Face-to-Face: Ajay K. Bakaya
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This week, Travel Daily India talks to Ajay K. Bakaya, executive director of Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, about the company’s development plans…
Q) Sarovar Hotels & Resorts had recently opened a mid-market property under the brand Hometel in Chennai. What has the response been like so far? What amenities/services does it typically offer?
The response has been encouraging. The hotel is located outside Chennai in the industrial town of Vandalur where the existing demand-supply gap offers huge opportunity for hospitality brands. This allows us great prospect for our brand Hometel which is designed to provide unmatched facilities at value for money price.
Kalyan Hometel offers unmatched services at a price that will surely give its guest a pleasant surprise. With contemporary rooms and superior service standards, this hotel with 108 rooms including suites will offer all modern day comforts ensured to providing a contented and relaxed stay. Facilities including an all-day dining with bar and a fitness centre compliment the overall guests experience. Banquet & conference spaces along with business centre make it a perfect venue to host trainings, workshops, product launches, exhibitions, weddings and other social events.
Q) What are your main source markets by geography and sector?
Being in an industrial town, Kalyan Hometel Chennai-Vandalur is located centrally close to the auto hub and many IT companies. These corporate houses along with some manufacturing facilities located around the area form our key source market for this hotel.
Q) Which are the other locations you are looking at for expansion in India? Are you planning for any new International locations?
We have just opened a Sarovar Portico in Dehradun. This fiscal year we are coming up with new hotels in Palampur, Kapashera which will be opened within the first two quarters. Slated for later part of the year are openings in Amritsar, Raipur, Jaisalmer and Bhavnagar. We are simultaneously focusing on our international expansion and adding another hotel in Africa with the opening of The Lazizi Premiere by the third quarter of this year.
Q) How do you reward your loyal customers?
We have a loyalty programme, Sarovar Rewardz, through which guests can accumulate points that can be redeemed for privileges like free hotel stays, holiday packages, dining offers and a range of exciting merchandise.
Q) How close is Sarovar Hotels towards achieving the target of 100 hotels by 2020? What brands are driving this growth?
We are expanding steadily and have 72 operational hotels in our portfolio currently. We are expecting another three hotels to be operational in the next quarter in Palampur, Kapashera and Nairobi. With our focused plan for the next few years, we are confident of reaching the number 100 hotels soon. In terms of sheer numbers, Sarovar Portico is the single largest driver. We are also adding the numbers in Sarovar Premiere and Hometel hotels.
Q) What were your key priorities in 2015? What new developments can we expect from Sarovar Hotels & Resorts in the coming years?
We focused on the business graph returning to an upward curve in 2015-16. We have been successful in achieving both top line and GOP growth. We aim to spring a few surprises in 2016.
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