Hotels

Measure by measure

Paul Kirwin President Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific

Looking at making only short term plans now, three years to be specific, Paul Kirwin, president, Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific, wants to capitalise on the growing Indian hospitality market, which he expects to grow further with increasing global investments

For Carlson Hospitality Worldwide (CHW), an emphatic presence in Asia is important. Its Indian arm, Carlson Hospitality India, therefore set up offices in Delhi, Shanghai and Singapore in addition to a small sales office in Tokyo.

It began by franchising hotels in this region. That worked well until the financial crisis hit Asia between 1997 and 1999. "When we looked again at the region some years later, we decided to come back as managers rather than franchisers. Perhaps, what we did two years ago should have been done five years ago," says Paul Kirwin, president, Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific.

The moral of the story: to make short-term plans. Kirwin adds, "The company has ceased to make any more five-year plans. We only make three-year plans now. Nevertheless, we have been busy and have signed contracts for 18 hotels, 12 of them in the past two years."

The game plan

Talking about the strategies, Kirwin says, "The opportunity for growth of our brands in India is immense given the rate of growth in the tourism and hospitality industries in the country.”

Among its alliances in India, the group first tied up with Unicorn Holdings through its company - the Radisson Hotels & Resorts - for promoting Radisson brands in India. Then it entered into an alliance with Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, which it appointed as the master franchiser for its Park Plaza and Park Inn hotel brands in India.

The group later tied up with Delhi-based Chanakya Hotels and CHW to develop the Country Inn & Suites brand. Commenting on the strategy behind these alliances, Kirwin, says, "We plan to increase our presence here through many such alliances. It makes good business sense."

Carlson, under Radisson Hotels International, has also set up an institution of higher learning named IIMT in collaboration with Unitech India and the Edwardian Group. IIMT offers various undergraduate programmes in the areas of hospitality, business and IT. However, stressing caution, Kirwin says, "Like we have learned over the past decade, as developing nations, many Asian economies are more vulnerable to disruption from natural disasters and global economic forces. So one must expect some bumps along the road and make provisions for the same."

On the horizon

Carlson Hotels now plans to set up 25 hotels by the end of 2008. Elaborating on these plans Kirwin says, "Most of these new hotels will be under Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Country Inns & Suites brands. Special emphasis is also being laid on promoting the Park Plaza and Park Inn brands in the country. However, Regent will be our main focus in Asia in the coming years. We see this brand reinvigorating and India is certainly a key location for it." Other properties on the anvil include Park Inn in Pondicherry, Park Plaza in Gurgaon and Mumbai, County Inn & Suites in Jaipur, Jalandhar, Pune, Ludhiana, and Radisson in Delhi, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

Kirwin believes…

According to Kirwin, global investments in India will improve significantly as the government continues to progress with its infrastructure and deregulation initiatives.

"India in totality provides ample opportunities for all segments of the hotel business. Now that air connectivity has increased, the future looks extremely promising and I am certain that in a short while India will witness an increase in tourists as well as rise in hotel development in emerging cities besides the metros," he adds.