By Bikramjit Ray THEY ARE the world’s eighth largest hotel chain with 1200 hotels across the world. When you speak to Roger Bloss, (photo left) Founder, President and CEO of Vantage Hospitality, you are struck first by his genial directness. Roger spoke exclusively to BW Hotelier about his experience in India and how his 1200 properties already have a huge Indian ownership component. A career hotelier, who started off washing dishes at 13, became the youngest general manager in the history of IHG, when he took over a Holiday Inn. His way of running the business was a real disruptor for the market and franchising as it was done till then. ’We put the owners in business for themselves, not by themselves,’ Bloss told BW Hotelier. Bloss’s model, which hopefully will be repeated in India as well is almost like parliamentary democracy. ’We never set our fees, it’s all done by our owners,’ Bloss says, giving example of the time his owners came to him complaining that there was no national ad campaign. ’I said to them, a campaign would cost a million dollars. If you divide that by the rooms each hotel has, it would mean an increase in the room rent, the fees paid to me,’ he said. It all comes down to a vote where each decision is carried if it has 66 per cent support of the hotels. It’s called a Voice, a Vote. ’I started opening up lines of communication. Created advertising boards, advisory boards, making them (the owners) part of the decision process in the company,’ he adds. The Vantage Group,-Value Inn Worldwide-and Value Hotel Worldwide and have an-exclusive-master license agreement with Miraya Hotel Management-Pvt. Ltd. Value Inns & Hotels India will be positioned as 2-4 Star quality hotels,-depending on location, size of the hotel and product for 30 to 65 rooms.- They will primarily be business hotels offering food & beverage and banqueting facilities for weddings and events. Vantage, which has hotels across the US, Canada, South Korea, Indonesia and Mexico have a an exclusive contract with Miraya to develop its brands in India. ’Miraya was formed in October 2014, we found that Vantage shared our values with the one voice one vote system and decided to sign on with them,’ Sudhir Sinha, (photo right) Managing Director and CEO,-Value Inns & Hotels India, told BW Hotelier in an exclusive interview. ’We are looking at 10 signings this year out of which 50 per cent operational. In five years our target is 100 hotels in 7 years,’ he told us. ’We will do whatever it takes when it comes to develop the brand. We are prepared to fund the company for three years,’ he added. ’The best part of the vantage brand is that they allow the hotels to build the way they want to. There is a minimum quality guideline which has to be maintained, over and above that; it is the hotel owner’s choice. We have a three-page standardisation for Value inns,’ he told us adding that the Value Inn a Voice a Vote concept will be adopted in India once the company reaches critical mass of hotels, around three years from now. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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By Bikramjit Ray IN THE last four and a half years, Wyndham has seen 250 per cent growth compared to before,’ Deepika Arora, Regional Vice President, Indian Ocean , EMEAI, Wyndham Hotel Group, in an exclusive interview with BW Hotelier. Arora was bullish about the future for Wyndham in India, when we spoke with her. ’We are currently around 28 operating hotels with 3000 keys. We have 40 plus hotels under construction with around 4500 keys. The open properties include 23 Ramadas, two Days Inns, one Wyndham Grand, a Ramada Encore and a Howard Johnson,’ Arora told us. In terms of presence, the group has a presence in almost all parts of India, at least in all the key markets. New openings scheduled in 2015 include the Ramada Plaza Agra in April, Days Hotel Jalandhar Jyoti Chowk in May, Ramada Encore Lucknow, Ramada Raipur VIP Road, Days Hotel Chennai OMR Road and Days Hotel Bangalore Whitefield all in October; Ramada Trivandrum Palayam, Ramada Jammu City Center and Ramada Darjeeling Hill Cart Road in December. ’The outlook for this year is to add properties to the brand which we have and continue to nurture our relationship with our Howard Johnson (HoJo) owner for 35 HoJos,’ Arora added. She said Wyndham was very keen to look at management opportunities as well. ’Ideally, we would like the opportunity to convert an unbranded operational property in a visible location, into a branded property in the next 5 to 6 months. ’We are also interested in brand acquisition of a home-made home-grown brand with existing management infrastructure. We would want a chance to acquire them or control the scenario. We want to grow our flags or increase infrastructure base in India,’ she added. When asked about the franchisee model and why Wyndham continues with it, Arora told us, ’The franchisee model works for us, but there are things you need to focus on. We have a great deal of focus on training owners, to ensure quality from product standpoint. We start to educate the owner from the building stage about the brand value, the culture’. ’We monitor the quality aspect through self assessment and audits and we focus on helping the owner become more and more technologically advance and maximize revenue of the hotel’, she said. According to Arora, the biggest challenge of operating in India was in terms of attrition and building the hotel in the set time frame. ’The whole pricing mechanism needs to be policed. A luxury hotel charging 60 dollar ADR will squeeze a mid-market hotel. Owners are feeling the pain. Banks and financial institution are uncomfortable lending, policing will make it better as an investment and business proposition,’ she continued. In conclusion, when asked why someone would choose Wyndham, Arora expounded,’We are the world’s largest hotel company. We are very flexible when it comes to the product standpoint and dealing with the owner. We really give a good return on investment plus we are very active in the distribution network and loyalty program’. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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By Bikramjit Ray BIRD GROUP’s Executive Director, Ankur Bhatia (see photo) gave BW Hotelier an exclusive interview explaining his ethos of hoteliering and giving us a peek into what the future plans were for the company. ’I will grow my collection when I find the right product. I am not a listed company or a Venture Capitalist. It is a matter of getting the right product. The hotel has to fit the overall luxury and collection portfolio of ours,’ Bhatia told us. ’In the last year, since we opened the Dusit Devarana, we have one of the highest ARRs in the city. Occupancies are not that high, but it takes time for the product to settle down. We have not opened the hotel completely as of now. In April we add a new Chinese restaurant called Chini,’ he said. What Bhatia was really excited about was Dusit D2, to open soon. ’It is a totally different lifestyle product. With 216 key more focused on the younger traveler. It has very nice f and B outlets’A pool bar with Japanese cuisine and a cinema as well as high end retail within the hotel. The suites are done by Fendi,’ he said. About future plans, Bhatia said, ’I have a hotel in London on Hyde Park called the Royal Park and we are looking at more properties in the UK. In India we have land, but we are not building for the time being. We continue to explore and acquire land. In India there will always be a new build kind of an opportunity. As far as acquiring hotels go, the cost of actually doing them up to the standards we want, would be actually as much as building the hotel ourselves’. The Group’s plan for the next five years is very opportunistic. ’In UK we are looking at opportunities. If we find the right product we will of course go ahead. In India, when we want to build, when the situation is right, we will actually go ahead. There are products available internationally which fit our portfolio, but not in India right now,’ he concluded. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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By Jestin Antony MEIKO, SINCE its inception in the year 2007 in India, has witnessed a dramatic change in the way the dishwashing/ware washing machines were purchased then and now. Earlier, the challenge was to convince the end users especially the non-hotel/restaurant segment, about the importance of having a dishwasher, instead of washing dirty dishes, glasses and cutlery by hand. People have now realised the importance of having a dishwasher in their facility, as they have understood the issues involved with manual washing, starting with water wastage, which has always been a big concern; ensuring constant supply of manpower in metro cities for such works; maintaining the quality of wash and hygiene levels using these frequently changing manpower. We still face these questions, but it is a lot easier to convince the end users, so there is a major change in the way the whole kitchen facility is designed by planners and how the whole procurement process is handled. Basically, these days instead of questions like, why we need a dishwasher? The end user lays a lot of emphasis on the energy efficiency, practical capacity of the machine, durability of the machine, kind of service support they will have, ROI - if they opt for a specific energy saving model etc. Meiko has been constantly engaged in R&D activities, to improve the basic ware wash technology and make their machines more and more energy efficient and sustainable. Just a few years ago, Meiko had introduced the new M-iQ range of rack conveyor/flight type dishwashers ,which has been a great success and created a major buzz in the hospitality and food service equipment industry. The outstanding performance of M-iQ with over 30 per cent savings in the operation cost is transforming ware washing industry around the globe. After M-iQ, very recently the new M-iClean range of under counter dishwashers were launched. In India it was launched at an event on the sidelines of the AAHAR 2015 exhibition held in March. New launches that are expected by end of the year or early next year is new range of rack conveyor dishwashers and also the new generation of Hood type dishwashers. In terms of marketing strategies, the focus will continue to be on the hotel segment and Institutional catering segment, covering corporate and industrial canteens. Meiko has not been traditionally active in the QSR segment as this segment has been extremely price sensitive. However now the times are slowly changing; the customer has now realised the importance of investing on a durable brand/model which has a strong service support, and hence the QSR segment is keenly looking at brands like ours to cater to their expansion plans. The focus will remain within this three main segments; hotels, canteens and QSR segments. We also want to tap into potential hospitality business development happening in neighbouring nations especially Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and The Maldives. -Jestin Antony is-Managing Director & CEO,-Meiko (Asia) Techcentre Pvt Ltd.
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By BW Hotelier INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Group (IHG) has announced the launch of IHG Business Rewards, from its hotel loyalty programme’IHG Rewards Club-IHG. IHG Business Rewards is a new, global business bookings programme offering rewards on all qualified business bookings for guest rooms, meetings and all events booked at over 4,700 IHG hotels worldwide. Devised for bookers--members who book accommodation, meetings and events for others’IHG Business Rewards will reward members with IHG Rewards Club points for their B2B business, in a single global programme. This allows all IHG bookers to have a seamless experience when booking anywhere in the world at participating IHG hotels. IHG Business Rewards members will now see all earned points from booking and staying appear in one account--so the same membership card for IHG Rewards Club and IHG Business Rewards will be used to book and stay at all participating IHG hotels. Managing multiple accounts is a thing of the past, making it easier to earn than ever before. IHG Business Rewards consolidates the benefits of four regional programmes: Booker Rewards Club, BusinessClub/AGENT, Elite Diamond Club and IHG Meeting Rewards.
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By BW Hotelier HILTON WORLDWIDE has announced that its pioneering digital check-in and room selection technology is now live across more than 4,300 hotels spanning 12 brands worldwide. This includes the 14 hotels operating by-Hilton-Worldwide in India. The official announcement in India continues the rollout of this technology across Asia Pacific, following the recent launches in Australasia and Southeast Asia, and preceding formal launches in China and Japan. Through their-Hilton-HHonors accounts, guests will be able to check-in and choose their exact room from digital floor plans or lists, on their desktop, tablet and mobile devices. They will also be able to further customise their stays by requesting upgrades or making special requests for items to be delivered to their rooms ahead of their arrival, with the simple click of a button. Daniel Welk, Vice President, Operations, India,-Hilton-Worldwide, said, ’As a business, we have always prided ourselves on leading the industry ’ We were the first to put televisions in hotel rooms and now we are the first to let you choose your room ’ right down to the exact room number. We look forward to helping our loyal guests across the region benefit from the most personalized digital service yet, all available in the palms of their hands.’ Hilton-Worldwide aims to enrich the travel experience for guests of all backgrounds, visiting all corners of the world, with a simple streamlined process: Room selection:-At-6 a.m.-the day before a booked stay,-Hilton-HHonors members can sign into their accounts via their mobile devices, tablets or computers to check-in and choose their preferred rooms through floor plan maps or lists populated from the hotel’s available inventory. Special requests:-After choosing a room, guests can further customise their stays at full-service hotels by purchasing upgrades and requesting specific amenities to be delivered to their rooms before arrival. Room key:-By the end of 2016 the majority of hotel rooms will be equipped with the technology for doors to be unlocked with guests’ smartphones. For now, once they arrive at the hotel, guests simply pick up their room keys from the front desk ’ a streamlined process since the guest’s payment information and other details are already verified through their-Hilton-HHonors account prior to arrival. Check-out:-Guests can bypass the front desk upon departure as the bill will be automatically sent to their email address.
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By Bikramjit Ray THE MET or Metropolitan Hotel in New Delhi is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2015 with a host of different promotions surrounding the numbers 15. BW Hotelier caught up for an exclusive chat with Sanzeev Bhatia, (see photo) General Manager of Metropolitan Hotel and Spa, New Delhi. ’We are a hotel which is very focussed on the Internet’, Bhatia started off by telling us. In fact, the hotel, in 2014 was awarded for getting maximum revenue by booking.com. ’We were the first hotel in Delhi to have a mobile booking platform,’ Bhatia added, saying that as of now 40 per cent of room reservations were made online, significantly more than the average in India. So, how was it running a single chainless hotel, we asked him? ’I don’t think there are any challenges as such. In fact, I have been working in single property hotels all my life except for a little bit when this hotel was still with the Nikko,’ Bhatia told us. A single property is easier to manage; as you are not at the whims of the larger chain you are part of. There is more independence. ’You just need to look after the owners, the customer and the employees,’ he added. Single units are much more flexible when negotiating room rates for example, he said. On the subject of room rates, we broached the subject of how the future looked. ’There was a price correction in the market, which started three years ago, because of the imbalance of supply and demand hit room rates. The upswing has started and we can expect business to pick up. But, in terms of ARR, I don’t think we can get the rates we were charging in 2004-05,’ Bhatia said. ’The hotel is celebrating 15 years of its existence with a year-long festival which will end on 30, September 2015. This includes a room offer of one night free with every three nights booked and restaurant offers which include meals for 1500 per person plus taxes or of discounts around the number 15,’ Kavita Ghai, Marketing Head of The Metropolitan Hotel and Spa, told BW Hotelier. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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By Bikramjit Ray VEER VIJAY Singh, (see photo) Chief Operating Officer of Vivanta Hotels and Resorts, spoke exclusively to BW Hotelier about the plans ahead for Vivanta by Taj during the launch of the newest sprawling Vivanta Hotel to open on a seven-acre plot in Dwarka, New Delhi. ’We plan to have 10 more Vivanta Hotels by the end of 2020,’ he told us, these include hotels in as diverse places as Rishikesh, Andaman Islands and Lakshwadeep and internationally in the Middle East and Africa. The most recent openings on the card are one hotel each at Amritsar and Guwahati by the end of 2016. Speaking to BW Hotelier exclusively at the launch of the fourth Vivanta by Taj and the seventh Taj in the National Capital Region (the others Vivanta properties are in Gurgaon, Surajkund and New Delhi), Singh said it was the soft skills of the group hotels, which make them absolute standouts. ’When you differentiate the hotel you get more focussed on whatever you are delivering, the brand standard, the service style. It’s the soft touches which really make a difference,’ he said. This hotel had the ’Kabir’ project an AV experience of Kabir’s work and ’Terra Forma’ an art exhibition as its Vivanta Motifs, reflecting the Vivanta philosophy of hospitality with a difference. Singh was confident that the new Vivanta by Taj in Dwarka was going to be a success within a very short time. A thought, echoed by Anil Malhotra, the General Manager of the hotel, who--when asked about his take on what 2015-2016 looked like’told us, ’We are going to get the largest bite of the pie in Dwarka by the end of the next financial year. ’ He told us that he was banking quite a bit on the MICE and banqueting business as well. ’We already have had a major conference and some large weddings in the hotel,’ he told us. With ARRs in the region of Rs 5500 to Rs 6000, the aim was to raise them to Rs 7000 and aim for occupancies in the region of 60 per cent, we were told by Vikram Berry, Director of Sales told BW Hotelier. The hotel itself, built like a piece of folded earth coloured origami model has 250 rooms all curiously angular like the main building structure. We were impressed by the use of light and the windows that offered fantastic views of the surroundings’since this was not inside the airport zone, some rooms afforded beautiful views of planes landing and taking off’all within the super quiet hotel. The hotel itself was designed by Hong Kong based Research Architecture Design or RAD who already have a number of hotels designed across China and South Korea. The hotel has in the region of 17000 square feet of flexible meeting and event facilities. This includes nine meeting rooms, from small, to large (the ballroom has a 27 feel high ceiling. The conferencing faciliites in the hotel, as expected from a brand new building, has all the bells and whistles built into it. There are two restaurants, the all-day dining restaurant Creo which has a variety of cuisines including, as the team were very proud to point out, a great sushi counter. There is also the Indus Express, which offers food from undivided Punjab. Interestingly the hotel also offers a Blue Line Menu of Delhi street food, in line with the fact that they are at one of the DMRC Blue Line and on Metro land. The hotel also has a bar, Tipple and a Deli, Caramel. The Kitchen team is led by Executive Chef Elangovan Shanmugan. Like all Taj properties, Vivanta Dwarka also have a Jiva Spa on premises. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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