India Is A Pleasant Surprise

Michael Terry Ph.D, was in India as a trainer on behalf of the EI-AH&LA. An ’experience builder’ in the US, he speaks of his first experience with Indian hospitality.

Q: What is your view of the professionals you have been training?

The batches I have been interacting with are impressive and very focused. An aspect that stands out immediately is that Indian hospitality professionals are very serious of their business. Also, I feel they are well versed with global practices and conditions, and want to stay competitive.

Q: What image did you have of India when you arrived for the programme? Was it of elephants and snake charmers?

Luckily, I have friends from this region, so I had a realistic picture of what India is like. But I am pleasantly surprised at the advanced level of the hospitality industry. I had prepared a detailed presentation, starting from the basics upwards. I have had to change it because the professionals here know a lot of it.

Q: Any views on the hotels you have visited?

Many of the hotels I have visited are of good calibre. For example, the ITC Grand Maratha in Mumbai. It is such a great hotel, with so much effort on the detail. With a few minor adjustments, the hotel can be truly top-notch.

The general staff are dedicated and cultured, which is something American hotels are lacking. I have not had one incident where an employee retorted with a ‘Smart Alec ‘remark. I did notice that there are so many employees.

Q: Do you feel Indian hotels are overstaffed?

Yes, when compared to American conditions where the room:staff ratio is 1:0.5. I see a lot of staff just milling around, which in my book is being unproductive. They can be re-allocated for other purposes, for example pre-emptive services.

Q: What about India’s mid-market segment?

The hotels I visited were in the luxury segment. I do hope to schedule visits to mid-market hotels during my stay.

Q: Your course has a strong American flavour, which is not applicable to India. Often, participants do not make the grade on this account. What is your view?

EI-AH&LA is an American programme, which has become popular globally. There is an international edition, where US-specific content is minimised. Talks are currently on at headquarters for programmes tailored to regional requirements. Perhaps, in due course, India may have its own programme.

Q: Seeing that you like Indian hospitality, will you recommend the country to investors?

Though I like what I see, there is large amount of research to be done before Imake my recommendations. Certainly, my visit here has impressed me.

Hilton, My New Pet Choice

With Hilton announcing plans to accept household pets makes it a very good time for the pet owner fraternity. The momentum formalised by Jerry Hatfield of www.pettravel.com a decade ago has finally caught up with the big boys of international hospitality.

Hilton’s plan is to welcome dogs and cats into hotels in the Americas by this summer. The brand later plans to roll out its Pet Friendly program to various hotels in its international portfolio. The chain has woken up to the macro economics of a very powerful consumer base which has long been sidelined. Also, Hilton is playing catch-up to other big boys like Starwood which in their company study were startled to find a greater chance of loyalty from guests if their dogs stayed them. 76% is a wakeup and smell the coffee number. And that is what Hilton is after too.

There are more numbers too; the WSJ estimates that 63% of US household have pets, which according to the National Pet Owners Survey of ’07-’08 spent USD 41 billion on their animals. From that, nearly USD 3 billion was for grooming and boarding alone. The icing on the cake; pet owners have a higher average income of USD 47,000 as compared to non-pet owners at USD 39,000.

Therefore, to cater to a pet is to tap the purse of a majority consumer base with very deep pockets governed by a strong emotional bond.

And so Hilton has checked in with its characteristic uppity style. Each pet-friendly room is loaded with specially-designed upscale amenities sure to please the most pampered dog or cat. Designed exclusively for Hilton by famed artist William Wegman (best known for his striking photographs of Weimaraner dogs) the Hilton Pet Friendly collection will include a stain-, water- and microbial-resistant pet bed, as well as food and water bowls with placemat, and an exclusive pet amenity kit complete with dog waste clean-up bags and treats. The bed, placemat and amenity kits are produced by Crypton Fabrics and made with its patented performance fabric. For guests who want to recreate their stay at home, the pet beds will be available for purchase on www.HiltonToHome.com, alongside Hilton’s Serenity Collection® mattress and other exclusive, in-room amenities. Participating Hiltons will also offer pet concierge service with information about local dog runs, veterinarian offices and pet boutiques.

A select amount of Pet Friendly rooms will be designated in each participating Hilton hotel and along with the standard room cleaning procedures, the rooms will undergo a deep cleaning – including carpets, drapery and all upholstered furniture – after each pet guest has checked out. All Pet Friendly rooms will feature a special door hanger alerting hotel staff to the furry guest within.

For more information on Hilton’s Pet Friendly program, visit www.hilton.com/pets.

Better Safe Than Sorry: Delhi’s BB Model Flounders

In a land of regular terror attacks and continous religious tension, accommodating strangers at home is not an attractive proposition; even if they are willing to pay. This is the new ground reality in India, a country renowned for its hospitality. Especially Delhi, perhaps the most paranoid Indian city given its proximity to the northern trouble spots and the political class who have created a culture of shadow watching. Over there, egos soar where no eagles dare.

Mumbai, Kolkatta and Chennai have been through their share of problems, Mumbai more than most, though the city still wears a smile and will be a better candidate for the project. Delhi is just not a friendly city neither one geared to tourism. Perhaps the govt. knows this and/or desperation is in the air given the image riding on the 2010 games.

A number of problems have ‘plagued’ this interesting project; first it was the mundane techicality of taxes and utility bills which our babus are so very good at entangling all and sundry with. Now it is the safety of the hosts. What spooked them is anyones guess. From experience, foreigners on a holiday are benign and have no malicious intent. Strangely, India continues to have a massive ‘white’ fixation, a leftover from the British Raj. Which makes the security issue a little perplexing.

Delhi’s plans are wishfully ambitious, but not unattainable. Such schemes are not easy as they go against the grain of the local culture. Also, the driving force for Delhi’s new B&B category is not clear. Generally it is economics which drives tourism and a few times it is a collective community fervour whipped up to achieve something. Economics is not a driving force in Delhi, while it seems Delhi tourism mis-calculated its ‘collected fervour’ approach. Take at look at their site (http://delhitourism.nic.in/publicpage/bb.html#Act) to understand how far short they fell. Our babus just do not understand marketing. Such programmes must be done on a small controlled basis before the grandoise rollout.

One suggestion to address the security issue is to have better screening and criteria like families, couples, etc.

By promoting the B&B scheme, the government was trying to bridge the 30,000 rooms gap between demand-supply in the Delhi-NCR region. Statistics reveal abysmal performance figures. According to the state tourism department’s recent survey, only 10 per cent of the bed and breakfast premises registered occupancy rates of 70 per cent. Furthermore, according to the same survey, as high as 40 per cent of the premises did not manage to achieve even 10 ten per cent occupancy.

Caught on the back foot now, the ministry can only expect a resurgence of the dilemma of the room shortages.

Face Reality

Interesting things pop-up when least expected. As was the case today when during a quick glance-through of old management books, I chanced upon ‘The Daily Drucker’ (Joseph A Maciareillo). More specifically the very interesting synopsis of the celebrated Peter Drucker’s writings on business practices in turbulent times.

 This short piece could not be more apt in the current context of the hospitality industry. ‘Exploit the new realities’ he says because today’s realities have no traditional fit. As the oil crisis slides out of control, it is putting the brakes on industry which is merely putting forth a brave face though it is no longer confident of itself. The hospitality bull-run will fast loose steam. And this is where Drucker kicks in.

 Today’s realities do not mesh at all with ‘what everybody knows’. They differ even more from what everybody, regardless of political persuasion, still believes reality to be. ‘What is’ can differ totally from what other believe it ‘ought to be’. The greatest and most dangerous turbulence today results from the collusion between the delusions of the decision makers and the realities.

 But the time of turbulence is also one of great opportunity for those who can understand, accept, and exploit the new realities. One constant theme is therefore the need for the decision maker to face up to reality and resist the temptation of what ‘everybody knows’, the temptations of the certainties of yesterday, which are about to become the deleterious superstitions of tomorrow. To manage in turbulent times means to face up to new realities. It means starting with the question: “What is the world really like?” rather than with the assertions and assumptions that made sense only a few years ago.

 In the Indian theatre of hyper development, one wonders what will carry the day; common sense or optimism.

More details of Drucker’s thoughts on this subject are availalble in his book ‘Managing in Turbulent Times’.

Kairali Exports Spas To UK, US, Russia

The Kairali Group, which runs ayurvedic health resorts, spas and centres in India and abroad, plans to expand through franchise in the US, UK, Poland and Russia. London will be the first recepient in June 2008. 

Kairali prefers the franchise model to circumvent the crippling labour issue. In addition, it plans a wholly-owned spa at Bangalore which will be operational by end-2008. The Kairali Ayurvedic Health Resort, Palakkad, the company’s flagship property, was recently selected as one of the top 50 wellness destinations in the world by National Geographic.

Sterling Looking At Mid-Market

Timeshare company Sterling Holiday Resorts is taking a serious look at the mid-market segment.  It plans its growth through the acquisition/management route and claims to be in talks with several hotels and resorts to enter into management contracts. It will acquire properties in the major metros initially and then look elsewhere. The properties will be under the Sterling Resorts banner and will be entirely managed by the company. Potental purchases will be around 40 keys, have 2 banquet halls, a swimming pool and a spa.  The source of funding has not been disclosed.