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JW Marriott has managed to be the first hotel to open in Delhi's Aerocity after a delay of nine months and the budget moving up by Rs 200 crore. The luxury hotel is betting big on its location near the airport and Gurgaon to drive up occupancies. Simon F Cooper, president and managing director, Asia-Pacific, Marriott International, tells Ruchika Chitravanshi he finally had a sound sleep with the knowledge that he could now throw open the hotel at Aerocity to guests. Edited excerpts:
You have finally opened your hotel in Aerocity, crossing all the security hurdles. There was even a suggestion to raze off two floors. Did you find that bizzare?
It was a little bizzare since the whole zone was approved. Authorities, collectively, figured out what was required, but the hotel was still delayed. As a company, we are paranoid about security and we want to secure our guests in every way. But this was a disappointment. The developers made this hotel in record time of three months, which is really fast by Indian standards. But for six extra months, we had to incur additional costs in paying interests, salaries to 600 associates and maintenance of the property.
Even the Ritz Carlton property in Bangalore has opened after much delay...
That was a typical Indian delay. India has a complex environment to operate and build hotels in. A lot of additional infrastructure has to be built here. We have to create our own water treatment plant, duplicate the utilities. This costs us twice that of anywhere else in the world.
How many more of your hotels are located around airports? Have you faced similar hurdles elsewhere?
We have over 100 hotels across the world near airports, including the US, Hong Kong and London. Airport location is not accidental.
It is great to be in the Aerocity between Delhi and Gurgaon.
But we have never been held back from opening due to security issues. These requirements were not unreasonable but they were unanticipated.
The business environment in the hotel sector has been fraught with anxiety. How long will it take to emerge out of the slowdown?
The supply in the Indian market has been coming on the grounds that every year the GDP would continue to grow at 8 per cent. This has not happened. We will take longer to absorb the supply. May be instead of two years, it will now take four.
Many developers have burnt their fingers in the hospitality business, with several looking for an exit. Has it deterred your partnerships?
We have had great partners in Samhi, Rahejas and Asian Hotels West. They have the knowledge of the hotel industry and know that the gestation period is longer. We have trouble with those who do not have experience .
In the 14 years that you have been present in India, what has been your biggest lesson about the Indian market?
People have not really recognised how important the hospitality industry is. We have around 6,500 associates in India, of which only one is an expat.
There is huge legacy of hotels like Taj, Oberoi and ITC here. The infrastructure is a challenge.
But my biggest disappointment is that the visa regime is the most archaic in the world. It is very counter-intuitive. The world is moving to e-visa; it works so much better from a security-point of view. There are such nice campaigns of Incredible India, but when you actually decide to come, things get difficult.
