1. Why is it important for a hotel to give a personalized experience?
A: In today’s world, hospitality and luxury have been redefined to be experiential and bespoke. What was considered to be a luxury in yesteryears is a norm now. The only reason why the guest will choose to stay and be loyal to a particular brand is when we are able to deliver an experience that is unique and customized. It need not be elaborate, but it has to be something that touches the heart of the guest and he/she feels that we care for them genuinely.
2. For a seamless personalized experience, what is your hotel willing to offer?
A: A seamless personalized experience cannot be defined in terms of value or the length you have to go. Dan Hotels Israel has a very strong Brand Promise “Experience The Best” which is reiterated in all our communication. We personalize every element of the stay be it the arrival process in-residence experience, culinary habits, or leisure and entertainment.
3. Since Bengaluru already has a few of luxury experiential hotels, how do you plan to bring The Den up front to the guests differently?
A: Bengaluru has maximum a number of Luxury Brands in the country – be it domestic or international; even a niche hotel group like Dan Hotels chose to be in Bengaluru.
All of us believe that hospitality is all about touching the hearts and souls of our guests, and it is beyond the old world of opulence and show-off. We believe that our guests are travelled, elegant and most knowledgeable who identify honest and genuine hospitality instantly.
When we say this, we mean it; and it is all about personalization. Be it as small as a personalized greeting to a personal welcome note handwritten by the General Manager himself; catering to the choice of bedding/linen and customizing the food & beverage; we do it all. It may be correct to say that we may be the only hotel in the country that can prepare food adhering to the strict Kosher guidelines (Kosher Style – but not Kosher).
4. What are some of the trends you see which are impacting the hospitality industry? Is social media one of them?
A: There is a lot of focus on healthy dining. This is also a game changer for luxury hotels as the guests value customized meals more than anything else. Smart technology is a need today; everyone is in a connected space and the relevance of SaaS is only growing. Wellness is another big thing – especially after all the physical and mental toll that the last two years had on us.
Social media had been there for some time, and it has grown exponentially. It is a great leveller and a game changer that has changed the outlook of any industry including hospitality. It will continue to dominate our behaviours and service quality for a long time in the future
5: What are the sustainability initiatives at the hotel?
A: The Den is a “Leed Gold Certified” and a Zero Discharge Unit – that means we do not discharge any affluent in any form out of the property and recycle all our water and organic waste internally. There is end-to-end traceability of any inorganic or hazardous waste disposal.
We as an organization and our corporate values have moved to biodegradable and Eco-sensitive materials and chemicals – just as an example, we do not even use bin liners in our bins but use and sanitize them before use. Our Staff Café is a no bin zone – we take what we can eat. The kitchens are all electric to minimize fossil fuel usage, and being a new hotel; we are highly efficient when it comes to energy management.
6. How did the hotel manage its revenue during Covid times? What measures were taken by the hotel during post-Covid hours?
A: The Den Bengaluru was one of the very few hotels that can claim to be fully open all through the Covid times. Dan Hotels Israel is a company with very strong Value Systems, and we did not do any salary cuts or ask staff to leave; as we always believe that the business cycles should make us smarter in doing business without compromising on our ethos.
We had BCPs of some companies, also did Vande Bharat repatriation, managed to make a mark in the Socials / residential wedding space and had project related long term business staying with us. We had to take immediate steps to ensure that our cash burn is controlled as irrespective of whatever we did, it was meant to keep the teams gainfully occupied and reduce the losses
It was relatively easier for us to get into action as the business started and gave us a first movers advantage. The team was always in place, and we did not curtail any quality standards, so for us, it was like the team roaring to go and waiting for the guests to be back. We were cautious as the fear of infection is still not over; we maintained all our Covid protocols as even today, it is mandatory for the team to be masked up.
7. Is the hotel keen on collaborating with any international chefs or industry collaborations?
A: Pre-pandemic we were always involved with various collaborations be it art, culture or culinary as we strongly believe that it is these elements that bind us all together. We had done various workshops and showcasing in the past and we look forward to continuing that. We are already looking at welcoming one of the celebrity Israeli chefs early next month
8. What are the two things you would like to change in the industry?
The pandemic has taught us a lot, and a few things fresh in my mind that should go through a change in our industry – through being hyper local can be: –
- Space utilization – we in the name of being grand and opulent, waste a lot of space and deviate from our goal of sustainability. The designs of the upcoming hotels can be much more smarter and chic instead of what they are today
- Productivity Management – Under the veil of specialization quality, we have created a lot of compartments and hierarchies that lead to lower productivity. If in case, we have to sustain all business vagaries, we need to be working towards a very lean n mean machine without compromising on the brand promise or the brand standards.
9. Where do you see The Dan Hotel in the next 2-3 years?
A: Dan Hotels Israel exist for more than 80 years now, and we have been growing. We own and operate our assets, and the philosophy / the business model stays. We fully understand our corporate and social responsibilities, and we have been the living example of our value systems here in India. Looking at the smart business recovery, we look forward to enhancing our footprint in the coming years in India and the world.
