In an interaction with Travel Trade Insider, Kr. Roop Pratap Choudhary, Managing Director, Noor Mahal and Jewel Group of Hotels shares what makes the property unique and hugely popular.
Q. Please throw some light on the current average occupancy rates being recorded by Noor Mahal? What kind of trends are you noticing in terms of an increase in weekend guests, incentive groups, etc?
A. By building a hotel exactly like a palace, we aimed to create a complete royal luxurious experience for our guests. Through the years we have driven our efforts with this as our focus and have been fortunate to have earned the appreciation of our guests. Noor Mahal has become a favourite for guests and we are gratified by the repeat customers and wonderful word of mouth recommendations that we receive from our guests. On average Noor Mahal experiences 80% plus occupancy. With the trend of grand traditional weddings faring very strong, Noor Mahal has become a preferred Wedding destination in the country.
We designed Noor Mahal with the idea of having something for everyone – be it millennials, young couples, families, group of friends or corporate groups. A major share of our guests used to be families and events were dominated by weddings, but in recent years we see a lot of millennials (groups or solo travellers) visiting Noor Mahal. These millennials seek a culturally rich experience with a comfortable stay at an unexplored and offbeat destination. Also, there is an increasing trend of corporate events being hosted by Noor Mahal. This is interesting as until recently corporates used to opt for more contemporary venues but are now choosing traditional offbeat settings with good food and beverage services.
Q. Noor Mahal is well-positioned to cater to the destination wedding segment. What all are you doing to grow the wedding market for your property?
A. Grand Indian weddings are always in vogue and will never go out of fashion. Noor Mahal is one of the most preferred wedding destinations, owing to the good proximity from key areas like New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, and our 360-degree competent wedding solution capabilities. The demand for wedding venues has always been strong and recently it has been so encouraging that we have expanded our offerings. Noor Mahal now has 20 beautiful indoor and outdoor venues to choose from for every big and small wedding functions. This includes the three new venues we have just added – Hazuri Bagh, Dera, and Fateh Mahal. We have curated these venues to become the perfect royal picturesque backdrop for a dream wedding. We have a sound, experienced and seamless F&B and service system in place.
Today Noor Mahal has become a well-known name not just in northern India but we continue to see growing traction from every part of the country. We are also putting in efforts to get more guests from the farthest corners of India. Social Media, apart from traditional routes, has really helped us in connecting with customers from across geographies and showcasing what Noor Mahal stands for. We are quite active on Instagram and the engagement on this platform has generated good results for us.
Q. How much of the business at present is being generated from online travel agents vis-a-vis offline travel agents? Are you seeing a trend where more guests are now booking direct on your website?
A. With a change in travel and hospitality preferences, booking patterns are also changing. Modern guests prefer to book their travel through OTAs as it provides them easy access to the best hotels, best prices, and ranking along with customization of their requirements. Online booking has completely changed the game around for the hospitality industry. While offline travel bookings are contributing considerably, the graph of bookings we receive online is definitely going upwards. Since we are witnessing an increase in the trend of millennials visiting us, maximum bookings come to us through online travel aggregators. Also, our guests are now increasingly booking directly on the Noor Mahal website.
Q. Do you also plan to promote Noor Mahal among international tourists?
A. With an in-depth understanding of guest expectations and intent to redefine design, experiences and authentic moments for today’s domestic and international tourists, we conceptualized Noor Mahal as a perfect interpretation of luxury. With Noor Mahal, we aimed for the fusion of tradition and culture portrayed in regal splendour.
Noor Mahal has proudly hosted International dignitaries, celebrities and foreign tourists on various occasions. Their feedback has always been very encouraging. We have plans to actively reach out to the global audience and extend our culturally rich heritage and warm Indian hospitality experience to them.
Q. Are there some challenges being faced by you as a hospitality player in Karnal?
A. Karnal has not been a very popular destination for tourists and experience seekers, so there are not many hospitality players in this area. But we have seen this as an opportunity more than a challenge. We are the only 5-star hotel in a 100 km radius in a very culturally rich and vibrant belt of India. Karnal is conveniently connected with all major cities in the north and provides an opportunity to get away from the chaos of big cities. We are also at a very convenient distance from Indira Gandhi International Airport. This has been a plus point for us in appealing to our guests.
Initially, the challenge we faced was in hiring talented hospitality professionals, but when we changed our approach, we saw it as an opportunity to work with the local talent. The local youngsters may not be professionally qualified but with the right training and their natural knack for Indian hospitality, they become perfect hosts. No professional training can teach the warmth essential for hosting.
Q. Do you also plan to open hotels in other parts of India? If yes please provide details.
A. We would love to expand our footprint in other parts of the country but as of now, our focus is on setting ultimate hospitality benchmarks with the existing property. We are in the process of expanding the existing property and catering to the increasing demand.