Great
lakes Institute of Management, Chennai and we are the mighty Mamallas, This was
the first thing I came to know when I entered the premises of the college. The
second thing was actually a bitter realization that I am actually, amidst
nowhere. My first step out of this college was the trip to Anna centenary
Auditorium. On the way back I could actually see the city life going away with
every passing milestone. The most astonishing fact was that along both the
sides of the ECR there exist a long array of hotels and resorts. However, the
experience in the Green Meadows was not very memorable and neither was the
dinner at the much hyped Moonraker. My expectation from this place was going
down everyday, and then I saw this wonderful signboard which read “Radisson”
Radisson is a well known name and standard
in the hospitality industry. So, what is it doing here ?? There were so many
questions in my mind. Hospitality industry is all about available leisure time
and disposable income. I just could not figure out the rationale behind the
place. However, this marketing project provided enough drive to get answers to my
queries such as, why here?, who is the target customer group, what are the
offerings? Etc.
I visited the place and got answers to
many of my questions. I also happened to talk with the duty manager Mr.
Abhilash at Radisson. He was kind enough to share some information with me. He
told that Radisson is operational for two and half years now and is already
making profits. Radisson group is a franchise of Rezidor Hotel Group, and Carlson,
a privately held, global hospitality and travel company, based in Minneapolis
(USA), is the majority shareholder of The Rezidor Hotel Group. Together,
Carlson and Rezidor have hotels in more than 90 different countries, 1,070 hotels
in operation (Some Stats gyaan he gave me).
According to the information provided
by Mr. Abhilash, the resort usually sees two seasons.
OFF season – March-September
Peak Season – October- February
Obviously the business is more
pronounced during the peak season. The occupancy during peak time is more than
80% but the resort is not very much out of business during off season as well.
The occupancy during the off season is as high as 60%.
The resort targets upscale upper class
tourist segment as key patrons. And provides customized services and facilities
like travel itinerary and free combos. To interest foreign clients the resort
also arranges for deep sea rides on speed boats and fishing boats.
Resort has an inplace marketing
strategy to work out the off season vacancy. It sees more domestic clients in
off seasons due to heavy discounts and package deals. There is also a surge
during IPL Tournament. The most popular package among domestic consumer is the
2N/3D holiday package inclusive of all meals.
As opposed to domestic clients,
foreign tourists come for a slightly longer time, usually 2-3 Weeks. The
clientele is not of students but usual tourists.
A fairly good part of the revenue
(30%) is also generated by corporate business. Considering the out of the city (Chennai)
placement of the resort this figure is quite impressive. The corporate business
are group outings and conferences and are usually accompanied with stay
options. These events happen all year round and are not affected by the
seasonal variations.
To me the place is a bliss and has several
advantages over other resorts and hotels, as under,
Location:
Radisson is strategically positioned just at the onset of the Mamallapuram
while coming from Chennai. Mamallapuram, as we know is the UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Given its ancient history and mythological significance, the
place is a major tourist attraction. The footfalls to this place are also high
due to its proximity to Chennai and Pondicherry.
Place:
Radisson temple bay is spread out in 44 acres of greens and exulting sea shore
to complement it. The greens of the place are most welcome treat in the Chennai
weather and are definitely the strongest resources to cut the heat.
The
View: The resorts provides the uninterrupted view of the Bay of Bengal. A
special dock is in place to enjoy the sea breeze in the evenings. The infinity
pool also oversees the Bay of Bengal. A majority of the rooms overlook the
sea. A view of the beach from the
Radisson is
Staff:
The staff in Radisson is well trained and groomed for their prospective role.
As per policy the staff room ratio is effectively 1:3. This implies that the
management is inclined to give their patrons a personalized attention. The
resort staff is multilingual, very essential in this industry for efficient
customer ……... I also happened to notice that staff at the Resort is of varied
ethnicity, to me it adds to the over all picture and symbolizes the very first
quality of our nation.
Offerings:
In Mamallapuram, luxury has but one name - Radisson. True to its style and class,
Radisson temple bay offers its customers the best of all the worlds. It has
total of 144 rooms. The patrons may also enjoy the Ayurvedic Spa facility for
rejuvenation. A 9 hole mini golf course is the highlight offering here.
Architecture:
The whole hotel is designed with local sensibilities. The outer structure is all
hut shaped with thatched roof on top. This gives the structure an ethnic look
and also places it well in its surroundings and increases the overall appeal of
the place.
The artifacts are mostly placed with
the sea and voyage theme. Several aquariums are placed to bring in the feel of
the sea in the interiors of the place. This enhances the travellers aesthetics
and maintains his connection with the environment even when indoors. This is
very important to enhance the consumers overall experience.
Food:
No travel is complete without good food. At Radisson Temple Bay food is just
great. The chefs have put in great efforts to prepare menu which can cater to
different tastes of tourists from various places and ethnicity. There is
Mediterranean timbale, Italian Lasagna, Indian Kababs, Coastal Sea-food.
The resort has two major diners and a
24 hour coffee shop. The Wharf, an open air diner, is currently under
renovation and is expected to start from 15th of this month. The
chef has promised to deliver sumptuous coastal cuisine on high demand. The
other diner is indoors, Santa Marina, named after one of the boat of the sailor
Copernicus. These small details add to the overall essence and theme of the
place.
Environment
Centricity: Radisson Resort Temple
Bay is committed to strive to achieve environmental and social sustainability
by conserving the energy & natural resources.
To cover the expanse of the place,
electric motor vehicles are used. The staff is seen to use bicycles. Radisson
Blu hotels all over the world have an eco-friendly CSR program called the
'Responsible Business' and are certified by Earth check on parameters of Eco
sensitiveness.
The USP’s of Radisson Temple Bay
1.
It’s the rated numero Uno resort in Chennai
amongst 305 others.
2.
The resort pulls good revenue due to its monopolistic
market presence. There was no threat of competition to their business till now.
3.
Radisson Temple Bay happens to be the only 5
star resort in and around Mamallapuram. This enables the resort to have
monopoly and thus caters to the upper upscale tourist market segment.
4.
Radisson offers its customer’s a mini Golf
course and also boasts the South Asia’s biggest swimming pool.
5.
Easy and user friendly online booking service.
6.
Invested in going Green.
Constraints:
The
resort does not lie on the main ECR but on an inner road leading into the town
Mamallapuram. It does not give it the visibility that the resort demands.
The
management should be ready for the upcoming competition. The Grand is coming up
in a very nearby locality. Very next to the Radisson is a Canadian entrepreneur
coming up with Grande Bay Resort. With competition next door, its going to be
an interesting war of existence or prudence.
Richa Agrawal
FT13464
Richa Agrawal
FT13464
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