Chanting The Green Mantra

Vithal Kamat Chairman and Managing Director,
Kamats Hotels India

Having pioneered a concept that has caught the fancy of the industry at large, Kamat Hotels (India) Limited has become synonymous with eco-friendly hotels.

From humble and modest beginnings, the Kamats Hotels India Ltd (KHIL) has created a unique mark for itself in the Indian hospitality industry with its environmentally sensitive hotels. "A clear vision along with determination and hard work have gone a long way in helping the group achieve successful results. They have helped lay down the foundation of the most successful restaurant chain and now a hotel major," Kamat asserts.

Of course, the brand equity of 'Kamats' has also gone up substantially over the years, with due credit to its eco-strategy. Kamat says, "Marketing and positioning of the property is an important aspect of the hospitality industry. Unto us was born a brand, unknown so far in the continent of Asia - a green hotel - environmentally sensitive, right from brick to paper and concerned about every little need of its guests."

The ‘Ecotel’ Brand

In its efforts to position this brand, it was proved that 87 per cent of international travellers patronise green hotels. This led to the need to tie up with HVS Eco Services of New York-based HVS International, to undertake specific environmental programmes. These programmes were designed to lower operating costs and increase revenues and evaluate the hotel's environmental performance in various areas. Needless to say, The Orchid - as it is aptly named - was awarded the prestigious 'Ecotel' certification', which is the hallmark of environmentally-sensitive hotels. "It became the first hotel in Asia to obtain the coveted certification," Kamat proudly exclaims.

"Our prime strategy has been to enhance the guest experience while setting new standards in conserving natural resources, educating, enlightening and motivating our staff and cultivating community relationships," Kamat says. The 42 international awards and the recent ISO 14001 certification reiterate these efforts of The Orchid.

Spreading The Message

Taking its environmental initiatives further, KHIL has entered into an MoU with HVS Eco Services (the certifying agency for environmentally-sensitive hotels) to facilitate the growth of Ecotels in Asia, and particularly India.

This will be done through its sister concern Concept Hospitality Ltd, which will operate on the certification and marketing the brand. In this process, four properties (Hotel Rodas and Lotus Suites in Mumbai, Uppal's Orchid in New Delhi and Jungle Lodges Resorts in Bangalore - a Government of Karnataka undertaking) have already opted for the certification.

"Guests form an integral part of our environmental campaign and our strategy has been successful on account of them. We have provided opportunities to our guests to be a part of our environmental programmes such as newspapers on request. Newspapers are delivered only on request, in a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag. Only about 50 per cent of our guests prefer a newspaper delivered to their rooms, which shows an increasing level of awareness," Kamat says. To translate this in terms of actual saving, he calculates that of the 2,31,960 check-ins that the hotel has witnessed so far, it has prevented the use of an equal number of plastic bags.

Another way the Ecotel does its bit is by informing guests about its energy saving programme at the time of check-in. All rooms have an eco button on the master control panel that increases the air-conditioned temperature by two degrees over a period of two hours. "Our Building Management System shows us the number of guest's participating in this programme, which averages at around 30 per cent daily. There are specially designed certificates and rewards for our 'eco-guests', which are mailed to their hometown," Kamat says.

Captilising on the growing trend of budget hotels, KHIL is the third Indian hotel company to venture into the mid-market budget segment. It will soon unveil its new no-frills eco-friendly hotel brand 'Kamfotel' in the country, starting with Maharashtra.