TravTalk India Online Magazine
Vikas Ahluwalia, General Manager and National Head – Zone by The Park Hotels, says what makes the brand different, and they are opening six new properties to expand their presence.
Nisha Verma
Zone by the Park is a social catalyst brand for design-conscious and price-conscious travellers, said Vikas Ahluwalia. “It is a social catalyst brand for design-conscious and price-conscious travellers. We go beyond a high-quality room and service experience to be a spark,” he said. Ahluwalia further said that they are a mid-scale, social catalyst, full-service hotel brand that was designed post-extensive research and addresses the needs of our guests and investors.
Expanding
Ahluwalia shared that they have projects in pipeline at both Zone by The Park Hotels and Zone Connect with 1,600 rooms under development and will be opening six new properties in the coming 12 months and many more. “We are expanding our foothold to cater to the needs of the domestic and international travellers,” he revealed.
Digital marketing
“During the pandemic, we used the digital platforms to promote various activities and experiences created for our guests. These efforts resulted in higher engagement and revenues for the hotel,” shared Ahluwalia while explaining their marketing and promotional activities.
Travel trade engagement
Ahluwalia goes on to say that they have been collaborating with the tourism industry on a regular basis. “Our sales and marketing teams have been sharing information with trade partners. S.H.I.E.L.D., our group-wide, all-encompassing safety and hygiene programme, draws special attention. We strictly adhere to all hygiene protocols since the safety of our guests and staff is crucial to us. We’re organising more targeted and relevant itineraries instead of large FAM trips,” he asserted.
Taste the local
Guests visiting Zone by the Park will be treated to local experiences, apart from just offering stays. “As part of the Zone Philosophy, we have created the Zone Social Avatars, which uniquely allow the guests to explore the city through the lenses of these five avatars: Adventurer, Foodie, Shutterbug, Networker, and Party Animal. Guests can make use of the Zone Scale, a simple tool that helps us curate and recommend experiences based on what keeps it social for you in our city. We bring the online experiences to the offline and vice-versa,” he said.
All M!CE
Zone by The Park Hotels has been designed to cater to all business segments, and MICE is no exception, he said. “We have been working with the trade to drive this business segment across our hotels. Now, sales requests for MICE events are being converted to a hybrid setup. This middle path of combining physical, virtual, and digital technology is proving to be a boon in current times where packed banquets are a distant reality, “he adds.
Geared for 2022
Ahluwalia is all positive for 2022. “Next year, we look towards driving growth and entering newer markets. We are planning to expand through off-beat locations where young entrepreneurs can find space to network as well as relax. Zone Connect is an upscale brand which has upcoming hotels in Goa, Tirupati, Gopalpur – Odisha, Phalodi – Rajasthan and Port Blair and they are slated to open early next year, ” he reveals.
He also shared that Zone Connect will have its presence in tier-III and tier-IV cities with a lower number of rooms, focused on functionality.
Ahluwalia concludes, “The brand will give a boost to smaller hotel operators and owners who were on the verge of closure due to the many challenges they faced during the pandemic and the lockdowns to partner with us—a brand which has been in the industry for more than half-a-century.”
