AGILITY IN ITS DNA

A dexterous approach helped Tamara Leisure Experiences spin various operational facets to successfully navigate recent challenges

- VINITA BHATIA

While most people were preoccupied with challenges faced by large hotel chains in 2020, they forgot about the difficulties independent hoteliers were tackling. Primary amongst this was building trust in a post-COVID era.

The larger brands had it relatively easier, since they were known for their processes and also had large marketing budgets to support their reputational management. For smaller hotels, this expense was disproportionately larger.

However, rather than lament about these complications, Shruti Shibulal, CEO and Director of Tamara Leisure Experiences identified advantages that would stand the company in good stead. The first one was leveraging agility in decision-making across several operational facets, starting with hygiene initiatives at its five properties.

“Our major challenge was building trust with guests and employees, so we focused on that from the day we went into lockdown. We worked on the ‘Raksha’ initiative, which is a set of standards and processes to prevent COVID-19’s spread,” she stated.

Alongside training employees about these protocols, documentation about guidelines were created for internal purposes by enabling cross-departmental collaboration. Moreover, medical professionals were invited to speak to staffers about the virus and how it spreads.

Additionally, Tamara used social media to maintain constant connect with its guests and shared details about the ‘Raksha’ initiative in all their consumer communication. “Our three focus points included bolstering external communications with guests, internal communications with staff and revisiting cost structures to reduce and optimise expenditures,” Shibulal stated. This is where corporate nimbleness came in handy for the boutique hotel brand, as its flexibility helped it efficiently restructure operations.

A STEP AHEAD