A new era in hospitality
Clarion Collection, spreading over 4 plus acres of land, is the first to offer serviced apartments in South Delhi. got in touch with Ankush Sharma, General Manager, Clarion Collection to find out more.
Q Please shed light on the USPs of your property . What differentiates the property from competition?
Located in Qutab Institutional area, it is just a five minutes drive from Qutab Minar.
The Hotel has 96 keys, comprising 66 rooms and 30 luxurious serviced apartments. Well-situated in South Delhi, Hotel Clarion Collection is 23 km from the high-tech city of Gurgaon,14 km from Connaught Place and within a 5 km radius from shopping centres like Select City walk, DLF Emporio, Ambience Mall, etc.
Q Tell us about your ser viced apartments.
Clarion Collection-Qutab New Delhi has pioneered the serviced residence concept since its inception, offering corporate executives seeking daily or long-term stay in a spacious and sophisticated alternative to a hotel room. If you plan to relocate to the city or are on the lookout for a contented guest rooms and corridors have been renovated along with refurbishment of carpets and furniture. This year, we opened a new restaurant called Zerzura which serves mid-eastern, Moroccan and Lebanese cuisine. By November 2013, a world cuisine restaurant named Hiatus would be opened and would showcase molecular gastronomy and e-sommelier. Moving forward, the classification of the hotel would be changed to be a five-star category.
Q What are the ARRs and average occupancy that you are experiencing at present? How does it compare to last year?
We are currently experiencing an average rate of ` 6,000 with an occupancy of 60 per cent which is at par with that of last year. The market sentiments are not very bright for the coming season. Hotels are struggling for occupancies and average rates have gone down. Inbound business as per trends is expected to be around 25-30 per cent lower than last year.
Cost cutting initiatives in the corporate segment is
Our future strategies would include creating a healthy mix of all market segments with a thrust on leisure segments by contracting with travel agents
accommodation, Qutab Residencies will provide you with a convenient base for the interim—an ideal homeaway-from-home.
Each apartment has two bedrooms, study room, kitchen, private lobby and a balcony. Our serviced apartments are well-designed and elegantly furnished with everything from central airconditioning to wellequipped kitchenettes, WiFi Internet access with a host of personalised services.
Q Are you looking to renovate or add some new products in your property? What are you expansion plans?
At Clarion Collection, up gradation in facilities is a continuous process. Recently, all
Ankush Sharma
General Manager, Clarion Collection
focussing on video conferencing rather than travel due to high expenses, resulting in decline in corporate travel in hotels. Till last year, the hotel had majorly been catering to the business traveller be it FIT, GIT, or conferences. Our future strategies would include creating a healthy mix of all market segments with a thrust on leisure segments by contracting with travel agents.
Q What are your rack rates during season and offseason? Are you offering any discount packages currently?
A. Our rack rates for the current season are in a range of ` 8,000 to ` 12,000 for different room types. We have various promotional offers available like Early Bird Offer, minimum stay through, last minute deals, weekend offers etc. All these offers have helped us achieve a good occupancy. We, being a hotel with serviced apartments, long stayers and expatriates contribute to our occupancy. We have a repeat guest ratio of 25 per cent, the average length of stay being 4 days.
Q What are the sustainable practices that your hotel is following?
At Clarion Collection Qutab New Delhi, we strive to make optimum use of the energy. The hotel has rain water harvesting systems which ensures recharging of ground water. The water collected from sewage treatment plant is used for horticulture and in toilets. Solar energy is used for running hot water boilers. Guests are encouraged to reuse room linen with tent cards on water conservation kept in rooms. The hotel has LED lights which help in saving electricity by 50-80 per cent.
Q How do you see the present status of the Indian hospitality sector? What are the challenges being faced by the industry?
There has been a constant transformation owing to the volatile environment impacting the Indian hotel industry contributing to tourism. The standards of facilities and services offered have evolved over the last decade towards the extensive use of technology, environment-friendly services, pricing, market segmentation, regional preferences, etc. The Indian hotel industry has seen a significant growth in room inventory across categories from upscale luxury to limited services and boutique and budget hotels.
The key challenges that the industry faces today are infrastructure, regulatory bodies, taxation, rising inflation, and the shortage of skilled manpower. Electricity costs have increased by over 25 per cent over last year. Today, most of the customers complain about various taxes that are applicable on hotel facilities wherein the overall tax pressure including service tax, luxury tax, income tax and VAT comes to nearly 70 per cent. With rising inflation, the hotel profit margins have reduced.