‘We Have Highest Score For Luxury Hotel Brand Globally’

The Postcard Hotels & Resorts has signed up assets worth more than Rs 2,672 crore in just five years, charting phenomenal growth. In an exclusive interaction with Jyotsna Sharma of BW Businessworld, Kapil Chopra, Founder & CEO of the luxury hotel brand talks about the philosophy behind The Postcard as well as its current and future plans. Excerpts  

India has witnessed an influx of luxury hotel brands in recent years. How does The Postcard Hotels plan to maintain a competitive edge and capture a significant share of this market? 

The crux of hospitality lies in the term “experiential”. In the present landscape, numerous business hotels claim to offer experiential stays, but it is crucial to understand that true experiential luxury goes beyond the mere provision of experiences during one’s stay. It encompasses the way a hotel is conceptualised and constructed, ensuring that local art and architecture are seamlessly incorporated into its design. This integration not only celebrates the cultural heritage of the destination but also provides a unique sense of place and authenticity to our guests. Furthermore, an essential aspect of creating an experiential luxury hotel lies in developing a service philosophy that genuinely focuses on the customer. 

What is the approach you follow at The Postcard Hotels?  

Our approach to luxury revolves around empowering our guests to make their own choices. We prioritise their preferences and our key processes and policies are centred around enhancing their experience. For example, we offer anytime check-in and checkout. Then, we offer anytime breakfast as opposed to time bound traditional buffets. Whether our guests wake up at 6 am or 2 pm, they enjoy a delicious, fresh breakfast, always complimentary.  

Our commitment to service excellence has propelled us to achieve the highest guest satisfaction scores globally within a remarkably short period. The Postcard Hotels, as a brand, currently scores 9.6 with verified guest reviews on Booking.com which is the highest score for a luxury hotel brand globally. 

The hospitality sector in India has faced challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Could you share how The Postcard Hotels navigated these challenges and adapted to the changing landscape? 

The hotels were closed for the first four months. Our leadership was very clear – we were all in it together. We have a strong belief that businesses have social responsibility. Thus, although we did implement salary cuts initially, we ensured not to lay off any of our employees.   

Our hotels were already suited to fit the changed travel expectations that Covid-19 brought about, and we were the preferred choice for people who were looking to get away as they felt safe and secluded. This led the company to a spectacular performance. While the revenue of most companies globally dropped by over 70 per cent in the Covid year, The Postcard Hotels became one of the few companies where revenue grew 51 per cent in the pandemic year despite the four months of unprecedented closure.  

As you continue to expand the Postcard brand, could you provide insights into your future growth plans, potential destinations, and unique experiences that travelers can expect from your properties? 

The vision for The Postcard Hotels revolves around innovation, nimble thinking and positive disruption. In Goa, we have a presence in four villages – Cuelim, Velha, Netravali and Saligao. We have four more hotels in the pipeline in Goa and we strongly believe that we can have 30 hotels in Goa because every village is unique and authentic. We are also focusing on tiger reserves in a very big way. We will be opening a hotel in Ranthambhore with a room size of 1,950 sq. ft followed by Kanha with a minimum room size of 1,100 sq. ft. These are all-suite hotels. We are opening a hotel in the temple town of Tirupati. We are also creating a hotel in Mashobra and in the upper Himalayas which will be opening in June next year. The Postcard Durrung Tea Estate, scheduled to open in a few months, is spread in 1,400 acres of tea gardens. We are also looking at expansion in Bhutan significantly. We have 23 more hotels in the pipeline and we aspire to open a hotel every quarter. We are the fastest-growing company with assets worth over Rs 2,672 crore under management in just five years. It is my strong belief that, in the next few years, we would have over a billion dollars’ worth of assets under management. Our vision is to put the Indian values of hospitality and luxury in every key resort location across the world.