Though its name being in Sanskrit spells a deep connection with India – Alila has just started making inroads into the country with two operational properties (a resort in Goa and a city-resort in Bengaluru) and one soon-to-be-opened property near Jaipur.
Alila is a 10-year-old brand that started in Indonesia and then moved to Singapore to set up a global corporate office. The brand manages hotels in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Maldives and has now come to India. The strongest appeal of the brand lies in its basic tenet, which is Alila is built on strong design principles that reflect the culture and environment of the destinations where it operates. “So, we try to protect and support the natural and cultural environment. We offer a well crafted and tailor-made product to our guest – a wealthy well-heeled globetrotter. What many of the bigger and safer hotels may not offer is such proximity to the local environment,” reveals Mark Edleson, president Alila Hotels and Resorts.
India that has thousands of potential destinations with vibrant cultural and artistic traditions, is the perfect playground for Alila, yet the brand is virtually unknown here. “We try to blend those traditions into both the design of our hotel and the guest experience. So each hotel is crafted specifically for its destination,” he adds. Hence, the experience begins from the property itself, where apart from the design, the team is empowered to interact as much as possible with the guests. Since most of the staff is local, they tend to become the connect between the guest and the destination. People tend to remember personal interactions from a holiday more than the shopping or the rooms they stayed in, Edleson believes.
“I have always had a fascination for India, but it is not easy to get in here. We found the system of building hotels by developers a bit strange. Though we don’t invest, don’t have to clear land, get licenses and permits, these developers have a strong sense of their own capabilities and ideas. Alila being purely a service provider is to our disadvantage because of the passion we bring to the design of a hotel. So, we need to find like-minded developers,” Edleson reveals his pain points. While the brand follows certain systems and processes to maintain standards of operation, to protect the owner’s assets and take care of the cash flow, when it comes to conceptualising, designing or operating the hotel, Alila tries to keep an artisan outlook. “We do our best to maintain natural landscape and preserve the flora and fauna that make up the environment. The sustainability of the natural and cultural environment is key to the success of our hotels,” he says.
Comparing the working style in India with others in the region, Edleson is trying to come to terms with some facts. “In most other places, the owners come to us, with the awareness of the brand philosophy. Whereas in India, developers assemble local consultants, they build first and usually the last thing they think of is who will operate the hotel,” he rues. Building something without having thought through the experience makes it difficult for the brand in India, as it goes against the grain.
He doesn’t believe that they are late in entering India because market in the resort sector is so underdeveloped, he feels. “In fact, owing to the easing of infrastructure bottlenecks, we think it is a perfect time to come in. We have always seen India as a perfect destination for us because it has such a rich cultural heritage and natural diversity that there are numerous places where we could be present. The only hitch is in finding the right developers.”
Right now, the strategy has been to be present in destinations which are already catering to international tourism – hence Goa saw the opening of Alila Diwa Goa. Not wanting to miss out on domestic market as well, Bengaluru was targeted to open the Alila Bangalore as a city resort. “Since Rajasthan and Kerala also have been traditionally catering to foreign tourists, they are on our list,” he reveals. Alila has a property opening in Rajasthan sometime middle of next year near Jaipur. The brand is also exploring the possibility of some UNESCO sites, hill stations with tea plantations, coffee plantations, Himalayan towns — “there are all these wonderful places that have the essence which we are always on the lookout for,” he explains.
As the brand moves away from the international tourism circuit towards the domestic traveller, Edleson is confident that they stand to gain and grow, as people would come to understand the brand, though it would not be easy. What makes him positive about consolidating their presence is the fact that their niche is relevant today because people in the cities who are very particular about experience are becoming more discerning. “And we hope that through these travellers we will also be able to support the ecosystem and help create sustainable tourism,” he adds.
So how many Alila properties are we likely to see in India in the near future? “For us, it is not just about quantity, it is also about the quality. Each property
is a different story and design is the basic element of that story,” he confirms. The team works very closely with the architects and consultants to refine the conceptualisation and “think from the perspective of the guest experience”.
