Gen-Next

The Kamat gamut

Kamat Hotels (India) has been making aggressive expansions in the country and a lot will depend on Vikram Kamat, the young director of the hotel group. By Dinkar Farwaha

If Vithal Kamat is the soul of Kamat Hotels (India), his son Vikram, is its future. His sincerity, vision and persistence suggest that the Kamat empire is destined be a hospitality powerhouse under his reign.

An alumnus of Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai, Kamat had decided very early in life to follow in his father's footsteps and carve a niche for himself in the hospitality industry. To hone his hospitality skills and get an insight into the industry, he attended The Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition, Mumbai and topped his batch at the national level. "The time spent at the institute gave me a solid foundation for building a career in the field of hospitality," says Kamat.

After completing the hospitality programme, he joined Kamat Hotels (India) and his first assignment was to open the group's resort brand, Lotus (distinguished by its proximity to water) in the town of Benaulim in south Goa. After successfully developing the property, Kamat helped the group in setting up properties and expanding its restaurant chain, Vithal Kamat Restaurants.

Origin of VITS

After being part of the industry for a couple of years, Kamat witnessed the huge gap between demand and supply of four-star full service business hotels in India and endeavored to bridge this gap. "We were already present in the five-star and four-star segments with our brands The Orchid and Lotus Suite, respectively. The latter then underwent a makeover and was segmented as a resort brand under the name 'Lotus'. We then decided to launch a four-star luxury brand of hotels 'VITS' and mark a pan-India presence in this segment."

The brand was designed in consultation with brand guru Jagdeep Kapoor. "Our primary target with 'VITS' is to foray into the much untapped regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat. In Maharashtra alone, we are aiming to develop 36 properties in the next five years," informs Kamat.

The group launched its first 'VITS' property in Mumbai (in Andheri) by upgrading its already existing property 'Lotus Suites'. It recently opened another 'VITS' in Belgaum under the watchful eyes of Kamat junior. Moreover, it has zeroed in on Kolhapur, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Surat, Thane and Aurangabad and Chinchwar. Besides these cities in Maharashtra, it is also looking at cities in Gujarat (Baroda, Ahmedabad and Surat), Karnataka (Hubli) and South India. "We are looking for fresh acquisitions to market VITS in other parts of the country now," he adds. The group, according to Kamat, is looking at an investment of Rs 500 crore in the next four years to develop its 'VITS' brand of hotels.

While the aggressive expansion of 'VITS' and 'Lotus' consumes a majority of his time, Kamat spends his free time reading. "I mostly read management books," he adds. Kamat has also done a spot of theatre in his school days, winning a number of awards. "Theatre will always be close to my heart," he says passionately. As for the future, Kamat would like to keep working hard and ultimately make Kamat Hotels one of the biggest global hospitality chains in the country.