A serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, passionate about life and building successful businesses, Mansur Mehta, Managing Director, Suba Group of Hotels is a third-generation entrepreneur who has transformed the family business into one of India’s most successful and professionally run business houses.
Mr. Mehta’s life has been greatly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, the founding father of Independent India. “Be the change you want to see” he would say to all.
Today with us Mr Mehta, Managing Director, Suba Group of Hotels shares his thoughts on the hospitality industry in India and talks about the expansion plans of Suba Hotels.
- What according to you are the current trends in the hospitality industry and its growth in India?
Pandemic has caused a major shift in the way hotels and the hospitality Industry functions today. The focus has shifted to safety, hygiene, and enhanced customer experience.
Some trends that are in focus today are:
- Making remote working fashionable, accessible and comfortable – Thanks to Covid-19, an entirely new category of travelers have evolved who like to club business and leisure. They have made hotels their make shift offices which is a great opportunity for hotels and F&B venues to capitalize on. All these travelers need are plug sockets, free high-speed WIFI, good food, great coffee and a comfortable setting.
- Digitalizing the user experience – today’s new age traveler needs a digital-first experience. From getting alerts on phone to personalized messages on WhatsApp to contactless payments, voice control and biometrics are some of the new trends that are providing an enhanced user experience.
- Staycations and sustainability – No doubt guests have become much more conscious of their surroundings, environment and above all waste management. People like it when hotels give them sustainable solutions like proper cutlery inplace of disposable, in room tags on tips to save water and requests for not changing towels everyday because that consumes gallons of water and many more such initiatives. This also stems from the fact that people are preferring staycations than short trips. Relax and enjoy is the new mantra now.
- AI-enabled technology – The use of AI-enabled technologies in the hospitality industry is a game changer. From using VR to promote properties, menu, and sights to offering tech-enabled services, the industry is going the extra mile to serve its patrons.
- Give us a brief about the Suba Group of Hotel’s journey?
At Suba, our history is pretty interesting. We forayed into the hospitality industry in the year 1996 with our first hotel – Hotel Suba Palace – with only ten rooms. Starting from one property in South Mumbai, we have grown to own 5100 keys across 57 destinations from all over India. Our recent partnership with Choice Hotels Asia Pacific has allowed us to expand further. Today, Suba Group of Hotels is one of the fastest-growing hotel chains in India, offering customers a wide range of hotels, from Budget to Upscale.
Suba Group of hotels operates under the label of the following brands: Suba Hotels (upscale), 1589 Hotels, and Choice Hotels – which have Comfort (Budget), Quality (Upper-midscale), and Clarion (Upscale). The Click brand of hotels operates Click Hotels (Budget Hotels), Click Collection (Upscale Hotels), and Click Resorts. In the Budget segment, we have GenX and RNB. Every property of ours, irrespective of the category offers excellent quality service and a pleasant stay experience for modern travelers.
- What is the next step after becoming the master franchisor of Choice Hotels Asia Pacific?
As a next step, we are now working on the existing and underdevelopment properties of Choice Hotels in India under the brands Clarion™, Quality™, and Comfort™. This will enable us to expand further in Tier 1 cities where we think an international brand will help us compete effectively.
We will also be launching Choice Privileges which is Choices’ loyalty programme in partnership with other companies to provide a world class loyalty programme with multiple benefits.
We have extensive sales and marketing plans to make Suba Group of Hotels the preferred choice for all category travellers.
- What are the sustainability practices offered by the Hotel?
At Suba Group, we believe that being close to nature adds meaning to life. Working on the same philosophy, we follow some basic sustainability practices which have helped us become better and stronger. We offer improved energy capabilities, water, and waste efficiency in our hotels. Our choice of cleaning products is also environment friendly. All our properties have an EV Charger. We also have opex based solar panels installed for energy efficiency.
- Which states in India are you going to be focusing on next? Does the group plan to expand abroad as well?
Our growth strategy is very simple. We will be present wherever there is an opportunity. For places that would need an international brand, we would bring in Choice Hotels. And in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, we will go with Click Hotels. Currently, we have 5100 keys and our plan is to add close to 500 rooms every year.
We are also moving our focus from metros and concentrating on tier 2 and tier 3 places which have hill stations, resorts, and religious tourist destinations. Right now we are working on creating our presence in the North Eastern region of India and are in advanced talks with potential companies. We are also open to more acquisitions and are looking for hotels on offer. Apart from India, we do have plans for international markets like Africa and UAE.
” Right now we are working on creating our presence in the North Eastern region of India and are in advanced talks with potential companies”.
Mansur Mehta, Managing Director, Suba Group of Hotels.
- Where do you plan to take Suba Group of Hotels in the next 2-3 years?
Our aim is to make Suba Group of Hotels the largest hotel chain in India across categories – budget to upscale. All our properties offer spacious and sophisticated rooms, dynamic venues for hosting weddings, events and exhibitions, and a delightful dining experience at signature restaurants. We wish to continue elevating this experience for our guests. We are also building on our technology features for offering our guests a delightful, digital-first experience.
As mentioned above, we are open to acquiring more properties and expanding our hotel strength. We are a one-stop shop for all hotel needs – we build properties based on location, compliance and city. Our business model is also pretty simple – we either own a hotel, lease a property, be on a management contract, become a franchiser or work on revenue share basis.
