To cope with competition, hotels are promoting long stay, complete with a kitchenette and door-delivery of groceries.
Going on a long company assignment to a new city no longer entails being estranged from the luxury of your house.
Driven by competition and the need to cater to the business traveller, today’s hotels are no more hotels in the traditional sense. Earlier, a room with a double bed, TV, refrigerator and bathroom completed a hotel, the new ones turn them into your homes, by giving you the option of choosing between a 1/2/3 BHK suite, complete with work areas, a small library, refrigerator, microwave, utensils, cutlery, and door delivery of groceries.
The concept is slowly taking hold in Bangalore, where several hotel chains are extensively promoting long stay, a concept wherein guests stay for a week, to few months or even a year.
While a 1BHK suite accommodates a family of three, a 3BHK can take in even a seven-member family. The tariff ranges from Rs10,000 per night for a 1BHK suite to Rs14,000 for a 2BHK and can go up to Rs19,000 for a 3BHK.
“The MNC and IT sectors are the key drivers. Business travellers to the city on short-term projects are the people hotels are trying to attract by giving them the feel of a home,” says Kaushik Varadharajan, partner managing director, Asia Pacific, HVS Hospitality Services.
Experts say hotels located in Whitefield, north Bangalore, Electronic City, and the Central Business District would mainly be catering to the business traveller, since very little leisure travel takes place from Bangalore.
“Except for a few chains located in the heart of the city, which might get leisure travellers as well, it is mainly business travel and long stay for many hotels,” says Raghu Sapra, general manager, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton.
Bangalore hotels typically see occupancy rates being 70-90% during weekdays, but the Friday-Sunday period witnesses a sharp dip in occupancy, since business travellers, who check-in at the start of the week, often check-out by Friday. “So, by encouraging long stay, hotels can ensure continuity,” says Varadharajan.
Biswajit Chakraborty, General Manager, Movenpick Hotel and Spa, says long stay creates a bond between guests and the staff, and also provides potential for referral business to come in through word of mouth. “Twenty-five percent of our guests are long stayers,” says Rahul Kanwar, executive assistant manager, The Zuri Whitefield.
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