Candida Moraes

Ginger Hotels is the new chain of modern, comfortable and reasonably priced hotels from Indian Hotels

Ginger, the humble rhizome that adds spice to Asian cooking, has got a new avatar. The bright orange and red-fronted building at Haridwar is now a symbol of the warm and simple yet stylish world of Ginger Hotels — a refreshing new concept in hospitality at a reasonable price.

Ginger is the new name of IndiOne, the Smart Basics hotels from Roots Corporation a 100-per cent subsidiary of Indian Hotels. The Smart Basics hotel concept actually took root in Whitefield, Bangalore, with the launch of the first hotel in June 2004. The concept, developed in association with renowned corporate strategy thinker Dr CK Prahalad, was to create a unique 'space' that was conducive not only for guest comfort and relaxation but also for their work requirements.

The target was the new traveller who was price conscious, looking for quality and convenience and willing to try out new service offerings. The design of the hotel, from the rooms to the furniture and lighting systems, offered guests a unique sense of welcome.

Two years later, the company, armed with operational learning and feedback from guests, has changed several features, incorporated improvements in certain areas and upgraded others. The second hotel was launched at Haridwar in March 2006. The property has a contemporary new exterior design, improved in-room look and feel with superior features.

"The launch of Ginger is a cause for celebration, as this is our GenNext product that will be rolled out across the country this year," explains Roots Corporation COO Uday Narain. "Based on the expectations of the traveller, our learning from the prototype as well as research through independent agencies, we have reshaped product and service deliveries going forward," he adds.

Notes CEO Prabhat Pani: "All the hotels under the Ginger brand characterise freshness — the hotel is simple, unique, reasonably priced and innovative."

Fresh and friendly
Why brand it as Ginger? The company spent a year researching and understanding the personality and the characteristics that arise from 'ginger'. "Ginger is a more easily understood, global, monosyllabic brand name and reflects the values of our product — simple, fresh, warm and modern," says Narain. The company also felt that it was the right time to re-brand the hotels as it is on the threshold of major expansion plans.

Commenting on the brand name change, Raymond Bickson, managing director, Indian Hotels, says the hotel in Bangalore was a prototype of the Smart Basics category that has changed the dynamics of the entire hospitality industry and has emerged as a compelling business opportunity. "Having studied consumer behaviour and feedback, we understood that a change in name was required as we readied for a nation-wide launch of these hotels. The Ginger brand will also be appropriate for achieving a global presence once we have established ourselves across India."

The Ginger Hotels are modern, modular and scalable, and promise to provide guests with a consistent experience. Each property has about 100-200 rooms which have basic amenities such as electronic locks, mini-fridge and tea / coffee maker. Guest facilities include a meeting room, gymnasium facilities, a cyber café, an ATM as well as wi-fi connectivity by Tata Indicom in the public areas and individual rooms.

The hotel has undergone several changes from the first prototype. The room size has been increased and light filters in through bigger windows. Ergonomic chairs with rollers and self-cleaning showers have been provided for the comfort of guests. The mini bars have been changed to vapour absorption technology, much superior to the previous thermoelectric technology. A kiosk that eases the check-in process has been introduced for the first time in India. Improved security, with the increase in the number of CCTV cameras and surge protectors, has been introduced to protect sensitive electronic equipment.

What has not changed is the price which continues to be under Rs 1,500 ($30) a night. "Ginger Hotels has created a new category in the domestic hospitality landscape, while giving a major fillip to Indian tourism and its ancillary industries," adds Partha Chatterjee, general manager — sales and marketing.

Spreading roots
Roots Corporation has bigger plans in store for Ginger. The first hotel in Bangalore saw a mix of guests ranging from entrepreneurs, professional and corporate executives to families and individuals on holiday. It achieved an average occupancy of over 85 per cent since its launch, which is quite an achievement considering that the company has not undertaken any major advertising. It is mainly word-of-mouth and guest feedback that has generated business. It has also generated 15 per cent of its business through online bookings (as against the industry average of under 5 per cent), which offered slightly lower rates.

The company is now ready to roll out Ginger Hotels across India, starting with Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Mysore, Trivandrum, Durgapur and Goa. That would make it eight hotels by the end of this year. Further, construction work will soon begin at Pondicherry, Nashik, Varanasi, Agartala and Tirupur in the near future. Each of the hotels will have about 100 rooms.

Despite rising property costs and the scarcity of good land, Ginger Hotels has shortlisted about 100 cities, which it believes have the potential for sustaining such hotels. The company hopes to build 10-15 hotels every year. "All these locations have been identified after detailed studies across various parameters such as potential of the market, clusters of clientele and peak periods, among others," clarifies Chatterjee.

The company is confident that the price at which the rooms are available will continue to have an excellent price-performance equation and also foresees that the scale of the project (with hotels across the country) will create its own pull for business.

The final word of appreciation comes from guests. Much of the feedback has been enthusiastic and praise has come in for the contemporary design and luxurious rooms. Many have even called the properties a home away from home. "I wish more hotels like this one come up around the country," commented an official from Emirates Holidays after a stay at the Bangalore hotel.

Ginger Hotels is determined to keep up the good work by providing all key benefits a traveller seeks and catering to his or her comfort and well being. "We are determined to give the traveller what he wants but will not confuse 'expensive' with better," explains Chatterjee. "We want to stick by what we believe in: simple, fresh, warm and modern."

The Ginger journey has just begun. So the next time you are travelling to a smaller city make sure to keep an eye out for the cheery Ginger colours to chase your travelling blues away.

Uploaded on September 7, 2006