Local is the new sold-out

Staycations have grown into a distinct segment over the past couple of years and local hotels have been cashing in big way on this trend, says Meenakshi Rao

Environment and the concern around global warming is big in minds worldwide and that has gone a long way in altering – or should we say enlightening – the Indian traveller too.

Not just that, the growing awareness around carbon footprint and the public hesitance to contribute to it, not to mention the escalating travelling costs, have given rise to a trend that has been cruising for the past five years or so. If hospitality industry experts are to be believed, it is peaking this year.

This travel trend is called Staycation, a family holiday in the same city where you live – by moving into a luxurious hotel and spending some quality family time together, relaxing in the pool, getting long awaited spa treatments and – of course – enjoying the variety of good food that is made available without you having to cook, order in or brave the traffic to reach an eatery – and if its Delhi, waiting time is an hour or more merely to get a seat.

More and more hotels in Delhi and other metropolitan cities, like the Crowne Plaza, have been saving rooms and activities for local guests, especially when it comes to school vacations and long weekends.

The marketing manager of Crowne Plaza Jaipur, Roshani Agnani, explains: “Staycations are steadily rising to the top of the ladder for what we call the silly season of hotel business. And, it has drawn in not just off-season local guests into our rooms but also the weekenders and business travellers who bring in their families to have fun on the side while they tie up their work.”

Agnani adds that her hotel has had 80 per cent booking during off-season in Jaipur because of this trend. “The long Eid weekend gave us rush hour even though Jaipur was sizzling in the summer heat. That was because we got not just our city guests to come and stay over but also weekend ones from nearby towns and Delhi.”

Special activities around these local guests bring in good money on the side. “We have specially-curated sightseeing and shopping packages and facilitate other activities outside the hotel to give our guests a wholesome experience,” adds Agnani.

The effort to keep the guest in the premises to enjoy the in-house goodies is another tool. And it’s here that a good eatery within the hotel, authentic dishes, variety of cuisine and the entire platter ambience of a hotel comes into play to draw the guests.

Chandan Thakur, the F&B Director at Plaza, is quite a connoisseur of wine pairing and has worked ceaselessly in assessing emerging taste-buds among the new eating populations. He tells you that F&B standards of a hotel – and the variety it can offer – are the main draw for local guests. A standing example of this is the mostly sold-out Chinese restaurant House of Han at the Plaza. Tastefully done up and offering the unique experience of a live Mongolian griddle on the side, this restaurant has won many awards and is the far eastern jewel in the crown of Jaipur.

By Rajasthan’s standards, the alternate eating revolution is yet to arrive in the Pink City. “Continental happens but many here are vegetarians. Chinese has caught up though strangely Italian cuisine lags in popular imagination,” Thakur tells you. But the House of Han has buzzing evenings and not merely because the food is great. It’s the entire experience, the one of its kind of being live hosted by the Mongolian chef Lee to tastefully made, done-up and presented dishes on the “temperature controlled” live counter.

Hotels like the Taj Group which is promoting membership drives by giving one-night free stay to local members, and The Oberoi which has been in the business of drawing in the corporate and luxury segment from the world over, have now realised the potential of the local traveller and have, thus, given special policy attention to them.

Mallika Dasgupta, Communications Manager for The Oberoi Gurgaon and The Trident, explains that the concept of Staycation has grown vertically in the last three years or so.

“Looking at the local influx, we have curated packages designed to give them the feel of a real holiday in their home city. Room stays, built-in food menus and activities both in and out of the hotel constitute this segment,” she says. Chocolate-making and Master Class for women, cup cake dressing classes for children and bartending lessons with expert mixologists for the men keep the new, young nuclear family busy, besides, of course, the pool, sauna, steam & spa services.

“Recently, this segment has grown to drawing in rich customers from nearby tier 2 and tier 3 towns too. Besides the Delhi/Gurgaon/Noida guests, we have started getting long weekend travellers from places like Chandigarh, Jallandhar, and Amritsar too. They come and stay here, go shopping at the Emporio or the shopping malls. They ask for tickets to the Kingdom of Dreams. Salon services are on high demand. Some even ask for an Old Delhi experience and heritage site round of Mehrauli which we arrange for,” she says.

The target group usually is the young couples from nuclear families looking for a quick luxurious getaway which comes with the added convenience of being just a short drive away.

As Agnani says, it’s not as if this segment is an uninformed floating group. “They have a clear understanding of what they want from this in-city holiday. They want to do experiences, specific and special ones,” she adds.

The idea is to make it feel like a holiday for which the special packages come in. “We have been getting good number of repeat guests. The men keep busy with a host of activities like being guided with a cigar and single malt pairing session at our Cigar Lounge in the evenings. Making fun cocktails all shaken and stirred is what they do while their wife/partner sometimes wants the added fun of cooking with the chef and serving their family from the kitchen counter,” Dasgupta says. 

Source: Sunday Pioneer, 23 July, 2017