FHRAI Magazine - Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations ...

[ Sales & Marketing ]
travellers. Heritage properties can offer a
unique dimension of their own.”
“Somehow,” adds Ratra, “I feel the
personalisation factor has been forgotten in
the race to achieve better ARRs, bottomlines,
occupancy and international brand image.”
His feeling stems from the fact that many
hotels are increasingly looking same in their
outlook. The work approach, décor and
various other facets that complete the term
hospitality, has to be taken into consideration
to make hospitality unique. According to
him, the focus should be towards a trained
staff, personal attention to one guests, etc.
which is sorely missed in majority of cases
when we talk of the standard of the Indian
hospitality. “While the supply of rooms
is increasing, the equivalent manpower
required is not getting filled in the system.
The focus of international brands is very
much on the commercial ambitions that
are associated with managing or marketing
a property.” In this context, Tuli says,
“International tie-ups help in branding, but
being a stand-alone property, one can carry
out amendments as per guest requirements,
decision making becomes imperatively
quick and the execution can be looked and
reviewed at the earliest.” His company aims
to perform and manage hotels and resorts
ensuring highest levels of superiority and
service to guests, keeping the sanctity of the
stand-alones.
It is also expected that the marketing
of a hotel has to be well defined to attract
travellers. According to Ratra, when it
comes to marketing tie-ups, financial
return is important for the investors but the
most important thing is to offer guests the
convenience of quality accommodation.
“It should encompass services that are
affordable, safe & hygienic and quality
based. For me, it is the software part
that matters the most, which is the grit
of rofessionalism to offer good service at
all times. Today, pricing is a critical issue
especially for 4-5 star hotels. So if one goes
for a marketing tie-up, a hotel comes under
the fold of a chain property giving a higher
visibility and corporate acceptance.”
Thanking Stars
Apart from just resorting to tie-ups, being
classified is also rated as one of the critical
elements that enables to sell a hotel even
if it doesn’t reflect a reputed hospitality
brand, domestic or international. Tuli
explains, “Classified Star rated hotels have
become a virtue but that does not really
boost sales as such. The economy travellers
in the dynamic environment are looking for
5-star hotels at 3-star prices. Here comes
an opportunity for the new generation
boutique hotels (stand-alone ones) which
can offer luxury at an affordable price with
a dash of uniqueness.”
On the other hand, Ratra feels,
“Classification these days has an effect on
the choices made by the customers while
selecting hotels. There is always a demand
and supply issue when it comes to luxury
and upscale properties. But star identity
does offer a level of comfort to the travellers
while selecting their accommodation
choices, especially in the budget segment.”
The fact is when it comes to branded
hotels, no one finds out star classification
for quality’s sake at least. It only becomes
a parameter to judge the pricing. Whereas,
when it comes to an unclassified property,
star classification in terms of guarantees
the customers quality and service standard
that they can expect from the hotel. Singh
feels, star classifications enhance the sales
pitch for a property, as people relate the
same with quality accommodations and
identify so easily. “They get a sense of
assurance on the quality to be expected
from a property, which is the first step
towards delivering service,” he adds.
Based on various parameters, presenting
uniqueness of a hotel property with an
assurance of the quality can actually be
a good way to approach India’s growing
domestic market. This approach is creating
a league of brands which may not be well
known world over or for that matter in the
Indian hospitality corridors.
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FHRAI Magazine november 2011 49