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TourismFirst_February_issue

hOTELs + rEsOrTs 11 ambassador cars for guest pickup, rooting in local culture. The Mughal motif in the room evoke more of local culture. Who is the andaz guest? We always talk of the creative people who we want to target. But then everyone thinks straight of an artist or a musician. But we think it can also be a creative brain surgeon or a creative banker. So someone who is curi- ous to explore where they are. It’s a mindset. It is about people who are interested in knowing where they are going and want to learn something different. how are you reaching out to them? When we started we created two tents, complete with the look and the furniture and used them at pop up events. We didn’t want to bring people to the hotel like everyone else. At these events we invited those people whom we believed were the right fit for the product. We did these events across several venues and different verticals such as gallery gardens, parks, with the fashion fra- ternity. These were held in Delhi and the key idea was to share what the ethos of the brand is and what the Andaz experience is. We created a cocktail evening where guests could come and make cocktails. So, we did a lot of different things and tried to reach different people. It was about communicating and socialising with them but equally about listening and th 5 HOTEL OPERATIONS SUMMIT INDIA 2017 GRAND HYATT MUMBAI REGISTER NOW th4 April, 2017 HOSTED BY NOTABLE speakers Ashish Jakhanwala, Managing Director and CEO, SAMHI Anuraag Bhatnagar, Area General Manager – India, Marriott International Camellia Panjabi, Group Director, Masala World / MW Eat Group Devendra Bharma, Executive Vice President, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts Mumbai Jean-Michel Cassé, Sr. Vice President Operations - India, AccorHotels Kurt Straub, Vice President Operations, Hyatt Hotels Corporation Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer - South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Rajeev Menon, Chief Operating Officer - APAC (ex. Greater China), Marriott International Rakesh Sarna, Managing Director & CEO, Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces Shantha De Silva, Head - South West Asia, InterContinental Hotels Group Shridhar B Nair, General Manager, The Leela Goa Tristan Beau de Lomenie, General Manager Delegate, Pullman & Novotel Delhi Aerocity Vir Sanghvi, Co-Founder & Chief Critic, EazyDiner CO-HOST PARTNERS For more information, please write to HOSI@hvs.com OR log on to www.HOSIconference.com gathering information. It was of course about making people curious about the hotel and to introduce the new brand. Is it tough introducing a new brand into the market? Especially a brand called andaz, one doesn’t know what is means and that it is a part of the hyatt family. We understand and appreciate that Hyatt has a legacy and we use the name strategically. For marketing and advertising we are using Andaz Delhi by Hyatt. However, from a brand positioning point of view we are clear that we want to position it separately and so the hotel is ‘Andaz Delhi’. When we bought the Ambassador over a year ago and painted it purple and made it red inside, we only wrote Andaz and drove it around. It did raise thoughts. What is Andaz Delhi? Is it a hotel, is it a shop? People didn’t know. It was interesting. Now we have 4 of them. Used mainly for airport pick- ups because this is what people want. It is our way of experiencing India as the Ambassador is such a traditional car. But then we made it modern in different colours and different interiors. What sets you apart in aerocity? Our look and feel is very different. I have been in India for two and a half years and have travelled around to understand India and explore Delhi to know what is really the market and how can we launch Andaz as a brand property. You meet and talk to a lot of people and create an interest about the brand that talks about personal style. Also, when talking to creative people, we did a lot of listening. What do you want to see, what are their interests? And, then how can we bring that experience to the guests. A lot of emphasis is placed on intuitive service, on reading the body language of a guest and applying common sense. Where would you position yourself in aerocity delhi? What is very nice is when we look at the Aerocity, the hotels here are very different from one anoth- er and we as Andaz are very different in style and experience. Guests have their options to choose from. We are a premium product in the area and different in terms of both software and hardware. We hope to lead the field but time will tell. It has only been a couple of months but how is the brand being received in the Indian market? We have got a good response and are very pleas- antly overwhelmed. Apart from positive feedback from guests, what is good is the site inspection from the business groups has been very positive with a lot of wows. We are also pleased that this response is not limited to only the younger age group. It is across all age brackets; from young to old. Everyone feels very comfortable. We have taken the stiffness away. Even the older more tradi- tional travellers in the luxury space are no longer associating luxury with chandeliers, carpets and marble. We, at Andaz, have none of the three. The hotel reflects modern luxury inspired and influ- enced by traditional Indian elements.

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