It is forecasted that India is set to see addition of 70,000 branded rooms by the end of this decade. This makes me wonder if the tourism & hospitality industries have the required skilled workforce to service this kind of inventory and guests in the coming five years. While the answer is a clear No, there needs to be thorough discussion on standardisation of brand service across geographies, and hotel establishments.
During my recent visit to a property just off the national capital, where a reputed chain has now flagged its brand name to a palace hotel, I noticed the lack of standardisation in service quality as well as infrastructure. Just rebranding a property without any substantial change on the ground defeats the entire purpose, not only the brand, but also from the guest perspective. Missing the ethos of the mother brand is not what we can term as branded accommodation. Localisation is important, but equally crucial is to up the ante to meet service demands.
Time and again we have seen how the Indian traveller is evolving, and more so with AI and personalisation. No longer can a guest be satisfied with a cookie cutter model. Whether it is hospitality or travel, brands needs to pick up pace to entice the demanding traveller. Despite the premium rates of hotels in India, guests are facing the problem of plenty, and it’s only a wise choice to invest in training, infrastructure update and tech solutions to drive efficiency and mitigate challenges.
