Never Say Never

Divya Verma - Manager - Domestic Key Accounts

 

“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan

 

We often have set notions about what we think the customer wants. For many years, we had assumed that the luxury segment in India was niche, and that only a premium traveller would want to live in luxury accommodations. Hence, we thought that the high price point was always going to be a problem for us. 

 

As little as a few months ago, luxury hotels were a relatively uncharted territory for us, and we were far from exploring its true potential. Based on customer interviews and personal interactions, we realized that the constantly evolving consumer desired to experience truly unique luxury properties, which were a name in themselves. All we had to do was sweeten the deal a bit and with the right mix of supply, product, revenue and marketing, we could make luxury accessible to all!

 

This was something we had never thought of before. However, we did not let past trends hold us back. Instead, we started working on the high-hanging fruit—the super-premium Oberoi Vilas, where we were not even selling one room night a day. We asked for a chance to sell these hotels by experimenting with certain offers. The timing was right, as these hotels were witnessing a decline in inbound traffic and a fall in overall revenue. The hotels took a chance on us, and it paid off. We recorded a year-on-year growth of 552% with these hotels. The secret sauce? We marketed these offers to the right audience, invested in the right offers and truly made a mark for ourselves with the hotel chain. 

 

The voice of the customer is key and we were listening. Premium can be affordable and when aspirations run high, it only takes a little bit of effort to go the extra mile and make the impossible happen!