Leading the green brigade

Vithal Kamat, CMD, Kamat Hotels India, feels that initiating eco-conscious hospitality has helped the hotel build a brand equity that has become an industry benchmark

From humble beginnings, Kamat Hotels India (KHI) has carved a niche for itself in the Indian hospitality industry with environmentally sensitive hotels. Its increasing brand equity has made the Kamat name synonymous with value for money.

It all started with a small restaurant that became so successful that it led to the birth of Kamat Plaza Hotel. In September 1995, the hotel's management decided to upgrade and reopen its property as a five-star hotel. Thus was born The Orchid, Asia's first eco-friendly five-star hotel. To capture the pulse of the ever-growing number of Indians domiciled abroad - all with a keen appetite for Indian food, particularly Udipi cuisine, the group expanded its restaurant businesses to Belgium, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, United Kingdom, New York and Boston.

The game plan

Vithal Kamat reveals his strategy, "Marketing is one of the most important aspects of the hospitality industry followed closely by positioning. We came up with the concept of a green hotel brand that was environmentally sensitive, right from brick to paper."

Research has shown that a large percentage of international travellers patronise green hotels. In an effort to position this brand, the group tied up with an international firm, HVS Eco Services of HVS International, New York. It was hired to undertake specific environmental programmes, designed to lower operating costs and increase revenues as well as evaluate the hotel's environmental performance in various areas.

Kamat exclaims, "The Orchid received the prestigious Ecotel certification, which is the hallmark of environmentally conscious hotels, becoming the first one in Asia to obtain the coveted certification." He says that the group's prime strategy has been to enhance the guest experience while setting new standards in environmental responsibility and conservation of natural resources as well as educating and motivating staff and cultivating community relationships.

Spinning off Concept Hospitality Limited (CHL) in 1996 as a management company proved to be a visionary step by the organisation. Today CHL offers services in the areas of consultancy, hotel management and marketing while facilitating growth of other green hotels in Asia. Kamat says, "Positioning a new hotel in the market is very important. With sky-rocketing developmental costs, it has become mandatory to implement innovative marketing ideas. It is equally important to understand that development itself is a long process and as such the hotel industry has a long gestation period. To partly fund these projects, some of them are designed for multiple use in which a certain percentage of the hotel rooms are pre-sold, so that owners have some amount of capital."

Along the way, CHL entered into an MoU with HVS Eco Services to facilitate growth of ecotels in Asia, particularly India. Through this alliance CHL was to operate the certification and market the brand. Besides The Orchid in Mumbai, other hotels like Uppal's Orchid, Rodas, Lotus Suites, Ceebros and properties belonging to Jungle Lodges & Resorts have also been certified as ecotels.

On the horizon

Capitalising on the growing trends in budget hotels, KHI is the third Indian hotel company to venture into the mid-market budget segment. It will soon unveil its new no-frills hotel brand ‘Kamfotel’ in the country, starting with a property in Maharashtra. "Rooms at Kamfotels will be priced very strategically, ranging from Rs 1,200 in secondary markets to Rs 2,000 in a metro," Kamat reveals.

Also on the anvil are its expansion plans within the country and internationally. After Mumbai, Delhi and Goa, the group is actively seeking partnerships and business opportunities in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Bangalore and Pune. On the international front, the Orchid brand will be making its presence felt in Qatar and South Africa by the end of 2006. Commenting on this Kamat says, "We are looking at projects in the UK, USA and the Middle East markets."

Kamat believes…

He feels that tourism in India is certainly looking up. "With the government taking active interest in the industry today, efforts to improve our infrastructure will certainly go a long way in boosting tourism and hospitality in the country. I personally believe that the government has certainly opened up to this possibility and is seeing potential in our sector," he says.

He adds, "It is clear that in keeping with the many predictions that industry gurus are making, the mid-market budget hotel segment is here to stay. Considering the increasing frequency of travel - business or leisure - in this segment, the market offers enormous business potential and is expected to grow manifold in the years to come."