Andaz Delhi Launches Residences Wing

THE ANDAZ Delhi at the Aerocity in New Delhi is finally officially completely open, with the launch of its apartments. The hotel has 129 Andaz Delhi Residences, of which 75 are one-bedroom apartments, 42 two-bedroomed apartments, six three-bedroomed apartments and six town duplex townhouses.

BW Hotelier spoke with Shikha Singh, Director of Sales & Marketing Andaz Delhi about the launch and the market response to the product.

“The Andaz Residences are available in multiple configurations and the only apartments available in the Aerocity area. A lot of hotels claim to have residential apartments but they are mostly studios or suites converted into apartments to meet longstay needs,” she began by telling us.

“We did a lot of research when the hotel was coming up. We were quite apprehensive as a sales team whether we could get 129 families wanting to go for a long stay solution in a location like Aerocity and we are quite overwhelmed by the response,” she added.

While speaking to customers and corporates, Singh says her team realised that the biggest advantage that we have is the proximity to both Delhi's CBD and Gurugram. “So, if you have a CEO who is working in Gurugram, he doesn't mind travelling as long as the family is closer to the American School or the British School,” she said.

One of the perceptions that the hotel and sales team had to combat was the perception that a hotel serviced apartment was a very expensive proposition. “We found out that compared to a standalone apartment in Vasant Vihar, once you added all the extra expenses, the costs had very little difference,” Singh said.

Not only do the resident guest never have to bother with replacing things like lightbulbs which had stopped working, but the concierge team looks to really customise the experience at the residences.

One other really important factor of the facility was its security, Singh added. “Consider the fact that there are about 70 to 80 security staff who are constantly looking out for the guest and their families. The security aspect, especially for those who are travelling around, is a huge selling point,” she said.

As far as potential customers were concerned, interested began locally itself. “Aerocity is also developing as a destination in the last few months, thanks to GMR putting in efforts here. We have great interest and enquiries coming in from offices located within this complex,” Singh told us.

“Our highest inventory is of single apartments so our focus is on the project business, we are targetting single travellers who come into Delhi for extended periods of time. The minute you speak with a family, they need two bedrooms and upwards. The companies who are shifting into the Aerocity area are mostly people who are coming in for a few months at a time,” she added.

While exact numbers were not shared, Singh told us that “quite a few apartments are already occupied. We will be hitting the relocation season soon, so we are keeping a very close eye on it. The diplomatic segment is going to be very crucial and important for us as well”.

Currently the one bedroom and two bedroom apartments are also available for sale online, she added.

Bikramjit Ray

BW Reporters Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor of BW Hotelier.