Home / PEOPLE / Hospitality Trends / In India, You will definitely succeed

Rajesh Mishra

What in your opinion is the driving force behind the best hotels in India today?
The driving force is to make a lot of money! Ours is a developing economy and because there is a shortage of hotels rooms, if you build a hotel today, you can recover your money in 7-8 years time.

What does it take for a hotel to succeed where others fail?
Location is important – the hotel needs to either be close to the city or close to an airport. The service is also important. I predict that largely ‘no frills’ budget hotels will succeed since there will be a rising demand for them in the country in the next three years.

We have seen 2009 as a challenging year and business is picking up in 2010. What are your expectations for next year for the hospitality industry?
Boom, boom, boom! In India anything you do for the next decade, you will definitely succeed. China and India are poised for success. Even the negative things in our economy and our currently faulty ways of functioning will be overshadowed.

Story continues below

Advertisement

COMMENT Comment on this article

What parameters does the FHRAI look for when rating hotels?
Rating hotels is the job of the Government but the guidelines are made by the department of tourism. There is too much bureaucracy currently and there are too many people right now who do not know the subject and very little about tourism.

They should do something positive for the country. They just don’t understand tourism, they have only political priorities. We don’t need bandhs and strikes when we can have a referendum in our democracy.

What are the positive changes the FHRAI can bring about in the hotel industry in the future?
FHRAI can play a very positive role in bringing in good properties at different levels. It also provides the best platform for the government to interact with entrepreneurs.

The Central Government must amend the Industrial Development and Registration Act 1956 to give benefits to the hotel sector. To meet the rising demand for hotel rooms in the country, the Government must adopt public-private partnership model whereby it can take 25 per cent stake in the hotel.

What are your top favourite hotels in the country? Why?
I prefer to name groups rather than hotels. I like the Taj group because they are closely associated with the sentiment, culture and heritage of India. I also like the ITC group’s corporate philosophy because it is palatable to us in a holistic way.