Heritage hotels in India are focused on catering to the evolving preferences of the new age global traveller who is looking for a lifestyle experience of traditional hospitality with modern chic and comfort By Sudipta Dev
The heritage hospitality sector in India has evolved through the years to give the new age global traveller experiences that are unique and enriching. From the colonial bungalows in Uttarakhand to sprawling palaces in Rajasthan to intimate homestays in Kerala, the wide portfolio of heritage hospitality that India offers to its guests come with the immersive experiences of the land on which the property had stood for hundreds of years.
Interestingly, what the guests demand today is a blend of the old and the new, the past and the present. Joerg Drechsel, joint secretary, Indian Heritage Hotels Association acknowledges that travellers today want the flavour of heritage and genuine culture blended with urban chic and comforts, caring also for sustainability and social responsibility. “Heritage is becoming a part of a lifestyle experience, promoted by lifestyle press and style conscious web portals like Mr & Mrs. Smith or I-escape,” he adds. Drechsel, who is the creative director of Kerala based Malabar Escapes, is also the chairman of the Asian chapter of Relais & Chateaux. His property, Malabar House in Fort Cochin was the first member of Relais & Chateaux in India. “We are extremely design conscious and create a unique ambience by using traditional craft techniques to create a contemporary design vocabulary and ambience. Site specific artworks of contemporary artists enter in a dialogue with traditional arts and crafts to create a treasure trove of a visualised cultural dialogue,” he explains.
Integrating traditional hospitality with modern comforts in many ways tones down the over the top experiences which are sometimes overwhelming for the guests. Drechsel gives a few recent examples of different approaches to redesigning heritage properties – La Villa in Puducherry, a five bedroom conversion of a colonial home in the French Quarter with contemporary design full of references to the traditional crafts; Rajmahal Palace in Jaipur by Sujan, a high end renovation of an Art Deco royal guesthouse, infusing an eclectic mix of specially crafted wall papers designed by Adil Ahmad to create different contemporary, yet historically rooted ambience in each room; the new restaurant of Samode Haveli in Jaipur, blending royal splendour with great comforts and back of the house a state-of-the-art high tech kitchen preparing extraordinary food.
Samode Hotels group has in fact taken new initiatives to constantly upgrade the property and facilities for enhancing the experience. “We aim to provide activities and themes that are reminiscent to the era of the past. Most importantly, we work with the community which has been a family trait for several years by providing employment opportunities directly and indirectly to the people from the villages in and around Samode,” says Yadavendra Singh, co-owner of Samode Hotels. He points out that luxury at these hotels comes from the fusion of traditional and contemporary. Heritage hotels allow guests to experience life like a royal or a nobleman for a short time, providing a welcome break from the grind of the everyday routine.
It is important to mention Neemrana Hotels that has worked concertedly towards creating a niche whereby the experiencing of history and its architectural treasures has now become a part of the Indian tourism repertoire.
Getting innovative
There are also enterprising heritage hotel owners who have sought to do the innovative, like Abhay Mangaldas, founder and MD, The House of MG in Ahmedabad. The 40-room property built in 1924, has been converted into a live retail space. From four poster beds to artefacts to the ‘thali’ in the restaurant – all the products can be bought by the guests for personal use as well as gifting. These products are made by local craftsmen and support the community. The property is also very tech friendly, with GPS tagged itinerary, audio guides, online cookbooks and a soon to be launched recipe app. The e-commerce site in fact is very successful and earns good revenue. “I am not a hotelier, but an entrepreneur. This is our great grandfather’s house. It is an effort to upkeep the house, along with it there is a whole tradition in our family to support the community around it, which has many artisans, so it was an organic process. While all retailers try to create an experience within a shop, here it is actually an experience as the guests are in the premises for such a long time. It is an obvious extension of the idea that if the guests use something traditional and like it, they will buy it,” says Mangaldas.
The main aspect about any heritage hotel is the experience of the place, which includes the lifestyle along with activities like traditional stories, walks. “If a person comes to us we give a 360 degree experience than just a stay,” states Mangaldas, pointing out that, The House of MG is very tech friendly. “We offer them a guide with an audio walk which they can take around Ahmedabad. When people come to our hotel, we do not give them an experience of a bygone era, but actually living in a person’s home today. It is very much designed on a contemporary lifestyle rooted in tradition but adopting technology very easily. Heritage is often considered a fuddy-duddy subject for the old people. We are bringing it to the youth. We want to take a fresh take on heritage,” he adds.
At the other end of the spectrum is the expansive Fort Rampura in Chambal ravines, a unique homestay for those who are keen to explore an interesting new destination in India’s hinterlands. The six hundred year old ravine retreat has been the home of Rampura family for 14 generations. A part of the fort has been converted into a homestay. “We have tried to keep the whole experience offbeat, intimate, and homely. Most of our guests are international tourists who want to know so much about India,” says Padmini Singh, who owns the fort with her husband Keshavendra Singh. The ravines are just behind the fort, guests are taken for a walk into the ravines. A drive through the ravines is also an exciting experience for the guests, who are also told interesting local tales. They are also escorted to the local village bazaars and melas. The heritage homestay has been attracting many inbound guests, primarily through word of mouth recommendations and excellent TripAdvisor ratings.
Fillip to business
The inbound segment being the key target market for heritage hospitality, the industry is hopeful that the introduction of e-visa will boost their business. “The rich culture and heritage of India are few major factors that attract foreign tourism and with the introduction of visa on arrival and e-visa, tourists who intend to visit India can easily manage with a simplified procedure sitting in their homes,” says Sunil Sikka, head – Marketing & Business Development, WelcomHeritage.
Drechsel, however, rues that the e-visa works only in some countries. “Our main arrivals are from the UK and France. There the e-visa is still not available, to the contrary, to get a visa has become more difficult! It requires that the visa applicant goes himself to the embassy or consulate general for photometric identification. Many people live far away, have travel expenses and lose a day of work,” he mentions.
There has been significant growth from the domestic market in recent years. Singh believes that the trend is likely to continue as more people are opting for weekend getaways and staycations with family and loved ones. “Local and cultural experiences are also likely to play a major role in deciding the venue for destinations and focus is shifting to Tier II and Tier III cities,” points out Singh.
New destinations
The trend now in domestic market is shifting to heritage and unique destinations. “Tourists now look for unique experiences and exclusive destinations. “India possesses many untapped assets in quaint locations and the heritage hospitality segment still remains an unexplored market which is gradually gaining importance in tourism,” adds Sikka.
WelcomHeritage has added four new properties to its portfolio this year namely WH Lha-Ri-Sa Resorts, Leh-Ladakh under the category of Nature Resorts; WH Urvashi’s Retreat, Manali, a Nature Resort; WH Glenview Resort, Kasauli, a Nature Resort; and WH Bungalow 1936, Lucknow, a Heritage Hotel. “With this we look forward to adding more properties in the coming years with an aim to offer unique experiences to our guests across all states of India. In near future WelcomHeritage is aiming new properties in Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and North East destinations,” informs Sikka.
It is interesting to see state governments, who previously never gave thought to the segment, are now understanding its great potential to attract tourists. Recently, Uttar Pradesh government has introduced a new Heritage Policy under which the owner of a heritage property that has been built before 1950 can develop it into a hotel, and the government gives them a lot of sops including an amount of Rs 1.5 crore. “We will help them with liquor license, if it is in a far flung area we can even provide them with a dedicated power feeder for their hotel,” states Dr Shashank Vikram, managing director, UP State Tourism Development Corporation. Belying the common perception that most heritage hotels are in Rajasthan, Vikram asserts, “UP was the hotbed of historical incidences. There are so many heritage properties here. As a government we simply have to facilitate things, the product has already been there for centuries. We started slightly late, but will fast track our efforts.”
Heritage Hospitality Association of Uttar Pradesh was formed two years back with the aim of promoting heritage tourism in the state of UP. The association comprises of those people who own palaces, forts and havelis in the state and are keen to convert their properties into hotels. “Through the association the first step that we took was to push the government to give us some incentives on the restoration and promotion of these old buildings for tourism purposes,” said Pradiyumn Narain Dutta Singh, secretary, Heritage Hospitality Association of UP. These properties are located in the entire state of Uttar Pradesh – in Buddhist circuit, religious circuit, wildlife circuit, etc. “Most of the properties are owned by former landlords and zamindars and they’ve all had something typical about their family, either the food or culture or dress. We would promote all these aspects though tourism in these properties. There are local handicrafts of those areas, which we also want to promote,” he says. Promotion of Heritage Arc by the state government is the best thing that could have happened as the entire concentration of tourism will be around Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi. People can go to the interiors and visit these heritage properties from these cities as landing and exit base.
Heritage properties have also emerged as perfect locations for grand weddings and high end conferences. WelcomHeritage has 41 hotels spread across 13 states of India and many hotels have conferencing and wedding facilities. WelcomHeritage conferencing destinations include WH Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Bhopal; WH Khimsar Fort, Khimsar; WH Taragarh Palace, Palampur; WH Mandir Palace, Jaisalmer; WH Umed Bhawan Palace, Kota; WH Corbett Ramganga Resort, Corbett;and others. “As all of these WelcomHeritage properties are located at unique destinations, they offer exclusive leisure experiences along with MICE. Moreover, we have hosted many weddings at WelcomHeritage properties,” mentions Sikka. Many of the properties have been destinations for film shootings as well.