We will reach the 100-hotel target in 2021: Suhail Kannampilly

From lockdown to survival, how has The Fern Hotels & Resorts evolved due to the pandemic?

If I had to sum up our response to this entire pandemic in one word it would be "Flexible", while brands are known to be a bit rigid in process. If this pandemic has taught us anything it's how to adapt and adapt quickly. We entered this in March hoping it would pass quickly with minimal damage, but as the first lockdown ended it became evident that we need to change to survive. Our structure in the hotels has become leaner, our services crisper with minimal contact and our approach has been to look at each hotel individually, identify what was in the best interest of that hotel and then execute it. It was quickly evident that leisure hotels would see the first signs of recovery. Our sales teams were proactive hosting multiple calls with Domestic travel agents, consolidators, and online platforms. Business through these channels is now close to pre Covid numbers.

How would you say was the year 2020 for The Fern Hotels & Resorts in terms of occupancy and RevPAR across the country?

We account our years based on the financial year April to March. April & May were in complete lockdown with a very few hotels operating as quarantine centres.  We opened on June 8th most of the early business was COVID-19 related with companies reactivating their workforce. June closed early double digits with Occupancy.   Occupancy have steadily risen about 10 per cent MOM. October, Nov saw it is at an early 40 per cent level, about 25 per cent short of Pre COVID-19-Levels. December, we look forward to crossing the 50 per cent mark with a good impetus from the Wedding segment and sustained demand in the leisure segment. Rates have taken about a 20 per cent hit in business hotels which will take a while to recover and is the larger concern of today. 

The Fern, Mumbai

It is reported that The Fern is on an expansion spree. Please shed some light on the strategies adapted to expand The Fern’s footprint.

Every crisis brings its own set of opportunities, we had a few hotels that were slated to open, which once we saw a bit of a revival we did. ten New hotels have been signed up of which we open four in December and six early in 2021.

Sales is the lifeline for business, we retained our entire sales force, kept them active through the pandemic.  As a result, the bounce back of our hotels have been quicker, Independent Hoteliers are now seeing the value in being associated with a brand. We have explored many opportunities and have selectively struck great partnerships that will help grow the brands footprint across. In December we enter the North East of India with a beautiful property in Sikkim and look forward to it quickly becoming the flagship to grow the brand in the region.

With the year 2020 coming to an end, what major plans and developments have you set in motion for The Fern in the year 2021?

As a first step we look forward to all our hotels crossing their respective pre COVID-19 numbers being self-sufficient to service debt, back in 2015 we had set ourselves an ambitious 100 hotel target to be reached by 2020, we are close to that number and confident we will reach it in 2021.

We have invested in a few systems and technological advancements which will see full implementation. A few experiments initiated during the Lockdown like our delivery app, Cloud kitchen will be monitored to see scalability. 

As we firm up our next 5-year plan, we look forward to crossing 150 hotels furthering our International expansion in Asia, Middle East & Africa. 

The Fern Gir Forest Resort, Sasan Gir

According to you, how can the hospitality industry regain its prominence in times ahead?

There is no denying tourism has taken a huge hit this year, but if the rebound in the leisure market is indicative of anything, it's that people need to explore / travel / getaway will never die. That need will soon outweigh the fear factor and travel will bounce back stronger than before. We will have to adapt to a few long-term changes like work from home/ e meetings etc, but hey intern present new opportunities and we will adapt. After all this is one of the oldest industries in the world.

How important a role will technology play in the hotels of the future? Can you elaborate on the company’s vision in same regards?

Never before has the emphasis on technology been as dominant, with the sudden lock down teams been unable to reach hotels; work from home is now being driven as a culture through companies. The hospitality industry has always been a cautious adopter of new tech; there are a few hits and misses. Some tech evolves to become a way for the future others fade quickly and leave you saddled with either ongoing operation costs or sunk investments. On the hit side we were one of the first companies to move our Property management system to a cloud-based system and believe this will be the norm for the future. On the miss we installed contactless systems with an outlook that people would avoid contact during the pandemic, the utilization of the same reached six per cent at peak and has seen a downward spiral ever since. So, tech is important but it’s equally important to pick tech which would stand the test of time.

The Fern Kadamba Hotel & Spa, Goa

With the current change in market dynamics, what are the top trends that you have noticed in the hospitality sector?

There a quite a few new trends that have surfaced. Some driven by the short-term need and some that will stay. The demand for work from hotel will reduce once workplaces open to full capacity. Cloud kitchens and deliveries will in my opinion become a norm, the limit of F&B will now be defined not by the size of the restaurant but the capacity of the kitchen. We look forward to using our infrastructure and capacity to the fullest. Streaming Wedding / functions is where the jury is still out.

What do you feel can be done to grow brand ‘Incredible India’ especially post Covid-19?

What India has to offer in terms of history, wildlife, natural beauty & business acumen is unmatched and never in question. The numbers targeted by the government are ambitious, but unfortunately in India everyone pulls in different directions. For incredible India to really take off it needs all parties linked to tourism to start looking at the bigger picture, stronger collaboration across. This coupled with stable supportive policies, and a conducive security environment will make India truly incredible.