored invitation to our guests to join the 32nd Milestone Privilege Programme. Along with our emails and mailers we also approach our walk-in clientele. As we have on average, 750 people per day coming to the 32nd Milestone for food, fun or leisure, it would prove wise

for us to make sure each of those customers make the most out of their visit. A 32nd MPP would allow for our customers to truly enjoy all that we have to offer.” The Suryaa Hotel, New Delhi offers their free loyalty cards to guests who are either staying or dining w ith them. T hey stress upon superior service and excellence in F &B. The Metropolitan hotel and spa has a consolidated programme which serves both to guests as well as corporate bookers. Sanzeev Bhatia, General Manager, The Metropolitan and Spa further tell us, “We have two loyalty programmes in our hotel. One is being marketed by an outsourced agency and the second one is being marketed by our teams through e -mailers and sales calls to corporate. Our in-house loyalty programme is known as Met Club and the outsourced programme is Met Smart. 80 percent usage is in F&B outlets and spa rest is in the other facilities of the hotel. Our loyalty programme is majorly based on F&B and other outlets of the hotel, and our target market

Bradon M Hamlon

Sanzeev Bhatia

Vice President, Marketing, Sarovar Hotels

Operations Director, 32nd Milestone, Gurgaon

General Manager, The Metropolitan and Spa

At the time of check-in, the team pro-actively checks with the guests whether they are Rewardz members or not. If not, then we request them to sign in.

We prefer sending mass e-mails and physical mailers with a personally tailored invitation to our guests to join the 32nd Milestone Privilege Programme.

One of our programme is majorly based on the special discounts in F&B while the other one includes complementary stay in the Suite Room and other offers.

mostly is of local clientele, which is a mix of international and domestic clients.” Talking about how do the different tiers of memberships work for the loyalty programs, Jain from The Pride Hotels says, “We have different tiers of memberships available for our guests and upgrade them depending on how much they use the services of our hotel. The more you stay the more you win points and the more you get upgraded to a higher level of membership, that is, from Silver to Gold and Gold to Platinum”

What do the guests use?

These loya lty programs are designed to focus on different facilities to suit the requirements of varied guests. The hotels also believe that the guests are major users of the spa and F&B services rather than accommodation. Shalini from The Lalit says, “We have different kinds of loyalty programmes for our guests. 70 percent of our guests use our loyalty programs for the spa services, whereas 60 percent use it for accommodation and only 45 percent come for the food and beverage services through our loyalty programmes.” Mathur had told us that The Suryaa had guests coming to avail the free room nights through their loyalty programs and not for dining facilities. This is the reason why they introduced the ‘Dining so Memorable’ card and now most of the customers are using the card for F&B and some for room discounts. Participation to Sarovar’s Rewardz program is through invitation only, and the member can earn four points for every ` 100 spent on room stay. Then the accumulated points are valid for exclusive redemptions that include a range of interesting merchandise, cash cards, Sarovar value vouchers and more. HS by NIKITA CHOPRA

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 45

DESIGN

Walls in the Rooms – The backend story Interior designing, based on carefully chosen themes brings rooms to life, adds to the splendour of hotels and compliments their architecture. HotelScapes talks to the spokespersons of different hotels about how they are enhancing the guest’s experience via wall arts.

How hotels are doing up their walls

Any hotel’s interior designing is based on one particular theme and the details of art work revolve around that only. Harinder Kishore, Executive Housekeeper, The Leela Ambience, Gurgaon says “When we talk about guest room walls, the designer keeps in mind the theme of the hotel and then plays around. Hotel guest room walls are decorated in many different ways depending upon the size and requirement of the guest room. For example, If the room is big then walls

need to have large artworks, aureate decorative mirror frames while the dividing walls can be made of designer glass partition and murals are placed depending upon the design and theme of the room. If the theme is very traditional or ethnic Indian then designers go for wall art paintings which depict the a story or a theme. The detailing of frame material, colour, and size are considered while selecting the art piece for the wall. Art pieces on coffee table, credenzas can be very traditional like brass, cooper, wood carvings,

46 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

silver carved art pieces and so on. Kishore adds “Flower vases which can again be traditional and ethnic looking like handi or a tall Surahidaar vase for a flower display. If a hotel runs has a modern and contemporary theme, it will be more of plain walls with abstract modern paintings, stain glass, print glass pieces, contemporary art pieces and thick clear glass f lower vases. It can be based more on square or rectangular rather than circular shapes. Our hotel walls are decorated with modern contemporary art work which

Harinder Kishore

Executive Housekeeper, The Leela Ambience, Gurgaon

Hotel guest room walls are decorated in many different ways depending upon the size and requirement of the guest room.

DESIGN depic ts the tra nsfor mation Gurgaon to Hi-Tech city. Lots of modern pictures, stained glass art and other such artworks are placed around the guest room and public areas.” At Sofitel Mumbai walls, art inside the room and around the hotel depict the ‘Paisley design’ originated in Kashmir. Biswajit Chakraborty, General Manager, Sofitel Mumbai BKC “The walls of the room have been designed by renowned French Interior Designer Isabelle Miaja. The wall paper features a ‘paisley design’ which originated in Kashmir and is often found on shawls. Interestingly, the Paisley was introduced into Europe by Empress Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, who used Kashmiri shawls as cushion covers at her palace. The artwork in the room is a unique collection of prints under the banner of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. Each of the 10 different paintings, custom created by Isabelle Miaja, show historical monuments from India

merging with landmarks from France, a perfect way to display the three pillars of Gastronomy, Culture and Events of Sofitel Mumbai BKC.’’ One of the artwork pieces inside the room links the Palace Vendome with the Noormahal Sarai an ancient rest house built by Begum Noor Jahan, regarded as the most powerful empress of the Mogul Dynasty and also the Aunt of Empress Mumtaz Mahal, who is interred at the Taj Mahal in Agra. The Sandstone Art Work is an extracted part of this heritage monument and is hence mounted next to the painting. Vijay Wanchoo, Sr. Executive VP and GM The Imperial, says “as one of Asia’s most iconic luxury hotels, it’s only right that there are a few surprises in store at The Imperial. For many, The Imperial is India’s ‘museum hotel’ as there are no less than 4,500 original artworks adorning the walls throughout. All are testimony to the hotel’s commitment of nurturing a creative environment

that has inspired many an artist, as well as its dedication to restoring and displaying art.’’ The Imperial has three main art galleries and a collection of life size oil paintings of the Princely Rulers of India. The first floor is like a corridor of time and has art aptly called ‘Views in Lucknow’ based on the siege and mutiny in Lucknow by Assistant Adjutant, General David Scott Dodgson. The Second Floor Main Corridor, faci ng t he A r t D e co w i ng , transports the viewer to the lush ‘Views of the Himalayas’ (1842) and its foothills wherein one could begin the spiritual journey of life and rediscover a newer self. The art theme on the third floor of The Imperial is dedicated to the grandeur, color and vibrancy of Northern India and its people.

Choosing art for different room categories

At The Leela Ambience art works chosen are of different kinds from one room to other as the standard

Biswajit Chakraborty General Manager, Sofitel Mumbai BKC

At Sofitel the room artwork depicts French and Indian flavours. Walls art inside the room and around the hotel depicts the ‘Paisley design’

rooms have basic sized art works or some have only one artwork in the room where as suites have more and the size also increases depending upon room size. Kishore further validates “any design of artwork is decided by

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 47

DESIGN interior designer of the hotel and each and every art piece has a designated place as the designer knows the importance of that art piece and the theme. During day-to-day operations, if there is need for artworks the hotel’s General Manager and Executive Housekeeper decide the same.” At Sofitel BKC All rooms follow the same concept of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ and a sandstone art work. As mentioned above there are 10 different paintings created by the designer Isabelle Miaja, which are placed on a rotational basis in different category rooms. Only the Imperial Suite has more unique art works. Famous artists like Anoop Kamat – well known for his visual artistry, Raghu Naware, Shubra Das, Harendre Shah, who is famous for his colour compositions and abstract forms, and Manil Gupta’s art have been used in the magnificent Imperial Suite. Since its inception, over 75 years ago, The Imperial has not only been a repository of art, but also a home to many

famous artists. Wanchoo says “ The Imperial has carefully preserved its collection of original engravings and lithographs and has added steadily to it over this period. Each floor in the hotel is dedicated to an artist whose original works adorn the walls of the rooms and the corridors. Suites are named after personalities, such as Lutyens, whose names are associated both with the hotel and Imperial Delhi. Meticulous care has been taken to recreate the room décor and ambience of the period of Raj. The rooms offer a choice of marble or parquet flooring with artistic borders and exquisite Persian hand-knotted carpets. Each room also has unique antique pieces of furniture and paintings from the art collection of the hotel.” All the ar tworks and lithographs displayed across The Imperial have been preserved and collected by the owners who have a fine taste for art. Some have been sourced from the London Museum and some are from their own collection

acquired through the years.

How wall arts are enhancing room beauty

Kishore says “certainly, an art piece or wall art enhances the decor and aesthetic appearance of a guest room. Plane walls or a room without art is incomplete as blank walls give a very dull look to the room whereas arts bring life to the room. Guests prefer to have artworks in the room and they do notice and appreciate the art.’’ At Sofitel room a r twork de pic t s Fre nc h a nd I nd ia n themes. The artwork in the room has bright colours depicting red and mauve which has also been adopted in different areas and for furniture within the room. “This unique and modern concept has been loved by our guests, especially the foreign nationals as they can experience and relate the culture of two different cities in one place”, adds Chakraborty. The grandiose architecture of any art-based hotel is duly complemented with thematic or

Vijay Wanchoo

Sr. Executive VP and GM The Imperial

The Imperial has not only been a repository of art, but also a home to many famous artists. Each floor in the hotel is dedicated to an artist.

historic art that it has preserved, restored and displayed. Wanchoo says “Ar t adds to the sheer splendour and luxury of any hotel. For historic hotels like ours, art is an important element to showcase valuable heritage while it contributes to the repertoire and enhances The Imperial experience. Art is densely showcased on each floor of our hotel and is an intrinsic part of its heritage. On every level of Imperial’s sprawling four storey structure, in every public area, in the lobby, stairwells and canopies, adorning fountains and furniture, covering walls, keeping vigil from ceilings, cosying up in restaurants, accompa nying you in roya l carriages, in rooms graced with four-poster beds, for the lover of art, the progress through this maze can be delightfully unhurried.’’ At the Imperial the art is a tribute to its and the nation’s imperial past. Fortunately for residents, it has specialised art tours to guide the interested connoisseur which usually lasts an hour and is accompanied with High Tea at a nominal price of ` 2,500. HS by ANUPRIYA BISHNOI

48 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

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LIGHTS AND CHANDELIERS

PHOTO FEATURE

50 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

Tall bright orange lamp by Kapoor Lights

Guyon chandelier by Visionnaire

Eclipse chandelier by Visionnaire

PHOTO FEATURE

A massive golden chandelier by Elitaire

he look of a room is enhanced by the lighting and the beauty of its lights. To improve the look and feel of the rooms, lobby or any other part of your hotel, you must place perfect lights and chandeliers. These are examples of the high degree of taste and the technical skills achieved by the craftsmen. The crystal chandeliers are the best for the lobby or the banquet hall, whereas the ceramic chandeliers and side lamps should be used in the library, business centre, and spa in addition to the rooms. Visionnaire has a huge collection of chandeliers and side lamps with crystallised looks and grand designs, whereas on the other hand, The Delhi Design Store has the perfect options of artistic side lamps for the rooms at your hotel. Another brand where you can get some selected pieces of the traditional chandeliers with an antique touch is Elitaire, whereas Kapoor lights have a variety of all kinds. HotelScapes brings to you some of the fine-looking options from these brands. HS compiled by NIKITA CHOPRA

Artistic spittoon lamp by The Delhi Design Store

Esmeralda wall lamp by Visionnaire

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 51

PRODUCTS Osim India launches uAngel

SIM has launched the world’s 1st Sofa-Transformer, uAngel. This small sofa transforms into a full-body massage chair. With just one touch of a button, it doubles the pleasure of a modern and elegant looking lifestyle sofa. This sofa is petite in size and generous in features. It comes in five contemporary designs and colours. With strong massage from neck down to the toes, the OSIM uAngel presents a suite of five professionally designed massage programmes such as Neck & Shoulders; Lumbar, Relax-A pampering massage programme to loosen the overall body when it is tired; Energize and De-Stress. This chair is priced at `1,50,000. For more information visit: www.osim.com

Notion Introduces new range of wooden deck tiles

evamp your exterior, patio, pool, shower areas and terrace area with beautifully looking Wooden Deck Tiles by Notion. This new range work great in any climate and will last for years. Made with fine tropical wood and assembled on a high density engineered plastic base these tiles can be used in two different wayswith staggered or aligned joints. Due to their various colours, designs and shapes these deck tiles can easily fit almost every surface of the house. These decking tiles are provided with non-toxic chemical coatings that ensure resistance against termite and moisture. They are safer to walk as they offer more toeholds to prevent slipping and everyone feels comfortable to walk on these flooring tiles. The price is on request. For more information visit: www.notion.net.in

India’s 1st Mosquito Away Air Conditioner by LG

Gaia Launches Lemon Green Tea

he blistering summers leave us feeling lethargic and low on energy. The perfect way to re-energise is to have a cup of Green Tea, which is a rich source of antioxidants. It helps strengthen the immune system and aids in proper digestion. Green Tea is known to be good for diabetics as it helps regulate blood sugar levels. Gaia Lemon Green Tea is the perfect blend of the same goodness with a pleasing aroma and brings a lemonish hue when brewed. It is priced at `150 For more information visit: www.gaiagoodhealth.com

52 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

G has come up with its latest range of AC’s powered with mosquito away technology. The new range also delivers fast and powerful cooling, along with a new system that balances temperature and humidity levels, to maintain the perfect indoor atmosphere. Equipped with LG’s ultrasonic wave technology, the new model offers an effective, non-toxic way of repelling mosquitoes. It also features impressive cooling capabilities and an advanced humidity control system. The AC’s are designed to assist local consumers in their daily fight against mosquitoes. The AC repels mosquitoes and prevents more mosquitoes from entering the room with its Ultrasonic technology, without using any harmful chemicals. Completely harmless to humans; LG’s clever system represents a clean, safe, alternative to dangerous chemical-based insecticides and repellants. LG Terminator series, in the capacity of 1.0 to 2.0 tonnes, is in price range of `34,990 to `53,490. For more information visit: www.lg.com/in

PRODUCTS Caroma combines simplicity and elegance in free-standing bathtub NOIR

his time, the house of Caroma has come out with a ‘free-standing’ bathtub, NOIR 1700 that can be placed anywhere in the bathroom depending upon the requirement and suitability. The choice to place it as per wish and not just make it stick to the wall adds more beauty to bathroom ambience. The product comes in two tone colour, black and white, and has a seamless look. Its organic shape with a subtle high and tapered design gives it trendy yet elegant look. The combination of black exterior and the white inside coating helps NOIR to fit well in any bathroom setting. The price for this is on request. For more information visit: www.caroma.com.au

Panasonic is back with window air conditioner with all new range

anasonic has set yet another milestone by adding a new window air-conditioner model to its wide-ranging AC portfolio. With this new launch and the existing line-up of products which consists of Split ACs, CUBE ACs, and a comprehensive range of Commercial ACs, the company is aiming to establish itself as a complete solutions provider for the air conditioning need of its consumers. The ACs are already available in the market in variants of 1.0, 1.5 and 2,0 ton capacities and in 2, 3 and 5 stars. They are priced between ` 24,990 to `39,490. For more information visit: panasonic.co.in

Electrolux launches side-by-side refrigerator with digital display temperature control on door

he Electrolux side by side refrigerator comes with not just a crisper compartment, but flexible shelving that allows you to adjust the storage spaces in your fridge to fit your needs. This gives you the option to store certain vegetables like corn or peas, which do not need to be put in the crisper, away from ethyleneproducing fruits. The Electrolux side by side refrigerator’s multiairf low system ensures even circulation of cold air through the fridge, which keeps storage temperatures the same no matter where you store your food. The refrigerator is priced at `1,39,000. For more information visit: www.electrolux.in/builtin

Side Sleeper Monarch by Nilkamal Mattrezzz

he Side Sleeper Monarch by Nilkamal is an Orthopedic Mattress that is especially designed for side sleepers and uses science to bring additional comfort.A survey conducted by Nilkamal Ltd. revealed that 52% people sleep on their sides. Due to this side sleeping habit, they usually experience pain in their shoulders and numbness in their fingers in the morning. However, till date there has been no mattress available that addresses this issue faced by the vast majority of people. This mattress offers three different types of comfort along its length. It is 6-inches thick and brings comfort, support and wellness to the side sleeper. It is priced at `30,000. For more information visit: www.nilkamalmattrezzz.com

June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 53

NEWS SNIPPETS: INTERNATIONAL

Sofitel acquires and launches new properties in Sentosa and Albania

ofitel has announced the signing of Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa in 2015, and the group signature of the management agreement for the future Sofitel Tirana Palace in Tirana, Albania, also scheduled to open in 2015. The Sentosa, A Beaufort Hotel, now renamed The Singapore Resort & Spa Sentosa, Managed by Accor, will be unveiled as Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa in the second half of 2015, a luxury property and wellness enclave in Singapore. A full refurbishment and renovation of the newly purchased property by Royal Group Development has commenced for one of the most iconic hotels in Singapore and on Sentosa Island. Accor is focused on expansion in Asia Pacific, particularly within the resort segment, in response to Asia’s growing luxury market. As today’s travellers become increasingly discerning and sophisticated in their tastes and interests, their penchant for authentic experiences and cultural immersion increases.

Sofitel launches Sofitel Legend People’s Grand Hotel Xian

ofitel Luxury Hotels is pleased to announce that discerning travellers can now Live the Legend in China when they stay at Sofitel Legend People’s Grand Hotel Xian. Seven thousand years of history and tradition surround this heritage building which has been lovingly transformed into the first hotel in Greater China to join Sofitel’s exclusive ultra-luxe Legend Collection, and the fifth Sofitel Legend in the world. In 2011, The Grand Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and the Old Cataract Aswan (Egypt) followed in its footsteps. The Sofitel Legend Cartagena Santa Clara (Colombia) was inaugurated in December 2012. Opened in 1953, as the State Guesthouse, the hotel was designed by Hong Qing, Chief Architect of the Northwest Institute of Architectural Design. He skilfully sited the building in an extensive garden, formerly part of the grounds of an imperial palace.

Third Holiday Inn Express opens in Thailand

nterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has recently opened Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sathorn in the bustling city of Bangkok, Thailand. Owned by TCC Hotels Group, the 184-room hotel marks the brand’s third property in the country and the second in the capital. Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sathorn is in the hear t of the city and close to all the major international corporate offices, as well as the vibrant Silom area, which is famous for its shopping, dining and entertainment options. Owned by the leading Thai conglomerate

54 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

TCC Hotels Group, it will be the first Holiday Inn Express hotel to be owned by the group, which also owns InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels under IHG’s brand portfolio. Holiday Inn Express Bangkok S a t ho r n h a s qu ic k a c c e s s t o commuter links with the Chong Non Sri BTS skytrain stop only two minutes away, which will take travellers directly to destinations such as Siam Paragon, one of Asia’s largest shopping complexes, or the amazing Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC).

EVENTS

Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa holds its 2nd Convocation Ceremony

he 2nd Annual Convocation of the hospitality management students of the Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa was held on 23rd May in Lavasa city. This marks a significant milestone for Lavasa to fulfill its vision of being centre of excellence in education and research. At the convocation ceremony, Dr. Fabien Fresnel, Dean, E ducat ion a nd Resea rch, Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, presented the certificates to students for the 4-year Undergraduate Programme in Hospitality Management. All students have been successfully placed across India and abroad. Other eminent guests present included Rajiv Kaul, President, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, Jean-Michel Casse, Accor’s Senior Vice President and Nathan Andrews, President & CEO, Lavasa Corporation Ltd. Speaking on the occasion Dr. Fabien

Fresnel, Dean, Education and Research, EcoleHôtelière de Lausanne, said “In 2014, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa (LEH) is celebrating its five years of academic certification from Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). Since its creation, LEH has evolved to become a stateof-the-art hospitality learning centre, differentiating itself from the other hospitality schools in India through its pedagogical approach by combining

technical and theoretical learning and implementing entrepreneurial learning environments. We are proud to see what LEH has become today. I am convinced that the 19 graduating students of LEH in 2014 will show the world the capabilities they have acquired during their four years of studies, both on the management side and on the intangible ones.” Rony Kurien, Chief Operating Officer, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa said, “Just like our first batch, all students in the second batch have been placed in leading hotel chains in India. A few of them have started their own ventures and are quite successful. The successful careers of our students from the first batch and the placement of our students amongst the best in the industry is a testimony to our success at building a world class institute.” Nathan Andrews, President and CEO, Lavasa Corporation Limited stated, “Our endeavor to become a premier education and training hub is gradually coming to fruition.” HS June 2014 • HOTELSCAPES 55

PEOPLE RAJESH MALLIYA General Manager Four Points by Sheraton Bengaluru, Whitefield He has a wealth of hospitality operation and management experience, with his career commencing over 19 years ago. Rajesh started his career with Taj Group of Hotels and worked with them for 11 years at different properties in Ernakulam, Chennai, Thekkady and Bengaluru. He will be responsible for the entire hotel operations, leading the hotel in delighting guests with their hospitality. He has garnered numerous management positions, including Director of Rooms, Senior Duty Manager, Front Office In charge, Duty Manager and many more.

HEMA HARIRAMANI Director, National Sales Marriott India As part of her new role, Hema will be responsible for organizing and directing sales efforts towards achievement of the overall objectives for Marriott India. Additionally, enhancing talent in the team, serving as a senior member of the Marriott India team, fostering a cooperative work environment, maximising productivity and associated morale and upholding the Marriott culture through consistent involvement with the national sales team are among the many activities that Hema has been entrusted with.

YOGESH DHIMAN General Manager Park Inn Jaipur Yogesh Dhiman is an astute leader and dynamic professional, who comes with over two decades of varied experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining the Sarovar Group, he was heading Fortune Jamshedpur as General Manager. An alumnus of IHM Bhopal, Yogesh has previously worked with Centurion Group, Pride Hotels and St. Laurn Hotels as General Manager. He will be responsible for navigating the various responsibilities at the hotel and taking his property to new horizons with his leadership skills.

STEPHANIE D’SILVA Director of Sales and Marketing JW Marriott Mumbai She has a career span of 12 years in the hospitality industry. At JW Marriott Mumbai, she will be in charge of organizing and directing all sales and marketing efforts to achieve objectives and operational goals for the property. Enhancing talent in the team, member of the executive committee, fostering a cooperative work environment and upholding the Marriott culture through consistent involvement with all the aspects of the hotel are among the many activities that Stephanie has been entrusted with.

SACHIN MALHOTRA Hotel Manager Mercure Lavasa and Lavasa International Convention Centre Having successfully completed Accor’s prestigious India Leadership Development Program, he brings with him 14 years of experience in hotel sales and operations. His work experience includes hotels like the Hyatt Regency Delhi and The Leela Palace Bangalore before he joined Accor in 2009. In his new role he will provide leadership and management to the business operations of the 130 key hotel Mercure Lavasa and the Lavasa International Convention Centre.

SACHIN DIDOLKAR Director of Sales and Marketing Le Meridien Pune Didolkar has over 11 years of experience in the hospitality sector which will prove to be an asset in enhancing the sales strategy adopted by the hotel. Prior to this, Didolkar has worked with The Westin Pune Koregaon Park ,The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and JW Marriott in Mumbai. His long association with Starwood Group of Hotels makes him a respected addition to the Le Meridien family.

56 HOTELSCAPES • June 2014

PEOPLE RODNEY MENDES Head of Sales The Lalit Great Eastern His astute managerial and administrative skills come from his in depth knowledge of Business Administration. Prior to joining The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, Rodney Mendes was associated with reputed brands like The Park, Taj Group of Hotels, The Kenilworth and The Oberoi Grand. His analytical mind and leadership quality led him to develop and execute strategies to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of the brands. He will be responsible for driving sales, promoting brand strategies and initiatives and providing the best hospitality experience.

MADHUMITA MOHANTA Executive Chef The Lalit Great Eastern Having started her career as a Hotel Management Trainee at The Park, Kolkata, Chef Madhumita scaled the heights of culinary success with her enriching experience at Ritz Carlton, Sheraton, Four Point by Sheraton and The Claridges India, Singapore, Bahrain and Kuwait. Chef Madhumita is one of the few chefs in the world to have had the opportunity to serve the leading Italian soccer club and also launch an F1 season. From being the personal cook for Michael Schumacher to serving steamed noodles and other pan-Asian delicacies to Queen Raina of Jordon, Chef Madhumita has several laurels in her kitty.

L. SARAVANAN Director of Sales & Marketing Four Points by Sheraton Bengaluru, Whitefield With over eight years of experience in the hospitality industry, Saravanan has an understanding of Corporate, MICE, Travel Trade and Catering Sales. Prior to Four Points by Sheraton, Saravanan’s most recent appointment was at Ibis and Novotel Bengaluru as Associate Director of Sales. His role will include planning, strategising the marketing plans for the hotel and managing the sales resources and funds. Saravanan holds an International Diploma with honours in Hospitality Management from the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

CHEF MANGILAL KURLY Executive Chef Four Points by Sheraton Bengaluru, Whitefield Chef Kurly brings with him 19 years of professional experience in the industry and has many accolades to his credit. Chef Kurly’s most recent assignment was with the Courtyard by Marriott Bhopal as Executive Chef. His expertise lies mainly in Indian Cuisine. He has also headed various operations which include banqueting and speciality restaurant operations. During his stint in Mumbai, he has had several opportunities to showcase his passion and expertise to some of the biggest and most popular events in the city and is a favourite among the Bollywood circles of Mumbai.

MANISHA SHARMA Director of Rooms Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon She has been elevated in the role and will spearhead Rooms operations which include front office, housekeeping, reservations and guest service. Manisha began her career at Oberoi Hotel and joined Marriott as Director of Services at Jaipur Marriott Hotel from where she moved to the spectacular JW Marriott, Pune. Post two successful openings and with a forte in housekeeping, Manisha joined Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon as the Front Office Manager to help her professional growth .

RAJEEV UPADHYAY Pastry Chef Sofitel Mumbai BKC Rajeev brings to Sofitel 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry and will be responsible for overseeing the Bakery, Pastry and Confectionary section of the entire hotel. Chef Rajeev, will also play a vital role in promoting the Parisian Café, Artisan. Artisan at Sofitel Mumbai BKC is an Epicerie, Patisserie and Chocolaterie for those who are looking for an informal French Meal amidst charming French interiors. Artisan will launch a new range of signature pastries crafted under Chef Rajeev’s guidance.

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Developing Revenue Sensitive Teams at the Unit Level A way of increasing the competitive edge of a hotel is by ensuring employee participation in revenue optimisation writes Milind Kothare who runs Mkons Consulting

ith many markets going into oversupply and with the hotel business getting exposed to global practices, hotel managements are facing the herculean task of increasing the competitive edge of their teams, especially at the unit level. One such critical aspect of increasing competitive edge is making a unit team revenue sensitive. This is a challenging task. Most hotel companies need to think with the perspective of evaluating their current practices. This is especially true for standalone boutique properties which do not have a corporate support. T h is conce p t re qu i re s a paradigm shift in top management thinking. We need to bring in a change in their thought process s o t ha t a c h ie v i ng r e ve nue objectives is not just the individual responsibility of the general manager or revenue manager but of the entire unit team which should get focussed on achieving planned revenue results It is very important that this process, conventionally restricted to the desks of unit financial controllers and sales managers and F&B managers’ desks, should be made transparent to the team for their valuable inputs and participation. Another aspect is cross training Out of the box revenue ideas are suggested by team members due to this.

Scientific Approach in Preparing Budget

The first step is to have well defined budgets which are transparent and are prepared on a realistic

estimation of business generation from each source, each segment.

Rooms Division Budget

All hotel softwares give us the capability to store data monthwise and segment-wise. They also give us the ability to get sourcewise details. All sources, such as sales managers, GSAs, Rooms Division Managers have to be given enough time to get to the depth of each existing account and its probable business, the potential of the next financial year and the potential new accounts and their generation. This is very critical from the point of view of a variance analysis because we can pinpoint exactly where a deficit or surplus was and what the causes and effects were of the deficit and surplus. This is not possible in the case of a percentage escalation budget which is very random.

Food & Beverage Budgets

For the food & beverage budgets the following methodology has to be adopted. Outlet-wise data will give the month-wise trend of footfalls in terms of the number of covers. The budget should state the month-wise business plan and the measures taken in terms of food festivals and tent card promotions. The business plan should state the avenues tapped to hit the target audience to augment footfalls. It is very critical that in this exercise not only restaurant managers but senior captains should be involved and should give suggestions to enhance revenue as they know what guests

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Milind Kothare demand and their expectations. Some very practical revenue boosting ideas come from them if their talent is nurtured properly.

Housekeeping

With reference to mini-bar and laundry revenue, house keeping should be given a clear well defined objective in terms of quantity and numbers with a strategy to better the previous period’s numbers.

Miscellaneous Income

Car rentals ticketing and other miscellaneous income should be clearly defined and added to the revenue line.

Core Employee Development

I t h a s t o b e e x pl a i n e d t o the employees that revenue o p t i m i s a t io n i s no r o c ke t science but just the application of common sense. Then there are the typical concepts such as how Rev Par approach is better than AR R approach. Besides bar rates, optimum duration of stay and optimum group size, have to be explained in a very simplified manner. It is that your

Reservation is empowered and trained to take pricing decisions to optimise revenue but they have to be reviewed weekly or monthly. Once you are geared up with budgets then you need to form action groups to focus on certain areas of revenue. Then you need to ensure that the revenue objectives are communicated to every employee through these teams and are motivated to push revenue levels up. For example, a Rooms Division Revenue Team will include the Front Office Manager, the Reservation Manger, the Revenue Manager and the Sales & Marketing Manager. They need to meet at least twice a week to control the revenue momentum with a structured agenda. Similarly a Food & Beverage Committee must be formed with the F&B Manager, the Banquet Manager, Sales Manager, Restaurant Manager & Senior Captains. The detailed movement of the number of covers, and the average per cover has to be monitored outlet-wise and a dynamic strategy has to be devised to improve daily revenue objectives. Banquets booking co-ordination and facilitation with sales with the objective to trade menu patterns rather than discounts is very critical A detailed monthly review is critical where all key managers are motivated to present the previous month’s performance with detailed parameters along with efforts taken to boost the revenue and interventions to control expenses. It is critical that the entire team is aware about the critical expenditures to control. Revenue optimisation is not just focusing on revenue but also having a tight control over expenditure so that you see a healthy Gross Operating Profit. Once you adopt this culture then revenue optimisation is not a challenge but a motivation for all your key employees. HS by MILIND KOTHARE

RNI No. DELENG/2012/47318 Posting Dt. 16-21/06/2014 Licence No. U(C)-105/2013-2014 W.P.P. at NDPSO Postal Reg. No. DL(C) 01/1353/12-14

Date of Publication: 17/06/2014

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