Bikramjit Ray
BRAND OWNERS and operators like Carlson Rezidor need to ensure that our brands stay relevant, competitive, especially in a fast-placed world where digital is taking over. These were the opening words of Thorsten Kirschke, President, Asia-Pacific region, for the group.
During an exclusive interview with BW Hotelier, Kirschke told us the issues of operating in a market like India. ’The investment climate in India--with land prices being where they are and interest rates staying the same--makes it very difficult to identify return on investment opportunities. Add that to the length of time it takes from the inception of a project to the opening and the lack of cash flows in that period, makes it a complex undertaking,’ he explained.
’In this kind of an environment, Carlson Rezidor, is investing first and foremost in its brand equity. So in an environment like India, we maintain the position that we have around the world of being asset light,’ he said.
Carlson Rezidor has enjoyed a very strong position in India with 25 + years in the market and 74 hotels in operation and 43 in the pipeline, making them the leading international hotel operator in the country, according to Kirschke.
’We have, from the very beginning taken a long term view of India as a market. We’ve been able to develop relationships, partnerships that are meaningful, based on mutual trust and constant exchange and dialogue,’ he added.
The group was going to continue, very clearly, to expand on their ’fortress India’ position, he told us, adding that it was by far Carlson Rezidor’s strongest market within the Asia-Pacific region.
’Things will not happen overnight, there is no one size fits all recipe, there’s no silver bullet. It is only through that deeply rooted understanding of its own dynamics that you
will be successful,’ he added. The group has very ambitious plans of growth with around 170 operational properties in the next five years.
’We do not rest on our laurels. We are aggressively deploying new contract structures and bringing in new brands into the market to take advantage of the opportunities of the growing middle-class and hospitality trends that we see around the world. These are not unique to India, but of course, with the massive size of the population, multiplied by X,’ he said, explaining why he felt there was room to grow further in the market.
The newest offering of Carlson Rezidor in India is its Radisson Red brand, which leverages the brand equity of Radisson as a worldwide brand. It’s a bifurcation of its legacy Radisson core into a ’different offspring’ that can cater to the evolving expectations of younger travelling demographics, Kirschke said.
’As the world in its entirety develops through globalization and digitalization, we see a changing consumer behaviour of hotels that emerges from very traditional, full service, upscale, luxury offerings to a more lifestyle geared experience that is more in-tune with realities of how people lead their lives today, professionally and leisurely,’ he added.
Radisson Red is a brand typically around 150 keys, that looks at a reduced/select service/ select offering of services, doing away with offerings like 24x7 dining or a ball room with wooden panelling. It’s going to be flexible spaces, with emphasis on technology all designed into a lifestyle extension, according to him.
’Because of its smaller footprint and reduced back of house area, it provides for a better return on investment, not at all less important in a market like India where financing is extremely costly,’ he clarified, adding, ’we feel that we are addressing two major players in markets like India. We are looking at both sides of the equation--the consumer and the investor-developer community to take advantage of trends that we see unfolding in India. We’ve taken great care to make sure that Radisson Red is fit for India, because we have also seen that some other brands aiming at the same objective have not been successful.’
Existing owners have been given a sneak preview
of the product and the group has also carried out deeper discussions with ownership structures to help gain a better understanding of their needs. ’The feedback and comments were encouraging, so give it some time and I think Radisson Red has great potential here’, Kirschke added.
One of the challenges while in dialogues with investors and owners is to make sure that one deploys the right brand against their intentions in the markets where they are. ’We’ve seen it many times, that owners overcapitalize on their assets and then are unable to drive adequate returns. We want to be very transparent from the get go, we want to make sure that there’s a mutual understanding of what fits, what type of returns are expected and therefore, we continue to deploy all our brands equally. But I have to say that I am very bullish about the potential of Radisson Red,’ he concluded.
The author is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
BRAND OWNERS and operators like Carlson Rezidor need to ensure that our brands stay relevant, competitive, especially in a fast-placed world where digital is taking over. These were the opening words of Thorsten Kirschke, President, Asia-Pacific region, for the group.
During an exclusive interview with BW Hotelier, Kirschke told us the issues of operating in a market like India. ’The investment climate in India--with land prices being where they are and interest rates staying the same--makes it very difficult to identify return on investment opportunities. Add that to the length of time it takes from the inception of a project to the opening and the lack of cash flows in that period, makes it a complex undertaking,’ he explained.
’In this kind of an environment, Carlson Rezidor, is investing first and foremost in its brand equity. So in an environment like India, we maintain the position that we have around the world of being asset light,’ he said.
Carlson Rezidor has enjoyed a very strong position in India with 25 + years in the market and 74 hotels in operation and 43 in the pipeline, making them the leading international hotel operator in the country, according to Kirschke.
’We have, from the very beginning taken a long term view of India as a market. We’ve been able to develop relationships, partnerships that are meaningful, based on mutual trust and constant exchange and dialogue,’ he added.
The group was going to continue, very clearly, to expand on their ’fortress India’ position, he told us, adding that it was by far Carlson Rezidor’s strongest market within the Asia-Pacific region.
’Things will not happen overnight, there is no one size fits all recipe, there’s no silver bullet. It is only through that deeply rooted understanding of its own dynamics that you
will be successful,’ he added. The group has very ambitious plans of growth with around 170 operational properties in the next five years.
’We do not rest on our laurels. We are aggressively deploying new contract structures and bringing in new brands into the market to take advantage of the opportunities of the growing middle-class and hospitality trends that we see around the world. These are not unique to India, but of course, with the massive size of the population, multiplied by X,’ he said, explaining why he felt there was room to grow further in the market.
The newest offering of Carlson Rezidor in India is its Radisson Red brand, which leverages the brand equity of Radisson as a worldwide brand. It’s a bifurcation of its legacy Radisson core into a ’different offspring’ that can cater to the evolving expectations of younger travelling demographics, Kirschke said.
’As the world in its entirety develops through globalization and digitalization, we see a changing consumer behaviour of hotels that emerges from very traditional, full service, upscale, luxury offerings to a more lifestyle geared experience that is more in-tune with realities of how people lead their lives today, professionally and leisurely,’ he added.
Radisson Red is a brand typically around 150 keys, that looks at a reduced/select service/ select offering of services, doing away with offerings like 24x7 dining or a ball room with wooden panelling. It’s going to be flexible spaces, with emphasis on technology all designed into a lifestyle extension, according to him.
’Because of its smaller footprint and reduced back of house area, it provides for a better return on investment, not at all less important in a market like India where financing is extremely costly,’ he clarified, adding, ’we feel that we are addressing two major players in markets like India. We are looking at both sides of the equation--the consumer and the investor-developer community to take advantage of trends that we see unfolding in India. We’ve taken great care to make sure that Radisson Red is fit for India, because we have also seen that some other brands aiming at the same objective have not been successful.’
Existing owners have been given a sneak preview
of the product and the group has also carried out deeper discussions with ownership structures to help gain a better understanding of their needs. ’The feedback and comments were encouraging, so give it some time and I think Radisson Red has great potential here’, Kirschke added.
One of the challenges while in dialogues with investors and owners is to make sure that one deploys the right brand against their intentions in the markets where they are. ’We’ve seen it many times, that owners overcapitalize on their assets and then are unable to drive adequate returns. We want to be very transparent from the get go, we want to make sure that there’s a mutual understanding of what fits, what type of returns are expected and therefore, we continue to deploy all our brands equally. But I have to say that I am very bullish about the potential of Radisson Red,’ he concluded.
The author is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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