Strategy

Pioneering Standalone Banqueting : The Mayfair Story

Deepak Bassi CEO, Mayfair Rooms & Outdoors

The mere identification of a void in a thriving hospitality sector led the Ghai Group to remodel its icecream- making factory to launch Mayfair Rooms and Outdoors that intentionally pioneered the phenomenon of stand alone banqueting in India, finds Bhisham Mansukhani

What began as a simple exercise of market research into the presence of standalone banqueting facilities in India back in 2000, snowballed into the creation of, well, the country's first stand alone banqueting facility, by Ghai Enterprises, branded the Mayfair Rooms and Outdoors located in Worli, Mumbai, is a facility comprising three banqueting rooms. Deepak Bassi, CEO, Mayfair Rooms & Outdoors reminsces,"Incredibly, the concept of a standalone banqueting as an enterprise did not exist in India in 2000! There were restaurants that would let out space for private parties as would gymkhannas, but banqueting wasn't in anyway central to their revenue model. Five star hotels visibly dominated this segment. Thanks to the vision of Ravi Ghei, the company's Kwality icecream factory was converted into India's first standalone banqueting facility."

When Bassi came onboard as CEO, the concept was already in place. Bassi, however, played a key role in the positioning, suggesting that the focus on banqueting be singular. "While two large rooms had already been firmed up, the third was initially intended for a restaurant. However, I was of the opinion that if the intention was banqueting then we should focus on that as a culture. In hindsight, the idea worked well because the relatively small room made us relevant to a clientele that wanted more intimate events on a modest scale."

Having worked as banquets manager with the Taj Group of Hotels, Bassi was well aware of areas where Mayfair could score over hotels. "I knew that hotels approached banqueting as a set piece and had a very structural mindset which may have been a tad rigid. Hotels cannot altogether match a standalone banqueting facility for personalisation because the focus is not holistic as there is so much going on inspite of the fact that it is a major revenue source for hotels as well. The compromise that hotels make in the area of banqueting was not in the area of food but innovation. The classic example is that hotels do not give clients options beyond a printed menu that is preset, while at Mayfair the premise is to first ask the clients what they want. We have an innovation cell that looks at putting out more concepts as options for clients on an ongoing basis.

The start wasn't exactly a walk in the park, Bassi confesses. "In the beginnning, I was apprehensive. I was worried that people would approach Mayfair as a budget option and were surprised that our prices were below but not that far below hotel prices. As we held out, some of our advantages came to the fore. Our tax liability was lower and we did not take the perhaps arbitary approach in pricing that hoteliers took, given the hint of a monopoly. There was no notional premium that we levied." Another value-add that Mayfair brought to its product was a dedicated event management unit called Windsor. The unit was an events and decor company looking predominantly into wedding and social events, using a personalised approach. The unique challenge that Ghai Enterprises confronted with Mayfair was to change consumer perception of standalone banqueting from `not five-star' to a niche that five-star would be compelled to compare themselves within the area of quality of food, facility, presentation and pricing. Compared to a hotel, Bassi believes that standalone banqueting has more room for creativity because the focus is anything but distorted as would be the case in a hotel where there is a major food and beverage portfolio to consider. Having said that, Bassi now believes Mayfair is ready to include restaurants as part of its unit in future locations. In fact, both Pune and Delhi where the company opened banqueting facilities in 2004, do have food and beverage service.

Ghai Enterprises operates ODC (outdoor catering) under the Mayfair brand although care has been taken to ensure seperation of banqueting and outdoor catering operations. "Institutional and outdoor catering are two completely different profit centres and therefore need different kitchens geared for variable needs," Bassi stresses.

Interestingly, Mayfair did not face competition for a considerable number of years, something Bassi ascribes to the fact that Mayfair has been a relatively quiet brand. "We were very guest focussed to the extent that we ignored advertising for the first few years. Marketing was very direct and one-on-one and works very well for the banqueting business," Bassi says. Sales and marketing, however, is now recieving significant attention and Amar Jog, the director for business development and marketing, Ghai Enterprises, has been entrusted with the job. "Sales and marketing was a department that Mayfair did not consider till recently.”

The requirement had little to do with timing and more with the evolution of the brand which he now sees accessible to a larger audience. “Our exclusively vegetarian ODC, Satvik is a direct result of the objective. It came about thanks to market intelligence. The key is to couple the art of hospitality coupled with the science of marketing," Jog proffers. Jog is now setting about the task of tapping specific pockets with purpose-driven brands.

The expansion will be driven by creating specific brands for specific needs. Bassi meanwhile, is gearing up for the first renovation of Mayfair Rooms in Mumbai, which he says, will not just be a cosmetic face lift but a re-invention altogether. Given that the standalone banqueting segment in India is still latent, any more innovation can only add to Mayfair's gathering hallmark of innovation. in the still-latent segment.