TravTalk India Online Magazine
Gaurav Shiva, General Manager, Novotel Chennai Chamiers Road, talks extensively about the new property and factors that has led to the growth of South India as a hotspot for hospitality projects.
Anupriya Bishnoi
Q. What is the USP of your property?
Novotel Chennai Chamiers Road is the first Novotel with contemporary design and interiors. The hotel has been conceptualised by SODA, an international design firm known for creating fresh, innovative yet sustainable spaces. The contemporary feel starts at the entrance of Novotel Chennai Chamiers road, which has been inspired by various 20th century buildings of the city.
Q. How has the hospitality industry in South India evolved over the years?
Blessed with plenty of natural beauty, South India has everything that a leisure traveller looks for, from scenic hill stations to tranquil beaches. In recent years, the region has experienced stunning business growth, especially in the IT and manufacturing space. Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai have now been dubbed as the epicentres of IT growth of the country. Owing to this, as hoteliers, we have seen a very large increase in corporate travel over the last few years. Over time, we have seen our guest mix evolve from a relatively homogenous reliance on a single segment to a much more diversified combination of travellers with varied expectations and priorities. It is a welcome change that has shaped our strategy and helped us cater to the evolving guest needs. On the business front, this evolution in the guest mix has been of great benefit as unlike leisure travel, business travel has no season and hence, occupancy rates remain healthy year-round. The spurt in corporate travellers has also given a boost to MiCE.
With commercial activity gaining momentum and subsequent influx of foreign nationals, hospitality players find South India a potential market for expansion
Q. How and why has the presence of AccorHotels in South India evolved?
With the launch of Novotel Chennai Chamiers Road, AccorHotels has achieved a milestone of becoming the largest international hospitality player in Chennai with a total inventory of more than 1000 rooms. Their other hotels in the state are Novotel Chennai SIPCOT, Novotel Chennai OMR, Mercure Chennai Sriperumbudur, ibis Chennai SIPCOT, ibis Chennai OMR, ibis Chennai City Centre and ibis Coimbatore City Centre. In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, we have a combined inventory of over 2500 rooms in 16 hotels across brands.
South India has emerged as a hotspot for hospitality projects as leading brands have established a presence in the market here over the last three years. With commercial activity gaining momentum and subsequent influx of foreign nationals, hospitality players find this region a potential market for their expansion plans.
Q. Do you foresee any challenges? How are you planning to tackle them?
The core challenge for the hospitality industry at large is the ability to attract and retain the right talent which is intrinsic to driving great guest experience and ensuring all our guests ‘Feel Welcome’. With attrition at around 25-30 per cent across different levels, a metric often considered amongst the highest across all service industries, talent and culture are areas we focus on strongly as a group.
