At BW HOTELIER’s latest webBlast series, The GM Show titled Hotel Business in Goa’s Tourism Landscape, hospitality industry experts discussed on the changes the state's hospitality business has witnessed over the years

Goa, not just truly cosmopolitan, is an amazing tapestry of all that India stands for, be it diversity of culture and gender or for that matter its cuisine and way of life. Goa stands out for a very rich value and open system and affords India an amazing hospitality, travel and tourism success story to take to not just the world, but to the rest of the country to try and emulate and carve their fair share under the sun and be counted. Having said that, Goa’s hospitality business has undergone so much change in its tourism landscape over the years. The state gone beyond beaches, F&B and has so much to offer… be it be: MICE, destination parties and weddings.

In another episode of BW HOTELIER’s webBlast series titled Hotel Business in Goa’s Tourism Landscape, a group of distinguished panellists from the hospitality industry united to discuss this subject. Industry stalwarts who voiced their opinions in the discussion included Rajendran Menon, General Manager, The Zuri White Sands, Goa Resort & Casino; Sunil Kumar, General Manager, The Westin Goa; Suveer Sodhi, Complex General Manager, Alila Diwa Goa; Surajit Chatterjee, General Manager, Holiday Inn Goa Candolim; Arjun Kaggallu, General Manager, Hyatt Centric Candolim Goa and Ricardo D’Lima, General Manager, Fortune Miramar, Goa. Bhuvanesh Khanna, CEO, BW Communities, hosted and moderated the show.

The show began with the host-moderator putting up the first question to Ricardo D’Lima on if he was to introduce Goa for the uninitiated as a General Manager, what would it be? To this, he replied, “I think Goa needs no introduction. It has moved away from just being about sun, sand and party and become a destination for people arriving here for its unique culture, heritage, village life and offbeat places it offers. They come here to do things they can’t do back home – riding a bike, kayaking in Palolem, drinking feni and more. They can themselves without being judged by anyone. Hotels too have captured the imagination of the people and we, at Fortune Miramar, have curated various experiences as other hotels do too. We have feni trails, heritage walks and bicycle or e-bike tours. From the beginning, we understood that Goa is a leisure market and that’s the reason that our breakfast goes on till noon as you can’t be telling a guest to be within a set time frame. It needs to be laidback and leisurely. That’s our USP.” Goa is the go-to destination for weddings, MICE and other events, he adds. D’Lima also shared that with the infrastructure getting better with the day, things have started to look up. “Goa was, is and will be the most sought-after destination in India,” he said.

Sustainability and responsible hospitality are no more just the buzzwords. Guests today across age groups and strata are aware, conscious, careful and touchy about these values and the younger generations are absolutely clued in and can embarrass and give any non-compliant hotel a matching review which will hurt. Sharing his views, Suveer Sodhi said, “Sustainability is very close to our hearts at Hyatt Hotels. And Alila as a brand specifically has had this as one of its prime pillars ever since its inception. Alila Hotels have always thought that sustainability is not something we do to bring in more guests but because that’s the only way we know how to operate. If hotels don’t follow sustainability passionately then it can have a huge negative impact on the environment. Sustainability is a part of us hoteliers.” 

Sodhi cited the example of the installation of a fully automated water bottling plant at the property last month. “Just by this small step, we have eradicated 350,000 plastic bottles annually. Imagine its impact on the environment. Even on the food front, we have the philosophy of ‘thoughtfully source and carefully serve’ and that is what we do across all Hyatt hotels,” he added. 

The next question went to Sunil Kumar who was asked if Goa has the best assets across hospitality classifications and what and where is the scope of bringing in more assets. “From a luxury to a budget, Goa has a hotel to offer to everyone but my only apprehension is the absence of infrastructure. For a guest, the offerings are many but for an operator, it is not an easy city to handle. At least from where we operate, there is zero infrastructure. We even struggle to have simple things like STP water because we don’t have a drainage system in place. We don’t pump out any water from the hotel but in Goa as a city, we don’t have the chillers but VRVs where the consumption of water is limited. And then there is the issue of excess water. Even if we are ready, the tankers are not ready to take it from us. What is normal in any other city is a luxury in Goa.” 

On being asked how has Goa’s infrastructure and connectivity improved over the years and how does he compare it with other states, Surajit Chatterjee replied, “In terms of infrastructure, development and connectivity, there have been a lot of changes over the last decade plus. For a state like Goa which is highly dependent on travel and tourism, infrastructure is definitely crucial for its growth and the competitive market. The state is witnessing a lot on the infrastructure front – the widening of the natonal highway, completion of Atal Setu, Zuari Bridge work is taking place at a fast pace and the new MOPA airport. On the improvement of infrastructure front, there is a huge need to improve the public transport, especially during night hours for better connectivity. The Goa government should surely look into this and improve it as the earliest. Travel needs to be easier than a challenge. We also need the roads in the city to be widened more, especially the ones going towards the beaches. Rail, road and airport connectivity from other places has surely improved.”

Talking about air connectivity and how good it is from an experience, frequency, availability and rates standpoint, Rajendran Menon observed, “It was in 2013 that the current airport underwent a major renovation and an integrated modern airport was launched the same year, for arrivals and departures. From then, the airport has witnessed a sea change and the entire experience for guests coming into Goa has dramatically and drastically changed for the better. In fact, in 2012-13, Goa received more than 1,200 chartered flights but unfortunately, in the last two-three years, post-pandemic, it has come down to literally zero. Beginning January, we had 25-30 flights from Kazakhsthan or the Russian chartered flights but unfortunately, the Ukraine crisis has resulted in a standstill. And the chartered business has gone into the history books.” Menon, however, is optimistic that with the skies opening up in a couple of days from now, the situation will certainly improve. 

Digital is now a way of life and augurs so well that all parts of the hospitality business are so tuned in and adapted, be it as a hotelier, guest, suppliers, even the Government and other parts which are strict with compliance. Everything is now real time and efficiency or the lack of it shows in the face. Sharing his views on how has digitalisation and technology helped in managing and running the hotel business, Arjun Kaggallu said, “Imagine our life without a phone for a day. We are moving fast and already talking about buzzwords like Fifth Generation (5G) of technology. For us, technology is a way to show that it can scale its purpose of care but we can’t take away human interaction from our lives. Digital has helped us majorly and digital hospitality for us means creating a digital experience for our guest that mirrors the high standard of hospitality that we provide to all our guests around the globe, without having the person right there.” 

Citing an example, he said that previously to change a simple menu, there was a long-drawn process of proofing, printing, laminating, and placing it on a table or in the room. “But now, if our chef decides to have a new menu, we just upload it, QR code enabled and done. It is ready to use. We are trying to increase the engagement and improve the guest engagement, from the booking to the checkout. And then there is loads more,” he adds.

The show culminated with Bhuvanesh Khanna thanking the esteemed panellists for sharing their thoughts and views on the subject and informing everyone about the next GM Show at 5 pm on March 29 on the Evolving Role of Hotel General Managers.