1. You talk about long-term growth of the travel sector. Can you tell us a bit about what this looks like, to you?
The pandemic taught us the significance of experience, and in particular – experience through travel. Connecting with people and new cultures was removed within the last few years and we now see an increased longing to restore these former luxuries. People’s mindsets and values have shifted, and the return of both leisure and work travel has returned at a much faster pace than anticipated.
Demand for experience is going to lead the recovery in the medium term, and luxury and lifestyle brands are securing more revenue as travelers seek more than just comfort and service of conventional brands. We need to focus on this domestic and short hall travel, where shorter and more frequent holidays will continue.
2. Tell us what prompted the decision to expand at this stage?
Founded in 2010, Ovolo is an owner and operator of 12 lifestyle hotels and 13 restaurants across Hong Kong, Australia, and Bali, Indonesia. We have built a strong and valuable brand, backed by our talented team of development, commercial, and operations experts, with a scalable operating and technology platform designed for growth. It’s a natural next step in our growth cycle.
Investment opportunities have also diversified since the pandemic. With shifting working conditions, institutional investors and developers are now seeing the growth in leading lifestyle brands and are renewing their interest to capitalise on the right opportunity. We are predominantly owner operator at this stage and it’s time for us to expand further using Hotel Management Opportunities and partner with strategic investors that share our values and vision.
3. How did Covid impact business, especially for the Ovolo hotel group? Has there been a change in the Hotel’s revenue management?
It was certainly a challenging time for us as a group, but we made a conscious decision to excel in what we could control – our people. Our people are our greatest asset and through activations and constant engagement, I’m proud to say some of our most successful initiatives were born during the pandemic, such as Ovolo’s Plant’d initiative to turn 100% Vegetarian/Vegan in many of our hotels . We first committed to one year of serving vegetarian meals, and it quickly formed the fabric of our brand identity. We defined growth within a new market stream and discovered both opportunity and individuality in a sustainable new direction.
Our Hotel’s Revenue Management has relied upon the market conditions of an individual city. Australian hotels focused on the growth of our domestic demand to further strengthen our position, while Ovolo Hong Kong focused on offering long stay and Quarantine business.
We developed our Quarantine Concierge initiative in Hong Kong to transform a commonly dreaded experience into a period of pleasant downtime with the comforts of Ovolo Hotels. Extensive menus, access to our physical and mental wellness program, virtual social hours and Ovolo’s daily perks inclusions helped put the health of our guests at the forefront and formed just part of the many offerings available.
As quarantine requirements begin to ease, our long-term focus will inevitably revert to our short stay accommodation sector across the group.
4. Going from being privately-owned to this aggressive expansion strategy will be a big change. Do you foresee any potential challenges and if so, what?
While we are aiming to expand, we are not chasing every opportunity. It’s important for us to keep delivering Unique and F.U.N. (Fabulous, Unconventional and Never Boring) experiences. Our greatest challenge is to find like-minded partners to grow with, who understand the brand. While there is a lot of opportunity in market, I want to ensure growth of the brand is done in a sustainable way. This is one of the most important tasks ahead of me – making sure we align ourselves with the right partner to support our belief in sustainable travel and consciousness towards the environment.
5. You have recently taken the reins as CEO. Given that you’ve already been an integral part of the Ovolo family, what are you most excited about focusing on, in this new role? Has your perception of the hospitality industry changed since then?
I’m excited to grow the business and facilitate opportunity through strategic partnerships. Continual learning has enabled us to build a strong foundation, and I’m eager to see both our family and footprint continue to grow across the globe.
My perception of the hospitality industry is ever changing as I’m still learning. I’m grateful to collaborate with trailblazers in their field where no two days of mine are the same. This industry allows my individual passions to grow and evolve and the creative nature of Ovolo Group mirrors the excitement of the industry – offering something for everyone. The COVID interruption only highlighted its value, and I feel very lucky to be a part of it.
6. Where do you see the Hospitality and Leisure Business of India going in the next 5 years? What would be the most challenging part?
Like we see within Australia’s current domestic recovery, we’re expecting India’s leisure business to continue growth at a rapid pace as confidence in travel is restored. The modern traveller is seeking connection with their culture, communing with nature and challenging their mind and body, while working in service of others. This will see a strong rise of Righteous Tourism to drive inbound leisure business.
