Hotel Business Review ( Mar-April 2016)

MAR-APR ’16 VOL.12 No.2 ` 90

HOTEL B u s i n e s s

R e v i e w

An Exclusive Business Magazine for the Hotel Industry

Business Guest Satisfaction Makes the Difference

Feature The Hotel and the Town Spa Exploring Wellness with Sohum

Focus Let Your Hospitality Float

Property More Room for Guest Satisfaction

Operations The Age of Personalised Hospitality

Hospitality Holds Promise

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Editorial

Hotel Business Review

HOTEL B u s i n e s s

R e v i e w

An Exclusive Business Magazine for the Hotel Industry

Publisher cum Editor

Rajneesh Sharma

rajneeshhammer@gmail.com

Associate Editor

Swarnendu Biswas Resident Editor

Sharmila Chand (Delhi) Ashok Malkani (Mumbai) Layout & Design

Hari Kumar V Abhishek Singh Rathore Production Assistant

Mamta Sharma

Advertising Sales

Delhi: Debabrata Nath, Sumesh Sharma Director Sales

Sanjay Anand Mobile: +91 9811136837 Director Operations & Finance

Rajat Taneja Mobile: +91 9810315463

Editorial & Advertising Offices: Delhi:

Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 206, Samrat Bhawan, Ranjeet Nagar Commercial Complex, New Delhi-110008 Phone: 91-11-25704103, 45093486, 45084903 Mumbai:

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E-mail: info@hammer.co.in © 2016 Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. No article can be reproduced in part or as whole without prior permission of the Publisher.

Hammer Hotel Business Review is a bi-monthly magazine, printed and published by Rajneesh Sharma on behalf of Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 206, Samrat Bhawan, Ranjeet Nagar Commercial Complex, New Delhi. Printed at Swan Press, B-71, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-110 028. Annual Subscription rate within India is Rs. 450 and overseas US $110, for surface mail. Single issue is available for Rs. 90 in India and US $25 overseas. Cheques are payable to Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Editorial Policy : Editorial emphasis in Hammer Hotel Business Review magazine is on educational & informational material specifically designed to assist those responsible for managing instututional Hotel business.

Articles are welcome and will be published on the sole discretion of the editor.

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It seems the Indian hospitality industry has put the recession behind, and is striving towards achieving impressive growth. One can expect that in this business climate, hotel occupancies in India would increase in the near future, in the backdrop of steady growth of both domestic and inbound tourism in the country.

However, the industry can better utilise its growth potential if several bottlenecks pertaining to the growth of the Indian tourism and hospitality industry are removed. The industry should also focus more on MICE, wellness and banqueting services to garner the desired revenues. Here we have discussed the reality and potential of the present growth story of the Indian hospitality industry.

Guest satisfaction is pivotal to the hospitality industry. In fact, in this competitive environment for the industry, the attitude of the staff of the hotel to go the extra mile to extract that contended smile from the guests does have the potential to make the difference between a profitable and a loss making hotel.

And towards guest satisfaction, the quality of personnel and the application of sophisticated technology can make all the difference.

Creating memorable personalised guest experiences, giving great importance to small gestures towards guest satisfaction, and monitoring of guests’ well-being from time to time can perhaps help the hospitality property to gain repeat guests in hordes. For this, hiring the personnel with not only the right skills but also the right attitude towards hospitality assumes great importance. In this issue’s Business Story, we have explored the perennial topic of guest satisfaction in the hospitality industry, which has assumed even more importance in our demanding times.

In the Feature section, we have covered the innovative revenue generating future initiatives of a three-star hotel, which is located in a little known town of Maharashtra; a town that has great potential to become a destination for religious, heritage and rural tourism. I am sure the readers would find the feature to be of particularly interesting one.

The concept of floating hospitality properties, especially if they are developed in picturesque locales, and if they reflect classy hospitality options, does have the potential to generate great interest among both domestic and inbound tourists.

Presently, our country has very few floating hospitality properties, though it has no dearth of magnificent water bodies. In the Focus section, we have covered a few of these few hospitality properties, which may inform and inspire some of our esteemed readers.

These are only some of the interesting features covered in this issue, which are of course, as usual, complemented by an exhaustive body of up to date information; manifested through News, Report and Events section. I hope our readers would enjoy reading this issue as much we have enjoyed developing it.

With this hope I sign off, while wishing you all a better financial year than the last one, for our hospitality industry.

HOTEL B u s i n e s s

inside

R e v i e w

An Exclusive Business Magazine for the Hotel Industry

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COVER STORY

Leisure tourism, combined with the corporate clients, is increasing the demand for hotel rooms in the country. Investment in the Indian hospitality sector is increasing and several international chains have entered India and are expanding not only in metros but also in tier-II and tier- III cities.

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BUSINESS

With very few exceptions, customer satisfaction is at the heart of hospitality. Not only that, but hospitality is at the whim of individual likes and dislikes that are often unique to each guest. It is a challenge and also an opportunity for the industry.

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FOCUS

One of the ways by which the Indian hospitality players can stand out from the crowd is through the introduction of floating hospitality properties. Of course, floating hospitality properties is not a completely new concept in the Indian hospitality business, but it is still a refreshing one. The concept still has the potential to generate awe, even among the globally travelled guests, travelling within and to India.

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PROPERTY

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OPERATIONS

Citrus Pimpri, Pune, which can satisfy the needs and demands of business travellers, is located in the heart of Pimpri, opposite the Corporation building.

FEATURE

Not surprisingly, Jakson Inns Phaltan is presently the only threestar property in Phaltan, but what is amazing is the management of the hotel’s business insight, which is more focused on tomorrows than on today.

It is easier to keep a guest satisfied and smiling if you know what exactly she/he desires, says hospitality experts. Thanks to the digital era, collecting guest preferences has become a lot easier now than it was a decade before.

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departments SPA

The Sohum Spa at Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road has four therapy rooms with one dedicated for couples. The treatment rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art adjustable therapy beds that enable the team to adjust height & the seating posture as per the guest’s comfort.

04 Event 08

News Scan

20 Appointment 22 Report 50

Product Preview

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Business Opportunity

52 Interview

Cover Pix: Mercure Hyderabad KCP

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Event

Hotel Business Review

HOTELEX Shanghai 2016

Scripts a Success Story

T

he 25 th Shanghai International Hospitality Equipment & Supply Expo (HOTELEX Shanghai 2016), was held during 29th March-1st April at Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China. The event went on and closed with great success.

HOTELEX Shanghai is a large-scale and top quality hospitality exhibition. It has been organised by China Tourist Hotels Association, China Cuisine Association and UBM Sinoexpo Co., Ltd, and supervised by Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration.

In this edition of HOTELEX Shanghai, the total exhibition area amounted to 280,000 sq.m. The mega event included 15 themed sectors i.e. Catering Equipment, Tableware, Textile, Appliance Amenities, IT & Security, Fitness & Leisure, Food & Beverage, Coffee & Tea, Bakery & Ice cream, Wine & Spirits, Hotel Design, Hotel Building, Hotel Engineering, Hotel Furniture, and Hotel Cleaning. The event aimed to provide a onestop procurement platform for the hospitality and catering industry.

126,020 professional visitors attended HOTELEX Shanghai 2016, which increased 30 percent as compared to the last year’s statistics. Those visitors came from 116 countries and regions. 2500 of the industry’s leading brands and representative enterprises were exhibited. Hundreds and thousands of visitors from hospitality, coffee, ice cream and bakery industry along with bar and retail supermarkets industry were there at the show. The Central Kitchen premium hall was bursting with high popularity. This premium hall attracted domestic & overseas’ 4

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catering equipment with cutting-edge techs.

In fact, every competition and forum at the mega event attracted packed audience.

As the significant part of this edition of HOTELEX Shanghai, the six world-class coffee championships co-organised by WCE, debuted in the exhibition. The Chinese competitor Li Qi bagged the second prize in the World Latte Art Final. The winner of the last year’s China Barista Championship Hu Ying won the fifth place in the World Coffee in Good Spirits. Overall, HOTELEX Shanghai pushed the Chinese coffee championship and coffee industry to a brand new and more international prominence.

This time, Chinese competitor Li Qi bravely seized the second prize in the World Latte Art Final. The winner of last year’s China Barista Championship Hu Ying won the Fifth place in the World Coffee in Good Spirits. Let’s cheer for China coffee and the future of China coffee market will definitely be more brilliant.

Apart from the six coffee championships, there were an array of other championships, which included 2016 Shanghai Pizza Master Competition, 2016 Parma World Pizza Championship — China Selective Division, the Fourth Shanghai Gelato Championship, 2016 “Jinghong Cup” Star Hotel Table Art Display Competition, 2016 HOTELEX “The Rising Star” Chef Final, The Third “Wanrun Cup” Hotel Room Technical Skill Championship, 2016 “King Flower” The 3rd Shanghai Fashion Drinks Final Contest, 2016 the 5th China Master Bartender Competition, 2016 HOTELEX Hotel Uniform Show, 2016 IPA Matching-making Meeting and “Mirror

Award” Ceremony were other highlighting features of the mega event. Mirror Award was unveiled once again on the night of 29th March, in Pudong Kerry Center!

H OT E L E X S h a n g h a i i n v i t e d t h e experienced experts to have a commercial trading discussion in order to get the proactive industry trend and market demands. The consecutive ‘Hotel Plus Mockup Room Show’ has become the weathervane of the hospitality industry.

This time hotel management and design companies such as Wyndham, Marriot, Shimao Group，China Lodging Group were invited to re-appear around 10 different and distinctive mockup rooms onsite.

In 2017, HOTELEX will be separated into two editions. HOTELEX I will be held from 28th to 31st March at Shanghai New International Exhibition Center. This section will be primarily focused on the catering equipment, tableware, hotel amenities and textile, fitness and leisure, appliances and security, food and beverage, coffee and tea, bakery and ice cream, wine and spirits, etc.

From 26th to 28th April, HOTELEX PLUS will be held. HOTELEX PLUS will be an exhibition especially for public commercial space i.e. hotel, shopping mall, restaurant, administrative building, hospital, etc. and will provide a one-stop purchasing platform for them. As the extending branch of HOTELEX I, HOTELEX PLUS will position on the procurement for the hotel and restaurant’s light-fixtures. Deeply combined with HOTELXI (hotel rooms, catering equipment, etc.),it is expected to become a super influential hospitality exhibition.

52 Glorious Year of Service to the Hospitality Industry

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Event

Hotel Business Review

EVENTS’ CALENDER

An Event of Great Magnitude

FHA 2016 12-15 April 2016 Singapore Expo, Singapore www.foodnhotelasia.com ANUFOOD Eurasia 2016 14-16 April 2016 Tüyap Exhibition Center, Istanbul, Turkey http://www.anufoodeurasia.com Alimentaria 2016 25-28 April 2016 Fira de Barcelona, Spain www.alimentaria-bcn.com

THAIFEX — World of Food Asia (WOFA), one of Asia’s influential international food and hospitality show, has announced details of the upcoming edition of the event. It will be taking place during 25th May- 29th May 2016 at IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Centre, in Bangkok.

The show, which has grown from strength to strength over the past 12 years, has become an important platform for regional and international food importers and exporters to connect with trade visitors from Asia and worldwide.

The show also acts as a platform to introduce the latest food innovations, technologies and trends.

At the press announcement held in Bangkok, hosted by the representatives of the show organiser Koelnmesse and its partners, the Department of International Trade Promotion and TheThai Chamber of Commerce, it was confirmed that the 2016 edition of THAIFEX — World of Food Asia will be spread across a recordbreaking 80,000 sq.m of Bangkok’s IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Centre, up from 70,000 sq.m in the last year’s edition of the event. Additionally, more than 1,800 companies from 30 countries will take part in the show.

Organisers are also expecting an 8 percent increase in trade visitors in this year’s show as compared to that of its previous edition.

International exhibitors is also set to increase by 13 percent as compared to that of the last edition of the show.

Approximately 900 foreign companies

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SIAL China 2016 5-7 May 2016 Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, Shanghai,China www.sialchina.com Travel Catering Expo 2016 9-11 May 2016 DICEC, Dubai http://www.travelcateringexpo.com/ from China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Turkey and European countries such as Italy and Germany are expected to participate at the show. New exhibitor countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, India, Indonesia, Norway and Ukraine.

This strong international interest is reflected in the additional 10,000 sqm of showroom space added to this year’s event, which will attract a greater number of international exhibitors and trade buyers including importers, wholesalers as well as retailers and distributors.

One of the highlights of the forthcoming event is the 5th edition of Thailand Ultimate Chef Challenge (TUCC), which would be contested by over 1,000 Chefs from 10 countries. The competition will introduce a new category named ‘Bakery & Pastry’. The 2nd edition of Celebrity Coffee Bar (CCB) will feature Japan’s Hidenori Izaki who won the 2014 World Barista Championship with 10 other award-winning baristas showcasing their skills. Debut of ‘pop-up’ coffee shop Artisan Café by iconic Italian espresso maker La Marzocco is another of the highlight of the forthcoming event.

Thaifex — World of Food Asia 2016 25-29 May 2016 Impact Exhibition & Convention Center, Thailand www.worldoffoodasia.com FISPAL FOOD SERVICE 2016 14-17 June 2016 Expo Centre, Sao Paulo, Brazil www.fispalfoodservice.com.br MIFB 2016 17-19 June 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia www.mifb.com.my Heimtextil India 2016 22-24 June 2016 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi www.heimtextil-india. in.messefrankfurt.com Ambiente India 2016 22-24 June 2016 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi www.ambiente-india.in

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Hotel Business Review

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Grand Mercure Goa Shrem Resort Rechristened to Novotel Goa Resorts & Spa Grand Mercure Goa Shrem Resort has been rechristened to Novotel Goa Resorts & Spa. This coupled with the Novotel Goa Shrem Hotel is expected to firmly position a consolidated premium Novotel presence for travellers & explorers in Goa. The two five-star Novotel properties are located just off the bustling and energetic main street of Candolim in North Goa. They together have 271 rooms. Here it deserves a mention that Novotel is the midscale hotel brand of AccorHotels.

The two Novotel properties include seven bars and restaurants, a massive kids’ club with outstanding fun activities, 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting & banquet spaces, the La Brise seaside restaurant on Candolim beach; all as part of a 271 room experience under the Novotel brand. The rooms and suites at these hotels

offer havens of space and are designed to cater to leisure, business and family vacationers.

The Novotel Goa Resorts & Spa’s lobby is now equipped with Novotel signature Play Table (a 360-degree digital experience), an easy work corner, a new Deli shop, a gaming zone, and Apple I Mac computers in the lobby. The resort is also upgrading its suites, and adding an additional Italian-Mediterranean restaurant named Vera Cibo to their food and beverage services.

According to a press release, both properties put together along with the La Brise restaurant & lounge on the Candolim beach account for the second largest banqueting spaces in North Goa with over 20,000 sq. ft. of space. Appreciating the needs of today’s business travellers, the Novotel Goa Resorts & Spa has a business centre, three board rooms and four meeting rooms which are equipped with the latest audio-visual and communication technology.

Hyde Park for Events and Banquets Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites, Bengaluru, a contemporary all suites hotel, has added Hyde Park within its ambit. According to a press release, Hyde Park is an exceptional banquet space covering 5000 square feet.

With the introduction of Hyde Park, the hotel, which is located close to Electronic City and the commercial hub Kormangla, now brings an event and banqueting space that can accommodate up to 550 people. This event and banqueting space is endowed with a rooftop location that offers an excellent city view and open sky.

According to a press release, Hyde Park is outfitted with the latest audio-visual equipment, picture screens, overhead video and slide-projectors and advanced audio and microphone systems. It further noted that Hyde Park was equipped with a host of facilities, tailored to cater to business and social needs.

It can also be divided into two separate venues as per the requirement and theme of the event. The press release stated that the venue offered unmatched F&B services. These also include a special range of authentic Japanese food items on its menu.

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Hotel Business Review

Grappa for the Spirits Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi, located in the heart of the city, brings to its patrons a new bar named Grappa.

The concept of the bar revolves around an indoor-outdoor setting which helps in keeping the ambience dynamic, casual and friendly. Grappa takes advantage of the picturesque alfresco terrace overlooking lush green lawns as part of its seating plan. The setting can induce patrons to gather for early evening bites, aperitifs and evening meals at the open-air terrace.

Grappa showcases an Italian inspired bar menu of experimental cocktails, including Barrel Aged Cocktails, Negronis, bitters and sours.

The cocktails have been curated to work effortlessly well with the cicchetti menu at the adjoining Italian Restaurant, Sorrento.

The custom-made concoctions compliment the warm and refined atmosphere of the bar. The bar has an in-house resident DJ, who shows musical skills at Grappa, on Friday and Saturday evenings. Grappa is expected to contribute towards Delhi’s nightlife scene. The operating hours of the outlet, which is located at the lobby level, ranges between 12.30 pm-1.00 am.

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Online Check-in to Facilitate Guest Service Sinclairs Hotels & Resorts has recently launched an ‘on-line’ check-in system. Now, guests who have booked rooms in any

of the hospitality properties of Sinclairs Hotels & Resorts will be mailed a link with the reservation confirmation voucher. Using the link, the guest can check in online. This will enable guests arriving at the hospitality properties of Sinclairs Hotels & Resorts to check in seamlessly in less than a minute. This fast track check-in can be a great help especially for the tired tourists; coming to the hotel after a long travel.

According to a press release, there are several other initiatives which are being taken to ensure that guests have a delightful experience during their stay with Sinclairs’ hospitality properties.

Sinclairs Hotels & Resorts presently owns and operates seven hotels/resorts in Siliguri, Darjeeling, Dooars, Kalimpong, Burdwan, Ooty and Port Blair.

Arun Nanda is the New Chairman of THSC Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), a society supported by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) through National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to create a robust and sustainable eco-system for skill development in the hospitality industry, announced the appointment of Arun Nanda as its new Chairman.

Nanda was unanimously elected as the new Chairman by the board at the recently held 4th general body meeting of THSC. In this role, Nanda will guide and lead the organisation in its aim to fulfill the skilled manpower requirements of the hospitality industry.

Nanda is currently the Chairman of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd. and Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. and is the Director of Holiday Club Resorts Oy, Finland. Apart from this, he holds leadership & advisory roles on the boards of several other companies.

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Conrad Hotels & Resorts Arrives in India with Conrad Pune The Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand debuts in India with the opening of Conrad Pune. It is located in the heart of the central business district of Pune. The hotel is managed by Hilton Worldwide and is owned by Palm Grove Beach Hotels Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the K. Raheja Constructions Group.

The luxury hotel is located on Mangaldas Road near Koregaon Park. The hotel offers easy access to the city’s IT and business hubs including Magarpatta, Kharadi, Hinjewadi and PimpriChinchwad, as well as the airport.

“The introduction of the Conrad brand in India marks a significant milestone for the brand’s expansion in South Asia, and Pune enjoys a robust demand for high-end hospitality from affluent travellers from around the globe,” said Amit Midha, General Manager, Conrad Pune. “We are uniquely positioned to cater to the needs of the new generation of smart luxury travellers, offering access to a world of connections and inspired experiences,” he added further.

The hotel comprises 310 guest rooms including 20 suites.

They are equipped with a comprehensive range of amenities.

These ‘Intelligent Rooms’ sense the guest’s arrival and switch from energy saving mode to occupied; activating the air-conditioning system, drawing curtains and adjusting the lights to suit the time of day.

According to a press release, Conrad Pune features among the largest guest rooms and suites in the city, six stylish dining outlets, extensive business and recreational facilities. Providing the backdrop are expansive public spaces with 40-feet high ceilings, cascading water features, a collection of handpicked artwork, bold geometric shapes, dashes of striking colour and hints of lavish ornamentation.

According to the same press release, the 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space at the hotel features a grand ballroom, meeting rooms, seven boardrooms, dedicated entrance, indoor automotive lift, state-of-the-art audio-visual technology, intelligent lighting, exceptional service and inspired catering.

The hotel features a dedicated rejuvenation floor with an outdoor temperature-controlled pool, a dedicated kids’ pool, whirlpool, a 24-hour fitness centre, a full-service Conrad Spa and a salon.

The dining options at the hotel include three restaurants, a chic bar, a poolside café, a delicatessen and a lobby lounge.

For guests who wish to explore the city, the dedicated concierge at the hotel is happy to assist in booking a restaurant, securing tickets or organising a taxi or chauffeur-driven limousine. For guests who seek inspired experiences, the hotel offers a more customised and curated collection of 1, 3, and 5-hour itineraries available at www.StayInspired.com and accessible via the Conrad Concierge mobile app. According to the press release, each Conrad 1/3/5 recommendation features an inspired view into each destination covering food, shopping, art and design, culture, family and adventure.

Celebrating International Women’s Day Pullman New Delhi Aerocity & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity celebrated womanhood in style on 08th March 2016, on the International Women’s Day, with their leading ladies participating in Delhi Aerocity Run 2016, a 5km run to honour the strength of women.

A scrumptious hi-tea session was organised specially in these ladies’ honour. Sharing some valuable beauty and health tips with the ladies were the renowned make-up artist Chandni Singh and the eminent dermatologist, Dr. Shehla Agarwal, who graced the occasion and spend some valued and cherished moments with the ladies.

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Hotel Business Review

WelcomHeritage at Chandni Chowk There has been a new addition to WelcomHeritage’s portfolio in the recent past.

WelcomHeritage Haveli Dharampura is set in the heart of the capital, in Delhi 6 and nestles amongst the narrow alleys of Chandni Chowk; a place which resonates with the romance of known and unknown history. Architecture of the heritage hotel is attributed as Late Mughal style though parts of it has the influence of the 20th century architecture. The construction of the haveli turned hotel dates to 1887 AD and was originally designed to have mixed use pattern i.e. both residential and commercial.

The name of the haveli was derived from the name of the locality Dharampura, which comes from the word Dharam meaning religion.

Probably the area was so named because of the large number of small and big religious institutions, including Jain and Hindu temples in the vicinity. The WelcomHeritage Haveli Dharampura is situated in close proximity to the historic Jama Masjid.

The surroundings of the hospitality property still bear the evidences of history through its physical features like brackets, balconies, jharokas, multi-foliated arched gateway, carved

sandstone facades and wooden doorway.

The heritage hotel consists of 13 rooms and suites with three categories namely Jharokha Rooms, Diwan E Khas Rooms, and Shahjahan Suites. All rooms have been designed with modern stateof-the-art furnishings and facilities while maintaining its aesthetic look and feel.

The heritage hotel has two restaurants namely Lakhori and The Roof-Top Restaurant. Other facilities include Heritage Library, Royal Spa, Art Gallery and Shisha Room. Pigeon flying, which was well-known during the Mughal era as Kabootarbazi and kite flying, which was well-known as Patangbazi during the Mughal era, are the two main attractions of the hotel.

Besides Jama Masjid, many other famous historic places like Red Fort, Rajghat, Jantar Mantar, National Museum among others are near the WelcomHeritage Haveli Dharampura.

Initiatives by Vedanta Wake Up! To explore the beauty of South India, Aadil Muscatwala and Rishabh Gupta, Founders & Directors of Blanket Hospitality Ventures Pvt. Ltd., started a unique venture under the brand Vedanta Wake Up! This project, which was started in 2011, has become a market leader in the budget segment.

Catering to Southern India with 18 functional properties spread across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it is present in the prime locations such as Alleppey, Fort Kochi, Kovalam, Varkala, Thekkady, Cochin, Trivandrum, Munnar, Wayanad, Madurai, Pondicherry, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal, Ooty, Mysore and Coorg.

They have now initiated an activity named ‘Share A Ride’, where guests can plan their trip with fellow travellers, which not only helps them socialise but also share the expenses. The brand’s other initiatives include ‘Leave A Message’ board for better communication, and ‘Activity of the Day’ board that highlights the activities which are planned for the guests during the day.

For the book lovers, the brand has come up with a concept of book exchange library, where guests can leave their old book behind and take another as a souvenir.

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Hotel Business Review

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts Enhances its Portfolio Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has opened a brand new property named KalyanHometel, Vandalur-Chennai, which is located at Vandalur, near Chennai. The hotel is conveniently located in the industrial corridor along GST Road.

According to a press release, the group has touched yet another strategic destination with KalyanHometel at Vandalur; aiming to provide quality accommodation and services at an affordable pricing to business travellers to this region. The hotel comprises 108 rooms, which includes suites.

Speaking on the occasion, Anil Madhok, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said, “The existing demandsupply gap in this industrial town offers huge opportunity for hospitality brands. This allows us great prospect for our brand Hometel, which is designed to provide unmatched facilities at value for money price. We are happy to associate with the Kalyan Grand Stay Pvt. Ltd. who is taking initiative to invest and promote this destination, which has great potential.”

“Hotels in tier-II and III cities of India are seeing major hospitality developments and will continue to be some of

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the most attractive locations for our future investments. Some of our new openings this year include Sarovar Portico hotels in Dehradun, Bhavnagar, Bengaluru and Raipur and we will be soon reaching out to newer destinations like Amritsar and Greater Noida,” he added further.

K. Saravana Prakash, Managing Director, KalyanGrand Stay Pvt. Ltd., said, “The hotel aims to provide uncompromising yet affordable accommodation for the discerning guests. At the heart of the experience is the comfortable and unobtrusive service, which does not burn a big hole in the pocket. Facilities including an all-day dining with bar and a fitness centre complement the overall guests’ experience.”

“Banquet & conference spaces at the hotel along with business centre make it a perfect venue to host trainings, workshops, product launches, exhibitions, weddings and other social events. We are glad to partner with Sarovar Hotels & Resorts and we look forward to providing a memorable stay to business travellers to Vandalur,” asserted Prakash.

The RATIONAL Version of Indian Cuisine RATIONAL is introducing modern cooking methods in to cooking traditional Indian food. At this year’s AAHAR exhibition, which was held during 15th-19th March 2016 in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, RATIONAL India, a leader in professional thermal cooking appliances, showed a special cooking solution for traditional Indian dishes like tandoori chicken, paneer tikka, dal makhni, prawns moilee, and tandoori bhare aloo.

“We at RATIONAL India are attempting to incorporate the Indian cuisine into modern technology of RATIONAL without compromising on flavours and spices for which Indian cuisine is known for. Our customers are adapting the same and are quite happy and satisfied with the food quality and flavours presented

by RATIONAL India. We are focussing on entire India from north to south and east to west to explore maximum possible benefits in terms of our diversified traditional Indian cuisine,” said the National Corporate Chef at RATIONAL India, Toshit Sharma.

The company’s core application team develops various possible traditional Indian recipes that can be prepared through the application of RATIONAL’s post-modern technology, and the company’s customers can simply retrieve these stored recipes from Club RATIONAL and get the possibility to prepare Indian dishes just by the push of a button, as the rest is done automatically with the RATIONAL SelfCooking Centre 5 Senses.

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Hotel Business Review

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ITC Limited and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Renew their Partnership ITC Limited and Starwood Hotels & Resorts have announced that agreements have been signed to extend their existing partnership for 11 ITC Luxury Collection hotels and 1 hotel under the Sheraton brand. Further strengthening their partnership, the two hospitality players also announced three upcoming ITC hotels under The Luxury Collection brand, in India. The addition of ITC Kohinoor in Hyderabad, ITC Narmada in Ahmedabad and ITC Royal Bengal in Kolkata will take the inventory up to 15 hotels, over the next four years.

Speaking on the extension of the partnership, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Limited, said, “ITC’s hotels exemplify our commitment to create world-class Indian brands that demonstrate global competitiveness. The association with

Starwood Hotels & Resorts for close to four decades bears testimony to this commitment and we are pleased to further strengthen our alliance with three upcoming ITC luxury hotels in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, which will be archetypes of the culture and region they are located in.”

Commenting on this occasion, Thomas Mangas, Chief Executive Officer, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., said, “Starwood is experiencing strong growth momentum in India with signings of new hotels during the past 12 months representing nearly 30 percent of our current operating footprint in the country. India remains one of our fastest growing markets and much of our success can be attributed to our long, collaborative partnership with ITC. Together with ITC and our highly experienced local team, we look forward to offering our guests and customers more choices in more places, and to our continued mutual success in the country.”

“Through this extension, we have further strengthened our partnership with ITC Hotels to offer international and Indian guests unique experiences in these destinations,” said Dilip Puri, Managing Director India and Regional Vice President, South Asia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield Introduces WBG Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield has recently introduced its signature restaurant, Whitefield Bar and Grill (WBG). The poolside restaurant offers guests with an ideal location to sit back and unwind in the relentless summer heat, while enjoying palatable tandoors & grills and beverages. With a rustic ambience that exudes serenity, the restaurant aims at making guests forget the hustle bustle of daily life and bask in the relaxing atmosphere.

The delicacies on offer include mouth-watering grills like half baby spring chicken, drumstick tangri kebab, salmon, lamb shoulder kebab, beef sirloin and portobello mushroom among others besides a luxurious spread of salads, starters, burgers and desserts.

WBG, with a seating capacity of 62 persons, intends to combine the best of grills with sassy cocktails and a soothing environment to create the perfect dining experience.

Speaking on the launch of the restaurant, Nicholas Dumbell, General Manager of the hotel, said, “We are excited to launch WBG, the signature restaurant at Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield. The restaurant offers an irresistible range of tandoors and grills with a poolside ambience. Our endeavour is to bring some of the perfectly cooked grilled cuisines to the people dining at the restaurant and provide them with a relaxing getaway from the commercial bustle of the city. We intend to provide an unforgettable dining experience to guests, which they will relish for a long time.”

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Appoi ntment

Hotel Business Review

Anirvan Saniyal

Anirvan Saniyal has taken over as the General Manager at Ambar Sarovar Portico Gandhidham. He brings with him an experience of over 15 years in the hospitality industry. He was earlier associated with Sarovar Hotels & Resorts as the Regional Training Manager for Western Zone.

Some of Anirvan’s previous assignments include stints as General Manager with Sterling Holidays, Daman Casa Tesoro; Group General Manager (Operations) – St. Laurn Business Hotels, Corporate Pre-Opening & Training & Development Manager – Lords Hotels & Resorts, Surat; and Corporate Training & Development Manager – Ambassador Group, Mumbai.

Sabyasachi Chatterjee

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has appointed Sabyasachi Chatterjee as the General Manager of Park Plaza, Faridabad, Delhi-NCR. A passionate hotelier, Sabyasachi brings with him over 18 years of operational excellence and key deliverables across cross-cultural teams.

Prior to this, he was the General Manager at Optus Hometel, Bhiwadi. Sabyasachi also has the experience of working with The Pride Hotels, UP Hotels Ltd. and Clark Hotels.

Puneet Baijal

Puneet Baijal, a dedicated Hyatt professional, has been appointed as the General Manager at Hyatt Regency Chandigarh. With a hospitality career spanning more than 17 years, Baijal is respected for his extensive knowledge of the hotel industry, and brings with him a broad experience of working with a number of Hyatt brands. Before joining Hyatt, Baijal worked with both Taj & Leela, two of the country’s prestigious hotel chains.

Mohammed Shoeb

Mohammed Shoeb has been appointed as the General Manager at Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Dwarka. Mohammed Shoeb brings to Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Dwarka over 25 years of hospitality experience. In his distinguished career, he has held senior management positions in premium hotel brands across the country.

During the last 10 years, Mohammed has been involved in successful preopening projects for at least four hotels in southern part of India including the hotels within Accor group, ITC WelcomGroup and Intercontinental hotels chain. During his tenure with the Accor Hotels, he was involved in the successful opening and operations of Novotel Vishakhapatnam & Novotel Chennai.

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Kerman Lalkaka

ITC Hotels has announced the recent appointment of Kerman Lalkaka as the General Manager, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai. He has completed two years as Hotel Manager of ITC Maratha, Mumbai.

Kerman brings a wealth of experience in hospitality operations & management, spanning an international career of more than 20 years. He has worked brands such as Hilton and Radisson. He will be responsible for the overall operations at ITC Grand Central, Mumbai.

Sumit Gogia

Sumit Gogia has recently joined Hyatt Regency Delhi as the Director of Events.

He began his career in the year 2000 as a Food & Beverage Attendant at the Grand Hyatt Delhi. During his previous tenures, he has worked with renowned hospitality brands like The Imperial New Delhi, The Grand New Delhi, Shangri-la, New Delhi, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon among others. His last assignment was with Hyatt Regency Gurgaon as the Director of Events.

Sanjay Grover

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has appointed Sanjay Grover as the General Manager of Hometel Chandigarh. A dedicated and result driven professional, Sanjay brings with him an international experience of over 26 years in the hospitality industry.

He has worked with various hotels and food & beverage oriented industries across India, UAE and Oman.

Some of his previous assignments include stints with The Oberoi Grand Kolkata, The Oberoi Towers Mumbai, The Kwality Inn, Dubai and the Ajman Kempenski, Ajman Beach Hotel and the Ajman Marina in Ajman.

Meena Rewari

Hyatt Regency Chandigarh has appointed Meena Rewari as the Director of Sales & Marketing. Her career in hospitality sales spans almost two decades across brands like The Park Hotels, The Oberoi Group and Hyatt Hotel Corporation.

Pranay Verdia

Pranay Verdia has been appointed as the General Manager of Goa Marriott Resort & Spa. This is following his stint as the GM of Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru where he launched the brand in Asia Pacific. In his new position at Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, Pranay’s mandate would be to facilitate smooth and efficient functioning of the property and guide the teams across departments to meet the set goals. Pranay’s primary focus areas are people (associates), food & beverage, and customer loyalty.

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Hotel Business Review

Mercure Hyderabad KCP Opens AccorHotels has recently announced the opening of Mercure Hyderabad KCP, which is the group’s fourth property and its first midscale brand hotel in Hyderabad. Located in the heart of Hyderabad’s shopping, historic and business district, which is frequented by corporate and leisure travellers, Mercure Hyderabad KCP offers its guests accommodation infused with authentic local touches, inherent to the city of Nizams. With this opening, Mercure brand debuts in Hyderabad.

According to a press release, the property is within close proximity to several tourist attractions, with shopping malls such as GVK, City Center and

Hyderabad Central, and Banjara Hills just a short walking distance away. The hotel is located at a distance of 1.9 km from Banjara Hills and 3.5 km from Nampally railway station. The nearest airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, which is 20.9 km from the hotel.

The 128 spacious guest rooms and suites of the property offer modern amenities alongside scenic views of the city, and Hussain Sagar Lake. The rooms of the hotel comprise 98 Superior Rooms, 11 Deluxe Rooms, 12 Superior Lake Facing Rooms and 7 Suites.

The hotel facilitates in bringing local culture to life. According to a press release, behind every painting and every

piece of art in the hotel is a story on its architecture and décor. The Mercure Brand Wall, which comprises of Pochampally Silk background, can be a visual treat for guests. According to the same press release, the guests can experience historical tales of the art and culture of Hyderabad while walking down every corner of the hotel.

Commenting on the hotel’s opening, Kavitha Dutt Chitturi, Executive Director of KCP Limited, said, “Hyderabad has witnessed rapid growth in the IT and pharma sector in the recent past, with leading MNCs making a beeline to the city. This has resulted in an increase in the number of business travellers to the city. We are delighted to launch Mercure Hyderabad KCP with a promise of delivering the best quality product and services in the hospitality sector. Located in the heart of Hyderabad, the hotel offers a warm setting that is both modern and comfortable for guests whether on a business trip, holiday or a weekend break.”

“The opening of Mercure Hyderabad

KCP reinforces our commitment towards expansion and brand presence in India.

Hyderabad is an important market for us as it enjoys the unique positioning of a globally renowned technology and business hub with a rich cultural heritage.

The property joins the brand’s global network of hotels, offering authentic local culture and unparalleled hotel experiences,” said Jean-Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President, Operations, AccorHotels India.

The hotel has three food and beverage outlets. Cayenne, an all-day diner, offers an eclectic selection of local and international cuisines. The IQ bar is ideal for unwinding in evening. The Impression

Quotient of Mercure Hyderabad KCP, it is a trendy lobby lounge and bar. Guests can pamper their tastebuds with a selection of pastries and confectionaries for afternoon teas at Macaroon deli patisserie.

For executive meetings, private parties and events, the hotel has five contemporary meeting rooms and banquet halls that can accommodate up to 150 guests. All meeting rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art conferencing technologies. The meeting rooms boast of abundant natural light and ventilation along with panoramic views of the city.

Fitness enthusiasts can enjoy their work out at the roof top fitness centre of the hotel.

Tiffin Service by Fairmont Jaipur Fairmont Jaipur has introduced tiffin service as part of in-room dining experience of the hotel, which is probably inspired by the famous tiffin service in Mumbai. Tiffin refers to the Indian practice of delivering homemade lunches in metal canisters. At Fairmont Jaipur’s version of tiffin service food is served in designer boxes, which are heat insulated.

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This hotel’s ‘tiffin’ repertoire includes signature dishes like Laal Maans, Gatte Curry, Butter Chicken, Paneer Tikka Masala.

The starter section of the menu includes fresh juices with seasonal fruit platter, stack of pancakes, freshly steamed idli, salads, soups, choice of Indian, Oriental, European appetisers, etc.

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Hotel Business Review

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Hyatt Regency Chandigarh Opens its Doors Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has recently announced the official opening of Hyatt Regency Chandigarh. Located 153 miles from Delhi, Hyatt Regency Chandigarh is the first Hyatt-branded hotel to open in Chandigarh; the city planned by world renowned Swiss-French architect and planner Le Corbusier.

“We are delighted to welcome the first Hyatt-branded hotel to the beautifully planned city of Chandigarh,” said Kurt Straub, Vice President of Operations for Hyatt, in India. “Hyatt Regency Chandigarh has been thoughtfully designed to make guests feel welcome, comfortable and relaxed, so that they can socialise, connect and celebrate any occasion. I am confident that this contemporary new hotel will add to the appeal of Le Corbusier’s charming city and introduce Hyatt’s well-known hospitality to guests and residents,” he observed further.

“We are delighted to bring this hotel to the heart of Chandigarh’s Tri-City,” said General Manager of the hotel, Puneet Baijal. “Hyatt Regency Chandigarh is a modern hotel that embodies both the city’s design ethos and its residents’ desire for modern accommodations, excellent service and exciting places to eat and drink,” he averred.

The hotel is central to the city’s business hub. It is a 20-minute drive from Chandigarh International Airport and eight minutes drive from the Chandigarh Junction railway station.

The hotel has 211 generously sized guestrooms, including 25 suites and seven Cabana rooms. According to a press release, they are characteristic of Le Corbusier’s design elements, including contemporary furniture, inspired artwork and colourful carpets. Each guestroom of the hotel offers amenities to meet the needs of today’s business and leisure traveller.

From authentic North Indian dishes to Chinese cuisine to

western fare to classic Italian, the hotel provides multiple options for quick drinks, business lunches, intimate dinners or casual dining experiences.

Urban Café is a multi-cuisine restaurant in the hotel that features a selection of north Indian, Chinese, Middle-Eastern, and western cuisine. Here traditionally designed tandoors, sizzling woks and grills are being offered. According to the press release, the restaurant also has a premium wine selection and a fine whisky bar, as well as a selection of specialty teas and coffees.

The hotel’s 24-hour café, Browse, is an ideal place to network, share ideas and conversation. It serves an eclectic mix of Indian and international cuisine specialties in a relaxed ambience with hot and cold beverages.

At the Pool Bar one can enjoy refreshments while soaking in the temperature-controlled outdoor pool. The Pool Bar is reminiscent of a modern-open air garden setting, surrounded by lush greenery with a view of the pool. Set in an ambience of serenity and beauty, it serves refreshing and innovative cocktails, comfort foods, grilled dishes, light salads, and home-made icecreams.

Piccante will be the hotel’s signature Italian restaurant, which is expected to open in early June. Stage, a bar, will also open in early June.

Hyatt Regency Chandigarh has more than 36,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event facilities, including an 8,711 square feet pillar-less ballroom. The hotel provides sound insulated meeting rooms that can be linked together to create a unique conference capsule, capable of accommodating multiple breakaway seminars simultaneously.

Amaira Spa is opening in early June. According to the press release, the spa will provide a holistic approach to health and fitness by focussing on a balanced mind, body and soul.

Coveted Honour for Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair has been ranked by TripAdvisor as No. 1 hotel in Port Blair. The ranking is made on the basis of thousands of reviews and ratings during a year, from travellers around the planet.

There were as many as 419 reviews of Sinclairs Bayview from the TripAdvisor community. Of these 124 rated the property as ‘excellent’ and another 175 as ‘very good.’

“We are honoured and humbled by this recognition. As the TripAdvisor’s rankings are based on guest reviews, the recognition is extremely valuable for us. Our goal remains 100 percent guest satisfaction,” said Swajib Chatterjee, General Manager — Corporate, Sinclairs Hotels Limited.

Set on a cantilever into the sea, Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair offers a mesmerising 270 degree view of the Bay of Bengal. According to a press release, the hotel presents a quiet getaway for those who want to explore the Andamans. The hotel is 15 minutes from the airport and the town’s shopping center. Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair comprises 46 rooms and suites, which opens out to the crystal blue waters.

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Hotel Business Review

Cover Story

Hospitality Holds Promise

The hospitality industry of India is expected to attract impressive growth rates. Leisure tourism, combined with the corporate clients, is increasing the demand for hotel rooms in the country. Investment in the Indian hospitality sector is increasing and several international chains have entered India and are expanding not only in metros but also in tier-II and tier- III cities.

The growth in the Indian hospitality industry will also provide employment opportunities for people with right qualifications and temperament. Ashok Malkani examines the progress of the industry and finds that it is set for a take-off. However, there are several facets that the Indian tourism and hospitality industry must give added focus on, in order to better utilise its growth potential and translate that potential into lucrative revenues.

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Cover Story

I

ndian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sector in India.

Indian hospitality sector falls within the spectrum of travel and tourism, which is estimated to contribute between 8-9 percent towards India’s GDP. “Hospitality sector will see a rise of over 65 percent in total hotel inventory by 2017 as nearly 52,000 new hotel rooms are expected to come into existence due to the rising demand from travellers as global economic conditions improve,” according to the property consultant, Cushman & Wakefield.

“Despite a slowdown, the sector is expected to witness better demand in the coming years on account of improved global economic conditions,” it noted in 2014. Many hotel projects which were delayed in the last two years are expected to be completed.

The Indian hospitality industry accounts for 6.23 percent to the National GDP and 8.78 percent of the total employment in the country. In the Indian context, the hospitality industry contributed only 2 percent of the GDP in 2003-04. However, it is projected to grow

Hotel Business Review

at a rate of 8.8 percent in 2016, which would place India as the second-fastest growing tourism market in the world.

It may be mentioned that hotel industry, worldwide, is sensitive to economic cycles and does face its troughs as well as highs based on the supply and demand of rooms. Specific India issues like poor infrastructure, high cost of land procurement and multiple licences as well as levies accentuates the challenge of development of hotels. In spite of these obstacles, India has moved up 13 positions, to 52nd rank from 65th, in

Tourism & Travel Competitive Index.

The growth in the hospitality industry is mainly due to the increasing tourist influx in the country. The number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India has grown steadily during the last three years reaching around 7.103 million during January–November 2015. In November 2015, the FTAs to India numbered 815,000, registering an increase of 6.5 percent over November 2014. The arrival of foreign tourists has shown a compounded annual growth of 6 percent over the past 10 years.

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Hotel Business Review

Rise in Occupancy Rates The tourism and hospitality sector is among the top 15 sectors in India in terms of garnering foreign direct investment (FDI). During the period April 2000-September 2015, the hotel and tourism sector in the country attracted around 8.48 billion USD of FDI, according to the data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Hotels in India, which saw six out of every 10 rooms occupied in 2015 (as of October-end), are hoping for an encore in 2016 as well. According to a recent report released by HVS Global Hospitality Services, a hospitality consulting firm, hotel occupancies in India stand at 60.3 percent. This is the first time in five years that pan-India hotel occupancy has increased beyond 60 percent. During 2010-2014, hotel occupancies in the country ranged between 57- 58 percent.

Estimates by property consultant JLL reveal that demand for hotel rooms in the country is growing between 11-12 percent, while fresh supply has fallen as much as 5 percent in the past year. As of March 2015, the total number of hotel rooms across major cities in India stood at around 112,284.

“The good news for the Indian market is that growth in room demand is outpacing room supply growth for all key markets so far this year. The year 201415 saw a supply growth of 4.4percent, whereas demand increased by 7.8 percent over the previous year, and the demand growth in this financial year has been even stronger for the country,” said Chinmai Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer

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Saeid Heidari

at Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.

In December 2015, the luxury hotel chain The Leela said it had seen occupancies increase by over 5 percent during 2014, which is expected to increase further as the hotel chain expected to see a growth in foreign travel in the ongoing travel season.

Saeid Heidari, General Manager of JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar disclosed that their occupancy rate had risen to about 70 percent in just one year. “At times we have 100 percent occupancy,” he declared.

“Constant transformation, functional growth and improving standards have gained the hospitality industry of India approval all over the world,” he added.

Impressive Growth Scenario Today, the Indian hospitality industry has materialised as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sectors in India. India has been ranked as the fourth most preferred travel destination

by Lonely Planet, selecting the country

among the top five destinations from 167 countries.

“Indian economy is opening up its horizons as it continues to integrate with the world economy. With affordable and skilled manpower in the country, the advantages of conducting business with, and in, India are many. This has led to the maneuvering of a variety of jobs to Indian shores, which, in turn, has brought in an increase in transit travellers, business travellers, business meets and holiday seekers,” stated Heidari.

“Over the last decade-and-a-half, the mad rush to India for business opportunities has intensified and elevated room rates and occupancy levels in India,” he added. The successful growth story of ‘Hotel Industry in India’ seconds only to China in Asia-Pacific.

Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India states that India currently has over 200,000 hotel rooms occupied across hotel categories and guest-houses and is still facing a shortfall of over 100,000 rooms. Leading hotel brands have pepped up their capital and are in various stages of commencement of new proprieties in India, both in metro and non- metro cities.

According to a PTI report ”Global, as well as domestic hotel chains, including Hilton, Carlson Rezidor, Starwood, Kempinski, Bharat Hotels and InterGlobe, are betting big on India’s long- term potential as a tourist destination.” Many hotels have, according to the report, indicated that they are adding more properties and rooms.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has said that it would have over 50 operational Park Inn by Radisson properties in India by 2024. Kempinski is also in process to operate three new hotels in India by 2020, in Kolkata, Mumbai and Kerala.

At present, they are in negotiation process for the same.

StayWell Hospitality Group of Australia had unveiled its plan of adding 18 hotels for the Indian market, by 2017.

The group is planning to cater to mid and up-scale segments. InterGlobe Hotels has already announced the opening of ibis Hotel in Delhi. It is planning to operate 19 ibis Hotels in India by 2016.There are many more lined up to increase the room inventory in India.

As the new government has made it abundantly clear that tourism and

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hospiality sector are on their top agenda, a renewed sense of optimism is visible in this sector. In particular, liberal visa regime, e-visas and specific funds for developing tourist destinations have immensely propelled this sector towards rapid growth.

This growth will provide many more employment opportunities for people in the hospitality industry, provided they are equipped with the right qualifications and attitude. Â

Points to Ponder However, it is not to say that everything is hunky dory with the Indian tourism and hospitality industry. Many factors in the areas of Indian tourism needs improvement, if the hospitality industry of India can expect to garner anywhere near its potential revenues.

For example, the hospitality industry of India would not be able to reap the full benefits of its growth potential if the tourism and hospitality infrastructure in many parts of India still continues to be disappointing. Especially, the road infrastructure in north-east India needs drastic improvement, whose present disappointing state is possibly a big deterrent towards the growth of tourism and hospitality industry in this fascinating region.

India’s huge potential for religious tourism is manifested by its plethora of religious sites and shrines and religious destinations. From Varanasi and Jammu, from Ajmer to Tirupati, and from Goa to Puri to Rameswaram, the thread of religious tourism in India spreads across

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Chinmai Sharma

the length and breadth of the country.

But it is disappointing that a great many of our important destinations of religious tourism, such as Varanasi, Puri, Hardwar, are lacking in terms of sanitation, which may deter many domestic and inbound tourists to travel through these destinations more extensively. The lack of proper sanitation infrastructure may be impeding many of our destinations of religious tourism to properly harness their awesome tourism potential.

Overall, the revenues through religious tourism, eco-tourism, rural tourism, etc. could enhance appreciably in the near future, only if India can supplement its natural advantages in these areas with proper infrastructural and HR support.

As dirty roads and hotels (here I am not talking of five-star properties) can mar the spirituality of religious tourism, an under qualified spa therapist or a sleazy spa can make the wellness experience distasteful

to the discerning tourists in hotels.

To explore the huge potential of hospitality in India, the hotels and resorts operating in the country must be savvy to the ongoing market trends. MICE tourism, adventure tourism, medical tourism, banquets and weddings are some of the focal areas where the Indian tourism and hospitality industry should concentrate more than it is doing now to yield lucrative revenues.

In this context it is worth emphasising that more of our hotels and resorts need to develop their MICE and banqueting facilities to the international standards, spruce up their F&B options and introduce innovative food festivals, and also develop their wellness quotient.

MICE and spa are sectors which have huge potential for generating lucrative revenues for the Indian hospitality industry, as there is huge demand for these two segments among the large numbers of business and leisure travellers, both within and coming to India.

MICE market is expected to be one of the important propellants of the growth of business travel in India in the near future; in a country which is a lucrative market of highly skilled and affordable BPO and IT manpower for the multinationals. In this context, not only hotels in the country need to improve their MICE facilities to attract more domestic and inbound business tourists, but more state-of-the-art convention and exhibition facilities across the country should come up, especially in offbeat but wonderfully enchanting tourism locales, so that business tourists can get the perfect cocktail of brainstorming and relaxation at one place.

Specially tailored packages for the single lady travellers should also become more widespread across the Indian hospitality industry, as single lady travellers are becoming an important market force in the Indian tourism and hospitality industry.

Ensuring perfect safety for female tourists is very much needed towards making India a world class tourist destination, which can attract more moneyed and discerning domestic and inbound tourists in huge numbers.

Of course, in these areas the state governments need to play a proactive role.

Adventure tourism is another area

Cover Story where our tourism and hospitality industry should give greater focus, as more and more domestic tourists are now getting inclined towards adventure tourism. The Indian hospitality industry should urge state governments to develop infrastructure for adventure tourism but should not solely rely on governments for giving a fillip to India’s adventure tourism. The hospitality industry should not only come up with more adventure tourism resorts to tap this emerging market, but should introduce innovative adventure tourism options like ice hotels or underwater lodge, which have been realties in the west.

Furthermore, more and more hotels located near deserts, sea and mountains should also be more proactive in organising creative adventure tourism activities in and around their precincts (like scuba diving, desert safari, jungle safari, etc.) which can encourage many more habitual and potential outbound travellers from India to check-in at those hospitality options.

Hotel Business Review

Moreover, for giving a fillip to domestic and inbound tourism, the states and the tourism and hospitality industry of India should concertedly try to promote the offbeat locales and the lesser known geographies of India (for example the North-East) with more sincerity than they are doing now.

It is unlikely that Indian tourists who travel to Greece or Jamaica will be impressed only by the conventional tourist

destinations like Shimla or Hardwar, Mussoorie or Goa. Chances are they have explored these conventional tourist destinations many times over before setting their eyes on foreign shores to satisfy their passion for travel. Thus the need to develop and promote offbeat tourist locales is the need of the hour. This would in turn give an impetus to the Indian hospitality industry.

With additional inputs from Swarnendu Biswas

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Hotel Business Review

Business

Guest Satisfaction

Makes the Difference The success of hospitality industry entirely depends on guest satisfaction. In fact, one can say that guest satisfaction is the ultimate aim of the hospitality industry. While the higher echelons of management need to play a crucial role towards establishing guest satisfaction, great importance has also to be paid to the performance of rank and file in the industry, as it is they who come in constant touch with the guests.

They thus need to have the right temperament and attitude to ensure that the demands of the guests are not only met, but met with a smile. And it is better if the demands of the guests are exceeded. Ashok Malkani finds that achieving guest satisfaction is now greatly facilitated by technology. Now the managements in hotels across India are using cutting-edge technology to be kept informed of the woes and complaints of the guests, which help them rectify the same quickly. In the last issue, we had dealt with IT’s influence in customer satisfaction; here we deal with the crucial role of customer satisfaction in general, which is used to garner more guests and have repeat guests.

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Hotel Business Review

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ith very few exceptions, customer satisfaction is at the heart of hospitality. Not only that, but hospitality is at the whim of individual likes and dislikes that are often unique to each guest. It is a challenge and also an opportunity for the industry.

In this connection one may make bold statements that even during recession the hotel industry can grow without much setbacks and will continue to grow by improving on its customer satisfaction and customer service.

Sahdev Mehta, General Manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel PuneChinchwad averred, “Delivery of service of superior quality is important and some leading hospitality industry players have used it as a competitive weapon to distinguish their service. It is important for hotel organisations and their managers to understand in depth what they are offering and the way in which it should be delivered, to ensure that they create best possible service experiences for their guests.” He even went further to state that “The goal of every successful business is to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction by providing its clients with value added transactions through positive

customer interaction.”

“By adhering to requests within short time frame, a hotel will have fewer complaints. When a guest asks the hospitality staff for an extra pillow, blanket or batteries for a dead remote, she/he expects prompt service. Waiting an hour or more for remote batteries or for that extra blanket can easily earn a hotel a bad review. A quick turnaround to a

question online could make the difference between gaining or losing a potential customer as well,” asserted Saeid Heidari, General Manager of JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar.

Delivering Memorable Experiences Customer satisfaction is not only about courtesy but also about relevant information and knowledge. The quality

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Hotel Business Review

of personal interaction with the guests is the key in this case. For example, the personnel handling booking calls should not only be friendly and helpful but should be also having a grasp of the policies of the hotel and about the different amenities that the hotel offers.

Nowadays guests in hotels are no longer satisfied only with service with a smile. They are looking for memorable experiences and dynamic service where they count.

“From receiving quick service to bending the standard practices – such as extending a guest check-out in a hotel or customising a menu item in a restaurant – customers want to feel that their business is being appreciated. To feature on the customers’ satisfactory ratings in surveys and among their network, you have to anticipate their needs and be able to have your staff deliver them accordingly,” Mehta elaborated.

“One key factor in keeping your guests engaged and induce them to come back is to deliver as you promise.

Customers are more likely to get frustrated when you reel them in on a big promise such as special services or premium products and when it is not the case in reality. Avoid saying that you are a luxury hotel if your services are mediocre or avoid developing gimmicks that excite potential customers, only to disappoint them throughout the process of staying with you,” stated Heidari.

“When management provides a well-trained staff with an emphasis on working together for the benefit of its guests, a hospitality property runs more smoothly and this translates to greater customer satisfaction. The constant goal in the mind of all staff members should be centered on customer satisfaction.

Customers in the hotel industry are notorious for high expectations and complaints. A staff well trained in managing complaints, but more importantly avoiding them in the first place, will do better overall,” Heidari elaborated further.

A recent survey by J.D. Power & Associates found that employee demeanor has a significant impact upon guest satisfaction. The average number of problems experienced dropped by 50 percent when a staff member greeted guests with a smile “all the time,” the survey found, and guests turned out to 34

Mar-Apr ’16

Sahdev Mehta

be more loyal when they walked away from a stay feeling “delighted.” Among the delighted guests, 80 percent said they would “definitely” recommend the hotel to a friend, relative or colleague, while 66 percent said they would return for another stay.

Many studies have shown that travel improves one’s emotional state and that remembering about memorable vacations can bring happiness long after the actual trip. “A hotel brand must be proactive to ensure positive guest sentiment by delivering experiences that resonate with guests in every step of the travel cycle — pre, during and post-trip. This intuitive style of engagement will lead to emotional loyalty between guests and your brand,” proffered Mehta.

The P Factor Of course, in these times of high expectations of customer service, personnel are the key features for the hospitality industry. As one of the prominent figures in the hospitality industry had once stated: “The most important five letter word, beginning with ‘P’, in the hospitality industry is not Profit but People.”

A staff well-versed in providing

holistic customer satisfaction, coupled with a strong sense of knowing what a customer needs along with a pride in their job performance is likely to create an environment that would draw people towards the hospitality property and leave them with a lasting good impression.

Thus hiring people with not only the right qualification and efficiency but also the right attitude is of immense importance for customer satisfaction of guests in the hospitality industry. If the employee doesn’t have an attitude to serve the guests, and have the earnestness to walk the extra mile to bring a smile on her/his guests’ faces, then the best of the management qualifications cannot ensure a fruitful and enduring career for her/him in the increasingly guest-centric hospitality industry.

The survival of hotels in the current competitive environment, where most high-end hotels have quite similar luxurious physical facilities, much depends on delivery of service quality. In fact, often it can be the customer satisfaction resulting through the service quality, which can make the difference between a successful and a not so successful hospitality property. Regarding initiatives towards customer satisfaction and for maintaining impeccable levels of customer satisfaction, feedback from the staff, training and empowering the staff, and time to time review of the customer satisfaction are essential for the hospitality industry.

How far you would go to create customer satisfaction determines the level of success for your hospitality business.

But customer satisfaction isn’t just about the quality and promptness of service, and quality of products offered but also in anticipating the needs of your guests.

High quality service, especially in the context of the hospitality industry means not only meeting but also exceeding your guests’ expectations.

Small Gestures and Careful Monitoring

A Graph Depicting Customer Behaviour

Guest satisfaction is not only about big things, but also about little things. One tourist cited an example of two hotels that he had been to, during his tour abroad. In one hotel, he said, when he entered an elevator, already occupied by two hotel employees, he found a large piece of paper on the floor. He waited to see if one of the employees would pick up

Business the paper. When they reached the lobby they all exited. The tourist held the door open and picked up the piece of paper and asked the employees why they had not picked up the piece of paper. One of them answered, sheepishly, he had not seen it. The other one was more blunt and said he was not paid for this.

The same tourist, when he was a guest at some other hotel, and wanted to gauge what the reaction of the hotel employees would be in that hotel, dropped a ball of paper in an elevator.

After several trips, finally a hotel employee entered the elevator. As soon as he entered the elevator, he first greeted the guest with a ‘Good morning sir’ and immediately bent down to pick up the paper. When asked why he picked up the paper, he exclaimed enthusiastically, “Sir, at our hotel it is all about the customer experience.” This experience clearly indicates that while the later hotel had ‘engaged’ employees, the former hotel had ‘disengaged’ employees.

Hiring the right people should also be complemented by training, motivation and monitoring and communication in order to achieve the desired results in terms of customer satisfaction. Most hoteliers agree that one has to be always on the move to check that things are running smoothly in the hotel. “You will never find me in my office; I am always on the move to check guest satisfaction,” affirmed Heidari.

“Customer satisfaction will often be tied to your level of customer communication. By creating a dialogue with customers, hotel management can see strong points and weak spots in customer service,” pointed out Mehta.

It is always advisable for hospitality professionals to be on the fast track for keeping up with the trends that your customers may appreciate such as building personal assistance services for travelling customers or making special concessions for avid repeat consumers.

“Give your customers an outlet for telling you about poor experiences.

When you have customers who have had a negative experience, make it easy and clear for them to not only tell you about it but get it off their chest to you and not to someone else. Don’t patronise customers when they are disgruntled by shooing them off with little or no plans for recourse. Make it a point to

correct issues that went wrong and look into those that could stand some improvement,” advised Heidari.

Keeping Up with Technology “High tech revolution fostered by gen X and gen Y consumers has induced many hoteliers to consider the mobile and social media needs of our guests in a way we have never had to before,” stated Heidari.

A report from Ernst & Young declares, “New advances in technology continue to alter the relationship between hotels and guests…As the use of mobile devices, social media and advanced analytics continues to proliferate, and as online distribution channels become more accessible, technology has created new opportunities for hotels to drive operating efficiencies and engage with guests, from booking to checkout.”

Nowadays, the guest satisfaction is also influenced by the hospitality property’s online presence. These days, potential customers start their hotel searches online and compare prices and read reviews before arriving on their choice of the hotel.

Today, customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry extends beyond the human interaction. These days, customer satisfaction can be influenced by the hospitality property’s digital online presence too. With a great many potential guests getting their first information about the hospitality properties through online, the most successful hotels have stand-out websites that are also easy to navigate. Websites with numerous photos, clear directions including maps, nearby points of interest, good restaurants and reviews will do better in holding the attention of a guest or a potential guest.

However, most of the hoteliers this writer spoke to conceded that hotels cannot expect a clean slate, every time.

Some people, they state, will complain no matter what extent you go to satisfy them. But one must learn even from this experience. “Remember that the guest is always right – even when he is wrong!” n affirmed Heidari.

E R R ATA In the Business Story of our last issue, we had inadvertently mentioned Mr. Nagesh Pathak as Information Systems Manager of Hyatt Pune, instead of Hyatt Regency Pune. The error is regretted.

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35

SERVING THE INDUSTRY FOR OVER 2 DECADES

Feature

an idyllic picnic spot near Phaltan

Hotel Business Review

The Hotel and the Town

By Swarnendu Biswas

D

uring the recent years, I have been hearing and reading quite often about the huge business potential for hospitality properties in tier-II and tier-III cities in India, especially those cities which have attractions for leisure tourism or are industrial towns in their own right.

This potential assumes more urgency in the backdrop of the exorbitant real estate costs in metros, which can extend the gestation period of many hospitality projects, and may make many ambitious hospitality projects in Indian metros economically unviable, in the near future.

At the same time, the need for promoting and developing offbeat locales with latent and untapped tourist potential has also been a long felt need in the Indian hospitality industry. I realised the above-mentioned potential and the need more acutely during my short stay at Jakson Inns Phaltan.

It may slightly surprise the readers that Phaltan is neither a tier-II and nor a tier-III city. In fact, I doubt whether it is a tier-IV one. Phaltan is a small town in Maharashtra’s prosperous sugarcane belt, in the Satara district of Maharashtra, located 110 km from Pune. It is an apparently nondescript town, which very few conventional tourists of both domestic and inbound varieties travelling to or within India are likely to have heard of. But what is apparent is not always real…

The two-hour journey in car from Pune to Phaltan, which followed the two hour flight from Delhi to Pune, was pleasant 36

Mar-Apr ’16

and boring. Though I was not at all tired and thirsty, I enjoyed the sugarcane juice as a welcome drink, for it was much superior than the sugarcane juices sold in Delhi.

Rooms and More Spread across six acres, Jakson Inns Phaltan has lots of space which could be better utlised to generate additional revenues. And the management, as expected, has already given a careful thought in this direction.

There are 74 rooms for the guests. They comprise 69 deluxe rooms, four suites, and one room specially tailored for the needs of the differently abled. It doesn’t deserve a mention that all guest rooms of the hotel include flat screen TVs, tea and coffee makers, free Wi-Fi connectivity, and a large laptop size safe. Besides these 74 rooms, five rooms are demarcated for the

staff of the hotel.

The hotel has a 24x7 multi-cuisine restaurant and coffee shop named Green Bean, and a bar named Fulltoon. These are complemented by 24 hour in-room dining service. Green Bean has 120 covers.

Fulltoon, which is open from 11am-3pm during the morning and afternoon hours, and between 7pm to only 11 pm from twilight to night, has a seating capacity of 60 persons at a time. There is no open-air dining option at the hotel’s terrace.

I also came to know that there was already a two-day conference of top honchos from Cummins India in progress, at the hotel’s conferencing venue named Maratha, where 300 guests can sit at a time in theatre style. “We have Wi-Fi, sophisticated sound system, drop-down screen, LCD projector, cordless mikes

Maratha

Feature

Sandeep J. Talaulicar

and a range of other modern equipments to facilitate making a conference or a workshop or a training session a success,” Gautam Banerjee, the GM of the hotel, pointed out. Specifically for board room discussions, the hotel has Junction, which can accommodate 12 persons at a time. For large banquets, the verdant lawn adjoining the Maratha can accommodate up to 1000 persons at a time.

For relaxation there is a spa which presently has a very limited range of wellness solutions (which the hotel’s management plans to enhance shortly), and for work-outs there is a well-equipped gym. “At present, we are having acupressure, head, back, shoulder and feet massage, and foot reflexology only,” informed Banerjee.

The spa is manned by an ever smiling man named Satish, who gave me a wonderful head and back massage.

When his hands expertly traversed through my sensitive nerves in the temple and neck, I subconsciously got a little apprehensive; for Satish is blind. But he proved me wrong, and I hope while removing my fatigue and ache, he also managed to cleanse my psyche of my misplaced prejudices, which I though hate but have not been able to fully overcome yet. Satish’s disability is simply no match for his extraordinary dexterity. His induction in the rolls is an assertion of the strong commitment of Jakson Hospitality towards people who are like us, but sadly, are often treated unlike us.

Green Initiatives Jakson Inns Phaltan also happens to be India’s first and till now the only LEED Platinum rated three-star hotel. The hotel has an organic garden, where one can also

find botanical names of the plants grown in the garden. Many of the products of the organic garden grace the kitchens of the hotel. Of course, there are other environmentally friendly initiatives too.

Only when the guests come out of the hotel room and walk in the corridor, the lights on the corridor get activated. This electricity generating initiative is possible because of the installation of sensors in the hotel’s corridors. Sensors are also used in the washrooms of the hotel to save on electricity. “We also have a waste water treatment plant, where waste water is treated and used for gardening,” informed Soraya Rebello, the dynamic Vice-President –Human Relations of Jakson Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., the company which owns the hotel. She also informed that the hotel, at the time of its formal launch in September 2014, was using 34 plastic products. “Today we have reduced that plastic consumption to four plastic products,” Soraya affirmed.

The hotel uses 74 KW of solar energy which is converted into electricity. “Approximately, 50 percent of the energy usage of the hotel is through solar energy,” Soraya declared, while articulating, “Our pneumatic pumps pump water according to the occupancy of the hotel.”

Not surprisingly, Jakson Inns Phaltan is presently the only three-star property in Phaltan, but what is amazing is the management of the hotel’s business insight, which is more focused on tomorrows than on today. While during my stay at the threestar property, which by the way deserves to be a four-star one, I gradually realised the lesser known historic legacies and natural beauty surrounding the place, the place’s potential to emerge as a business hub in the near future, and also its potential to explore the role playing of rural tourism among the plethora of city jaded tourists.

Present and the Future While we were having lunch at Green Bean with delicious chicken sukka (a Konkan delicacy) and omlette curry (a Goan delicacy) and an array of other local preprations, Banerjee appraised me that Phaltan was emerging as an important industrial township in Maharashthra.

“Already Cummins India Ltd. has set up a massive infrastructural set up in Phaltan, and many industrial units of important corporate players are expected to be set up in Phaltan, within four-five years time, which is expected to get us a

Mar-Apr ’16

37

Feature

Hotel Business Review

lot many business travellers with decent disposable incomes,” he averred. Although the industrial township didn’t develop as quickly as was anticipated by the hotel’s management, but it is slowly but surely taking shape.

Already the hotel has an industrial catering unit within its premises, which caters to 2200 personnel of Cummins India on a daily basis. “We are however not simply waiting for Phaltan to become an industrial township, which it would surely become; meanwhile we have some intelligent plans to garner revenues by focusing on the leisure travellers, which we would soon translate into reality,” confided Soraya, with a ravishing smile.

“We are shortly coming up with an amusement park with Burma Bridge and an assortment of other adventure sports options, a swimming pool with water slides and other amusement options for the weekend family crowd, a separate Go Karting area for children, and a rain dance area with music options and artificial waterfall for the young and also the young at heart, which would all be set up within the hotel premises. These added attractions, I expect, would cater to the weekend family and as well as the corporate crowd from Pune and Mumbai, who would appreciate a fun-filled sylvan break, away from the hustle bustle of city life, but with all its luxurious trappings,” Banerjee elaborated further. All these infrastructures would be developed on the back side of the hotel, which has lots of underutilised space at present.

Banerjee has pragmatic plans to optimally use the proposed swimming pool to cater to

Soraya Rebello

diverse guest profiles. “From 9am-5pm, the pool and its water slides would be open to the family crowd. At 5pm, the swimming pool would close for an hour. From 6pm -7.30 pm, corporates from nearby industries can come and have a swim here to refresh themselves, possibly after a hard day at work. From 8.00 pm onwards, one can have pool parties near the swimming pool,” elaborated the savvy hospitality professional with a smile as we were leisurely walking through the hotel in the evening. “All these future entertainment extravaganza would be complemented by special packages for corporate, for individual guests, for family crowd, and for school picnic goers,” affirmed Banerjee.

He is also planning to target the corporate personnel across the plethora of blue chip IT companies in Pune. “I would offer privilege cards to them, which would be having stated discounts for availing the hospitality services at the hotel,” the General Manager offered. He is extremely

positive about enhancing the present occupancy levels at the hotel from 35-40 percent to 60-65 percent within a year.

A property in a relatively unknown destination can garner its well deserved numbers and profiles of guests only when the destination too is holistically promoted.

And Phaltan, with its rich historic heritage, with the majestic and somber beauty of Western Ghats in the vicinity, and with its huge potential for exploring rural tourism, deserves to be promoted.

The management of the hotel, headed

by Sandeep J. Talaulicar, the Managing Director of Jakson Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., is naturally earnest on promoting and marketing the destination.

Temple Trail Phaltan, an ancient town, which happens to be the birthplace of Shivaji s first wife Saibai, and a town whose list of rulers dates to 1284 AD, is dotted with many ancient Jain temples. Besides these, the town has a temple of Lord Shiva, known as Jabreshwar Mandir, which is adorned with beautiful stone carvings. The 800-year-old Jabreshwar Mandir, which is regarded as the oldest temple in Phaltan, is located only 11 km from the hotel. Situated at a distance of 8 km from Jakson Inns Phaltan, there is an old temple of Shri Ram, who is said to be Gram daivat of the city. There are many other beautiful temples in and near the town, which are worth exploring.

The temple trail in Phaltan deserves to be promoted, by the Maharashtra government as well by the hospitality industry.

“With the development of National Highway NH4, which already passes through Phaltan through its hugely lengthy ambit, the religious tourism in Phaltan is expected to receive a fillip. The road requires some renovation and development and once they are completed, it would facilitate Pandharpur Yatra, the famous annual pilgrimage trail to Pandharpur,” explained Soraya. Here it deserves a mention that the annual Pandharpur Yatra gathers religious fervour among Maharashtrian, across all socio-economic strata. Pandharpur is the seat of the Hindu God Vithoba and the annual yatra or pilgrimage is in honour of the deity. Pandharpur is barely 115 km from Jakson Inns Phaltan.

History and Art Ajinkyatara Fort

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Mar-Apr ’16

However, there is absolutely no reason that Phaltan should be on the itinerary of only

Feature the religious minded tourists. Ajinkyatara Fort, a 16th century fort perched on 3300 ft high Ajinkyatara mountain; one of the seven mountains surrounding the city of Satara, presents remnants of history which is worth exploring. The seven mountains surrounding Satara are part of the world famous Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountain range.

The fort is 66 km from the hotel.

Ajinkyatara means the impregnable star. This fort has been witness to many significant events in Maratha history. From the fort one can get a wonderful view of the Satara city. Presently, the fort is in partial state of ruination, but still manages to whisper the romance of the bygone era from its every brick. While walking through the mighty rock structure one feels like getting transported to the age of the Marathas… only the television tower for the city of Satara which the fort houses, took me back from the medieval battle cries to our busy post-modern times.

Varugad Fort is another hill fort, situated at a height of 2900 ft., which can feature among the nearby attractions from Phaltan.

The fort with its Bhairavnath Temple may allure the offbeat history lovers like me.

Besides these, Shri Bhavani Museum in Aundh, which is 48 km from the Satara town, can also be of great interest to the lovers of art and history, and also to the laymen. The museum has 500 miniature paintings of almost all major Indian art schools — Jaipur, Kangra, Mughal, Punjab, Bijapur, Pahadi and Maratha — ranging from the period between 15th to 19th century. Built by the Raja of Aundh, late Bhawanrao Pantpratinidhi in 1938, it is now looked after by the state government of Maharashtra.

The impressive collection that the museum exhibits reflects the passionate zeal towards art by Bhawanrao, who during

Kaas Pathar

Hotel Business Review

Promoting Rural Tourism

Gautam Banerjee

the first four decades of this century spent his time and fortune picking up these masterpieces. The museum is located atop a hill.

Plateau of Flowers Kaas Pathar or Kaas Plateau is another attraction, located just 80 km from the hotel. Situated in Western Ghats, it shouldn’t be missed by lovers of nature travelling to this region during AugustSeptember. During August-September, the plateau gets carpeted with myriad flowers of varied hues. One can find more than 150 types of flowers, shrubs and grasses at Kaas Plateau during August-September. The plateau, which spreads across 1000 hectare, has been declared a Biodiversity World Heritage Site by UNESCO. On the south of Kaas Plaeau, is the scenic Kaas Lake, surrounded by forests.

Kaas Lake can be a great picnic spot.

Talking of picnic spots, there are many such options near Phlatan, where one can have a great outing, with the majestic beauty of Western Ghats and slow moving windmills overseeing our little joys. They afford the opportunity for wonderful photographs for memories to cherish.

The hotel is also promoting rural tourism by organising educational trips to Krishi Vigyan Kendra, located in the nearby industrial town of Baramati, where tourists can get acquainted with many sophisticated and new-age farming techniques. The bullock cart ride option for the hotel’s guests is also provided at KVK Baramati.

The guests are also taken to the pomegranate and sugarcane farms in and around Phaltan (Phaltan is famous for pomegranate and sugarcane farms). At the pomegranate and sugarcane farms the guests could get exposed to the farm life while having snacks and tea there. “We are envisaging to organise educational trips for school children at these farms, where they can know how the sugarcane or pomegranate grows,” pointed out Banerjee.

Summing Up “The tourist attractions around Phaltan can create wonderful memories for religious tourists, nature lovers, and for the lovers of history and culture. Phaltan also has enjoyable options for those who want to explore the offbeat rural tourism; far removed from the day-today city life experiences,” summed up Talaulicar. Jakson Inns Phaltan is the maiden hotel project under the ambit of Jakson Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and Talaulicar is confident of translating this novel initiative of developing a three-star hotel in a small town, which is not a conventional tourist destination, into a success story both in terms of revenues and guest experiences. He has ambitious expansion plans to branch out to resorts and service apartments in the near future, which would all be under the Jakson brand.

On the day of my returning, Banerjee induced me to promise to return to the property in end June, when the ambitious amusement park is expected to become a reality. I gladly agreed, not only because of the uncommon hospitality extended to me (they changed my return flight of Pune to Delhi to Mumbai to Delhi at a very short notice, without grumbling even once at this unjustified demand) but also because within those three short and hectic days, I had unknowingly fallen in love with the destination. There are so many unknown and latent wonders of Indian tourism we are yet to know…and thankfully, one of n them is Phaltan.

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39

Spa

Hotel Business Review

Exploring Wellness With

Sohum

By Sharmila Chand

L

ocated in proximity to the Jaipur International Airport, in the business hub of Sitapura, the newly launched Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road comprises 218 rooms and 20 suites.

Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road can be construed as a perfect destination for both business and leisure travellers visiting Jaipur. The fitness and wellness solutions of the hotel are presented by

the rejuvenating spa and well-equipped fitness centre.

The Sohum Spa at Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road is a very modern spa.

The Intercontinental Hotels Group with its ‘Green Engage’ initiative has ensured that the spa is designed to reduce carbon footprints. Located on the first floor, the spa is lit naturally during the day by sunlight, which can

be controlled by means of curtains.

The spa has four therapy rooms with one dedicated for couples. The treatment rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art adjustable therapy beds that enable the team to adjust height & the seating posture as per the guest’s comfort. Each room of the spa is equipped with its own steam room for enhanced guest comfort.

Spa Becoming an Expression of Lifestyle While sauntering through the spa, I met Dr. Savita Yadav, the Spa Director at Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road. The interaction proved to be a fruitful experience.

Born in Uttar Pradesh and raised in Karnataka among the hills and valleys, she got to learn about magical herbs from a very young age. The understanding of herbs and healing helped her heal many people.

This in turn induced her to be an Ayurveda consultant. Soon after, when her experience was translated in the hotel industry, she became the Spa Manager. She has nine years of experience in the wellness industry. The excerpts of the interview with the wellness expert follow: What are current trends in the spa business?

Wellness is an important driver for the spa industry. Concept of wellness is and will continue to be very important for the spa industry.

In these times of escalating healthcare costs, ageing populations, increasing incidences of obesity problems, which are thankfully countered by a greater focus on 40

Mar-Apr ’16

sustainable living, the global spa industry is looking to rebrand itself as the wellness industry, an industry that has a crucial role in preventative care and overall well-being.

The mushrooming of spas in the country has resulted in more and more people being aware of spas and their benefits. The spas are also becoming more professional and standardised with each passing day.

Moreover, in the Indian wellness industry, nowadays spa is no longer perceived just as a place meant for relaxation, but also a place where one can expect healing and tangible results.

Customers are now increasingly making spa visits a part of their lifestyle.

From diets to detox, spas around the world are offering different ways to change our digestive environment for the better.

Sp a Spa

Businesses are also adopting the language of wellness and are adding free massage, yoga, meditation and acupuncture services for clients.

And what are the futuristic trends in the realms of wellness?

Wellness traditions from the local culture will be widely embraced by the spa world. Wellness tourism packages are expected to garner high demand.

It can also be expected that more companies will recognise the benefits of healthy employees, and thus the role of wellness in workplaces is expected to gain momentum.

What are the key challenges towards opening a spa in India?

The key challenges towards opening a spa in the country are to find trained staff or recruit and train staff to a high degree, getting the design in sync with the spa’s concept and to educate the customers and potential customers of the tangible and long-term benefits of regular spa use.

Hotel Business Review

The importance of a proper pre-launch marketing campaign cannot be stressed enough.

well-being but also to learn about many life skills from our honoured guests. This I find quite fulfilling.

How do you decide on the spa menu? What factors have to be kept in mind to chalk out a decent menu?

What is your take on customised treatments?

We develop our spa menu keeping the needs of the target clientele and local tradition and culture in mind; to cater to needs of local as well as international travellers.

What do you enjoy about being a Spa Director?

I enjoy interacting with my team as well as the guests. During the interaction with my team, I try to understand strengths & weaknesses of the individual team members and support the team members in overcoming their weaknesses while motivating their strengths, thus helping them to grow both personally and professionally.

While interacting with guests we not only get a chance to contribute to their

We expect to see continued growth in treatments and services that are personalised where we can customise scents and oil, and blend oil depending on individual requirements.

 What is your favourite treatment to receive and why it is so?

Sohum Signature Treatment is my favourite treatment.

Senior spa trainers have developed this signature bodywork only for the regular spa and fitness enthusiasts.

This bodywork has an integration of sports massage and Thai acupressure techniques that are very effective in working on deep tissue, fascia and muscles.

I recommended this only for those who require deep bodywork to undo muscle knots and dissolve fibrous tissue.

Mar-Apr ’16

41

Focus

Hotel Business Review

Let Your Hospitality Float

By Swarnendu Biswas

T

he business of hospitality, by its very nature, does demand out of the box thinking, not only to attract more number of guests of varying tastes and exposures, but also to attract repeat guests in huge numbers. Innovativeness can be introduced in hospitality in various ways; through refreshing themes, through design and architecture, through unique models of F&B operations, through out of the world housekeeping, and through many other facets.

Today the Indian hospitality industry badly needs innovative or at least less explored routes to attract the ever growing numbers of discerning guests, who are eager for new experiences. Refreshing experiences are also needed to tackle the tense competition spearheading through the Indian hospitality industry.

One of the ways by which the Indian hospitality players can stand out from the crowd is through the introduction of floating

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Mar-Apr ’16

hospitality properties. Of course, floating hospitality properties is not a completely new concept in the Indian hospitality business, but it is still a refreshing one. The concept still has the potential to generate awe, even among the globally travelled guests, travelling within and to India. However, it goes without saying that if the products and services of floating hospitality properties are not impeccable, the refreshing concept would not garner repeat guests in hordes, especially in today’s demanding times.

India has a few floating hospitality properties, though it has no dearth of water bodies. Except in Kashmir, which has the wonderful reality of houseboats since the colonial times, floating hotels as a concept is yet to gain widespread acceptance in the Indian hospitality industry, which it richly deserves. The players who would be the early birds to join this concept by translating it into awe-inspiring realities are likely to be ahead of their followers in

the distant future.

For hoteliers thinking of coming up with floating hospitality properties, there are a few wonderful examples to get inspired by.

One of them is Floatel in Kolkata, which floats on the Ganges. From this hotel, one can get a kaleidoscopic view of the life in and around the Ganges, and can also marvel at the architectural wonder of the Howrah Bridge.

If you need more precise location, then it wouldn’t be wrong to say that this ecofriendly hotel is located at Strand Road, at a distance of about 35 minutes from the Airport and about 10 minutes from the Park Street — one of the important commercial hubs of the City of Joy. The property comprises 49 rooms, comprehensive business and banqueting facilities, and sumptuous F&B options which are largely manifested through its F&B outlets The Bridge and The Anchorage Bar. Guests can head on to the state-of-the-art gymnasium for work outs. Guests can also choose to relax in the landscaped gardens or take a stroll on the promenade walkway by the river. The entire hotel is built on the concept of the ship, and the staff is dressed as cabin crew of a ship, which can facilitate to seep in the romance of the nautical feel among the minds of the guests.

The floating cottages of Poovar Island Resort, near Thiruvananthapuram, but away from the hustle bustle of city life, can be together construed as another rare and wonderful example of a floating hospitality option in India.

The floating cottages are afloat on the backwaters and face the blue waters of

Sp a Focus the Arabian Sea. Set in serene, languid and emerald green Kerala backwaters, you can reach this resort through a 10 minute boat ride through the Poovar river. Besides backwater cruises, therapeutic Ayurvedic treatments, and abundant ambience of greenery are some of the other attractions of the resort. Excursion to the Kovalam beach is also a wonderful option. The resort also has land cottages, but that is another story.

Emarald Pristine Island, a floating resort situated on the beautiful backwaters of Alappuzha, Kerala, is another example of a floating hospitality property. It offers a great holiday experience, in the middle of a lake, where one can stay in floating villas.

The eco-friendly resort is endowed with three-star facilities. It also has a floating multi-cuisine restaurant. This resort is also a great haven to experience backwater tourism of Kerala.

In this regard, one must mention the great potential of cruise hospitality in India, where hospitality packages would not only float but also sail. Oberoi Motor Vessel Vrinda in Kerala is a noteworthy initiative in this direction. The two and three night itineraries

Hotel Business Review

Dine in the Sea Mumbai got its first floating restaurant complex in the recent past with AB Celestial.

The restaurant complex is set on a yacht, which was made in Florida, USA. The threestoried yacht cum luxury dining facility with an open lounge, and oriental and European dining options is stationed at the Maritime Board Jetty near Worli Sea Link.

The property can accommodate 960 guests at a time! Of course, the guests can get a scenic view of the Arabian Sea and a panoramic view of Mumbai from this luxury dining facility. Presently, the property is closed as the management of the property demanded the road leading up to this floating dining facility to be broadened, which is under process. AB Celestial is expected to open again and delight its guests by September end of this year.

It is about time, taking inspiration from AB Celestial, a full-fledged floating hotel comes up in Mumbai or in its vicinity, in the near future. Why not have a floating hotel near the Elephanta Island or near the Madh Island? They would also increase the tourism potential of Maharasthra. on the Oberoi Motor Vessel Vrinda take guests through the Vembanad Lake, the vibrant waterways of Allepey known as the ‘Venice of the East’, and include nightly, traditional, cultural performances.

It is about time the hotel chains operating in India should develop small ships as cruise hotels or cruise resorts, to give tourists wonderful vignettes of the Konkan and Malabar coastline, or the fascinating

wildlife of Assam and the Sunderbans.

And these ship-hotels or ship-resorts could have all the facilities of a five-star or fourstar property like gym, spa, nightclub, conference center, etc and their guests can not only have the option of a cruise of 2 nights and 3 days or 3 nights and 4 days, but can stay at those floating hotels or resorts for as much duration as they prefer to (like in a normal hotel or resort). n

Mar-Apr ’16

43

Property

Hotel Business Review

More Room

for Guest Satisfaction

By Ashok Malkani

C

itrus Pimpri, Pune, which can satisfy the needs and demands of business travellers, is located in the heart of Pimpri, opposite the Corporation building. The hotel has the advantage of not only the auto industrial belt on one side and the IT sector on the other, but also of a residential complex in close proximity.

Citrus Pimpri, Pune is a landmark on the old Mumbai-Pune Highway, and its imposing façade gives you an inkling of the luxury that you can expect inside the hotel. The polite and courteous service from the lobby onwards sets you at ease.

This sense of walking the extra mile in terms of courteousness and guest service extends from front office staff to the senior management of the hotel.

The GM of the hotel, Russell Gregory, and the Operations Manager, Vishvesh Khanna, are always present to solve any problems that the guests may have. With splendid grandeur and impeccable service, the hotel offers guests courteous service, rich ambience and great experiences that are expected to linger in the minds of the guests even after the guests check out.

The hotel has several types of rooms – which include Superior Rooms, 2BHK Apartments and others – which are sure to satisfy even the most fastidious guest.

The 2BHK apartments, which cover an area of 550 sq. ft., have a well-equipped kitchenette, a large living area and two bedrooms. They are suited for long stay 44

Mar-Apr ’16

travellers. The I BHK Citrus apartments are similar to the 2 BHK ones. They, like the 2BHK apartments, have a TV in the living area as well as in the bedroom.

Overall, the apartments are spacious, brightly illuminated with modern technology and are well furnished with rich upholstery.

The Deluxe Rooms, equipped to cater to the needs of business travellers, have cutting-edge in-room technology. The Superior Rooms are bright and well lit.

They too are equipped with facilities needed for catering to business travellers.

The Studio Room provides you with the luxury of a patio, from where you can admire the views of the city while you sip a cup of coffee. It has a separate

living room and a spacious bedroom along with en-suite bathroom, where you can relax by soaking in the bathtub.

The fitness and wellness needs of the guests can be met by the well-equipped gym and spa. The roof-top pool, with its crystal clear waters can help you to be refreshing and joyous. Since it is on the rooftop, the place also affords you a bird’s eye view of the city.

The hotel has two food outlets — Biso and Punchin. Biso, the 24 hour coffee shop of the hotel is paired with a multi-cuisine restaurant serving authentic European cuisine along with the local Indian cuisine. The buffet breakfast and lunch also has live food counters.

Sp a Property

Hotel Business Review

Citrus Pimpri, Pune to Have a Sports Bar

Vishvesh Khanna

Punchin serves Punjabi cuisine and desi Chinese cuisine. It has an attached bar which serves refreshing cocktails. It also boasts of DJs who, with their sizzling music, can set your feet tapping.

“I joined Citrus Pimpri, Pune, about six months back as Senior Manager of F&B and has been recently promoted to the position of Operations Manager,” said Vishvesh Khanna, the OM of the hotel, in a tete-a-tete with me.

“I have been an Executive Chef. Since I wanted to learn more in terms of administration, this promotion provides me with the opportunity. My range of operations includes management, F&B, housekeeping, marketing, etc. I believe operations is more about understanding finances.”

The lean periods for the hotel, he disclosed, were December and March. The later corresponds to financial year ending. ”Since the hotel has several expat guests, they go home for Christmas and New Year,” he reasoned further on the lean period in December.

Speaking about banquets he rightly stated that this segment for hotels comprised of marriages as well as company meetings and events. “There are about 4800 companies in the area, so the business meetings and events are more as compared to marriages, he declared.

Speaking about the future plans of the hotel he stated that they were planning a new F&B outlet in the form of a sports bar. “We are also planning to extend the coffee shop,” he averred.

Innovating to Succeed Russell Gregory, the General Manager of the hotel, has 21 years experience in the industry. He has succeeded in making Citrus Pimpri, Pune one of the most preferred hotels in Pimpri, Pune, for the business travellers. The interaction with him proved to be an interesting one. The excerpts of the interview are given below: How did you enter the hospitality industry? Where did you work prior to Citrus Pimpri, Pune?

working here?

I would say the biggest challenge here was to give the hotel a facelift. It was a sevenyear-old hospitality property and if I were to raise the room rates and the occupancy here, as I had done in Chennai, I had to give it a facelift. It took about a year to transform the entire hotel – from the corridors to the rooms. We also introduced a new category of rooms.

Here we have also introduced rooms for groups, where people from large organisations could walk in any time. At the same time, the rooms which are normally empty were sold at cheaper rates. This has helped increase the revenue by 30 percent over that of the last year.

Immediately after school, I went in for the hospitality industry. This was my passion.

I worked in F&B for three years before venturing into the hotel industry.

While working in Citrus Hotel Chennai I picked up the ropes of hotel management.

During my tenure in Chennai, we were able to nearly double the room rates. The occupancy levels also rose quite rapidly.

The challenge was guest satisfaction. We did this so impeccably that the occupancy levels rose.

The success achieved at Citrus Hotel Chennai was what catapulted me to the flagship of the group, Citrus Pimpri, Pune.

From a small hotel of 33 rooms in Chennai, I was transferred to a 144-room hotel, in the middle of 2013-14.

Banqueting is becoming a big revenue earner. Are you planning to increase the banqueting space?

What has been the experience of

We already have ample banqueting space.

What is your priority area of operations?

Our priority will be to increase the F&B sector. Last year we introduced Punchin which serves dhaba style Punjabi food and desi Chinese food. Our 24 hour coffee shop has breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, which keep changing everyday and the dishes comprise of Chinese, Thai, Continental, Indian, et al.

We are concentrating on F&B and coming up with some variations. These little changes in the F&B segment of the hotel differentiate this hotel from others.

For example, our finger bowl does not have plain water, it has a tea concoction.

Here when you ask for tap water, you get organic water. I like to do things which are not run-of-the-mill. You have to be different to succeed.

What is your occupancy rate?

The annual occupancy rate, at present, is about 70 percent.

Mar-Apr ’16

45

Operations

Hotel Business Review

The Age of Personalised

Hospitality

By Sharmila Chand

I

t is easier to keep a guest satisfied and smiling if you know what exactly she/ he desires, says hospitality experts.

Thanks to the digital era, collecting guest preferences has become a lot easier now than it was a decade before.

No wonder, Marketing and Revenue Managers of hotels and resorts in the country are focusing on this aspect seriously. Data pertaining to guests’ preferences, their likes/dislikes, their past stay information, their feedback/ comments or any problems they had faced during their earlier stay with the hospitality property are proving to be useful in gauging what the guests of hospitality properties want.

Understanding the Guests “To start delivering the personalised, high-touch experiences that today’s travellers expect, hoteliers need to get to know their guests,” said Tristan Beau de Lomenie, General Manager Delegate – Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity.

“The promise of rich guest profiles is here and it will revolutionise hospitality with the potential for a truly personalised guest experience. A simple example can be knowing the birthday and anniversary of your guests who are staying with you,” he added further.

“Personalisation of experiences and recognition of loyalty are key drivers of business success in the present day. Understanding our guests gives us the capacity to satisfy both of these requirements. For this reason, collecting and appropriately using data about our guests is critical. We love to tailor our service to delight our guests and our guests enjoy the experiences we can create when we have the right information 46

Mar-Apr ’16

about them,” asserted Pavithran Nambiar, General Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu.

“Understanding our guests is particularly important for our regular clients. The more we know them, the more we can create for them a sense of a ‘home away from home’ as they become more like family than customers,” he observed.

While we were discussing, Nambiar made a very important point. “The first consideration when dealing with guests’ personal details is privacy. Our guests entrust us with information and they must have the surety that this information will be used only by us and only for the purpose for which it is collected. It is our responsibility to ensure that this trust is protected,” he affirmed.

“Hospitality industry is all about serving your guests and one can’t serve a guest comprehensively without knowing her/his interests or anticipating her/his needs. People travel not only for business or leisure but could also be travelling for medical, spiritual or other reasons. Thus

Saeid Heidari

their needs can also be different. Every guest appreciates personalised services and expects the staff to understand her/his needs and deliver them,” explained Namit Vijh, Director of Rooms, Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon.

“Hence, it is important to know the likes and dislikes of guests in order to serve them better. Whilst it is challenging to win over every guest; any attempt to personalise the guests’ stay are likely to reap immense rewards,” pointed out Vijh.

“There are many unique ways in which the personal data of the guest can be utilised to create memorable experiences for the guest and as well as increase the overall revenue of the hotel. For example, with the past guest preferences information, the Restaurant Manager can sort guest interests or her/ his past spend at hotel’s outlets and arrange for a surprise meal with a 1 + 1 offer. Front desk staff can use past guest profile to assign the perfect room to a repeat guest or proactively remove feather pillows for a guest with allergies,” explained Lomenie.

“A comprehensive guest profile can inspire staff to go the extra mile and provide a special guest experience that can foster revenues. In an increasingly competitive landscape, these personalised actions will make the difference between an ordinary stay and one that is truly exceptional,” he added further.

“When it comes to guests’ preferences, the front office team of our hotel ensures that the updated information is communicated to the rest of the departments like food and beverage service, housekeeping, engineering, etc.

For instance, special dietary needs of guest/s are shared with the food and

Sp a Operations beverage team and any room details are shared with the housekeeping department. Gathering all the details help the team in delivering a personalised experience, thus delivering an upgraded guest experience and helping enhance the hotel’s revenue,” elaborated Vijh.

Little Things Count Prior knowledge of guest preferences is also important because many a time little things can make a big difference towards guest satisfaction. “Many times it is the simple things that people remember. As a guest, personalisation and taking care of her/his individual preferences during the stay can be of top priority. Small details like remembering pillow preference, mattress preference, room preference (closer/not closer to the elevator, higher/ lower floor), preferred brand of tea/ coffee can make a huge difference in the experience of the overall stay at the hospitality property,” Lomenie asserted.

“For example, when the guest visits the coffee shop of the hotel and the server remembers the way the guest had his/her tea and the kind of cookies he/she liked in his/her previous visit/s to the coffee shop, it leaves a positive imprint on the

“

Personalisation of experience and recognition of loyalty are key drivers of business success in the Indian hospitality industry, in the present day. Understanding our guests gives us the capacity to satisfy both of these requirements.

”

Pavithran Nambiar, General Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu

Hotel Business Review

guest’s mind and makes him/her want to come back again to the hotel,” averred Lomenie.

Regarding this aspect Vijh talked about the experience he had at their property. “Recently, we had a guest who was staying at the hotel for the second time. During his previous stay the guest had requested one of our Chefs to cater to his special dietary requirements. The Chef took charge of his meals and ensured the guest’s needs were met. When the guest checked in to the hotel during his second visit, he was surprised to see that another Chef had prepared his meals in line with his dietary requirements. The guest was not only thrilled but recommended the hotel to his company and colleagues,” Vijh elaborated enthusiastically.

“We had a guest staying with us who was on a business trip. As we had his details with us, we knew it was his birthday. We had placed a cake wishing him Happy Birthday in his room. Upon check-in, he was delighted that the hotel had remembered his birthday and had surprised him with the cake. Little things like these go a far way in building guest loyalty,” Lomenie recollected.

Moments and Milestones “Celebrating milestones with our guests adds a lot to the relationship we build up with them. We always make an effort to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries but we can add other important occasions to this list. For example, if we know one of our guests has just closed an important business deal, this could create an opportunity to do something nice for her/ him,” affirmed Nambiar.

“Another example is the airline crew.

We have had a relationship with the airline crew for 8 years now and we know many of them well. We started a tradition of celebrating retirements when we found out about the impending retirement of a couple of captains. This was so appreciated that other captains have chosen the Mumbai route for their last flight as they know we will make it special for them,” pointed out Nambiar.

“For instance, when a couple is travelling with its young kid our housekeeping team places a crib in the room for added comfort. Small unexpected delights like a stuffed toy or a cupcake with the child’s name not only makes the child thrilled but helps win

“

Like any other guest, I do look forward to personalised services whenever I am staying at a hotel.

While travelling to a hotel, I would expect the associates to offer a home like environment with warm and attentive service. On a holiday, it would make my day especially if the Chef made some of my favourite dishes!

”

Namit Vijh, Director of Rooms, Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon

customers for life. Our records also help us remember special days in our guest’s life like birthdays or anniversaries,” Vijh stated further.

“The love shared by our guests keeps our teams motivated and eager to do more – this has always been part of the success of our hotel,” Vijh proffered.

Promotions for Guest Satisfaction Besides personalised services, innovative initiatives or promotions are other measures to garner repeat guests to hospitality properties. “Since our opening we have tried to bring about innovations through various food and beverage promotions at the hotel. Our efforts have been recognised and we have seen great success in these areas. An example of the same is our Parsi Food Festival that we hosted around the Parsi New Year,” informed Saeid Heidari, General Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar.

“We associated with Parsi food connoisseur Perzen Patel to bring to our guests authentic Parsi food. This food promotion was a huge success in terms of number of covers and revenue generated,”

Mar-Apr ’16

47

Operations

Hotel Business Review

Heidari affirmed.

“We recently also did a promotion/ campaign called ‘Celebrateatjwsahar’, wherein we showcased 50 customised theme cakes. At that festival, guests could order cakes in different flavours such as Crunchy Hazelnut Almond Marzipan, Toffee Coffee, Caramelised Pineapple Cake, Red Velvet, Chocolate Truffle and Dry Fruit Cake. This promotion resulted in an increase in cake orders and sales at the hotel,” Heidari elaborated further.

The results achieved through these initiatives at the property have also been encouraging. “Every promotion we have done has shown us great results in terms of walk-in guests, revenue and also in terms of recreating brand value for the restaurant by offering our guests something new every time,” informed Heidari.

Expert Views Experts whom I spoke to also shared some essential tips in dealing with guests that can go a long way in developing enduring relationship between guests

Smart Ways to Know Your Guests There are many ways to collect guests’ data. You have to smartly capture every information the guest gives. Interact with your guests, and it is likely that they will tell you a lot about themselves. See what pages on your website are they most interested in. Did they spend a lot of time searching your spa, or were they on the dining page? What items did they consume from the mini-bar?

When they call the hotel and ask a few questions, you need to take notes and store it on a guest profile.

Moreover, record the packages which they choose so that you can reference them later. When they fill out the satisfaction survey, note down their praises and complaints.

Approximately 25 percent of guests make a request while on the hospitality property. Are you capturing those requests so the next time the guest stays they don’t have to make the same request again?

In this day and age guests expect you to remember their requests and preferences!

48

Mar-Apr ’16

“

Going ahead, guests will continue to anticipate a higher level of customised service and hoteliers who endeavour to bring that level of service will see the benefits of increased customer loyalty and revenue, since the offers will be more relevant to the guests. Example, a glass of wine with strawberries wouldn’t be creating a memorable moment for the guest, if he/she does not drink alcoholic spirits or is allergic to strawberries. On the contrary, for a couple celebrating its anniversary and for a guest who drinks alcoholic spirits, and likes strawberries, this initiative will create an everlasting memory.

Overall, hospitality industry has to stay ahead in order to meet the needs of its customers, at a time when guest-centric perspective and personalisation has become a must for the hospitality industry.

”

Tristan Beau de Lomenie, General Manager Delegate – Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity and hospitality properties, in the postmodern Indian hospitality industry.

“Guest information is highly confidential and should not be shared with anyone irrespective of the circumstances. Also, guests should be briefed about what information is being collected and for what purpose. Also front office staff of the hospitality properties needs to understand the preferences of a new guest, recognise those of a repeat guest and communicate these to the rest of the staff,” advised Vijh.

The quality of food & beverage is an important factor towards enduring guest satisfaction across hospitality properties. In this regard, Heidari has some pragmatic advice. “The hospitality properties should provide great and healthy food with good quality and fresh ingredients. They should provide food for the soul. At the same time, value for money, efficient and prompt service, great ambience and variety of offerings are required to engage guests’ palate. The variety in F&B offerings can be through introduction of new menus, new promotions and other activities to keep the guests engaged,” Heidari noted.

Lomenie also gave some pertinent advice to understand and utilise the guest data. “The first tip is that hotels should capture their guest data in a comprehensive manner to build comprehensive profiles for each guest.

This will help in creating personalised

wow moments for the guests. The guest data should be comprehensive in terms of information, containing name, e-mail address, physical address, mobile number, demographics (sex, age and nationality), usage history, interests, preferences and also feedback of guests from reviews or prior surveys, and their comments made to staff member/s,” explained Lomenie.

“Secondly, hotels should sync the collated guest information data on a single digital platform so that it is accessible to each hotel staff at her/his disposal. This will help in maintaining a continuity of the ‘wow’ experience at each guest-staff touch-point in the hotel. Thirdly, there is need to create programmed and personalised communications at different touchpoints throughout the guest experience with the help of the available data about the guest,” he stated.

“Then there is the requirement to conduct holistic training sessions with the hotel staff to make them understand how memorable experiences can be created for a guest and the values created by making them happen. Lastly, keep an active tab on digital platforms like TripAdvisor, Zomato, etc. where guests post feedback of their stay and their overall experience at the hotel. These feedbacks, if acknowledged in real time, can make a great impact on the guest,” observed n Lomenie.

Mar-Apr ’16

49

P ro d uct Previ ew

Hotel Business Review

Personal Care by moha

Improving Indoor Air Quality

moha happens to be a premium range of personal care products, inspired by Ayurveda. These products are effective, gentle and safe.

The moha range covers almost every facet of personal care, using pure herbal actives. These products are renowned for their aesthetic appeal and stylish packaging too.

For example, moha’s herbal shampoo cleanses, nourishes and strengthens the hair and scalp, eliminating dust and pollution. It has amla, aloe, brahmi and bhringaraj, all renowned for their nurturing properties.

Then there is moha’s herbal hair conditioner, which complements the shampoo, by helping to make hair silky soft, smooth and tangle-free.

It does so thanks to the combined action of aloe and jojoba oil. The brand moha also has soap, herbal shower gel and moisturising lotion within its ambit.

Soap from moha helps in giving exquisite skin! It is enriched with tulsi, which can facilitate a flawless complexion. Wheat germ, aloe and neem together add to the cleansing experience of this soap.

Tea tree, neem and orange are some of the wonder ingredients in the moha’s herbal shower gel. Then there is moha’s moisturizing lotion, which has almond oil and sunflower oil for facilitating soft and wonderfully supple skin. Not only does this product can moisturise your skin, it can actually stimulate your skin’s ability to produce vital natural moisture.

Charak Pharma Private Limited arjun@charak.com

NatéoSanté, a French company specialising in air quality treatment, is about to launch EOLIS, an intelligent air filtration system especially conceived for the Indian market.

Manufactured in France, EOLIS is intended to be made in India later this year, at EOLANE industrial plant in Bangalore.

EOLIS will be on sale in India from May 2016 and would be distributed though the company’s Indian partners.

EOLIS air manager has been conceived from the idea to provide an air filtration system combining high performances and simplicity of use. Tailored for professionals in home appliances, hospitality and heath/ medical sectors, EOLIS will incorporate a filter system composed of a medical grade filter HEPA H13 or ULPA U15 and a high density active carbon filter, which would be able to treat an area of either 60 or 120 m² (two versions will be proposed).

Thanks to the ACTIV mode, EOLIS is a smart unit automatically adapted to your environment. It includes a monitoring system that is easy to use, thanks to a three user control interface: touch screen panel, computer or smartphone.

NatéoSanté stephane@nateosante.fr

Comprehensive Range of Washroom Solutions Toshi’s vivid & versatile solutions for urinal flushers and sensors take care of water conservation & comprehensive hygiene as per the need and utilisation. The company’s range of WC sensors is equipped with advanced fuzzy logic based controllers. These attributes make these sensors the best fit where water saving is of prime concern.

Toshi’s latest hand dryers are based on advanced thermo couple technology that allows auto temperature management controls, thereby allowing for maximum possible safety to users. The company’s enhanced variety of automatic soap/ paper towel / fragrance dispensers offers of a comprehensive range that could provide solution for any hygienic requirements. Furthermore, Toshi has pioneered in bringing the solutions for battery operated sensor taps. Showing quality & product distinction with touch less operations, they are apt for classy washrooms.

Reflecting the same commitment that is evident in its product creations, Toshi, in the recent past, has changed its logo.

Toshi Automatic Systems Pvt. Ltd. info@toshiautomatic.com

The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

50

Mar-Apr ’16

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Intervi ew

Hotel Business Review

Passionate About Hospitality

By Sharmila Chand

Passionate about the hospitality industry in general and very particular about sales & marketing of the hotel where he is presently engaged in, Ajay Upadhyay, General Manager, Ajit Bhawan, Jodhpur has completed 20 successful years in the trade.

At a very young age, he has held various responsible positions in front office and in restaurants, in luxury, leisure & business hotels across India & abroad.

At present, he is heading a big team at Ajit Bhawan, Jodhpur, a heritage hotel.

In fact, the website of the hotel claims Ajit Bhawan to be the first heritage hotel of India. Ajit Bhawan, Jodhpur is a property where you can experience royalty, luxury and old-world charm.

When I queried him on his strength and what keeps him going, he affirmed, “I love designing happy moments for our guests.”

“Most of our guests come for leisure, who are to be interacted, involved & informed a lot about this historical place & experiences given by this milestone hotel,” he added. The excerpts of the interview follow: How has your journey been in the hospitality industry?

My journey in the hospitality has taken a full circle during the last 20 years. I have begun my career from Rajasthan, with Rambagh Palace, Jaipur & came back to Rajasthan after gaining international experience and growth.

What do you like the most about your job?

The most interesting thing in my job is the ‘Giving Philosophy.’ Giving starts the receiving process. You have to have a belief in spreading love, happiness, and respect among your guests, and they will be your fans. A career in hospitality has given me all the confidence to achieve the impossible in life.

What is your working mantra, your guiding philosophy at work?

I work on ‘Plan & Inform Mantra.’

One has to be much disciplined to

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Mar-Apr ’16

progress in the hotel industry. You must take notes, prioritise & communicate a lot to be effective.

What are the top three criteria in pursuing a career in the hospitality industry?

The three important attributes for hospitality professionals are having the attitude to serve, help and assist guests, having effective communication skills, and in being a people’s person. One has to hone all the three areas to become a successful professional in the hospitality industry.

For a hospitality professional, my advice is to be genuinely interested in people & facilitate them, whether they are your guests, potential guests or employees.

When you recruit your team members, what are the three main qualities you see in them?

I try & check three qualities in a potential recruit in my team, which are attitude to learn & grow, flexibility, and honesty; attributes which are not easy to judge. Thus, we have to keep many counter questions ready to authenticate the same.

What tips you would give to young girls and boys wanting to make a career in hospitality?

It is a wonderful dream career, where people cherish to stay & spend their finest moments of life. But hospitality can be a great career only if you are an open minded & growthoriented individual. In hospitality business, you just have to fall in love with your job to be successful as initial years in the trade tend to be very demanding. One has to get used to the demands of this job, but once you get addicted to hospitality & keep learning, sky is the only limit.

Mar-Apr ’15

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Oct-Nov ’15