The discerning Indian globetrotter has caught the fancy of top international hotel chains, compelling them to do that extra bit to woo him. From offering Indian dishes in the buffet spread to flying Indian chefs abroad, from tweaking their room policies for accommodating the family entourage to attendants who help drape saris, hotels abroad are doing it all to please the increasing number of Indian guests.

International hotel majors such as Accor, luxury hotel chain Four Seasons, Marriott International, Mandarin Oriental, Starwood (which has nine brands) and Carlson affirm that the number of Indian travellers checking in at their properties overseas is increasing, registering a double-digit growth and providing them cushion against the recession that has hit the source markets of the West. In 2009, around 11.56 million Indians travelled abroad, while the projection for this year is pegged at around 12.61 million, as per a Euromonitor report.

That Indians offer great value to hotels can also be gauged from the ever-increasing number of Indian weddings and business events that are being organised in foreign locales. Sample this: JW Marriott in London has hosted as many as 63 Indian weddings in last one year!

No wonder then that hotels abroad are going the whole hog. Marriott International?s Area-VP (India, Malaysia, Maldives and Pakistan) Rajeev Menon points out that all Marriott properties abroad now have Indian cuisine as part of the buffet meals, which was not the case earlier. What?s more on the menu? Carlson Hotel?s EVP for South Asia, KB Kachru, agrees that in last one year most hotels have included at least a few vegetarian dishes in their buffet spreads and in-room dining options. ?Popular dishes such as Chicken Tikka curry and Kashmiri Pulao have been introduced at our multi-cuisine restaurants abroad,? he says. Carlson operates brands such as Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Plaza and Park Inn. Similarly, a spokesperson of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group says looking at the fact that how Indian outbound market is benefitting its business, especially in London, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the chain is now offering Indian options at its cafes and in-room dining.

Though some others such as Four Seasons still lay emphasis on international cuisine and have not made Indian cuisine a part of their regular menu, they too are holding Indian food promotions occasionally at their Asian properties looking at the increasing number of Indian guests.

There?s more to gastronomic delights that international hotels are offering to the Indian clientele. Last year, for an Indian business group that was flying to Shanghai for a conference, Accor Group flew a chef from India to serve them vegetarian delicacies. Since then it has become quite a norm for the hotel chain to transport Indian chefs to it?s properties abroad as and when required. ?For big MICE groups (business travellers), we now try sending chefs from India. Indians feel comfortable with chefs from their country, especially when it comes to vegetarian food,? says Daniel Tannenbaum, regional director, Accor India. Accor?s properties in Europe are witnessing a 20% annual growth in number of Indian travellers.

Other than cuisine, hotels are also adding convenient features and facilities to take care of their Indian customers. Tannenbaum points to an interesting fact: ?India has a laidback culture, and they prefer having late breakfast and dinner as compared to our European guests. So for the convenience of Indians, we have started keeping our buffet and outlets open till late.?

Besides focussing on the softer elements, hospitality majors are also tweaking their business strategies to woo more Indians. ?Our global website is geo-localised and each time it recognises an Indian IP address logging on the website, it highlights products that Indians prefer such as our budget brands Ibis and Mercure,? explains Tannenbaum. Accor also has introduced flexible room policies as Indians mostly travel with other family members, making the concept of double-occupancy or single-occupancy redundant. Similarly, Four Seasons has its sales and marketing heads of various international properties converging in India on a regular basis to interact with customers and travel agents to attract more Indian tourists.

Back-home, too, international hospitality brands are witnessing an improved ratio of domestic to foreign travellers, compelling them to offer all they can to the Indians. Saji Joseph, general manager of Alila Diwa, Goa property of the international boutique hotel chain Alila Hotels and Resorts, points out that when the hotel was opened a few months, they expected only 30% of the guests to be Indians, but actually half of them turn out to be domestic travellers. No wonder then that the hotel now has a 100% vegetarian kitchen (and a separate kitchen for non-vegetarian food), that too a live one where those finicky about their greens can see the preparation. They also have the quintessential Indian cook on their culinary board, besides a children?s centre as the hotel has observed that as high as 90% leisure tourists in India still travel with their children. They also have lady managers to assist women in draping saris.

You know the Indian traveller has arrived when Raymond Bickson, MD of the largest homegrown hotel chain, Taj Hotels, agrees. The ratio of foreign to domestic clients has improved from 70:30 to 50:50 across brands, he points out. The era when hotels were solely dependent on inbound travellers is definitely pass