Ama Trails & Stays is the first branded product in India ’ s homestay market comprising heritage bungalows , guest houses and homestays across India . and Srinagar ( all in northern India ) did exceptionally well .”
NEWER OPPORTUNITIES In the latter half of 2020 , as the lockdown eased in India , people ’ s travel sentiment saw a steady rise . Tapping on this pent-up demand and fueled by the convenience of remote work and school , IHCL introduced the ‘ INNERgise ’ offer in some Taj hotels that offers a “ holistic travel experience ” — accommodation combined with immunity-boosting , healthy meals and holistic spa therapies .
“ This isn ’ t a conventional travel purpose , but is transforming into a holistic , immunity boosting , protective reason for travel ,” explains Chhatwal . “ Travel is an inherent need and recovery is led by this principle , along with the easy availability of vaccines . The travel and hotel industry has the unique ability to tap on latent demand . We tend to capitalize on sources of demand and come up with promotions to encourage travel , which drives recovery .”
The pandemic has changed people ’ s outlook , with most travelers preferring a longer duration vacation . Responding to this change , IHCL has been focusing on Ama Trails & Stays , the first branded product in India ’ s homestay market comprising heritage bungalows , guest houses and homestays across India . At a time when short-term home rental platforms like Airbnb have proliferated in India , Chhatwal does not consider these platforms as competition for Ama .
“ Platforms like Airbnb are mostly based on the DIY model , which is not the segment we are foraying into . We focus on the premium , luxury segment , be it any market sector we enter . Our home stays are fully serviced by our hotels , and offer the same level of upscale , luxury service as our other hotels . While premium may not be exclusive and niche , it ’ s also not for the mass market ,” he says .
Another brand which flourished was QMin , IHCL ’ s recently-launched gourmet food delivery platform , which the company utilized to deliver meals to healthcare providers in India .
Last year , IHCL delivered 3 million meals after the first wave , and hosted frontline workers in 75,000 rooms in its hotels . This was done through the funds it raised for the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust , which was established in
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