By BW Hotelier INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Group (IHG) recently announced new enhancements to its existing loyalty programme, IHG Rewards Club that focusses on building more personalised relationships with its 84 million members worldwide. Findings from IHG’s 2015 trends report suggested that consumers are looking for more than an effortless transaction with their chosen brands and want a rewarding relationship over a sustained period of time. Following the research,IHG Rewards Club will now introduce a new membership level, to better reward its most loyal members with the most relevant benefits. The research also revealed the importance of ’recognition’ to members who want to feel rewarded for loyalty. In response, IHG as part of the new reward program will enhance its ability to deliver a personalised experience for members, before, during and after their stay. IHG Rewards Club will evolve over 2015 and 2016 by introducing a new top membership level in July 2015 wherein travelers can reach the level by earning 75,000 qualifying points or staying at IHG hotels for 75 qualifying nights, over the course of a year. The club will also offer 100% extra bonus points on qualifying stays to its customers and will allow, members of this new level to choose between receiving 25,000 points or upgrading a friend or family member to Platinum. Club members will need to earn just 10,000 qualifying points or stay for 10 qualifying nights to be eligible for Gold membership. Gold members will need to earn 40,000 qualifying points or stay for 40 qualifying nights to reach Platinum membership. IHG is also enhancing its ability to learn about members and then utilise this information through a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This system will enable hotels to respond to members’ preferences at every stage of the guest journey and offer services and experiences that are personally relevant to them. To enable IHG to reward its guests starting from May 2016, IHG will expire all points for IHG Rewards Club Members if they have not earned or redeemed any points at all in the previous 12 months. IHG Rewards Club members will continue to maintain their point balances simply by completing a qualifying stay at one of IHG’s 4,800 hotels or redeeming some of their existing points during a membership year.
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By Shantanu Jain IPG MEDIABRANDS India, in an effort to boost online holiday bookings has joined hands with Google and the travel industry to launch The Great Indian Travel Festival to take place from April 18 to 26, 2015. The first of its kind online festival will offer deals and discounts on travel and stay packages on more than 50 holiday destinations both in and out of India. The participants of The Great Indian Travel Festival will be key market players of the hospitality industry including brands like Google, Cleartrip, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Yatra, Jet Airways, Indigo, British Airways and Spice-Jet. Tour companies Cox & Kings and Thomas and startups such as Oyo Rooms and Doorstepforex will also be offering deals to Indian travelers to capitalise on the upcoming holiday season. Speaking on the festival Vikas Agnihotri, Industry director, Google India, said, ’There is significant headroom for growth in the hospitality industry and initiatives like these can contribute immensely in promoting the industry and also positively influencing the behavior of- online users’. ’Emphasizing on the concept behind the festival, Deepak Tuli, Co-founder and COO at Goibibo one of the partners of the festival said, ’The idea is inspired by the themes of shopping festivals during December. We thought why not do something on the similar lines for travel as its one of the biggest industries. Our main intention behind the festival is to develop the faith of Indian traveler to book hotel and travel deals online.’ ’The festival will be offering over 1500 deals from multiple brands and our expectation from the festival is around 3 Million website visits from users’, added Rahul Marwaha, Executive Vice-President of Interactive Avenues, one of the partners of the festival. Shantanu Jain is Junior Correspondent, BW Hotelier.-
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By Shantanu Jain CONFIDENCE IN consumers to go for online hotel bookings is on the rise in India according to a report titled Understanding The Indian Hotel Buyer, compiled by Google India at The Oberoi, New Delhi. An estimated 84 lakh Indians are likely to book hotels on online by 2016. The report was based on face-to-face research by TNS after interviewing 3716 travelers who were active internet users and were aged between 18 and 54 years. The sample group came from Metros, Tier one and Tier two cities, and had booked hotel rooms in the last one year online. The findings of the report projected the online hotel booking industry to be worth $1.8 Billion by 2016 from the current $0.8 Billion. While today, only 29 per cent of users book hotels online, the total number of users who research for hotels online but book offline remained high. Interestingly 83 per cent of people who research for hotels online perform an online transaction at least once a month that symbolises the growing trust factor among people to book monetary transactions online, according to the report. In terms of consumer behavior, the report revealed that 57 per cent of users who research for hotels online but book offline, prefer relaxation trips and 36 per cent of users who research online and book hotels online prefer luxury leisure trips. Another key finding of the report suggested that more number of women (50 per cent) research and book hotels online compared to men (41 per cent). Speaking on the report, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India said, ’The research findings reveal the high growth potential for online hotel bookings in India. While the overall user base of people looking for information on hotels online was very high, the conversion is still happening online.’ The report also highlighted the growing use of mobile phones as the preferred choice for accessing the internet in India. On Google, hotel searches from mobile saw 30 times growth from 2011-2014, The figures were validated in offline research as 27 per cent respondents agreed to be using mobile phones to search and book for hotels and over 56 per cent of the total users who book hotels online have a travel app installed. The report also found a rise in short duration trips in India as 64 per cent of respondents preferring short trips of less than 5 days. Budget accommodation came across as the most popular choice for travelers with 49 per cent users booking budget hotels, 32 per cent economy hotels and 19 per cent users opting for luxury hotels. Two-thirds of the travelers prefer paying offline or directly at hotels rather than making an online transaction. In terms of the barriers for booking hotels online, lack of safety and trust were the top deterrents and respondents cited low trust in online portals for monetary transactions. Complicated terms and conditions, availability of better discounts offline were a few other reasons given by respondents. Shantanu Jain is Junior Correspondent, BW Hotelier.
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By BW Hotelier SOMNATH DEY (photo left) takes over as the Executive Assistant Manager- Food and Beverage at the Hyatt Regency Delhi. Dey brings as over 17 years of experience and will be responsible for leading the food and beverage operations and provide strategic guidance and leadership in areas of business profitability, marketing, employee satisfaction and owner relationship. Previously, Dey was Director of Food and Beverage at Hyatt Regency Delhi. Prior to this, he has held various positions in the company’s food and beverage portfolio.-Dey began his career at Taj Bengal Kolkata in 1997. Akhil Arora (photo right) has been appointed, Director of Rooms at Hyatt Regency Delhi. Arora has 12 years of experience in the industry. He will now be responsible for managing room operations comprising of 507 guest rooms and suites in addition to a residential apartment. He began his career as a Management Trainee with The Leela Palaces and Resorts and subsequently worked at The Imperial New Delhi and with The Oberoi Group in Front Office as well as in Food and Beverage. In 2010, Arora had the opportunity to pre-open The Leela Palace New Delhi at Chanakyapuri as Front Office Manager. His last assignment prior to joining Hyatt was as Director of Rooms for the 763 room complex Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre & Marriott Executive Apartments.
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By TV Narasimhan TODAY’S COMMERCIAL kitchen is designed with the mind-set to provide unique experience and be attractive to customers. A lot of thought and planning goes into the modern, new-age, ergonomically designed kitchen. With international standards becoming the norm, we are seeing more interest and focus around semi or fully-automated equipment in kitchens, to help improve quality and consistency of product output, and increase efficiency. We are witnessing more and more show kitchens in new constructions or redesigns made in India. This trend is now seen not just with international hotel brands, but among local hotel chains that are either building new kitchen or upgrading existing kitchen. Needless to say, customers look at companies like Electrolux to support them in equipment selection. Electrolux’s Thermaline and XP range, Banqueting System with Combi Ovens & Blast Chiller, Braising Pans and Kettles support banqueting kitchens as well as commissaries and best for the unique show kitchen experience. We have a wide range of high quality cooking mono-blocks, such as, The Molteni Collection and Thermaline M2M range. Every block is designed according to the customer’s needs and preferences. In 2013, we launched the new Thermaline, Electrolux’s Swiss-made premium horizontal cooking range, manufactured in the ultramodern facility in Sursee, Switzerland. Last year saw the launch of the new compact rack type dishwasher developed for Asia which is perfect for high productivity kitchens in hotels and restaurants where space is at a premium. Similarly this year, we have introduced the new Electrolux E-flex glass washers, easier, safer, and better glass washer which is ideal for bars, pubs and caf-s. This most recent addition to our line of dishwashers, will offer total solutions tailored to a customers’ unique needs and business requirements at competitive prices. Electrolux Professional gives support to any business with its network of specialists--from selecting the correct machine, installation and education to comprehensive after-sales process with maintenance and care. The hospitality business currently contributes to the majority of our business in India. Other sectors that are poised for growth and are gathering important investments are international and domestic quick service restaurants, chains and casual dining full service restaurants, health care, staff canteens, catering companies and airports. In terms of the future, since the market is being affected by internal and external negative factors, 2015 is likely to be a challenging year. Thanks to our wide range of products, we are able to supply to different markets, and we will continue to focus on our target areas for the food service equipment. TV Narasimhan is-Interim Country Manager, Electrolux Professional India.
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By BW Hotelier MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL Asia Pacific recently announced its unveiling of-Meetings Imagined-website (see photo) and its-Meeting Services mobile application to cater to the needs of the region’s events planners and organisers. The two digital innovations are intended to assist the meeting planner, from inspiration to execution. The Meetings Imagined-website has been modeled on the user-friendly Pinterest.com and the Chinese Huaban.com online forum and provides expert tips on everything related to meetings, including networking activities, maximizing social media exposure and creating the right meeting environment. Meetings Imagined will be launched across approximately 13 Marriott International properties and 100 properties throughout Asia Pacific and 13 properties in India which include Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, Jaipur Marriott Hotel, Kochi Marriott Hotel, Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru, JW Marriott Hotel Chandigarh, JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai, JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity, JW Marriott Hotel Pune, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar and Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel. The-Meeting Services App-is a continuation of Marriott International’s innovation in technology, spaces and services, and builds upon the brand’s existing offerings. The app provides real-time connectivity to Marriott for meeting planners and features a wide range of functions. This includes a chat facility to connect MICE organisers with Marriott’s event team throughout the planning and execution process, and allows Marriott to respond immediately to any issues or requests, and to inform the planner on how the request is being handled. As of this year, the-Meeting Services App-is available in 20 languages, at 100 hotels under Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott, Renaissance, The Ritz-Carlton, Autograph Collection and Courtyard by Marriott across the region. The app would be active in India from June, 2015.
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By Rahul Rai WE ARE primarily insurance brokers for the past 25 years. We started in 1996 at that time my father brought in the concept of group insurance in India. In 1999 when FDI was opened, we were required to do 51 pc of our own business to justify 49 per cent of broking which we were doing. We had to come up with a product that was not insurance and that was our product which we were selling in the same markets. Because we were in the rural and semi rural sectors, we tried to find a business which would suit our existing customers. We became a tour operator selling long stay package plans over four years, seven years and ten years. -We had reverse integrated by then. I used to buy unsold occupancy from 30 hotels in India and 5 hotels abroad. In a location like Goa where a hotel used to do 70 per cent occupancy I used to pre-buy his 30 per cent occupancy throughout the year. Then utilize those rooms to sell to members who had brought into my holiday schemes. I had an input cost of 800 and I was selling at 1600. Because it was rural India, it had to be cheap. I had a distribution cost of 200-300 so I was making 400-500. Between 2001-2005 we sold 2 crore holidays. 2004-2006 we had all the hotels full throughout the year. The main problem started when I had excess booking. At a location like Mount Abu, Mahabaleshwar of Goa, when I used to use up my own occupancies, I had to buy at market rates. When I bought at the market rate of 2500, I was buying a commodity which I had already sold 4 years earlier for 1600. So we decided if we can have 35 hotels of our own, the tour operator money would become free for us because no hotel does 100 per cent occupancy in India. If my hotel did 70 per cent occupancy, I would bring in 30 per cent occupancy from my holiday customers. My owners and operators would not mind because I was not competing with their comp sets. I am not going to the OTAs, the travel agents of the urban masses. This is happening through my 100 sales offices in India. We speak to every brand. We did not want to venture into an existing brand. We brought the exclusive development franchisee for Howard Johnson for 15 years, where we will develop 35 properties for them. A lot of funds was required to complete the projects, as insurance brokers we had accumulated a lot of land parcels across India so we decided to unlock the land parcels by developing products for the same insurance advisors. The same advisor who was selling insurance worth 800 in 1996 started selling 25000 worth of stay packages from the year 2001. Now we will give him 7-8 lakh rs products and let us see how the market responds. We started off with a 350 acre real estate scheme in Ahmedabad. We did not want to build buildings because that would take 5-7 years to build. We will give the plots to build their own houses. That money was pumped into hospitality. Our first venture was Ramada Udaipur Resort and Spa, which used to be Lotus Resorts. We took over the property and upgraded it with an investment of Rs 19 crores. The year we took over, the property was doing a frontline of Rs 3 crores, today, in the third year of operation, we have already crossed 18 crores. That is the kind of value we were able to add to the hotel. Because of our marketing strength we were able to pick up our ARRs from 2500 to 6500 and do 90 per cent occupancy throughout the year. Howard Johnson Bangalore, just across the road from Manyata Tech Park, Hebbal, which came up after the Ramada in Udaipur, is the prototype of the next 35 hotels. We wanted to showcase what a Howard Johnson in India would look like. We were able to bring in a positive GoP in the third month of operation with a 90-95 per cent occupancy thanks to corporate tie ups. The aim is to launch one hotel every month, so that the Howard Johnson story does not die in India. Rahul Rai is Executive Director of Unique Mercantile. As told to Bikramjit Ray
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By David Keen THE FUTURE of hospitality is about precision, segmentation and the consumer themselves. We are choosing. Imagine your knowledge ten years ago about how you would have chosen. You would have chosen maybe because of advice or maybe because of points. The future is way beyond that. If you go to New York you can go to Ace, you can go to Citizen M or you can go to Big Brand. You can choose exactly what appeals to you. To your dreams. To your aspirations. To your desires. Location is part of it, but it’s not as important as it was. What we believe is that it’s not enough to have a cool boutique one of two off three off hotel. Big brand has to subscribe to change. I had a meeting with one of the head of the biggest brands in hospitality. He said how do we do it? I said you start with one. I see with Marriott, they are leveraging Autograph, Addition and Moxie, their new brands and leveraging them into the core brand. This is what I think the big brand is going to try to do. I don’t see it happening in Starwood. I don’t see it happening in at the moment with Hilton. The Kempinskis and the Stiegenbergers, the middle size luxury brands are going to change and they are going to change dramatically. David Keen is CEO, QUO Global. -As told to Bikramjit Ray.
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