(L to R) Varghese Alukka, managing director, Jos Alukkas Group; Sidharth Gupta, co-founder & CEO, Treebo Hospitality VenturesRadisson Hotel Group (RHG) launched their India-specific Park Inn & Suites by Radisson (PIS) on December 6, 2024 at Thrissur in Kerala. Sourcewas in Thissur and spoke exclusively to Nikhil Sharma, managing director and area senior vice president at Radisson Hotel Group; Sidharth Gupta, co-founder & CEO, Treebo Hospitality Ventures (THV); and Varghese Alukka, managing director, Jos Alukkas Group on the occasion. The new hotel is the beginning of a lot of firsts—RHG’s first India centric brand, the first brand to be built and operated through Treebo Hospitality Ventures who have what can be described as a master franchise for the Park Inn & Suites by Radisson.“This is truly a win-win partnership between Treebo and Radisson. We’ve got a very strong brand, huge global reputation and respect in the form of Radisson which has been in India for 25 years,” said Gupta.Treebo, he said, started speaking to Radisson about three years ago and began the process of actually fleshing out the brand fully a year ago—at which time there was already a strategy and process within RHG to capture the mid-market segment. “We got the opportunity to become outside thought partners in that process. It’s a fully Radisson owned brand, and they deserve all the credit for coming up with a fantastic brand. And when we got talking, it became clear to both sides that there is value that Treebo could add as a company to the brand for three reasons—we understand tier two, tier three city landscapes and have a good market presence and connections and knowledge for the affordable segment. “Technology is very important, because for a brand like this, everything needs to be tailor-made and fit for the segment. There’s been a fantastic effort of integration between the two companies from a technology standpoint. And finally in terms of sales and marketing, we have a large pan-India sales team on the ground and technology enabled OTA management, revenue management, which is all centralised. So we are able to just deploy that ready made engine,” Gupta said about the two brands coming together for the Park Inn & Suites by Radisson deal. The two companies have a ten-year contract for around 150 hotels across India, he added. “From a relationships perspective, there couldn’t have been a better marriage—in the capability that Siddharth (Gupta) and his team brings in the mindset that he can get with the owners, because they’ve been doing this for many years in that space, they’re in more cities than us, so their grassroot understanding is fantastic,” Sharma said, adding, “From an international brand perspective, we will be the only international brand which will be in 114 cities. We will cross 100 cities in the next forward looking statement, depending on how fast PIS closes, because next year, PIS is one of the growth engine brands for us, we should be 100 plus cities in the next three years from now”.The world’s first Park Inn & Suites by Radisson in Thrissur, Kerala. THP plays a role in this expansion, Sharma said, and it was through the seamless integration of the technologies of the two companies as well as the addition of his company’s loyalty programme allowed corporate customers to enter the mid-market segment where PIS operates.“PIS opens up for us, cities and locations which we couldn’t have put a brand in because of room constraints or the size of the brand. Most importantly, given India’s growth, given GDP growth of 9 percent, the mid-scale and upscale hotels will be the growth driver in my view,” Sharma said adding, “Treebo is like the master franchisee for us. We own the brand, the sales and marketing as well as oversee the brand standards, we depend on Treebo on ground to deliver the properties and expand it for us”.Park Inn & Suites by Radisson is a phenomenal product and once it is more tested in the India market, It is definitely scalable not only to SAARC nations, but to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Pacific Rim and beyond—it is a brand that will grow, Sharma felt. Varghese Alukka, managing director, Jos Alukkas Group, who are a well-known jewellery retail brand, as a Thrissur native was overjoyed by the opening of his company’s entry into their hometown with Park Inn & Suites by Radisson. The property construction began in 2019 with the intention of being run by the group itself, Alukka began, but with Covid-19 things were put on hold. They were approached by the brand in 2022 and signed the deal in October-November 2024, to open within a year. “From the very beginning I wanted this property in such a way that it reflected the high brand standards of Jos Alukkas Group. I could have spent a little less, a little lower cost also, but I felt that the investment would pay off by the product’s high standard,” Alukka said. This was the first international branded hotel to open up within Thrissur—The Hyatt Regency Thrissur is in the outskirts of the city, he said. “I was looking for a business hotel in the mid-market segment with a room pricing of between INR 4000-5000. People expect a certain standard when they hear Joy Alukkas name and that is fulfilled by Radisson’s own high standards,” he added.
Published On Dec 9, 2024 at 12:59 PM IST
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