From a tour operator’s point of view, a travel desk in a hotel can be a permanent customer catchment area. For the hotel it can be a value addition. Travel Gazette India examines what hotels look for in their travel desk partners.
When he launched Bollywood Tourism in Mumbai, Harish Kale had to battle misconceptions about his product. “Everyone thought that Bollywood Tourism meant waiting for hours at sets to meet movie stars and watching endless takes whilst jostling with other fans. On the other hand, Bollywood barely tolerated the tourists,” Kale says.
He then chose the most effective route for reaching his target group. “Since we had created a viable product that had tie ups with everyone in Bollywood – dance, make up, sets and shooting, we introduced the product to the Concierge’s Association in Mumbai. We took them on fam trips, showcasing the tour and incorporating their suggestions,” says Kale, whose product is now popular with many hotels and the ministry as well.
Albert Amanna, the Head concierge at the Intercontinental in Mumbai and Western region president of Concierge Association of India tries out many products before recommending them to his guests. Medical tourism, new stores, restaurants, boutiques, car rental companies have all been vetted by him and his association, which even prints a map of Mumbai with all the hotspots marked on it.
He says: “We had tried a couple of Bollywood tours earlier for guests but they never came back happy. They’d be made to feel like thieves, silent observers. Once, 30-35 of our Malaysian guests were bundled into a Volvo and snuck into a studio in Goregaon. They had seen Universal Studio’s product in other countries.
So they felt cheated with the reception here. When Bollywood Tourism approached us, we decided to first try their product. Then we sent a couple of guests who came back and gave very good feedback.”
Selecting tour operator partners who can operate a travel desk in a hotel is serious business and very often hotel officials, including the GM are involved in creating systems. New tours are added only if the tour operator is reliable. “This is a serious area and we check credentials carefully before we invite tour operators to be a part of our hotel services. I’ll be monitoring them very closely for the first six months” says GM Sandeep Maitreya of Best Western, Skycity, Gurgaon.
Sometimes, the decision on which tour operators make the cut is taken jointly by the front office manager, chef concierge and director of rooms to ensure that guests are assured the same quality of service that they get at the hotel.
“When we handover our guests to tour operators that are out of our control we need to ensure that the guests are treated the same way as they would be at the hotel,” says Michael Gurpeet Singh, director of rooms, Courtyard by Mariott, Gurgaon.
Hotels are known to check references and often prefer vendors with proven credentials. “We check if they’re members of TAAI, or IATO any of the travel agent associations since India does not have licensing of any kind,” says Maitreya.
Red flags
Most hotels have developed their own checklist depending on their experiences with vendors in the past. “They must not discuss rates with guests, not solicit comments, not force guests to use specific stores for shopping, not look for personal gains,” are some of the things on the list of Gopu Nayar, Executive Assistant Manager, Alila Diwa Goa which has created a leisure concierge service for its guests.
Sales and Marketing Manager Megha Ajgaonkar speaks of her experience at Four Points by Sheraton in Navi Mumbai.
“In a small niche market you may have limited operators. If the same operator is being used by multiple hotels, they may get additional commercial benefit from other hotels and try to recommend those to our guests. We blacklisted a tour operator when we learned from a guest that he was recommending other hotels.”
Hotels also encourage tour operators to create all-inclusive packages with enough margins so that they are not soliciting tips from the guests. “Initially, there were many operators promising Bollywood tours and we had a lot of grievances,” says Ajgaonkar who has worked with the Taj Group in the past.
Amanna says, “Feedback commonly includes complaints about little things – the guest did not get a good car, the driver did not understand English, the AC did not work, the seat was too crowded etc.”
Starting on time is also important. Guests do not want to be kept waiting in the lobby. Maitreya says that the travel desk has to be equal in service to the hotel itself. “We actually train people in social skills, body language and give them information about the hotel as well,” he says.
New, improved
New products, introduced by tour operators in a leisure destination can often also lead to increased footfalls for hotels. Properties are keen to capitalise on this.
While non-room revenue primarily brings to mind the concept of allowing non-residential guests to enjoy the spa or the food, it could also mean opening certain sections of the hotel to day guests.
Ashley McBain, VP, Public Relations, Atlantis The Palm works with DMCs to send out guests on desert safari, as well as welcomes day guests to everything from the spa to the dolphin bay, aquaventure, the lost world etc.
“We have a laundry list of quality checks. Part of our strategy is to appeal to day visitors. And we ensure that our
partners when they are in the hotel deliver the same brand message with quality and consistency.”
Ajgaonkar says that hotels may start looking at partnering with good quality hospitals. “We see propensity of medical tourism picking up. There are no good tour operators in that stream,” she says.
“Hoteliers are always open to new surprises such as Kingdom Dreams in Gurgaon, Our concierge staff was invited for its launch and we may include them,” says Singh.
Harmit Kaur, revenue manager, Sahara Star, says, “The hotel has live entertainment for the guests lined up throughout the year. A few popular ones have been brought back on demand, such as the mermaids’ performance at ocean.”
Destination marketing
As a hallmark of a maturing industry, hoteliers and travel trade professionals are united in their desire to market a destination. Werner Lau in Maldives is a ubiquitous service provider for all diving and related activities.
Stationed inside the resort, they rent equipment, run sessions and work closely with the resort to create experiences that count. McBain says, “We are a part of destination Dubai and we would like to promote the destination as well as the resort.”
