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Session Highlights
Making the mark
 The
session on luxury trends revealed some interesting aspects, says Bhavika
Jhaveri
In these times, when the industry is witnessing a surge in
luxury hotels, this session on 'Luxury trends in the region and around the world'
proved relevant. It brought to light the various factors, such as understanding
customer needs and importance of labour in delivering the right service, that
set luxury trends around the world.
The complete experience
Moderator: Priya Paul,
chairperson, Apeejay Surendra Hotels
Panelists: Mark Broadley, finance
director and CFO, Peninsula Hotels
Scott Woroch, senior vice president (Business
Development) Asia Pacific, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
Abhijit Mukerjee, COO (Luxury Division),
Indian Hotels Company Ltd
Vikram Oberoi, deputy managing director,
East India Hotels Ltd
Patrick Dempsy, director of development,
Jumeirah International
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Scott Woroch averred that space played a vital role in any
luxury product. "As the cliché goes, size does matter. At Four Seasons,
we try to provide more personal service, anticipate guest needs and deliver
accordingly," he said. Abhijit Mukerjee reiterated, "Attention to
detail is an important ingredient for any luxury hotel because for customers
it is the complete experience that matters - from the time they check in till
they leave the hotel - and we need to consistently deliver that experience."
Vikram Oberoi opined, "Try and put yourself in the guests' shoes and listen
to what they want. For instance, merely having orange juice at a hotel in France
I visited was a totally different experience in itself. It is paying attention
to minute details that takes you a long way in keeping guests satisfied."
Tech savvy
In recent times, luxury trends have been largely driven by high usage of technology,
which makes customisation a key factor. As Mark Broadley points out, "Technology
has become very important today. It has to be user-friendly and should be customised
for individual guests. We must know exactly what they want so they get it without
asking for it." Oberoi added, "Customers use technology to make their
job easier but they have to pay astronomical rates to use the Internet. But
should luxury travellers pay that much when luxury is driven by people and service?
In Asia, where you have people with varying levels of income, it (luxury) has
to be sustainable."
Local flavours
Giving luxury travellers the local flavour of the destination is important as
well and it therefore becomes necessary to incorporate local architecture in
the hotel. Scott said, "The Taj Rambagh Palace and Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur
reflect the flavour of Rajasthan and I love hotels which convey that feeling."
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