The Covid-19 pandemic has truly been a major disruptor to global travel trends. This holds true for the luxury segment as well. Timo Gruenert, CEO of German luxury hospitality brand Oetker Collection, knows it the best, as he says, “Travellers from India have almost doubled since the pandemic.” Managed by the Oetker family, the brand runs hotels across Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. According to the CEO, the Indian market “is gaining a lot of significance for us, especially post the pandemic”, which is what recently brought him and his team to the country, and they, in turn, brought here their Michelin-starred dining experience in collaboration with The Oberoi, New Delhi.
In a conversation with FE, Gruenert speaks about the Indian market, the brand’s expansion plans, and what defines the Oetker experience. Edited excerpts:
What trend have you seen regarding your Indian guests, especially post the Covid pandemic?
As I said, the number of travellers from India have doubled since the pandemic. Not only that, the Indian market is very much going for the top product, whether it is top suites in hotels, top villas, etc. While places like London, Paris and Venice have always been popular among Indians, Courchevel has seen the biggest rise, where we have seen the quickest improvement.
Speaking of demography, a property like in Courchevel is very popular among the young travellers who like to ski. On the other hand, those who book the villas, or come with an entourage, most probably travel with their kids and, hence, are roughly from 40 to 60 years old. So, that is the main bracket.
Regarding revenue, the business from India is roughly around 2-3%.
Are you tailoring your offerings to attract more Indian customers?
Overall, we try to tailor our offerings as much as possible to every individual guest, because every guest is different.
Having said that, the overall offering of vegetarian cuisine at our restaurants has definitely improved. But again, it’s not just the Indians who eat vegetarian food.
Speaking of tailoring the menu to the Indian taste, our Indian guests generally want to have a Michelin-starred French meal, and then they go to the best Indian restaurant afterwards. So, there isn’t that particular menu that we need to create, especially in big cities like Paris or London.
Any plans of opening in India?
Not immediately, to be honest. We are a small company with 12 hotels. And it took us 13 years to go from four hotels to 12. It tells you how slow and steady we go.
Our mission is to create masterpieces, and for that, you really need to understand the place. And understandably, it has to be in tune and in harmony with the local community. So, perhaps, we might open in India, but it will take about five to 10 years.
Most of your properties are in Europe and the Caribbean. What are the factors that you keep in mind for expansion? Where are you expanding next?
We follow the travel pattern of our guests. It is because we have realised, especially in the past few years, that we can be the most successful if we go to places where our guests travel to anyway.
Speaking of expansion, after Palm Beach, we are working on two properties: in Tuscany and Saint Tropez.
What defines the Oetker experience?
It is a combination of two things. First, one is related to the things one can see. Our hotels are more like homes of very affluent private individuals. The quality of the materials, the interior design at our hotels—all remind you more of the homes of an affluent family than the hotel. And that is what we ultimately call a masterpiece. For example, we recently opened in Capri, and I can say that about 80% of the things you see there have been designed from scratch for this particular hotel. This doesn’t normally exist in the world of hospitality.
And then, there is the experience—when you look around, and almost cannot believe the beauty around, the quality.
When you put these two things together, it creates a very rare experience. That is what Oetker Collection stands for, and tries to do. And that is the reason why we need at least 1.5 to 2 years for every new opening.