Rajiv Kapoor, General Manager, Fairmont Jaipur, talks about trends in recent bookings, his vision and strategy for 2022 and the plans for future

The country’s only Fairmont property – Fairmont Jaipur – has had a marvellous decade of existence. Gleaming under the watchful eyes of the Aravalli hills, away from the hustle and clamour of Jaipur city and glittering with history and culture of Rajasthan, Fairmont Jaipur is a luxurious living palace that gracefully combines the glories of the past with modern-day comforts. The 245 guest rooms including seven imperial suites are bespoke residences that exude classic heritage influences. The imposing darwazas from the fort of Jaisalmer stand guard to the exclusive 90,000 sq ft convention grounds. Situated in Kukas, Fairmont Jaipur has become one of India’s most preferred venues for dream weddings among national and international guests and successfully created unforgettable moments for them.

At the helm of affairs is General Manager of the property, Rajiv Kapoor, a visionary who has set a new benchmark at each stage of his career. Kapoor is known for creating experiences that transform hospitality in to a celebration for guests. In an interview with BW HOTELIER, the hospitality professional with over 20 years of experience, talks about the latest travel trends, changing consumer preferences and his plans and vision for the property.

Vision for 2022 and growth strategy 

Our vision for 2022 is to focus on curating some unique experiences for our guests. Locally curated itineraries have worked in the last few months of opening up and we will be focussing on nurturing the same. Rajasthan has so many things to offer and one of our core visions is to pamper our guests with the hospitality and cultural activities to create an unforgettable moment. We also want to ace sustainability this year and our efforts are now finally getting shape with having a green charging station for e-vehicles to an upcoming water bottling plant in the hotel premises. We have introduced biodegradable amenities in the room along with enhancing the already existing experiences – gastronomical or leisure. Fairmont Jaipur is also launching a new Pan-Asian restaurant and a new ballroom – Zui to accommodate the increasing wedding and social gathering enquires and opportunities the hotel gets. 

Gearing up for the dollar spending guests 

The team is more than excited to host guests and welcome them. At Fairmont Jaipur, we follow the All-Safe measures, a protection protocol certified by Bureau Veritas. To enhance guest experience, we have introduced measures like “angel list” to enable the supervisors to keep track of FIT and VIP movement on their respective floors and to engage with the guests for better feedback. Also, to ensure consistency on the daily checks as per the brand standard, short inspection forms have been introduced for the floor supervisors. This helps ensure regular quality checks and to deliver the best of experiences for our guests. Housekeeping SOPs have been revised keeping in mind Covid19 pandemic and our operational needs. These SOPs have been brainstormed specifically for the Fairmont Jaipur housekeeping department. We have made housekeeping cleaning procedure videos for guest rooms to give training to new employees which helps existing team members ensure consistency and uniformity.  

Why travellers choose Fairmont Jaipur? 

To stand apart for our guests, we believe in walking an extra mile and creating #Fairmontmoments. A lot of our itineraries are curated with what guest wants to experience. We have introduced experiences like hiking to the Nahargarh Fort, visiting Hathi Gaon, and a trip to local farms. These experiences are curated keeping in mind the new-age traveller, one who wants unique, exclusive and special experiences. Traits of our typical guest include in them believing in making their own itinerary and imbibing a balance of leisure and experiential or for whom gastronomical and instagrammable experiences are always a key need or for ones who believe in immersive experiences (Horo Spa, Tiffin Experience and Detox Bathtub).  

Trend in recent bookings 

Business travel is all about pleasure and leisure now, irrespective of the fact that the guests are now keen to understand the safety measures undertaken by us. Tech friendliness is a decision-making factor we have observed in the new customer. Along with All-Safe measures, we have adopted digitalisation through high-end technology with our menu, welcome card and butler services has helped us to establish stronger guest relations. 

Plans to get discerning traveller to the fold  

Since the hotel is located on the outskirts of Jaipur, summer mornings and evenings are quite pleasant, overlooking the Aravallis! Our guests can experience indoor experiences like in-room bath-tub experiences which include detox bath, bubble bath with rose petals, herbal bath, tea bath set up and beer bath to rejuvenate and relax. Fairmont Jaipur offers some phenomenal indoor unique dining experiences and local entertainment activities like pottery and bangle-making and horoscope spa therapies at Ruhab. 

Future plans  

We have been getting some requests for weddings in Q2 for NRI guests. We are expanding our wedding offerings by getting more skilled chefs, baristas, launching a new marquee and strengthening our safety protocols. We are steering conversations for Fairmont Jaipur to strengthen its sustainable footprint.