Hotel industry & Hyd city are growing together at a fast pace

Novotel Hyderabad Airport (NHA) has been welcoming guests since 2008. In order to provide its guests with up-to-date, unique and invigorating experiences, the hotel is making consistent innovations and changes towards growth. Over the years, the hotel has successfully established NHA as a destination for families, corporate guests, social events and international travellers alike. Rubin Cherain, General Manager of Novotel Hyderabad Airport, brings with him more than two decades of domain expertise in hospitality industry, having served in various key management positions across locations. In an interaction with Bizz Buzz, Rubin explains how we will be focusing on enhancing overall guest experience, for stellar growth in revenues

How has Novotel Hyderabad grown over the years?

Novotel Hyderabad Airport (NHA) has proudly been welcoming guests since 2008. In order to provide our guests with up-to-date, unique and invigorating experiences, there have been consistent innovations and changes towards growth. Over the years, we have successfully established NHA as a destination for families, corporate guests, social events and International travellers alike. Our growth has been exponential in terms of the innovative experiences created for unique food and beverage promotions that will upgrade the experience throughout Hyderabad with our inventive strategies. This has enabled us to be recognized as one of the finest restaurants in Hyderabad. Our newly opened Food Exchange has also been awarded with the Times Food award for 2022.

Since inception we have been tapping into the crew business and expanded over the years with addition to top corporates, weddings and leisure staycations. From adapting to the new normal post Covid to successful expansion plans in 2020, we have witnessed tremendous growth over the years. We thrive towards innovation with our sustainable initiatives, such as launching the herb garden at the property where we grow our own produce. At NHA, the goal has always been to grow and develop with time and provide the best guest experiences while staying relevant and current.

What are the unique features of the hotel?

Novotel Hyderabad Airport is the only International hotel located near Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport which is not only well connected to the airport but is also at a 30 minute hassle-free drive from key areas of Hyderabad. NHA is also unique in that it provides the best of both worlds by being a business hotel with all relevant amenities while having the space design of a resort. Our large inventory of 300 keys along with the revamped lobby, bar and restaurants with their F&B offerings is considered to be the best in the city within this segment. Additionally, NHA has a spectacular sports arena with basketball, volleyball and lawn tennis courts available along with other recreational activities. NHA has something for everyone.

What has been your role in the hotel and its growth?

Novotel Hyderabad Airport is now 14 years old and I am the fifth General Manager for this hotel since its inception. While all the previous GM's had a pivotal role to play to get the Hotel to where it is today, I was fortunate enough to see the phase of highest revenue that the hotel has ever acquired, overcoming all of the challenges related to Covid and managing the business with minimal disruption. I have had the opportunity to oversee the much awaited renovation of the hotel and finally re-launch our new restaurant and bar. A property as great as NHA makes one's creative energy spark and identify room for innovation. Along with my talented team, we have added a couple of new revenue generating areas out of unused spaces within the hotel. To give a few examples, we curated an organic herb garden called 'The Patch', developed a camping site called 'Area 44' with added features to enhance the experience, created a new outlet by the pool garden where food and beverage could be relished in the lap of nature, a new concept called 'Petnic' where your pets and you could have a fun filled evening with variety of entertainment and food and much more. It has been an exhilarating journey to reach new heights with NHA and I am hopeful to continue on this trajectory for the future.

Being an airport hotel, how do your services stand out from the other hotels in the vicinity?

We, at NHA, aim to stand out through the quality of our curated experiences and services. In the area, we're the only hotel with the amenities of a business hotel and the design of a resort. The hotel also has recreational activities available to be utilized as a stress buster. We have a fleet of professional chefs and managers who ensure the quality is maintained before the food reaches guests in order to ensure their experience is not hampered. Whether it's a la carte or buffet, our menu is well suitable for local and international guests who come to our hotel. This we plan through constant feedback, doing regular menu engineering and upgrading our menus.

Is there scope for any expansion plans within the hotel?

Our rooms are currently undergoing a soft refurbishment. Our hotel is owned by the GMR group, which also owns the Hyderabad International Airport with a 1,500 acres land parcel in the vicinity, allowing room for expansion. We do have plans to add a midscale and an economy segment hotel in the coming future to spread our wings of the exceptional Accor service.

What is the feedback from guests about the hotel and how important are they?

Feedback from our guests is of the utmost importance to us. We deeply value our guest's reviews about their experiences and are constantly taking the same into consideration in order to make the experience at NHA the best that it can possibly be. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback recently with regards to the newly refurbished lobby and restaurants at the property. Guests have loved the quality of the food, innovations and events curated and have inspired us to do more. Guests have provided valuable recommendations of what additions can be tailored into our buffets which the team has instantly implemented.

What promotions have you lined up for the rest of the year?

Festivities are upon us and end of the year holiday celebrations are around the corner. The vibe is already setting in and we are all set to host the cake mixing and grape stomping brunch followed by a series of events like Xmas, NYE etc. We also have exciting events planned such as wine dinners etc. in order to provide our key/loyal guests a curated experience. We have also introduced exhilarating permanent specials such as the Splash Brunch, Friday Night Grills, and themed cuisine every Saturday to keep our guests excited and satisfied with curated experiences every week.

How important is Hyderabad for the growth of the hotel?

Hyderabad, being the largest city and the capital of Telangana, has many headquarters of upscale companies, startups, manufacturing industries, automobiles, and other significant organisations. Hyderabad attracts hordes of tourists every year due to the presence of various sightseeing spots and its impeccable weather. The city has been a fast-emerging market for the hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors for years. Hyderabad is steadily growing as a business hub and since the hotel's major contributors currently are MICE events, social groups and domestic/leisure staycations, it directly impacts our growth as well.

What is your opinion of the hotel industry in Hyderabad?

The hotel industry and Hyderabad are together growing at a fast pace. We are comparing numbers to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019 and the performances are better than ever before. One of the reasons for the accelerating growth of the Hyderabad hospitality industry is being attributed to its rising popularity as a business hub and consequently as a real estate hotspot. Medical tourism is another major driver of this growth. World-class infrastructure, favourable weather conditions, and global connectivity are certain characteristics that give the Hyderabad hospitality industry an undeniable edge over many other Indian cities. Bagging the new title of the World Green City award 2022 beating 18 other cities of the world really adds another feather to our cap.