Inside Ibis Mumbai Vikhroli: Puneet Dhawan on the risk of opening their biggest Maharashtra property after pandemic

The economy hotel chain Ibis inaugurated its biggest property in Maharashtra in Vikhroli, Mumbai this month. The new development also marks a structural and aesthetic detour in the global chain owned by Accor. Traditionally considered a business hotel chain, Ibis Vikhroli has incorporated changes to suit the needs of the ‘millennial and Gen-Z business traveller.’

In an interview with Firstpost, Puneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President - Operations, Accor India & South Asia, opens up on the risk of starting a new hotel as the hospitality industry still copes with coronavirus restrictions, and adapting to a style different from the Ibis template. Edited excerpts below:

It has been a difficult year-and-a-half for the hospitality industry. What gives you the gumption to start a new property, and that too the biggest one in Maharashtra, after what your industry has been through in recent months?

Yes, it’s been a tough time, not just for us but across industries, and the world in general. But things are looking up now. In India, about 70 to 75 percent population has been vaccinated with at least one dose. People have started travelling again, for both work and leisure. Look at all the long queues at airports! This is our 20th Ibis hotel and 55th Accor product. On 1 October, Accor opened Novotel Chandigarh. And before that, Raffles Udaipur opened its doors to the guests. So it’s been a good time for us.

Mumbai already has an Ibis at the airport. What made you open another one in the city, particularly in Vikhroli?

Yes, this is the sixth Ibis in Maharashtra. There are two in Pune, and one in Nasik too. Vikhroli is an upcoming market. In fact, we feel it’s already big. It’s a commercial hub so has great prospects for Ibis, which is globally known as a business hotel chain. There’s the office of WeWork right across the road. Also, Powai is 15 mins away. So this is only going to get better.

[caption id=“attachment_10065021” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Puneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President - Operations, Accor India and South Asia[/caption]

The new property has been designed for the “new-age traveller.” What changes have you incorporated in the design?

Ibis is an economy hotel but that doesn’t mean that we don’t up our game in providing the services the traveller of today needs. We’ve made the look of the new hotel quirkier, and played with fonts and colours in the interiors. We’ve also tried to make technology a big part of the property. There’s digital check-ins and check-outs, as the pandemic has taught us, that’s just an easier, safer, and more environment-friendly way to record. Also, we now have smart TVs in the rooms so the guests can tune into their desired OTT platform as that’s also enjoyed massive popularity during the pandemic.

Along with that, we’ve also tried to focus on the young demographic in our hotel staff. Instead of having very streamlined departments like F&B and Front Office, we’ve tried to mix things up. Since most of our staff are new recruits starting off in the hospitality sector, you’ll see some of them checking in the guests in the morning and then serving in the cafeteria in the afternoon. This will allow them to experiment and find their footing. A lot of them are recruits from this area so it’s also easier for them to communicate with the local guests.

[caption id=“attachment_10065071” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Ibis adapts local motifs like the Mumbai local train for the look and design of their hotel rooms in Vikhroli[/caption]

Are local guests also a target group for Ibis Vikhroli, given that the brand is known to largely focus on tier-1 travellers, particularly in the corporate sector?

Of course. We’ve tried attracting the local customer base in other cities, and it has worked wonders. For example, the Ibis at Gurugram is situated on the Race Course Road. Yes, that’s a commercial hub but there’s also a lot of local customers who are more than willing to stay at the property, and also book it for weddings and other private functions.

In Vikhroli, we aim to spread the word locally to attract guests for weddings and other functions too. Weddings have become a smaller affair due to the COVID restrictions, which may fare well for an economy hotel like Ibis. We offer the hygiene, facilities, and budget required for those weddings and other affairs. We’re also opening another property in Thane so you can say that our focus is not Tier-1 anymore.

Is the shift in focus also a result of the dip in international travel?

Not consciously. We’ve always been open to the local market. Yes, international travel has taken a backseat but as the world becomes safer, it will resume soon. Our borders are already opening in mid-November and given our vaccination levels and number of cases, it’s only a matter of time the international traveller feels comfortable to visit India for work and leisure. But yes, we’ve seen, and continue to witness, great occupancy thanks to domestic travel. I think the domestic traveller is itching to travel again.

[caption id=“attachment_10065081” align=“alignnone” width=“588”] Ibis, known as a global economy brand of hotels for business travel, has tweaked its design for the new-age traveller. Above is the quirky look of its 24x7 restaurant and cafeteria Spice It.[/caption]

But once international travel resumes, will you lose the domestic base? How do you plan to retain them?

I think what the pandemic has also done is to introduce Indians to the gems of their country. They’ve discovered new, beautiful places to visit, and I doubt they’ll diss that for a vacation overseas all the time. Yes, there’ll always be those travelling to the South of France and skiing in the Alps. But domestic travel is just easier. You don’t need to plan extensively and most destinations are a flight away. I don’t think the convenience of travel can always be replaced by the luxury of a foreign vacation.

Also, the travel trends that the pandemic led to, like staycations and workations, do you think they will continue to be as popular once the situation returns to normal?

I’m sure some of it will stay. For example, staycations are huge in China. Nuclear families there love to book a hotel suite for the weekend and spend quality time together. The family structure of India is also gradually heading into the nuclear direction. And there’s an inherent trust involved with a global chain like Ibis. So many of the families, or even groups of friends, decided against going to a bar or restaurant during the weekend because they’re unsure of the hygiene standards there. They consider hotels like ours much safer, which is why staycations became so popular, and are here to stay. As far as workations are concerned, there are different types of those. In the pandemic, what we also saw was project-based travel, where people working from home would visit cities for client meetings. This is a transition phase so I believe we’ll have the best of both worlds — the pandemic trends will continue to stick as both international and domestic markets will feel comfortable to travel again.