| |
 |
| |
|
|
A swift 15-minute drive from Mumbai’s international airport towards the lush 240-acre Royal Palms Estate, is almost a visual rendition of Amir Nensey’s association with real estate and infrastructure development. Chairman of the Amir Group of Companies, and owner of the newly launched Imperial Palace Hotel, Mumbai, Nensey takes great pride in revealing how he combined indulgence with intelligence to recreate a virtual Renaissance era palace, at one-third of the cost of a five-star hotel.
“Since we are into the construction business ourselves, we can build and finish our property at extremely competitive costs”, says Nensey. “We have built the hotel at an all inclusive cost of 48-lakh per key, which would be about a third of the cost of any other five-star property in the country, closer to a three-star hotel cost”. And he should know – his 45-year long tryst with land acquisition, development, and sale of built properties, stood him in good stead as he spelt out his vision of what an “elevated lifestyle” should be.
In spite of business executives increasingly opting for budget hotels, Nensey reasons as to why the latter never seem as opponents as he says - “For instance, a Leela or Hyatt at the airport will not compete with a Tunga”. Instead, Imperial Palace chooses to compete with other airport hotel’s gunning for the mid-level corporate head honcho’s. As I ask him on what grounds his hotel would stand out, he reveals that he aimed to create “A business executive’s haven coupled with all the opulence of a European palace”. Also, Goregoan today is a preferred location for many executives due to its easy accessibility from the airport, greenery, excellent connectivity, and growing infrastructure.
 |
Undeniably, the eco resort-cum-estate that houses the hotel provides the much needed tourist thrill to visitors, with its over two thousand designer homes, luxury serviced apartments, a shopping village, IT park, convention centre, entertainment zone, manmade beach, bird aviary, Roman-style Tivoli Gardens, and a spectacular 18-hole golf course at the Royal Palms Country Club.
Space is obviously the USP of the Imperial Palace, boasting rooms that sprawl 500- square feet, with grand chandeliers overhead, and bathrooms with multiple water jets. Nensey should be well versed with real estate and its struggles with space constraints, therefore, one is curious to know what prompted him to create such lavishness, especially given such troubled financial times; however – “After all, at the end of the day it boils down to giving maximum comfort at normal prices. The property has the advantage to target leisure clientele during weekends due to its location, and there will always be business across segments for the five-, four-, and three-star hotels”, he shrugs.
Travel experts believe now is the best time to explore the Indian terrain, as occupancy rates have dipped substantially up to a terrific 30% as a result of the economic downturn. The proverbial red carpet is getting rolled out at hotels in the guise of value additions by way of extra nights, free entrance to places of tourist interest, meal and entertainment vouchers, and even, cash back on bookings. With a total inventory of 422 rooms, out of which 279 are already in operation, the Imperial Palace is offering promotional rates of Rs7999 + taxes until 31st of August. But, for Nensey, the biggest incentive that could be offered is, as he says, “Uncompromisingly impeccable service. So far we have got an excellent response as people see value for money; we are offering a lot more even though we charge at par with five-star hotels. Budgets of course will have to be looked at very carefully. We are adopting a comprehensive promotion strategy including print media, airline in-flight magazines, outdoor hoardings, and internet advertising.”
Other plans in the pipeline for the Imperial Palace include a 14,0000-square feet convention centre, a 450 room three-star hotel, and a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), all within the estate. Nensey stays unfazed in a phase where local hoteliers are indefinitely postponing their projects, fearing low occupancy rates that seem to be a growing menace within the hospitality industry today. He is optimistic as he says that he sees the scenario changing steadily over the next 12 months. Thus far, his investment seems to have paid off, as the Imperial Palace joined WORLDHOTELS as a member of the Deluxe Collection, within weeks of its opening.
| Articles | |
| Companies | |
 |
Site Map
 |
 |
 |
 |
|  |
COMMENT
Comment on this article