A buffet that’s food for a king and yet, the spread frustrates a guest battling health issues. Should hotels accept more responsibility for their guests’ wellbeing, asks Manav Thadani.
As a consultant, I often provide advice that we all need a strong unique selling point (USP) when selling our hotels. Starwood Hotels have their Heavenly Bed and Shower. Marriott, IHG and our very own ITC hotels have been talking about going ‘Green’ in a big way. What’s the next ultimate edge for a hospitality group? What can be so new that it could be considered radical yet empowering, for a hotel’s guests?
The new mantra is ‘Me, my health, my diet, my lifestyle’. For the hospitality professional, this translates into the guests’ health. The global Indian traveller has relished every move the industry has made in providing comfort, care and ambience, but, she/he would benefit the most from the one ultimate challenge the industry has hesitated to face – being a personal watchdog for the health challenges faced by their guests.
Hotels in India need to adapt and the first ones to successfully differentiate this will be the ones to definitely gain. A company that I have been tracking is Nutritionvista (NV), which perhaps provides just this.
It is common knowledge and an unfortunate fact that our country, which is coming into its own with an emerging middle class, is also being challenged by diseases of affluence like diabetes and heart disease.
India has amongst the world’s largest population of diabetics and heart disease sufferers, but there are no qualitative answers to their health needs while they are our guests. When we do a market segmentation of our guests we should now address this critical fact.
The diabetic population in urban India is projected to increase from 40-million in 2001 to 47-million people in 2010. Thirty two per cent of the affected population is in the high socio-economic group and can hence be considered a regular business guest.
Hypertension prevalence among urban Indians is up 15%, translating into a rise from 118.2 million in 2000 to 213.5 million by 2025.
Should a hotel’s marketing and food and beverage teams not unite therefore to ensure that preliminary efforts are made towards this large unrecognised segment of business? In fact, the current downturn in the hotel sector should force us to act by adapting menu plans and food offerings, and addressing portion sizes that cater to this urban guest who should not have to worry whether the next meal placed in front of him will cause havoc with his blood pressure or sugar levels.
That the ingredients will not contribute to clogged arteries and empty fat calories, nor unwanted weight gain; in other words, provide personalised healthy eating alternatives.
HVS recently introduced NV to one of their restaurant chain clients with successful results. Sales for those items verified and certified by NV were definitely stronger and, as a result, more items got health certified due to demand, thereby indirectly increasing sales for the restaurant chain, leading to a win–win situation all around.
State-of-the-art gyms and spas answer the call for a guest’s exercise and relaxation needs. Now, restaurants too could go up a notch by offering dietary/nutrition elements to their guest’s work/life, helping stabilise a health condition, energy levels and removing worries during their stay.
Location is often a factor in hotel selection. Could this large, untapped segment of potential demand generators be the next deciding factor in choosing you over others?
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