As a Brand, We See Ourselves as a Social Catalyst: Santosh Kutty

BW Hotelier spoke with Santosh Kutty the General Manager, Operations & Development of
Zone by The Park, the new sub brand of The Park Hotels about what makes this new brand tick. Kutty, who has 22 year so experience in the industry, including being the general manager of the Taj Exotica, Maldives and Taj Holiday Village Goa, got the National Award for Best young Hotelier in 2002. Here is an excerpt of the interview.

When did the story of Zone by The Park begin?

We started thinking about the brand in 2011, when the Park Hotels wanted to expand. The Market was growing substantially and is still growing in the segment in which Zone by The Park is in. The fact was to do luxury properties at 1 crore (INR) plus a key, in smaller cities is not always viable and is ahead of the time. You don't make money for the owners. What we started working on then is the brand that we call Zone by The Park. We call it a social catalyst as a brand. The idea is moving ahead with the times, where the whole world has gone social. The idea was to bring in a brand which would reflect and resonate with the newer customers.

What is unique about the Zone by The Park brand?

We are trying to do something very unique. We have to keep the Indian scenario and customer in mind and then do a brand which has a Park ethos. The design, the F&B, the nightlife, it all comes in. There are many gaps in the market which we identified through a study.

Zone by the Park is more than a hotel. It's not just rooms, restaurant, bar and banqueting. What it has is interactive spaces, not boxed in. It's got distinctive design and its also a price conscious, design conscious brand. Affordability and value is a huge point for Indian consumer. Price is always a function of the market, but there are so many pin points that we can address. We wanted Zone as a social brand, to be a buzzing place, a starting point for the city.

How is Zone by The Park different from others in this very crowded space?

In terms of differentiation, its design, price conscious and offerings wise distinctive. We have Bazaar which is a multi-cuisine restaurant as a product with multi pricing. The bar has multi pricing. We are trying to make it more affordable. The minibars for instance, have products at market price.

Let’s talk numbers, what is the kind of investments you are looking at?

Investment is around 35 lakhs (INR) a key. Our price point is actually from 3,500 to 5,000 depending on availability, occupancy and the market. The idea was to change what we were doing as hoteliers. We cannot be room 70, F&B 30. We need to be a sort of mall for hotels. How do we bring that in? We have the room, the F&B, the entertainment, the banqueting. We have worked on bringing in an anti-room cycle component and make that a huge part.

What are the hotels which you have now and which are the ones coming up?

We are in Jaipur, Coimbatore and Chennai right now. We are going to Electronic City Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Jodhpur, Mahabalipuram and Raipur this year. We then have Goa, Pondicherry and the second property in Chennai. We have 13 properties signed, including the three already in operations.

If someone comes to you and wants to build a Zone by The Park, what are the requirements?

First, we look to see if there is a market for our product at the location. We don't want to get into a crowded place and make another hotel and make a mess. Second, is the owner someone we can do business with, because we are looking at a long term relationship. Third, does the owner understand the nature of the business? Does he understand its long-term and has its ups and downs? Fourth, does the owner have the will and means to sustain the business for a long period?

We have dropped properties after three discussions, where we have thought, that this is not the kind of person who we would like to partner with them.

Even though we have made some smaller properties initially, we look at anything more than 70 or 75 keys now.