From vacation to staycation

The age of booking trains, flights and holiday packages, packing suitcases and appealing to bosses for week-long work breaks is passé. In a time-crunched era, when getting even two days off work looks near impossible, staycations at luxury hotels within the city precincts appear far more appealing. It’s about taking quick breaks that guarantee luxurious outlets to recharge and rejuvenate.

In short, vacations are out, staycations are in with well-heeled working professionals and families with young children.

“Staycations are becoming very popular as they give people a chance to get away from their routine lives and take an immersive holiday in their own city. It saves the time spent in travelling to outstation destinations, yet giving a ‘getaway’ feeling,” says Debanjan Kundu, director of sales and marketing, The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore.

So what’s a staycation like? “It is about heading out on a Saturday morning to a high-end hotel or resort around town. Checking-in, spending the day at leisure by indulging in gourmet cuisine, spas and aromatherapies, relaxing by the pool, getting entertained by a live band in the evening, chilling with the best of wines, and heading back home the next day post a sumptuous brunch,” says banker Anand Sharma, who has indulged in staycations in a few luxe Mumbai hotels.

As opposed to vacations, staycations come at a lesser cost (as not much inter-city/country travel is involved). Besides easy planning, staycations are de-stressing since they are not bound by schedules and itineraries. And starting from an approximate Rs. 8,000 a night onwards, they are proving to be an attractive bet.

According to Ajith Nair, director of sales and marketing, Novotel Imagica Khopoli, staycations have encouraged people to take much-needed breaks near to their homes. “Our staycation packages are a combination of fun and adventure, coupled with indulgent gastronomy. Being a theme park property, we have offers that combine stay and theme park.”

Some properties like The Ritz-Carlton pride themselves on offering a range of spa massages like the Swedish, Balinese, aromatherapy or Deep Tissue as part of the staycations package, says Kundu. While others such as the Grand Mercure Bangalore position themselves through the ‘lifestyle residences’ concept; offering a variety of indoor and outdoor activities.

With school breaks in full swing, the time is right for staycations to thrive, say hospitality experts. According to Sriram Ramaswamy, director of sales and marketing, Grand Mercure Bangalore, the property expects to see at least 15 staycationers per month.

“On an average, we see occupancy of 250 room nights at the resort. With the summer holidays, the property is seeing a further 20-25 percent increase. Also, being situated near the Sahayadri Hills, there is a usual pick-up during the monsoons as well,” says Nair.

...& ANALYSIS

• Vacations are out, staycations are in with well-heeled working professionals and families with young children
   
• Staycations come cheaper; are easy to plan, de-stressing since they are not bound by schedules