InterGlobe charms MiCE
Shwetank Singh, Vice President, Development & Asset Management, InterGlobe Hotels, elaborates on expansion plans and the ibis' largest MiCE facility in India
How do you plan to move ahead in 2019?
The year has been very interesting for us. We have been on a design journey for the last three to four years. We started talking about the evolution of design to suit millennials, back in 2014.
Our first hotel with that reimagined standard of design opened in Kolkata this year. ibis Kolkata Rajarhat will act as an archetype for some of the future ibis hotels in India, thanks to new features including a sleeker and more colourful façade that breaks away from the traditional standardised monochrome exterior, and the colourful rooms with wider windows and the much-loved Sweet Bed for an even more comfortable sleep.
Sustainability remains at the core of the new ibis design, with all properties constructed using ecofriendly building materials including high-performance, energy-efficient glazing and water-saving fixtures as well as greener landscaping. ibis Kolkata Rajarhat features a 2457 sqft pillarless meeting space which can further be divided into three smaller rooms with a capacity for up to 250 guests, one of the largest MiCE banquet spaces for an ibis.
Is expansion on the cards? We have six properties in the pipeline - four ibis', one ibis Styles, and one Novotel - in the various stages of development and to be opened by 2022 across Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Goa. They will together add close to 4000 rooms.
We really want to densify in the Tier-I markets of Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, etc. Having said that, we believe in Tier-II cities as well; the growth story of India will largely be driven by them. We have a fair presence in Tier-II markets as well, but honestly, not all our properties have been successful there.
We have a consistent product which allows us to make a very predictable offering to guests. We haven't done any brownfields, so this allows us to be extremely uniform throughout.
What is your opinion of Delhi’s Aerocity? Aerocity has been a very interesting development and it has surprised us. There is room for everyone! We have done very well in Aerocity. What will also be interesting to note is the Dwarka Convention Centre which is coming up. If that project takes off, it'll be something interesting to be on the lookout for.
We believe that the growth story of India will largely be driven by Tier-II cities