Adds more joy to the city
ACCORHOTELS recently launched its 50th property in India, the 189-room ibis Kolkata Rajarhat. At the occasion, we got in touch with Mizan Uddin, the hotel manager, who spoke of its uniqueness and plan for the year.
What makes ibis Kolkata Rajarhat unique?
ibis, in India and across the globe, is renowned as a young, trendy, and cool brand. It promises modernity, comfort, and service at the best price, to the people of Kolkata and those travelling to the City of Joy. Featuring 189 well-designed rooms, ibis Kolkata Rajarhat is strategically located near the new IT sector and residential hub – Rajarhat Smart City – and it is just about 20 minutes away from the airport. The hotel features have also been revamped. The all-day dining restaurant ‘Spice It’ offers the unique opportunity to explore Indian regional and international cuisines inspired by homestyle meals and street food.
Kolkata now also has a MICE space close to about 2500 sqft, divided into three well-equipped and stateof-the-art meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 250 people, along with a lawn that can host various activities, events, and social gatherings. ibis Kolkata Rajarhat will act as an archetype for all the future ibis in India. It provides a young look while also reflecting the local flavour and provides an ethnic feel to the hotel’s exterior design. The façade, too, breaks away from the usual, giving it a very peppy and attractive look. ibis Kolkata Rajarhat is green and eco-friendly, and has been built using sustainable materials.
What are the sustainable practices that the hotel will follow?
If you’re talking about the entire construction space, we’ve used the best of sustainable materials and practices to ensure that we remain committed to the environment. If you talk about the rooms, we’ve used aerators to ensure that the usage of water is controlled. In terms of F&B, we’ve done away with coal and now use gas-based tandoors. These are some of the ways in which we are trying to reduce fossil consumption.
If you talk about boilers that we use extensively in hotels, we’ve come up with heat pumps. We are soon going to remove the plastic bottles being placed in the rooms as well, as part of ACCORHOTELS’ Planet21 initiative for sustainability. We are trying to do that in the first go because we also need to look at the hygiene aspect of it. People usually prefer a plastic bottle as it’s locked and sealed and so, perceive it to be clean and hygienic. At the restaurant and bar, we are not using plastic straws. So, slowly and gradually we’re trying to do away with everything plastic. Even the packaging being delivered to rooms will be done away with and we’ll be using sustainable products such as bamboo or anything that is biodegradable and safe.
What is the segment and market share of guests/travellers you’re targeting?
It is mostly millennials that we are catering to, of course, the middle management. That said, we will get a lot of senior management as well because companies these days are really focused on cost and work towards avoiding an unnecessary wastage of money. ibis, in that sense, is a brand that really offers value for money in terms of efficient stay, which means we are clutter
free and whatever is needed in the room by business travellers has already been provided.
In terms of the economy segment, we really don’t have too many structured hotels here. We are the most premium economy hotel; we are a lot better in terms of offerings and we look forward to a better and a fair market share.
What are your targets in terms of ARR and occupancy?
We will try to price ourselves in the 4000-4500 bracket, as that is where we will be able to offer value for money to our guests. Generally, November to February are good months, so we are looking forward to them. We are looking at about a 35-40 per cent occupancy in the first year; slowly and gradually we would work towards ramping up the entire process; the occupancy rate in the city is about 70 per cent.
What are the pros and cons of being in this market?
I don’t really think there is a disadvantage to being in Kolkata. The best thing about the city is that it is really closely knit. People in Kolkata get to know each other very well. It’s more like a family. In terms of business, we’re collaborating with the Novotel, which is a big support to us. In terms of the city, it has a lot to offer. It’s culturally a very rich city and has a heritage value to it. So, I think we can really collaborate well with the locals and see how we can work together.
We don’t see a challenge yet, because there is a lot of positivity. That said, I am sure there would be some challenges in the future, but right now, I think they get camouflaged in the business opportunities we see here.
Local food joints are favoured by food enthusiasts in the city. In such a scenario, how do you aim to attract walk-in guests to Spice It?
We have a very peppy setup; right from the very entrance you see the use of colours. Not just inside, but even in the façade we’ve done away with the monochrome theme that we have in the other 18 ibis properties in India. So, the whole idea is to make it more fun. A lot of times people go to restaurants because they feel that a hotel would be more expensive, but we are trying to price it in such a way and possibly our marketing will be in such a way that we’ll try and get youngsters to come and just hang out. ibis, as a brand, is perceived as fun and relaxed; there are no boundaries! You can see that in the team as well. That is the value we want to give; we don’t want guests to come and feel locked in a fivestar theme. We just want them to be comfortable and help them feel like they’re home. Ambience, team, food - everything combined is to give the guest an experience that is easy and fun.