- How do you see the Indian Hospitality Industry shaping up in 2016?
Funding is available and mergers are happening. Demand is slowly creeping back in to somewhere match mad supply so days of blood bath may be soon over and 2016 will bring some clarity to owners general managers and everybody else and hopefully they won’t take knee jerk cash flow based decisions now.
- Do you see a change in consumer preferences and perceptions in the hospitality Industry? What are the factors influencing it?
Customers want value but we are adamant to give them discounts so they take them and still crib and you crib in return because you thought the discounts bought you the loyalty which is not a function of discounts so value for the guests and their families and personalization is the damn key. Use it.
- What are the factors that will drive the growth for Hospitality sector going forward?
Personalization will be the single most defining factor and if it’s tech led then you are the absolute winner I can write a cheque guaranteeing that today !
- Key Insights that you would want to share with the fraternity.
I mentored over 10 hospitality startups and another 300 are being born as we type this and let me tell you are in for crazy data driven industry that may make you and your staff redundant so if you ready to stay in the game learn to read data and make it make money for you. It’s not that hard.
- How important has Digital Marketing become in the Hospitality Industry in India today?
Without tech and digital you are either going to have to give your hotel to another chains run or change your line of work blaming the market whereas the market was never better. The change is huge and only 5 percent people adopting it so if you do too there’s no stopping success.
- How will the latest trends in Digital Marketing affect the marketing world of Hospitality Industry?
Over 20 mergers in Asia alone and as many world- wide will make the existing otas larger and stronger and grown their communist and dictatorship capabilities and hotel chains will merge and their loyalty programmes will force smaller chains to reduce price or look for further mergers and the small and independent with the human touch and personalization will remain the choice of millions and everybody who still prefers to play the watch and observe game will perish.
- Have smart phones played an important role in the revolution of the Hospitality Industry? Why or why not?
Smart phones are coming with wearable tech which will be inserted into our bodies in the name of 20 20 vision or better reflexes we will buy embed hardware and chips into our systems and soon you and I will have a Phillips eye and a Samsung ear and this is the beginning of us becoming robots.