The road to infrastructure

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has made a mark in the mid-market segment in India and is on a growth path to concretise that position. Here is what Anil Madhok, the managing director and mastermind of the brand has to say about the future of Indian hospitality. By Sayoni Bhaduri

Anil Madhok Managing director Sarovar Hotels & Resorts

India is still on the conservative side of developing its tourism potential, considering that the maximum number of tourists entering India is still below the 20 million mark. India is a dynamic country and infrastructure plays a crucial role in the development of the hospitality and tourism industries. Despite this, Anil Madhok is bullish about the future. "But the key is to develop the infrastructure. With a growth of 12 to 13 per cent, there is immense potential which can be achieved, that too at reasonable costs," he says. The second factor is that till date hotels have been quite labour-intensive but with the growth of the IT industry, change will be evident.

Focus India

It is unfortunate that the government has never given the kind of priority the sector required, even though tourism has remained a high generator of foreign exchange, he says. "It is a power to be reckoned with," says Madhok. Indian civil aviation has definitely made inroads with just Air India improving its service and quality, leave alone the kind of impact private airline services have had on the industry. This in itself has had great impact on the hotel room growth.

It is not that the tourism department has done nothing; the aggressive marketing policy has itself been responsible for the 14-15 per cent of the growth. "One has to remember that the economy cannot control the growth of a sector, and it is the government which needs to support the growth and induce supply," he says. There is a need to give incentives for development and grow beyond short sighted policy. "This is exactly what the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is doing in the NCR. There were 30 sites for Delhi that have still not been sold in the hope of achieving maximum sales price," Madhok adds. This does not help the overall development plan for tourism. However, the good thing is that more and more states are realising the potential and are becoming tourism friendly.

Infrastructure remains the biggest roadblock till date, but with aviation leading the way, roadways are already on the growth path. Monuments and places of tourist interest need to receive a makeover and be more interesting for travellers not just inbound but also domestic. "Even the private sector needs incentives to develop hotels in a time-bound fashion. Add to that is the streamlining of rules," says Madhok. He places the responsibility on people in charge at different governmental levels in charge of managing various legalities. He believes that they do not have a complete understanding of the business. Once this is sorted out, a lot of problems will find solutions on their own. "Money is not the problem; it's the other important details like the land, project sanctions and raw materials that need sorting out," he adds. If these issues are well sorted there is no stopping India from becoming a major tourism and hospitality hub.

Madhok believes

There are other things apart from infrastructure that will help develop the industry and the sector better. F&B standards will improve drastically with more international quality seeping in. There has been an utter lack of experimentation within the field which will slowly begin. Options for diners will increase as hotels will look beyond the typical Chinese, Indian and Continental and coffee shop options. Innovations will not just be restricted to food and originality will be seen in guest comfort and other value-added options. Says Madhok, "This is genuinely required if one has to stay ahead or at least at par with the current trends." Such needs were not felt earlier but now with MNCs coming in with more lucrative concepts, it is time for self improvement, believes Madhok.

Also to improve the quality of service there is a need to improve the quality of manpower. It is not just about training, even though it is vital; one has to be able to retain them, says Madhok. But there is no running away from the fact that it will be difficult to retain for long and rehiring will begin again. "It's a continuous cycle," says Madhok. There is no answer to this except the industry as a whole has to look at the kind of salaries they are offering, and if improvement is possible it should be provided.

As for his company, Madhok will focus on his charted plan of establishing 100 operating hotels in the coming five years. By 2020, he hopes to have a presence in territories beyond India. "My focus is developing as much as possible in the present with a strong marketing and management bandwidth," says Madhok. The idea is not to get into too many things at the same time.