Anuraag Bhatnagar

Three months after he joined The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts as COO, the pandemic brought things to a standstill. That’s when Anuraag Bhatnagar knew it was the ideal opportunity to creatively reassess the company’s business approach and devise effective strategies to match evolving customer behaviour.

“Our focus shifted to ‘Reimagine, Redesign and Reset’. We ensured that we not only met guest expectations, but exceeded them, while staying true to our brand value and delivered a true
luxury experience,” he stated.

This was also the time to highlight #LeelaCares for its 3,500 associates across 10 hotels, guests and communities. It partnered with Bureau Veritas India to launch the ‘Suraksha’ certification programme and undertook a vaccination drive for associates and their families. Moreover, it leveraged technology to alleviate guest experiences and empower its associates. Solutions like contactless check-in, digital menus, e-publications, guest feedback system and e-butlers with Whatsapp were integrated at a war footing to offer real-time response.

“We used this time to invest in people, technology and build a robust sales, marketing and distribution ecosystem,” Bhatnagar added. “We revamped our HR practices with associate benefits that are contemporary.” This included rolling out a recovery plan to assist COVID-19 affected employees with benefits like paid leave during the quarantine period and financial grant to cover their health expenses.

On the brand side, the three-decade old company instituted key strategic partnerships. Designer Manish Malhotra became the brand ambassador of ‘Weddings by The Leela’, the butler service was revamped and ceremonial rituals were redesigned.

TIME WELL SPENT
Bhatnagar’s focus the past few months has been on safely reopening Leela properties in a phased manner and carefully planning for the return of associates as these hotels scale back up. “Our business outlook and strategy has been concentrated on maintaining market leadership while remaining cautiously optimistic,” Bhatnagar stated. “We are amongst the few brands that launched new properties amidst the pandemic to positive response.”

He cited the example of The Leela Palace Jaipur, which opened in February 2021, and reinforced the company’s ability to quickly convert from another brand and yet show market leading returns. The newly-opened The Leela Gandhinagar underpins its presence in the events space along with the upcoming The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru.

As the economy reopens, Bhatnagar has adopted a multipronged approach. “Safely reopening our hotels and carefully preparing our teams to return to work; gradually building consumer and associate confidence, reassuring them our hotels are the cornerstone of sanitisation; devising strategies to elevate guest experiences; driving demand through compelling offers around what matters most to our guests,” he ticked off his fingers.

The pandemic underlined the unpredictability of the world we live in and how quickly things can quickly change to impact the entire world. This is where Bhatnagar relied on his inherent skill to be agile, adaptable and communicate effectively.

“To quickly to respond to an ever-evolving business environment, consumer behaviour and expectations without compromising on our service standards or the brand’s core DNA placed us in good stead,” he opined. A strong proponent of transparent, timely and effective communication, he believed that engaging with stakeholders and keeping them updated on the latest developments in a dynamic environment is the golden key to success.