Harshvardhan Neotia

 2020 was a transitional year for Ambuja Neotia Group, where it re-evaluated revenue generation and allocation to increase the bottomline. Since corporate and MICE travel was expected to take a while to revive, it identified contemporary segments, like domestic tourists, to compensate the loss in corporate business.

“We constantly sought newer opportunities to leverage our expertise and diversify our service offering to protect and rebuild our revenue stream,” said Harshvardhan Neotia, Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group. “While we added new clients every month, it hasn’t been easy. It took lots of effort and humility.”

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT
As challenges surrounding COVID-19 mounted, the Group spun its business models for short-term survival and long-term growth. In addition to converting some of its F&B outlets to focus on home delivery, it started offering a flat rate for set number of meals per week or month for quarantined patients.

“Another pivot was offering pre-cooked dishes with accompaniments using ingredients from our restaurants, which guests could prepare at home. We optimised our menus and introduced home catering services for smaller groups,” Neotia stated.

Adopting flexibility as its business mantra, the real estate major decided to accept change rather than resist it. It partnered with the West Bengal government to convert 30 luxury bungalows at Ffort Raichak Resort into temporary quarantine centres and healthcare support stations.

As touch-free became the industry buzzword, the group also introduced contactless interactions at various touchpoints and adopted newer forms of payment technologies. Further, it updated its booking policies allowing guests to book future travel without worrying about cancellation fees and penalties. These moves buttressed the hospitality chain’s bottomline during trying times.

LOOKING FORWARD
Ambuja Neotia Group implemented several cost-cutting measures and revenue-maximising strategies to recover losses incurred during the pandemic. Following a utility audit, it shifted to energy-efficient HVAC solutions to reduce cost. “While these temporary modifications may not have started out as a choice, these implementations will be a profitable long-term strategy,” Neotia stated.

The group also partnered with IHCL where the latter would operate five hotels – Ambuja City Centre II (formerly Swissotel) and Eco Park in Kolkata, Ambuja City Centre Patna, as well as upcoming properties at Darjeeling’s Makaibari Tea Estate and Gangtok.

While the real estate company had pushed back some hotel launches in the past 18 months, these will be introduced when the economy reopens to help it cover lost ground.

Neotia hopes to launch the convention and lounge facilities of Taj Taalkutir at Eco Park Kolkata by March 2022, and make Taj City Centre in New Town operational by then. “Additionally, our hotels in Sikkim and Patna should be operational over the next two years and we hope to introduce hotels in Darjeeling and in Lataguri, Sunderbans, New Town and Digha,” he optimistically stated.