When happiness lies in repeat clients
Rishi Puri, Vice President, Lords Hotels & Resorts, explains how the group drives repeat clients and happy guests by following the principle of ‘Exhilarating Hospitality’. A few excerpts:
Lords, as a group, is primarily focussing on mid-market section and specialising in Tier II & Tier III cities. Hence, the hotels within the chain have reasonably good occupancies. Lords believes in operating on its set principle ‘True Value Hotels’ so that its guests get value for money. We also ensure that we live up to our principle of ‘Exhilarating Hospitality’ which gets us repeat clients and happy guests. We have not only added value to the existing hotels, but also simultaneously ensured that we add more hotels to the portfolio.
Has the hospitality sector has improved/ changed?
The hotel industry, in the last few years, has come a long way and in years to come, would see a paradigm shift in the way a traditional hotel is looked at or run. The hotels now have become more conscious in lean and multi-skilled manpower. The e-revolution has seen hotels improving their occupancy and traditional sales shifting from personal visits to e-sales. The onset of GDS and OTAs ensured that hotels got more involved in e -marketing on various channels and also understand the importance of social media in creating reputation for hotels. Smarter technology has ensured better command over human management and also energy usage. With new chains and fresh ideas, the industry definitely is a more focused place to work in.
What kind of competition do you face?
The competition is normally on many fronts from new chains, fresh inventories coming to city and also from HR and training fronts. Competition today is to get better occupancies within group hotels and to be top performers.
What are occupancies like?
Occupancies in most cities took a hit and saw hotels shift to REVPAR mode. Cities in non-metros did better as they were able to maintain a decent stand point. Today’s average occupancy stands anywhere between 55-65 per cent depending on city and also the competition there.
What are the MICE facilities that you provide?
Lords has always been keen to work with partner hotels where MICE facilities exist. As a result, wehave a conference hall and also meeting rooms in most of our locationsincluding religious circuits. This has helped boost both top & bottom line and also ensured better performance in rooms and F&B Division.
Will Visa-on-Arrival will help boost tourism?
With this facility, which is likely to be implemented in the coming October, necessary infrastructure will get in place. The liberalised visa policy can definitely help improving tourism to India as the nation offers everything from deserts to evergreen forests, beaches to snow-clad mountains, ancient historical sites and pilgrim centres to modern-day urban hotspots.