Our Biggest Strength is Being Innovative and Detailed Infrastructure: Vinesh Gupta, GM, The Den

LOCATED ON a 2.8 acre land parcel in the IT corridor of Whitefield, The Den is a millennial centric luxury hotel with 226 keys and 25 floors. The Den is crafted for the modern traveller and is the first luxury hotel under Den Hotels India Pvt Ltd, an Indian company which has received 100 per cent investment from The Dan Hotels, Israel.

In an exclusive interaction with BW Hotelier, Vinesh Gupta, General Manager, The Den speaks about synergy of Indian market with Israel, sustainability and hospitality market in Bengaluru.

What is the USP of The Den Bengaluru?

The Den, is a first millennial luxury hotel in India. Its contemporary design reflects the innovative and progressive elements that make modern-day Bengaluru come alive. Our biggest strengths are being innovative and detailed infrastructure, keeping our guest safety and security in mind. Our brand has four main ethos – Eat, Work, Sleep, Play. We are a tech savvy hotel and we have also incorporated virtual reality in our Play House. The whole idea is to create an ecosystem where guests feel that it’s a place to enjoy, not only stay.

What are your views on Bengaluru as the Hospitality Market?

Bengaluru has seen a massive rise in Luxury and Upper Upscale hotel inventories, and a city that was always short of rooms suddenly has a glut of oversupply. This is going to continue for a few more years as we have many more projects in the pipeline. The demand in Bangalore is driven by technology, manufactural, aerospace, BPO, IPO and IT industries.  Last year, Whitefield market has witnessed 19% luxury segment growth. As per KPMG report, India’s hospitality industry is expected to grow at 16.1% CAGR to reach Rs 2,796.9 crores in 2022.

Tell us more about the synergy of Indian market with Israel and how will it impact the hospitality sector.

Bangalore is known for being the technology hub of India and India-Israel relation is nurturing the growth of defence and aerospace industries in this city. As a result, we are witnessing the high interest of setting up new JVs. Bangalore is also known as a start-up capital of India and Tel-Aviv as start-up capital of the world. Hence, we can say that these two cities naturally compliment each-other. With more airlines flying directly from India (Delhi, Goa, Kochi) to Israel, we are seeing a rise in the tourism and hospitality industry. In last 2 years the flight capacity has also increased. Seeing the demand, Israel’s Arkia airlines launched direct flights from Tel Aviv to Kochi. The increased connectivity comes in view of Israel recording a 21 per cent growth in arrival of tourists from India. 

What is your take on sustainability? 

The Den Bengaluru is a LEED gold certified hotel. While building hotels we need to keep sustainability in mind i.e optimizing solar energy, best usage of natural light and weather condition, energy efficiency system, emission target, eliminate in-organic waste and keeping in mind the current water crisis the city – learn how to save water. As an organisation we should achieve the triple bottom line.

What are your plans for 2020? 

We are looking forward to more brand penetration in this year. This should be the year of stabilisation and growth which should catapult us in the league of established brands of India.