HotelsMag September 2018 | Page 18

TRENDING

MAKING Lemonade

Patu Keswani reinvented India ’ s hospitality mid-market . The chairman and MD of Lemon Tree Hotels Limited founded the company in 2002 and took it public in March . After a tough half-dozen years , India ’ s hotel industry is on an upcycle , and Lemon Tree ’ s confirmed pipeline will grow to 8,500 rooms from 5,000 in the next three years . With additional
new sign-ons , it ’ s likely the chain will control 15 % of India ’ s mid-market inventory by 2021 . “ It ’ s a golden runway ,” he says .
Keswani is looking to add an upperscale brand to his Premier , Lemon Tree and Red Fox brands , mostly in managed hotels , and a new collection brand . And he ’ s in discussions for two hotels in Dubai and one in New
York . “ Over time , in an asset-light way , we should go international ,” he adds . He ’ s keeping an eye on the increasing number of Indians traveling abroad — and where they are going : New York , London , Dubai , Kathmandu . “ If I
want to capture the full share of the wallet of my customers , then I need to offer them accommodation options even in those cities . But we don ’ t want to invest capital outside India at present .” — Raini Hamdi

JUMEIRAH ’ SMICHELIN MAN

Jumeirah Group CEO José Silva created the luxury operator ’ s first chief culinary officer position with one man in mind : Michael Ellis , global director of the Michelin Guide . Silva says elevating the F & B post into the C-suite tells the world that the food is the “ single most important differentiation to my brand .” “ I called him and offered him the job without describing it ,” Silva remembers . When Ellis asked what the job would entail , “ I said , ‘ it means you are equal to the finance officer , and you can tell him to buzz off ,’” he says .
Ellis starts this fall . First goal : designing nine restaurants in Dubai and “ something ” in London , tapping into his experiences as a sommelier to create the Michael Ellis Wine List , and integrating more social dining into operations . After that , Ellis will focus on the coffee and bakery culture of the brand , says Silva — who has been pretty busy himself , launching lifestyle brand Zabeel House and planning an ultra-luxury brand with roots in the company ’ s flagship Burj al Arab .
For his part , Ellis is on top of trends such as casual fine dining . “ Making simple products sublime is easy to say , but difficult to do , and that attracts people to restaurants around the world . That ’ s something we ’ re going to look at at Jumeirah .” He adds , “ Working in the hotel business 15 years ago , locals did not go to hotel restaurants , and that paradigm has completely shifted . I think Jumeirah has an incredible ability to do that going forward .”
Michelin stars aren ’ t the goal , Silva says , but he does care that every chef has at least one or two “ cult dishes .” Still , the stars wouldn ’ t hurt . “ My objective will be to fill our customers with happy customers ,” Ellis says . “ If we do that well , Michelin will recognize that .”— Jeanette Hurt
16 hotelsmag . com September 2018 Michael Ellis