Bangalore Remains a Very Corporate City: Kunal Chauhan, GM, Leela Bengaluru

Bikramjit Ray Jun 16, 2016

KUNAL CHAUHAN, the dapper General Manager of the Leela Palace Bangalore doesn’t believe that the DNA of the city has changed much.

Chauhan said as much while speaking to BW Hotelier during an exclusive interview recently.

“Bangalore remains a very corporate city. The days of forced sell are over. However, there is no other segment except corporate clients,” he told us.

The Leela was not a cookie cutter hotel, Chauhan stated, though over time they have got great branding with over 85 percent of their clients coming in through referrals of friends of colleagues, which is huge for any market.

“What has changed now is that we have to provide for luxury while retaining the basic essence of the international traveller. Service has become crisper, more efficient. People want the luxury environment but they don't want to waste time on elaborate service rituals,” Chauhan explained while discussing the market trend for business clients in the city.

Though technology is another important part of the experience, Chauhan is not a huge tech geek. “I don't want it to get too complicated. In all fairness, yesterday we were geared to handle two devices per customer, today we have to be geared to handle four to five devices per customer. If you understand that, you’re pretty much sorted,” he said.

"The Leela has been able to retain its ADR (Average Daily Rate) leadership in the city. We are clearly about Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 ahead of our next competition, which for me is a great testament to my customer who is willing to pay that much more for my rooms,” Chauhan said.

This is a great position to be in, something no amount of marketing can achieve, he added. Occupancy, with 357 rooms on offer, has held steady at around 72 percent. In fact that is the case across the city, he said. Occupancy can’t go up because the hotels are sold out from Monday to Thursday, while Friday to Sunday, no corporate clients really travel to the city.

“If you are a businessman travelling to Bangalore on work, my hotel being on sale will not make you get up and fly here. All people do wrong is try and discount to get traction where there is no need,” he said. On the three days, the hotel does nothing out of the ordinary and this is a trend the rest of the market is following, he added. Other than a Rs 1000 dip in rates during the weekend, all things stay steady.

F&B is another area that the Leela Palace, Bangalore really hits its mark according to Chauhan, starting with Jamavar which is a hub of corporate entertainment doing between Rs 3.5 to 4 lakh a day for dinner only.

“If you are in the city, one meal will happen at Jamavar. That adds to our appeal, because even if you are staying elsewhere, your colleagues will bring you here. You will see the hotel and you will wonder why am I somewhere else?” he said.

In fact F&B wise the hotel has a nice balance with all its different outlets. While Jamavar is corporate entertainment heavy, Zen is much more local, Bangaloreans who have been coming to the hotel since it opened in 2001. Citrus is more easy going for the new set, the lunch crowd and for meetings over tea of coffee, Chauhan told us.

“We have all done our bit of experimentation, but to be honest, we have all realised it's all about basic hoteliering. Stand in the lobby, meet the person, if you know him, he will come back to you because everybody values personalisation more than anything else,” Chauhan concluded, while explaining why the hotel was still such a successful property.