TTI in conversation with Kush Kapoor, CEO, Roseate Hotels & Resorts
1. How have been these 5 years for your company?
Ans: Roseate Hotels & Resorts has witnessed stupendous growth in the last five years. In these past years, not only did we open luxury hotels in India, but also managed to spread our reach overseas. Starting with The Roseate, the first-ever five-star resort in the NCR on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, we went on to open properties like Roseate House, a luxury business hotel in Delhi’s Aerocity, and The Roseate Ganges, a luxury riverbank resort in Rishikesh.
We opened three boutique luxury properties in the UK in London, Bath, and Reading, respectively. If we take away the year of pandemic, we have witnessed excellent year-on-year growth. Apart from the hotel expansion exercise, we also led some successful brand extensions. We started a luxury co-working space at our Aerocity hotel to target new-age start-ups and entrepreneurs. We created our in-house Indian sweets and desserts brand, ‘Mithai by Roseate’ to cater to our luxury customers. ‘Roasted By Roseate’ our in-house patisserie expanded beyond the hotel. The coffee shop by the same name is going great guns in the Vasant Kunj shopping complex. The last year, which we have been able to sustain ourselves through, thanks to our strong fundamentals-backed years of revenue growth, will go down as a watershed year in the annals of Roseate.
2. What are the Future expansion plans of the Company. Please elaborate.
Ans : We are looking at adding a mix of more owned and managed properties. Presently, Roseate Hotels & Resorts have 6 – owned and operated properties – with approximately 600 Keys.
We also plan to launch standalone outlets for in-house food brands Roasted and Mithai. As a brand expansion, we will also look at retailing products of our in-house spa and wellness brand Aheli Spa.
3. What is the current scenario in terms of business demands and what are your expectations in terms of demand, especially keeping the current covid situation in mind?
Ans: One thing that’s certain in these unprecedented times is that Covid 19 will continue to be the determining factor on the road map to the recovery of the hospitality world. Given the present scenario, it is unlikely governments will phase out stringent restrictions on air travel barring the bubbles. While international travel is on an all-time ebb and going to be like that for a long period of time, the demand for domestic travel is soaring and might reach pre-Covid levels sooner than later.
Due to the suppression of customer demand during the epidemic, the industry is expected to face a period of concentrated demand release after the epidemic. The Hotel Industry is presently witnessing a surge in demand for Staycations, the answer to weary millenniums and Work From Home employees who are in dire need of a vacation but with all the trappings of sanitation & hygiene. For The Roseate Ganges Rishikesh resort, we have a DRIVECATION PACKAGE: An ideal experience of direct transfer from your home to The Roseate Ganges in BMW with two nights stay in a deluxe villa inclusive of breakfast and lunch or dinner, WiFi, and a rejuvenating yoga session. This is Valid for Delhi NCR only
4. How has been the response from the corporate segment and the impact of the coronavirus so far on business. How do you plan to overcome the same?
Ans : MICE is yet to take off. However corporate travel has started and is inching towards pre-pandemic levels. The process is tardy. It ought to be. Small events related to product launches and corporate announcements are also being held albeit on a minimal scale. Apart from the pandemic scare, there are government stipulations on the number of guests or event attendees. There is a long way we get to see grandiose events, big-ticket launches, or promotions, which used to be commonplace in 2019.
5. What are the trends in booking vis a vis online, own website, and travel agents.
A lot of Guests are comfortable & more confident in booking directly post their stay with our Hotels & Resorts since they get comfortable & know our team very well from their stay experience. Overall, Website & direct bookings are on a rise now, travel agent bookings have taken a hit since Make my Trip has started a new process of roping in travel agents on their site to book the rooms. Online booking is also on the rise now with the rise in occupancies.
6 How has been the response from international Markets. What trend you are noticing?
Ans. International travel is going to take its own time and user confidence is equally important. International travel factors in level vaccination in countries (both outbound and inbound), number of active cases, virus mutation, and lastly, and most importantly traveler sentiment.
We are cautious as we see growth coming back but we also expect full recovery to take some time. It will not be months. Not even quarters. It might take years before we reach 2019 levels.