Big interview
Above: The night view of Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, The Palm in Dubai.
Above right: The Pierre, A Taj hotel in New York.
Below: Paathya
encapsulates the brands core values of trust, awareness and joy.
300 IHCL
The number of hotels IHCL hopes to have in its portfolio by 2025–26.
Strong foundations With community and corporate responsibility at the heart of IHCL’s business, another cause close to both the group and Chhatwal’s heart is Paathya, the six-pillared ESG+ framework that will drive the groups’ sustainability and social impact measures. “Today, it has become even more important to chart a future that is more sustainable and inclusive; and we believe this is the only way to drive India’s journey to being among the top travel and tourism economies,” says Chhatwal. “Derived from the Sanskrit term, पथ्य, inferring a path, Paathya encapsulates initiatives to lead positive change with IHCL’s core values of trust, awareness and joy.” The six pillars of Paathya will focus on environmental stewardship, social responsibility, excellence in governance, preserving heritage, value chain transformation and sustainable growth. And with travellers increasingly prioritising hotel groups and brands that encapsulate world-class luxury and responsible business practices, IHCL is “poised to pave the future of hospitality”. Under Paathya, the hotel group has defined
several short and long-term goals to drive positive change for the environment. These include eliminating single-use plastic, reusing 100% of
wastewater and that all IHCL’s hotels are certified to a global sustainability standard. Chhatwal also expands on how the group is working to reduce its carbon footprint: “IHCL has partnered with Tata Power to provide EV charging stations across hotels in key locations. The company has also continued to leverage the partnership to utilise renewable energy as a green energy source across hotels.”
Adapt and conquer Chhatwal has faced his fair share of challenges during his expansive hospitality career, but not even he could predict the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic – something that impacted all businesses across the globe, including the hospitality industry. “In the face of the many pandemic-related challenges, we have innovated and evolved to meet changing market requirements,” says Chhatwal. India as a whole is still recovering from the impact
of the pandemic, especially its tourism and hospitality sector, where hotels have had to endure restrictions and lockdowns across the globe. Over the past two years, IHCL has demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the pandemic to achieve 50 new signings and opened 27 new hotels, with an industry leading footprint in India of over 100 locations across the country. India shows great potential for growth in its travel and tourism industry, as one of the key drivers among the service sectors. IHCL and Chhatwal are certainly determined to meet this as the group continues to innovate in the face of any challenge. “We will continue on our trajectory towards
profitable responsible growth led by our Ahvaan 2025 strategy,” Chhatwal adds. “The results of the first quarter of the current fiscal financial year are corroboration of the same, as IHCL has delivered the best Q1 performance in the company’s history.” As far IHCL and Chhatwal are concerned, the future continues to hold great opportunity for success. “The timing is right now.” ●
14 Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL)
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