Jatin Khanna, newly appointed Multi Property Vice President Bengaluru and General Manager Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield spoke with BW Hotelier about the challenges and rewards of his new position and where he thought the Bengaluru market was going.

BW HOTELIER asked newly appointed Multi Property Vice President Bengaluru and General Manager Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, Jatin Khanna about his new role and the challenges that lie ahead. Here is an excerpt from the interview.

BW Hotelier: Tell us about the responsibility you have, Marriott's total presence in the Bengaluru area?

Jatin Khanna: As Multi Property Vice President Bengaluru and General Manager for the Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield my responsibility involves managing the entire Marriott portfolio in Bengaluru city, our aim is to leverage the strength of the integrated portfolio and position ourselves as market leaders in each of the segments we operate within. At present Marriott has 10 brands operating in the city including the Ritz Carlton and the ITC Luxury collection.  

BWH: What is the biggest challenge you face, especially now that you guys have merged?

JK: With one of the biggest mergers in the hospitality industry Marriott now holds 24 percent of the market share within Bengaluru.  With an enriched portfolio such as ours, at present we do not foresee any challenges in the near future as we continue to grow our business across segments. We are more focused towards our loyalty programs, members of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) are now able to link their accounts at Members.marriott.com to start earning and redeeming points. We look to surge, share and grow our loyalty base across the city.

BWH: What does the hospitality market in Bengaluru look like to you?

JK: At present the hospitality industry in Bangalore is witnessing a double digit RevPAR growth driven primarily through ADR. Further, the sub market of Whitefield and Sarjapur are drivers off the growth in the city. On the other end of the spectrum IT & ITES, along with the retail segment that is also showing a positive growth trend with international brands setting base and opening new stores in the city.

BWH: In the present situation, what is the need of the hour, when it comes to hospitality in Bengaluru, what are the shortcomings in your portfolio, in your view?

JK: Traditionally Bengaluru has been perceived as a corporate market due to heavy transient demand. Once again, with the merger, we see opportunities coming our way with a strong brand presence within the city MICE is also a big focus area for us and we are working at  becoming the preferred destination for all big city wide events. With the Sheraton Grand Whitefield and Convention Centre soon to launch in the coming few months, we would have the largest meeting and convention space to offer in the city of Bengaluru.

BWH: What, in your view, would you say does the next two years look like to you? How could the current situation improve?

JK: There is positive sentiment in the market given the influx of the tourist due to introduction of e-visas to India.  In next two years there will be growth in both demand as well as supply within Bengaluru however keeping in view the pace of commercial development, occupancies will remain constant or see a marginally increase. The Marriott portfolio in Bengaluru is well spread out in terms of the inventory and brands that are presently existing within the city. We will be the only city in India to host 10 operating brands of Marriott with 12 managed hotels over the next 6 months these, statistics are part of our managed portfolio.

BWH: Who is the biggest competition for the Marriott hotels in the city? Do you think there will be a hit in business due to the IT sector retrenchments, actual as well as expected?

JK: Given our size and spread we compete with other Luxury and Upscale hotels present in the Central Business District. Within micro markets like Whitefield, we compete with other full service hotels in terms of the upper upscale products. In Outer Ring Road, we compete with budget hotels as there are no luxury hotels in that belt. From a Marriott perspective, the market looks buoyant as we’ve haven’t seen a slowdown in the business. With the diverse portfolio we have in Bangalore we continue to grow at a fast pace.

BWH: When it comes to new business, what is it that you think, will impact the market most? How do you plan to be different in the way that you approach new business and how will you get it?

JK: With the current market scenario we observe a dip in the occupancies rate majorly on weekends. In order to drive business especially in the leaner periods we will need to devise new tactical strategies and view opportunities from a new angle. In a nutshell weekend occupancy is going to be a game changer strategy for the industry on a whole.  In the social segment, we are looking at attracting potential clients that have been active only near the Central Business District and Palace Grounds so far. Meetings Imagined, which is an owned property of Marriott, drives a competitive advantage in the meetings and catering space. We are also looking at introducing new concepts at our F&B outlets that will attract a lot more non-residence foot-falls and will help in leveraging the whole concept of social segmentation for our portfolio. Overall we see the diversity of brands as a way to continue tailoring the hotel experience for our guests, so no matter what they are looking for, when they travel we have an option that will suit their needs. The combined portfolio enables us to better serve our guests as we truly do have the best brands and best service opportunities to offer.