By Bikramjit Ray
THE ICONIC Planet Hollywood Resort a la Las Vegas, recently formally opened up in Goa. Located on Uttrodra, the state’s only white sand beach, Planet Hollywood Beach Resort South Goa has been built on 12 acres of land and is a first of its brand in India. Anand Chatterjee, General Manager of the recently opened (launched end of April, 2015) 150 room beachfront property spoke to BW Hotelier exclusively about his ward and its future.
Being not too big, not too small, Chatterjee calls the resort a ’smart-sized hotel’ that is thematically loyal to its name with all the rooms and suites divided between eight blocks which individually represent different genre of Hollywood movies. Talking about the hotel’s USP, Chatterjee says, ’It’s very dramatic. It’s a very young, modern-looking hotel unlike other resorts and that’s possibly where our USP lies. Rather than being a typical serene resort it is a very high energy and high octane hotel.’
Apart from the rooms and suites, the property plans to seasonally offer its guests the option of staying in tents on the bench. ’We will have around 15 of them. That is something that will be one of a kind because no other South Goa hotel has a tent on the beach. They will be completely air conditioned, free standing high-end luxury tents which, as per regulations, can only operate between October and May,’ elaborates Chatterjee, adding that the electric and plumbing infrastructural layout (Mechanical Engineer electric and plumbing points) have been already been laid out.
In terms of F&B, the establishment has Planet Hollywood’s signature all day dining, Planet Dailies, a western and oriental grill and sushi restaurant, Fame, and a bar in the lobby called Heart Bar. They hope to soon add a shack-like beachfront seafood restaurant.
All this seems to be quite attractive and exciting for customers and Chatterjee informs us, though not quoting the exact figure, that the hotel’s occupancy rate was 55 per cent plus, a rare feat for a newly opened property which, in his words, came from a ’brand which is not well established in India’.
Chatterjee attributes the successful opening run of the hotel to sustained efforts in offline and online marketing.
He tells us, ’Offline marketing is basically a trial and hit effort that entails making yourself present in every corporate, every wedding planner, every travel agent, etc whereas, for online marketing we are tying up with several online travel agencies. We are also exploring other options with various other channels. Channels in terms of where we can sell the hotel, as in, from a distribution point.’
The target for marketing has most definitely been a younger demographic, which according to the general manager includes very young families.
One of the most ambitious and exciting plans that the Planet Hollywood management has up its sleeve is to make the resort the country’s first offsite movie premier destination.
’Usually movie launches still happen in the theatres in metros, particularly Mumbai. There still isn’t a concept of a movie being released to a niche market, offsite, where the production house gets people from all across the country, puts them up in a hotel, and then launches the movie in the theatre,’ Chatterjee excitedly explained.
The author is Executive Editor of BW Hotelier.-
THE ICONIC Planet Hollywood Resort a la Las Vegas, recently formally opened up in Goa. Located on Uttrodra, the state’s only white sand beach, Planet Hollywood Beach Resort South Goa has been built on 12 acres of land and is a first of its brand in India. Anand Chatterjee, General Manager of the recently opened (launched end of April, 2015) 150 room beachfront property spoke to BW Hotelier exclusively about his ward and its future.
Being not too big, not too small, Chatterjee calls the resort a ’smart-sized hotel’ that is thematically loyal to its name with all the rooms and suites divided between eight blocks which individually represent different genre of Hollywood movies. Talking about the hotel’s USP, Chatterjee says, ’It’s very dramatic. It’s a very young, modern-looking hotel unlike other resorts and that’s possibly where our USP lies. Rather than being a typical serene resort it is a very high energy and high octane hotel.’
Apart from the rooms and suites, the property plans to seasonally offer its guests the option of staying in tents on the bench. ’We will have around 15 of them. That is something that will be one of a kind because no other South Goa hotel has a tent on the beach. They will be completely air conditioned, free standing high-end luxury tents which, as per regulations, can only operate between October and May,’ elaborates Chatterjee, adding that the electric and plumbing infrastructural layout (Mechanical Engineer electric and plumbing points) have been already been laid out.
In terms of F&B, the establishment has Planet Hollywood’s signature all day dining, Planet Dailies, a western and oriental grill and sushi restaurant, Fame, and a bar in the lobby called Heart Bar. They hope to soon add a shack-like beachfront seafood restaurant.
All this seems to be quite attractive and exciting for customers and Chatterjee informs us, though not quoting the exact figure, that the hotel’s occupancy rate was 55 per cent plus, a rare feat for a newly opened property which, in his words, came from a ’brand which is not well established in India’.
Chatterjee attributes the successful opening run of the hotel to sustained efforts in offline and online marketing.
He tells us, ’Offline marketing is basically a trial and hit effort that entails making yourself present in every corporate, every wedding planner, every travel agent, etc whereas, for online marketing we are tying up with several online travel agencies. We are also exploring other options with various other channels. Channels in terms of where we can sell the hotel, as in, from a distribution point.’
The target for marketing has most definitely been a younger demographic, which according to the general manager includes very young families.
One of the most ambitious and exciting plans that the Planet Hollywood management has up its sleeve is to make the resort the country’s first offsite movie premier destination.
’Usually movie launches still happen in the theatres in metros, particularly Mumbai. There still isn’t a concept of a movie being released to a niche market, offsite, where the production house gets people from all across the country, puts them up in a hotel, and then launches the movie in the theatre,’ Chatterjee excitedly explained.
The author is Executive Editor of BW Hotelier.-
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