Hotels

Crowning glory

Raymond Bickson MD Indian Hotels Company Limited

Spearheading the Indian attack in the global hospitality arena, Indian Hotels Company is surging ahead vehemently to create an indomitable mark amongst the most exclusive international hotel brands. Raymond Bickson, the group's MD, talks of his vision for the industry

From its first property, the Taj Mahal Hotel in 1903, started by the group founder J N Tata, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has been growing by leaps and bounds, not only in India but internationally as well.

Recently, the group increased its international presence sporadically with a property on the famed Dubai Palm Island, followed by Rebak Marina in Malaysia, and the acquisition of the prestigious Pierre Hotel, New York from Four Seasons. It has also forged a deal with Singapore-based Raffles Group and Korea-based Shilla Group of Hotels.

The game plan

Enunciating the vision of Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces, Raymond Bickson, the group's managing director, says, "Our commitment is to make the Taj a byword for luxury and business. We understand the priorities of premium marketing and we intend to satisfy them in India and abroad."

Explaining the idea behind the new brand restructuring that the group has been pursuing, he says, "We are actively looking at global expansion, which is why it is important for us to have a global architecture in place."

He says that global expansion will allow the group access to a larger clientele. "If, for example, the Asian market is down, the European market will be up. We cannot remain a regional player if we want to survive. We are therefore interested in the ASEAN countries and China," says Bickson.

Elaborating further, the MD states that they have been looking at the brand architecture. "We need to take advantage of the significant value of the Taj brand. While we have a diverse bouquet of products, the Taj name represents high-end products. We will have the brand , and segments of various types within this brand will follow. It may be, for instance, Gateway by Taj or Residency by Taj but we will not necessarily carry the Taj name up front," Bickson adds.

Besides its international foray through management contracts and acquisitions, Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces has developed an international presence through a network of regional sales and PR offices in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and the USA. IHCL is also looking at taking on more management contracts, and expanding its reach. "We have properties in practically every corner of India but we still see the need to strengthen our balance sheet by taking idle assets that are unproductive and re-deploying them to make the company more manageable. Our goal is to reduce our number of companies, a process that has already started, from 60 to 30 in the next year," he reveals.

On the horizon

Speaking on the group's plans, Bickson reveals that IHCL has decided on the sum of Rs 565 crore towards capital expenditure for the current financial year. Of this, Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for expansion while the rest would be used for upgradation of existing properties.

The company's immediate expansion would include business hotels in Bangalore, Coimbatore and Mumbai. It is also contemplating owning and managing hotels in Andaman and New Delhi and is considering further expansion in parts of North America, Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East. However, Bickson puts across insistently that China remains the focal point of the group's expansion plans and says, "We believe there is a huge amount to be learnt from China. Given its rate of growth and proximity to India, we are presently looking at acquisitions of small hotels."

Besides luxury and business hotels, IHCL has also started developing luxury residences, budget hotels with Ginger, spas and wildlife resort segments, Bickson says. "We are planning to get into spas in a major way and there will be 16 spas to our stable over the next three years with two spa companies developing our Taj brand. Then we may be able to take our special Taj spa menu and incorporate it into all our different spas." To further its plans in wildlife tourist resorts, the company has tied up with South Africa-based C C Africa and Nepal-based Cigen Corporation to develop wildlife resorts across the country.

Bickson believes…

Observing a steady growth in the spa market, Bickson says, "The spa segment alone is a global US $14 billion industry today. Spas are big business and can contribute up to 15 per cent to the total revenue of the hotel."

Emphasising the business logic powering its budget brand Ginger, Bickson says, "The dynamics of the entire industry has changed over the last few years. A category like the smart, basic hotel has emerged as a compelling business opportunity. We believe that significant demand exists for it in the metros and in secondary and tertiary cities across India."