WelcomHeritage's new-property scouting trail takes it to the northeast, Punjab's Himalayan foothills and the very centre of India. | |
| If you have always wanted to stay at a heritage hotel but denied yourself the pleasure just because you thought it expensive, think again. |
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| According to Rakesh Mathur, president of WelcomHeritage, a lot of domestic tourists are now opting for a heritage hotel experience primarily because these aren't highly priced any longer. In fact, the demand is so strong that it is pushing this hospitality chain to look for more heritage properties around the country. |
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| WelcomHeritage has recently added seven new properties to the network, taking the total number to 43. The new ones include three tea homes in Jorhat (Ghatoonga Bungalow, Burra Sahib's Bungalow, Thengal Manor Bungalow) and one in Shillong (Rosaville Cottage). These mark the chain's entry to the country's northeast region. |
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| Other new properties on its destination map: the 29-room Denzong Cherry Banks Retreat in Gangtok, and Narmada Jacksons, a heritage hotel in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and Kikar Lodge, a unique spa-retreat located in India's first private forest reserve in Nurpur near Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. |
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| WelcomHeritage has made it its mission to spot old heritage properties and strike deals with owners to help turn them into hospitality assets (a much lower-scale version of the brilliant strategy employed by the Taj group vis-a-vis India's palaces). "Most of these properties are inherited by the owners," says Mathur. |
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| WelcomHeritage has two different type of contracts "" a management contract, which it signs only in city locations, and a franchise agreement, which is a management services deal that offers help in training, purchase as well as marketing of the property. The primary investment is borne by the owners. |
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| The owners of the tea homes in Jorhat and Shillong, for example, are spending about Rs 30-40 lakh on refurbishing their properties and getting them upto WelcomHeritage standards. |
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| Denzong Cherry Banks Retreat in Gangtok is a greenfield property being built at a cost of Rs 4 crore. Narmada Jacksons in Jabalpur, with 66 rooms, is being renovated and restored at a cost of Rs 5-6 crore. And the resort-cum-spa at Nurpur has been built at a cost of Rs 4 crore. |
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| Observers, however, are most intrigued by the northeast venture. According to Mathur, there are golfing holiday opportunities too. There exist some 19 golf courses in Assam, between Guwahati and Digboi. |
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| "We will actively promote the golf course on our properties. On its part, the Assam government needs to promote golf tourism across the state," says Mathur. |
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| On the whole, the chain is claimed to be prospering, thanks in part to increased travel by Indians within India. Its hillstation properties, for example, are already sold out till the end of June. |
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| Even its chain of houseboats in Jammu & Kashmir, new additions to the network, are doing very well with a 70-per cent occupancy. |
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| In 2005-06, the total turnover of all WelcomHeritage properties was Rs 35 crore, of which the chain's slice is about 5-6 per cent. Clearly: rapid expansion is a must. |
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