Accor’s presence in the Aerocity has been bolstered courtesy the launch of first Pullman in India. As Accor sets itself for an unprecedented expansion in the coming years, its deep commitment in India is reflected in its long-term aim of becoming a leading employment generator in the nation.
In a glittering ceremony which saw the participation of a plethora of dignitaries ranging from the Union Civil Aviation Minister and French Ambassador to India, The Accor group officially launched its 100th Pullman and its first in India. Located in the Aerocity, the latest launch is expected to boost Accor’s positioning in this MICE stronghold – it already has a Novotel and Ibis in the vicinity. Aimed at tapping the MICE segment, the hotel offers one of the largest boardroom spaces available in the capital apart from 13 meeting rooms and options of tailored solutions for varied corporate needs. Themed on a peacock, the hotel offers vibrant colours, interesting patterns and unique dining options – ranging from Organic food to Asian street flavours.
Speaking at the occasion, Gajapati Raju, Civil Aviation Minister hoped that such endeavors would be beneficial in not only generating employment in the service sector, but also help strengthen ties between the two nations. While, French Ambassador François Richier opined that Accor’s engagement would help bring top hospitality experience, credible CSR initiatives and help generate skills in local youth creating more employment. Currently boasting of a portfolio which includes 34 hotels, it has plans to launch 45 new properties in the coming three years. Incidentally, Novotel, too, will complete 10 years in India in 2016.
We want to become India’s biggest employment generator in hospitality
Sebastian Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive officer, Accor Hotels has planned big on India. He intends to aggressively increase Accor’s foot-prints by launching 45 new properties in the coming years apart from creating ample employment opportunities by skill augmentation.
Calling India strategic to Accor’s growth in the region, Sebastian Bazin expressed joy over inaugurating 100th Pullman and first in the capital. “India is strategic to our growth in the region. With a growing network of 34 hotels in India, AccorHotels is well positioned to take a leadership position in the upscale and midscale categories and to confirm its position as first operator in terms of convention space in India,” he said.
He shared with the gathering that Accor was on course of opening one new property every two days and it intended to carry on with its aggressive expansion plan. Terming Accor’s relationship with India an everlasting one, he revealed that the company was planning to more than double its number in the coming three years. “We have around 45 new hotels coming up in India, in the next two-three years. It demonstrates our seriousness with which we will engage with India,” he said in the interaction. We are looking at the next 50 years, that’s how serious we are about India,” he added.
Linking these development with possibilities in employment generation in the country, he revealed that Accor intended to become one of the leading employment generators in the Indian hospitality sector. Stressing on the need for adequate skill development facilities, he shared that creating trained hospitality workforce in India was one of their important missions. “We owe it to this country. We already train over 1, 00,000 people around the world every year. It will be an important cause for us to train uneducated young men and women acquire skills to find suitable employment in hospitality industry,” he said.
MICE key focus; but want the hotel to be known as a F&B destination
Tristan Beau de Lomenie has been associated with the project since its inception. An ideal MICE getaway, given its sprawling convention capability, he now intends to carve a niche for the hotel by offering unique F&B experience making it a destination for culinary delight.
Given the elaborate meeting halls, lavish sitting spaces, cafeterias and lounges, Pullman’s positioning as a one stop MICE hotel is a certainty. However, as much as a MICE hotel, it is also gearing up to station itself as a F&B destination. In a bid to diversify its offerings, the hotel has come up with innovative concepts boasting of restaurants like Honk serving Asian street food!
Tristan tells us that he had a clear vision for creating a top-notch culinary experience and he wanted it to be a unique offering. “If you want to do well as a hotel in Delhi, you have to excel in F&B. If we only concentrate on rooms, we will fail. One has to be creative and that was the mission I gave to my team – to come up unique concepts and be good at them,” he says. “We want guests from all over the city to find an F&B destination in our property and enjoy our hospitality,” he adds.
Strong on concepts and uniqueness, a walk in the newly constructed Pullman in the Aerocity reveals that the hotel has been themed on peacocks. A number of patterns depicting peacock feathers and its vibrant colours can be found on carpets and ceilings giving it a rustic Indian vibe. “In certain ways it’s a fusion of French hospitality with Indian feel and vibe,” says Tristan. “The credit goes to our wonderful designer who conceptualized the idea of a theme and you will find it everywhere. From designs of the floor carpet to peacock feather shaped glass hanging from the ceiling – Colours and patterns are ubiquitous.
Talking about his strength as a hotel and its intended standing, he shares that he wanted to position it primarily as a MICE hotel. “Facilities of this hotel are almost perfect. It is ideally suited for the MICE market. We have one of the biggest ballroom space in the capital that can hold very large convention,” he says. “In addition to this, we have combo brand i.e. Pullman and Novotel – which is closely linked to Ibis. So having these brands gives us a great opportunity to cater to a wide range of market and strongly position ourselves in the MICE segment,” he reasons.
This development has a positive bearing of Aerocity which has found hard to realize its proposed development plans. As Pullman unveils its 100th hotel, it will augment Aerocity’s MICE credentials. Tristan shares that the ultimate objective of all the hotels here was to make Aerocity itself a thriving MICE destination and believes that collaboration with other hotels was one way to do it. “Large conventions can sometimes, comprise of over a thousand delegates and we only have 670 rooms. We also need to keep some rooms for our regular visitors. In such a situation, collaboration with neighbours is a way out. So, it’s very co-existential space we work in,” says GM.
