Definition of hospitality product quickly changing, says Tamara Leisure CEO
The Group aims to have 1,000 rooms across all its brands by 2025
image for illustrative purpose
Shruti Shibulal, a Young Global Leader (YGL) named by the World Economic Forum, is committed to designing innovative strategies that will promote the practice of environmental conservation, economic empowerment as well as diversity and inclusion (especially in regard to
pro-women policies, gender equality and pay parity). In an exclusive interview with BIZZ BUZZ, Shruti Shibulal, CEO and Director, Tamara Leisure Experiences, said that the group is looking to expand all three of its brands (The Tamara Resorts, O by Tamara, and Lilac Hotels)
How are your hotels evolving?
The pandemic year has been exceptionally challenging for the industry in general, but also a time for transformation. We learned a great deal in the process of overcoming those uncertainties and we are still evolving as a result of it. During the first wave of the virus, we invested heavily in training our staff. We prioritised automating internal processes that would allow us to make operational changes quickly. We also reinvented our service offerings. For the increasing number of health focused travellers, for instance, we curated cohesive wellness regiments that span from immunity-boosting meals and spa treatments to nature-centric activities like star gazing. Operationally and culturally, we have emerged more united and agile as an organisation. It has built a certain faith in our ability to tide over crises through innovation and efficiency, which is invaluable.
What is the ethos of your group business?
Harmonising people, planet and profit is the cornerstone of our business philosophy. We believe in building thoughtful businesses that will last for many generations to come, which means it is essential for those ventures to contribute to a sustainable future. This remains our priority in everything we do.
How can you combine partial charity with business in these difficult times?
Philanthropic initiatives are integral to our operations. We routinely support the needs of local communities around all our properties. During the recent months, as India suffered the second wave of the virus, we joined hands with Mantra4Change to sponsor oxygen-equipped ambulances in Bangalore. Seven of our own employees signed up to manage the toll-free crisis phone line.
Through our property in Coorg, we sponsored Covid testing kiosks in the local hospitals. Both The Tamara Coorg and The Tamara Kodai team supplied several hundreds of ration kits to local populations in need. Our business hotel, O by Tamara in Trivandrum, supplied 300 kgs of rice to community kitchens, 2000 PPE kits to local police, 2000, 1000, and 700 sanitization kits respectively to the local Corporation, Asha workers, and journalists.
We recently ran vaccination drives across the organisation. All our staff members have now received at least the first dose of their vaccine.
How has your company fared during these Covid times?
The overall impact has been similar to what most businesses have faced globally. It has been challenging. However, over the last few years, we have dealt with many forms of challenges as a business - from demonetisation, implementation of GST and environmental factors like flooding at our property in Coorg. We have learned from that and built resilience. We remain very positive and prepared.
How would you define your company in the next three years?
We are on the expansion track. We aim to have 1,000 rooms across all our brands by 2025.
We will soon be opening a niche, Ayurveda-focused resort in Alappuzha, Kerala, under our luxury chain - The Tamara Resorts. We have two properties under our mid-segment chain, The Lilac Hotels, in Bengaluru. We will open another in Guruvayur. Two more hotels under this brand are in development now in Kannur and Kumbakonam.
How can environment friendliness, technology and a good hospitality product make profits?
The definition of a good hospitality product is quickly changing. The health-focused post-pandemic traveller will be highly conscious of environmental and social impact. To remain profitable, all hospitality ventures will need to address sustainability in some form.
Also, environmentally conscious changes increasingly reduce operational costs by conserving and reusing resources. Technology, similarly, acts as a tool to make these improvements more efficient. This combines to create lean, nimble and more profitable business models.
What are the good points and challenges for India as a destination?
India's expansive variety of landscapes and cultures make it an exceptional travel destination.
The challenge that we face as a country is one that every country presently faces. How do we become a sustainable destination? How do we preserve the beauty of this land for future generations? Although there is much work to be done, I believe that India is in a unique position to not just join but to lead this conversation.
What another businesses in the pipeline do you have in mind that could provide synergy for your existing business?
We are exclusively focused on expanding our hotel brands. However, hospitality is an intensely collaborative industry. Finding synergy with other responsible businesses and individuals, including vendors, partners and patrons, will continue to be an important part of our journey.
Do you see a major shift in policy which could boost the tourism business?
Receiving 'Industry' status would be monumental for the hospitality sector and tourism in India. As one of India's largest contributors to GDP, this merit would ensure focused long-term planning aligned with the nation's goals for tourism growth and employment creation. In the long run, it would also serve to make these sectors, which are essential to our economic growth, more competitive amongst a global audience.
In the same vein, single-window clearance for all approvals would ease the process of establishing travel and hospitality ventures while incentivising more investments in the space.
On a consumer-level, as tourism begins to recover from severe pandemic related losses, it would be important to encourage foreign and domestic travel. One immediate way to facilitate this is by implementing an all-round GST reduction. For the financially cautious post-pandemic customer, the present GST rates of 12 per cent - 18 per cent could demotivate recreational travel.
For some years now, there has been discussion around creating a new category of short-stay visas for those who travel to India particularly for yoga, Ayurveda and wellness treatments. It is the ideal time to fast track this facility.
Wellness tourism is a fast-growing market which has been catalysed by a pandemic-fuelled focus on health and retreat.
