BY BABITA KRISHNAN
With the huge gap in demand and supply of rooms and inadequate MICE facilities in India, several developers and both domestic and international hotel operators are looking at setting up hotel properties in the country. India’s hotel pipeline is considered to be the second largest in the Asia Pacific region and the hospitality sector is expected to grow at a rate of 8.8 per cent per annum, making India the second fastest growing tourism market in the world. But building a cost-effective hotel with minimal time and less labour remains a prime challenge for all stakeholders in the industry. Hotel Build India 2013 was organised with the aim to bring together all of them on one platform to discuss the pitfalls, merge synergies and look at the way forward.
While a hotel creation can be visualised and interpreted in a number of ways, being subjective, one thing is certain that the final outcome is a result of the coming together of a number of people from different faculties for the one purpose — build a aesthetic property that is built sustainably and responsibly ensuring the stake holders maximum returns.Hotel Build 2013 was created to get the industry together for establishing innovative and cost effective construction, architecture and design techniques that will propel the build of hotels across all segments to commercial success.
The first day of the conference concentrated on the construction and services part of hotel build with the keynote given by Deepak Uppal, executive director, Vatika Hotels after the opening address by Karthik Rajaraman, the event producer and Sai Kumar, deputy managing director, ITP Publishing along with Rajesh Pillai, general manager, retail & hospitality segment, Philips Lighting. Babita Krishnan, editor, Hotelier India and chairperson for the day started the day’s proceedings with introducing the first presenter for the day Rajiv Puri, vice president, architecture, design and construction, Marriott International, who spoke about identifying the emerging hotel build, architecture and design trends in the changing hotel industry across India.
The CEO panel discussion was preceded by a corporate address given by Sanjay Durani, associate head market development, Lubrizol Advanced Materials India. Moderated by Vijay Thacker, director, Horwath HTL India, the CEO panel of Rajiv Puri, Deepak Uppal, Philip Logan, vice president Formule1 India, Stephen Albert, vice-president, WATG, Ajay Bakaya, executive director, Sarovar Hotels, Vinayak Mahtani, CEO, Unique Precise International and Khozema Chitalwal, principal architect, Designers Group, discussed how effective networking with key stakeholders will aid rapid, cost-effective and sustainable hotel build — an necessity now.
A logical way forward from here was to discuss each aspect of design in detail. The first in line was lighting with N Mohan, director lighting application services, Philips Electronic India giving a presentation on the futuristic, energy saving and sustainable lighting solutions. This was followed by P Bhaskhar, director, business development, Tyco Fire and Security India talking about the importance of security devices to safeguard people and the hotel.
The post lunch session concentrated on space planning with architect Stephen Albert speaking about leveraging innovative architectural techniques in maximizing space planning to effectively plan the hotel room grid. He presented two case studies that left the audience awestruck with the extent to which one can innovate and be creative with an eye on the cost. This was followed by a presentation by Sandeep Kohli, senior manager applied business group Daikin Airconditioning where he spoke about the latest technological advancements that are cost effective and sustainable. Another presentation by Desh Raj, associate manager, building and construction northzone of Kirlosker Brothers also highlighted the innovative products for the hospitality industry from their brand.
The last segment of day one touched upon the emerging interior design trends with a presentation by Ritu Bhatia Kler, managing director, Total Integrated Design India on the futuristic interior design trends that will be cost-effective as well as have an aesthetic appeal for the hotels. She drew examples from the various projects that the firm has done both in India and overseas.
Philipn Logan was the moderator for the last panel discussion for the day which discussed working around innovative techniques in a hotel build to minimize the per key development cost. The panel had Andrew Saldanah, general manager, pre-opening services ITC Hotels, Partha Chatterjee, founding director and advisor to the board Keys Hotels, Amar Subash, general manager, technical services, Tyco Fire and Security, Carlyle Pereira, general manager, technical services, Indian Hotels Company, Amitabh Tyagi, regional director, design and technical services, Starwood and Rohit Jain, design manager, TID India.
The day’s proceedings had everyone involved as the audience asked the presenters and the panelist many questions and the interaction continued informally over tea and lunch breaks as well. The highlight of the day was the speed networking which was enjoyed by all the delegates and much appreciated by the partners who got to meet everyone participating in the conference.
The logical next step to the previous day, that was about trends, cost and the way forward, was to discuss aspects of building a hotel. The chair person for the day, Ravinder Kumar Singh, hospitality development and energy advisor, began the conference with case studies that showcase innovative techniques in speedy hotel build. The first was by Manoj Nandkeolyar, general manager, development, Country Inns and Suites; and the second was by Harpal Singh Saggu, CEO of Synergy Thrislington and owner of Marriott Chandigarh. Everyone was amazed by Saggu’s presentation of the hotel that he constructed within 48 hours and this generated a long discussion between him and the audience about the reliability of such a construction.
The main concentration of day two was on sustainability and Singh moderated the first panel discussion on cost-effective green architecture and design being the way forward. The panel had Nandkeolyar, Param Kannampilly, chairman and managing director, Concept Hospitality, Niranjan Khatri, general manager, WelcomEnviron Initiatives, ITC, hotels, and M Anand, senior councellor, Indian Green Building Council. This was followed by a presentation by Col (Retd) Amit Sehgal, director operations, Ozone Overseas and then a panel discussion on drywall, moderated by Ashutosh Puranik, sector head hospitality, Saint Gobain Gyproc India. On the panel to discuss this latest construction innovation were Singh, Uppal, Rajiv Batra, director design, Accor India, Richard Jackson, associate director, Arup India, and Babul Ganguly, CPO, Duet India Hotels. Jackson followed up the discussion with a presentation on pre-fabricated hotels, which was followed by a presentation on exploring the possibilities of structural steel and its advantages over conventional construction by Sanjay Modi, CEO, Interarch Infrastructure. In keeping with the theme of the conference, Bhavesh Vora, senior manager, industry solutions-hospitality, presented the technology solutions provided by
AGC Networks.
One aspect that cannot be ignored by the industry is the spas but to ensure that they become a value addition to the hotel’s revenue is a different proposition altogether. Dr. Manish Patwardhan, founder and CEO, Urban Nirvana Wellness Corporation showed the way to effectively integrate the spa into the peroperty’s scheme of things through
his presentation.
The panel discussion on evaluating the actual cost savings in the overall operating cost of the hotel through renewable energy and waste management, water harvesting techniques, etc. was moderated by Singh and had some of the most respected names in this field in discussion. Kannampilly, Khatri and Anand shared their experiences and urged the industry to take more initiatives to turn green. This was followed by a presentation on ASSA ABLOY India by Vikas Gandh, country general manager. Singh gave a presentation on HVAC solutions that will require less maintenance and be sustainable in the long run and kept the audience interested by sharing some amusing anecdotes from his experience in both India and abroad. The last presentation of the day was on evaluating the mixed use property concept that would increase revenue and guests into the hotel by Amit Nagpal, director of development, Hyatt Hotels and resorts.
What came through over the two-day conference was the need for all the stakeholders to be involved and equally responsible in creating what would be a unique experience for the guests. Partners like Mitras Technocrafts, Zenat Slimming Systems, Info Tech Services and Super Stone along with the others were able to showcase their products to the right audience and generate interest and awareness about the services or products.
The most important point that came out of the conference was everyone admitting and agreeing to the fact that sustainability in construction and operations is the way forward.
