Now, hotels put rooms on ‘sale’

Hotel companies are borrowing a leaf from retailers.
While some are introducing the ‘sale’ concept, others are offering buy-2-get-1-free-type offers to push room inventory during the off-season following the onset of the monsoon.

Roots Corporation Ltd (RCL), the Taj Group subsidiary that operates the Ginger hotel chain, has put its 2,000 odd room inventory on a limited-period sale. It is offering rooms at half the price across its hotels in India — except Ginger New Delhi RYN (Rail Yatri Niwas).

Prabhat Pani, CEO and director, RCL, was not available for comment.

According to the company’s website, the flat 50% discount is for reservations made between June 23 and 25 for stay across Ginger hotels anytime between July 1 and September 30.

A company official, requesting anonymity, said it was a pilot offer to test the market reaction. “A ‘quick-fire strategy’, the idea is to generate excitement in the market and drive traffic to our hotels. Being the first- ever such initiative we have kept a very short booking window of three days. It will take us a fortnight from now to analyse the data and derive inferences,” said the official.

Targeting the upwardly mobile segment, the Oberoi Hotels & Resorts is enticing its patrons by what they call as ‘spa vacations’ with its palatial properties — The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur. Priced at Rs 35,000 for a two-night stay for two persons, the vacation comes with complementary breakfast, airport transfers, free additional accommodation for two children and a special discount of 15% on spa therapies.

On a rack rate of Rs 30,500 for the base category room, The Oberoi Amarvilas offers 40% discount charging Rs 18,000 per night in case of an advanced booking and the best available rate being quoted was Rs 20,000 (in case one chooses to book at a later date).

The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts which borrowed the practice of apex fares from airline companies in 2006-07, offers discounted rates on all its hotels under the ‘early booker rate’ and ‘early bird offer’ categories.

For a two-night monsoon stay at The Leela Kovalam, the company offers a rate of Rs 5,500 per night, including breakfast and taxes on a rack rate of Rs 11,000. The best available rate — for specific day(s) — though is priced at Rs 5,880 per night.

While most hotels / resorts under the Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL) umbrella follow a similar industry pattern, the management has branded its summer and monsoon offers as Taj Surprises. What the company offers is an additional night free as in buy 2 or 3 nights and get one night stay free.

For instance, the rack rate for a base category (cottage) at Taj Garden Retreat Kumarakom is Rs 13,000 plus 15% tax.  The per-night selling rate (for a two-night stay) though is Rs 7,000 (including breakfast) plus 15% tax.

The early bird rate (being quoted while making a reservation online) for the same category of room comes to Rs 5,100 plus tax. And if one is availing the same stay duration via the Taj Surprises option, the cost is Rs 15,000, including tax and complementary lunch or dinner and additional night (rooms only basis) is thrown in free of charge.