M|A|R|K|E|T HOTEL
Banyan Tree doubles numbers from India SAYONI BHADURI – Mumbai
anyan Tree Hotels and Resorts has seen doubled numbers from India market and grown over 60 per cent and Angsana properties have witnessed a four-fold increase in its revenue share for the period between 2011 and 2012. Audrey Chung, senior assistant VP, global marketing network, Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts added, “We started our own regional office for India in 2012.” Chung informed that with the opening of the Laguna Phuket, there is a good potential from the Indian market especially for weddings. “We see good amount of Indian business
B
going to our resorts in Bintan and Bali. There is also an increase in business to the hotel in Ras Al Khaimah. “It is a different experience in combination with Dubai,” she further added. While small incentive groups prefer going to Maldives which is a popular destination. There has been a lot of queries and interest for the hotel chains Chinese properties especially Shanghai and Tianjin. Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts along with Angsana Hotels and Resorts recently conducted their roadshow in India. Senior representatives from eight of Banyan Tree Group properties including flagship property Banyan Tree Phuket, Banyan Tree Samui, Thailand, Banyan
Tree Bintan, Angsana Bintan and Banyan Tree Ungasan in Bali, Indonesia, Banyan Tree Macau, Banyan Tree
Vabbinfaru, Banyan Tree Madivaru, Angsana Ihuru and Angsana Velavaru in the Maldives, Angsana Balaclava
Mauritius and the upcoming Banyan Tree property in Kerala participated in the event.
Bollywood and weddings two new focus areas at Starwood Expo SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai
tarwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific recently organised a five-city road show, Starwood India Expo 2013. Besides Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru the seventh edition of Starwood Expo included two more additions this year Chennai and Kolkata. “We had a great turnout in Chennai and that has encouraged us to go there next year also. Kolkata has shown us some good results without doing much activity. With a lot of interest coming from Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau for Kolkata because of direct flights we thought of doing a B2B event there. The other cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru have always been successful,” said Dhananjay S Saliankar, regional director – Starwood Sales Organisation,
S
South Asia. Forty-six hotels participated in the expo this year from 18 countries. “With European market reaching a saturation, India is a big market for them. There is short lead time to always get more business,” said Saliankar. Canada is a new entrant this year while North America came for the second time. “They really saw some great results, we grew the market over 100 per cent in the last two years with B2B partners. We signed up tours with Kuoni, Vacation Exotica and other large players. We are also working with smaller agencies,” stated Saliankar. The invited delegates included travel agents, tour operators, corporates and conference organisers. The two new segments targeted this year were - wedding planners and production houses. “Thailand has always been
Dhananjay S Saliankar popular for Indian weddings. We are keen to focus on markets like Mauritius, Dubai, Hong Kong. We've got the largest inventory of 3800 rooms in Sheraton Macau. We
also want to develop the Bollywood segment and have invited the production houses,” said Saliankar. Talking about a few highlights he pointed out that luxury brand W in Barcelona has taken close to over 20 Indian groups, mostly MICE segment. “This has given us an advantage in the B2B market though we do not have a W here, to create a strong awareness and popularity of the brand,” said Saliankar. Similarly, St Regis Bangkok has hosted a number of Indian weddings. Saliankar also spoke about the StarNet booking engine for Starwood hotels through which travel and retail agents, including those in secondary cities can book on the best available rates and get 15 per cent off the bar. Jenny Seraphine, complex sales manager, Attachee Commerciale, Le Meridien
Fisherman's Cove, Seychelles said that her property had a lot of exposure in India, “The Indian market is growing year by year, as an increasing number of Indians are visiting Seychelles. We get many leisure groups, though the MICE segment is also growing. There is good flight connectivity via Doha and Dubai. I hope to get more clients following the expo this year.” Tejal Mehta Seebhujun, sales manager-India, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Mauritius said, “We have three properties and have always been very focused on India.” The global personalisation programmes ensures that there are Indian guest relations executives to interact with the guests, Indian cuisine and cultural programmes. The housekeeping, waiters and kitchen staff are all trained for the Indian market.
Fairmont Raffles Makkah looks at Indian Hajj Umrah business SAYONI BHADURI - Mumbai
n an aim to cater to more Hajj and Umrah business from India Fairmont Raffles Makkah is looking to make its presence felt in India. “In 2012, we saw as many as 1000 room nights which came from India alone. This allows us to believe that there is a huge market in India that needs to be tapped,” said Khaled Yamak, group director of communication and business
I
April 2013
development, Fairmont Raffles Hotel Makkah. He then adds that they have seen positive indications from the Indian market when it comes to business into Saudi Arabia. India also has the third largest Islamic population in the world and with the improving economy of the country the disposable income has also increased the number of people travelling. “Since visas to the Saudi Arabia are available only through recognised
tour operators and the percentage of visas allotted to each nation is also limited, it is important for us to reach out to this community and create awareness about our hotels,” added Yamak. As to luxury hotel in a holy city he said that the aim has always been to offer luxury with humility. “When we first opened in the city, hotels were offering fairly mediocre services and were not pushing themselves. We offered our guests a choice with a variety of facilities. We were
www.expresstravelworld.com
the first to open a spa in Makkah. While everybody asked why a spa, we asked back why not? We also have the first business centre in the city as well as special rooms for elderly travellers, we have trained nurses managing it,” he added. Located in Clock Tower complex are three Fairmont Raffles hotels – Swissotel Makkah, Raffles Makkah Palace and Makkah Clock Royal Tower – which caters to 40 per cent of the business in Makkah. EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD
21