THE INTERVIEW : PRIYA PAUL
“ One is the need for customers to be connected and looked after yet left alone . It is becoming a bigger trend in cities . It already happens in resorts . For Indian customers it is very unusual , but they are becoming more confident and independent , and they are able to take care of themselves in a different way . The way we do business here is to over-look after the customer , but I see that changing .”
– Priya Paul on trends in India
charge of three hotels overnight . We had two older hotels and one new one . I started to renovate and said , “ Why should a hotel look so hotel-like , and why can ’ t we do things differently ?” I found a designer to do something new and different , and the journey began .
It was successful and we tried something else , and bit by bit you get more confidence , become more educated and your instincts become better honed . I learned through travel , working with exciting people and in a sense I was an editor , knowing what I like and don ’ t like . When creating concepts , we created spaces I would like to use and would be interesting from an interior and services point of view . The big moment came in Bangalore , when we redid a hotel with Sir Terrance Conran . This was the first real design hotel of India .
H : What are your strategies for the use of color and art ?
PP : India is all about color . Color is a very strong element and not so muted . There are no fixed colors — it depends on the hotel , and each hotel has a story . For example , our hotel in Bangalore is done based on the landscapes of India , with much stronger colors coming from the silks in India . Hyderabad is very white in one sense , but with its rich layers of art and craft you don ’ t think of it as a white hotel . White is just a base for
what is happening . Color is part of our identity , and it has no limits .
Art is a passion of mine , and when we started renovating in the early ’ 90s , we decided each room must have a piece of original art . In 1993 , I commissioned an artist to do work for the rooms and public areas , making art a big story .
Apart from art , India has a huge tradition of craft . Even though our hotels are contemporary and modern , and look as they can be anywhere , they really are not , as we always have Indian craft or elements of that whether it is in the tableware or commissioned pieces in lobby . We always try to incorporate contemporary forms of traditional Indian crafts . It creates context for the properties , as a hotel needs to have a grounding in the local community . While I am seen as someone who espouses modern design , I also have the belief that Indian culture and craft needs to be preserved , and it is linked into the personality of The Parks . H : How important is F & B in your hotels ? PP : In some of our hotels , F & B is 55 % to 60 % of the revenue . It is a huge profit center for us . We do a lot of banquets and catering inside and outside of our hotels , and that is a significant component of our business . The way we differentiated ourselves in the ’ 90s was as an F & B destination .
Indians had disposable income , but few avenues to spend it . We came up with that other club-like space . One of our restaurants in 1993 had 25 types of coffee before the coffee revolution happened . Managers love F & B as it provides a creative outlet and keeps the brand running with a lot of energy and , of course , profit .
H : What will be the next hot thing in lifestyle hotels ?
PP : Wouldn ’ t that be giving away too much ? We are working on some of that , to create some of the next happening things . One is the need for customers to be connected and looked after yet left alone . It is becoming a bigger trend in cities . It already happens in resorts . For Indian customers it is very unusual , but they are becoming more confident and independent , and they are able to take care of themselves in a different way . The way we do business here is to over-look after the customer , but I see that changing .
Also , guest interaction via social media is growing very strong in India . We have a fan base of 87,000-plus and growing — the largest fan base for any Indian hospitality brand . We see most of our fan base and guests like to engage and interact with us via this medium . With the advent of smartphones we see a dramatic change in the way the guest and hotel interact .
30 HOTELS January / February 2013 www . hotelsmag . com