BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

From diminished business and profitability, retooling of the manpower pool and driving hard bargains with brand owners - hotel owners and developers have been dealing with a series of challenges since 2020, and continue to do so.

Hotelier India checks in with leading stakeholders in this domain to understand how they are gearing up to meet evolved guest needs with fewer resources at hand. Here is a look at the ways they are leveraging technology to enhance operations while simultaneously minimising costs for their existing properties and those in the pipeline. They also share insights into the strategies they plan to employ for higher yield with reimagined operations.

EYE ON THE BALL

Ambuja Neotia forced itself to look ahead and get ready to confront the emerging environment in a bid to future-proof its business

In an environment of lower revenues, high fixed costs, and less than optimal asset returns, Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Neotia, believes that hospitality players will need to determine which areas to prioritise and invest in. The Kolkata-based real estate company focused on equipping and positioning its resorts as long-stay, work-from-home places. Moving forward, it plans to develop more properties ideal for use as staycations or workstations.

It is introducing a 126-room hotel in Patna in partnership with Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), the first branded luxury hotel in the city. “We also have plans to build hotels in Darjeeling and Lataguri, Sunderbans and Digha,” Neotia revealed. “We have chalked out plans to develop four Altair in eastern India, including the existing property in Kolkata. We also hope to launch Taj City Centre (erstwhile Swissotel) in New Town by April 2022 while the 61-key Taj Guras Kutir in Sikkim will open in FY 2022-23.”

BUILDING VALUE

Hoteliers, including the Ambuja Neotia, reduced capital-expenditure spending in 2020 because of the pandemic. The company took steps to ensure that the group’s debt-equity ratio was not distorted.