The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) recently organised its second Sales Mission in Mumbai and New Delhi. The group had introduced this format last year which had tasted success, this year the event witnessed much better participation. This year 57 general managers from several of the IHCL properties participated in the event and interacted with 310 interested partners in Mumbai.
Renu Basu, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, IHCL said, “The purpose of organising the Sales Mission is a very critical initiative to build engagement and educate all our travel partners. As a brand we want to be the most iconic and profitable brand. This is a great platform under one roof. Last year we had 37 hotels, this year we have 57 hotels participating. This will be an annual event now. We are also targeting the wedding and MICE segment through this mission. This year we also have the Ginger participating in the mission. We also have the new hotels coming in this time. We have a large footprint in India, our brand is known but we wanted to do things differently. In addition to this we do small events in markets like Pune, Nagpur, Ludhiana and other smaller cities. In addition we participate in trade shows.”
For the first time, international IHCL properties also participated in the sales mission. There was representation from two hotels in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, a hotel in London, Langkawi and Bhutan. Also, there is a special focus to further develop the MICE and the Weddings segment.
Speaking about the weddings segment Basu said, “Weddings are a very important segment for IHCL. We have been the venue of choice for over seven decades, as we grew our footprints across the nation we have always been on top of the list for weddings. We are well poised to manage and cater to demands from this segment. Weddings is a part of our DNA. Beach properties and palace properties are witnessing a lot of demand for this segment apart from city properties.”
The group has now changed the positioning of The Ginger Hotels as lean luxury segment. During this Sales Mission, even Ginger properties were present in numbers. Out of the 15 new openings for the group six are Ginger brand hotels.
She further said, “I truly believe how the market has evolved and the organisations whole approach towards the Ginger brand. We have changed the logo and a lot will change right from the service, experience to the product offering. There is a whole plan and the properties will be renovated. One of our Goa properties is undergoing renovation and will be developed with our new product specs. In future our Gingers will be developed with these new specifications.”
