Regional focus
a cursory glance at what is available, from the Sujan Rajmahal Palace, hosted at a Jaipur castle, to a smattering of Oberois at Agra and Delhi. Yet if blockbuster properties continue to excel – Taj
Above: One of the 106 rooms available at the Holiday Inn Goa Candolim.
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Bhubaneshwar is one of IHCL’s new mid-market hotel offerings for the domestic Indian market.
Now, however, things are changing. Older Indian
hospitality lingers on, but now they are jostling for space with leaner mid-market alternatives. This shift is easy to understand. With a booming entrepreneurial class, operators can no longer hope to thrive on splendour alone. Even so, Indian hospitality is not necessarily destined for success. From a continued lack of trained staff to broader societal challenges, the industry has plenty to deal with. Get it right, though, and it could provide jobs for millions – and a warm place to stay for a billion more.
Subpar subcontinent Foreigners have always been intoxicated by India, and if one can appreciate all the subcontinent has to offer, this sentiment makes sense. “The country’s history goes back 2,500 years,” says
Sudeep Jain, the south-west Asia managing director at InterContinental Hotels (IHG). “Some of those monuments are still preserved.” That is true of the Taj Mahal, of course, but also countless other mosques, temples and forts. From there, there are India’s natural delights. “India has always been a country with diverse offerings, be it mountains or plains, beaches or backwaters,” says Suma Venkatesh, executive vice-president of real estate and development at Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), the company behind Taj hotels. These wonders have naturally helped shape Indian
hospitality too. With so much to show, the industry has grown steadily over the years, and is now 7.5% of GDP, according to a report by Hospitality Industry in India. Operators have typically focused their attention on where foreigners gravitate. Beyond major cities like Mumbai and Delhi, Professor Dipra Jha explains that the so-called ‘Golden Triangle’ is another area of focus. “The area around Delhi, the Taj Mahal at Agra and the city of Jaipur has been around for a long time,” says Jha, an expert in Indian hospitality at Washington State University. Certainly, this is a point supported by even
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aims to balloon its portfolio by 36% over the next five years – other corners of hospitality have habitually lagged behind. That is particularly clear the further down the price ladder you travel. IHG’s Holiday Inn brand only got its first new-build Indian property in 2010, for instance, while Hilton only opened a DoubleTree near the Taj Mahal in 2014. In part, these trends can be understood culturally. As Jain explains, many Indians have tended to stay with family or friends while traversing the country. Arguably more crucial, however, is the issue of economics. As recently as the 1990s, barely 1% of India’s population had clambered into the middle class, their progress stymied by ineffectual top-down economic policies and the vagaries of the caste system.
Mid-market magic Set amid laurels and rice paddies, kissed by the Indian Ocean and just steps from a ruined Portuguese fort, the Holiday Inn Goa Candolim vividly showcases a new Indian hospitality. Since it opened last August, guests have been able to luxuriate at one of the property’s 106 guest rooms, each boasting balconies and air conditioning as standard. Want some company and punters can venture to the Atrium, a bar offering custom cocktails. For guests who need to work or workout, the Candolim offers both a business centre and a 24-hour gym. At first glance, then, the Candolim seems to follow the elegant model of Oberoi and Raj. But look at the prices and your perception soon shifts. You can currently book a night at the Candolim for around $100, while kids under 12 stay for free. To put that into perspective, an evening at the famous Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai will set you back over $300. This difference, emphasises Jain, speaks to a hospitality built for Indians, by Indians and with the Indian mindset. Nor is the Goa property unique. On the contrary, IHG plans to open 39 new properties in India over the next few years, with 27 coming under the mid-market Holiday Inn banner. Other operators are close behind. Hilton, for its part, has unveiled a number of Garden Inn hotels across India. The mid-market craze has even reached IHCL, where Venkatesh and her team are currently expanding their Ginger brand. Described by the executive as a “lean luxe” offering, Ginger properties will offer convenient, comfortable hospitality without blowing the budget. These hotels differ from more old-fashioned offerings in other ways too. Though global cities like Mumbai still secure investment, Jha says that tier two and tier three towns are increasingly receiving new openings. Ginger,
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
IHG
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