Rajasthan kickstarted it, and soon the spirit of heritage tourism spread to the rest of the country. Today, down south, Karnataka is finding success with its ventures in alternate forms of hospitality, notwithstanding the post-26/11 mood and a recession-hit economy.
The Deccani state’s five-star hotels may be finding it tough to lure travellers — especially globetrotters — in cash-strapped situations, but the mood is far from glum with its heritage resorts. All because niche places have capitalised on the motto of enabling tourists to take home a slice of good, joyous and enduring memories. It could be a trek, a visit to the nearby village, manicured tea estates or anything that keeps the tourist engaged. The result for the host, invariably, is profit.
“The inflow of domestic tourists may have come down, but that of overseas guests continues to be on the upswing,” says Francis Wacziarg, co-chairman, Neemrana Group of Heritage Hotels that runs Villa Potti Patti in Bangalore. “In that sense, the overall turnout is well-balanced and the business saw an increase of 10 per cent over last year.”
It only makes clear that a no-frills accommodation has perked up as creature comforts are elbowed out. Suddenly, guests are willing to ignore the opulence of presidential suites and settle for a humble room without the basics of a television, telephone or even room service. The Indian holiday experience has been redefined to cater to newer tastes.
Warren Greving, an IT professional from China, is a regular at Villa Potti Patti. He says most hotels attempt to give customers something to match their ideal of luxury or efficiency. “Villa Potti Patti gives you the genuine feeling of an elegant, cultured home. By restoring an older family home and preserving its character, the place has a very genuine welcoming feeling. It really feels like a wonderful home, not a hotel,” notes Warren, about his experience.
Warren represents an emerging community of travellers who are open to exploring the lesser trod path.
Being niche, these hotels haven’t taken to mass advertising. Yet, they have an encouraging occupancy ratio. It’s not just the magnificent gardens, mist-laden mornings or priceless heirlooms that attract, it’s the package that makes all the difference. These hotels are pocket friendly, they are 15 to 20 per cent cheaper than five-star accommodation.
And with this, hotel groups are willing to go that extra mile and take a fresh look at creating unique destinations. When hotels pride themselves over their Havana cigars and Cru wines, Akkayya Consultancy Services, a Bangalore-based infrastructure development company, packages hospitality with a twist. It has evolved into E-Inn, a business hotel located in the city’s IT hub. “We want to promote a healthy stay environment for travelling executives and create a home away from home services for our guests. That’s how we created the concept of healthy living through a non-smoking, non-alcoholic vegetarian hotel,” points out Nitin R Phadnis, general manager, E-Inn.
It met with success. “The concept has roused people’s curiosity including foreigners. Every month, the occupancy graph is increasing. This summer, we’ve introduced weekend packages,” adds Nitin.
Moving beyond the health trail, it’s no longer news when royal families reposition their ancestral properties as palace hotels. But it requires a certain mindset to buy seven acres and initiate a wildlife resort in the jungles and make it home. A love for the outdoors urged Visalakshi Devi and her husband Gajendra Singh to start Tusker Trails in Bandipur. One has to be a wildlife enthusiast or photographer to appreciate what the place has to offer.
To that extent, it has a rather limited appeal. Yet the December holiday season saw a packed house. “I guess travellers were scared to go to Goa. A wildlife retreat was probably a safer option and that’s how we had so many guests checking in here,” explains Visalakshi, the youngest sister of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the scion of the Wadiyar
dynasty of Mysore.
Places like these give tourists a chance to interact with blue-blooded owners. Vidyullatha Reddy isn’t a royal, yet she has many sepia-tinted memories to share with guests at her heritage property, Villa Potti Patti, which dates back to the 1920s. She took the initiative of restoring the colonial bungalow as a heritage hotel. After her husband’s death, her children moved to the US and the ancestral home would have fallen into a ruin had it not been for her timely decision.
“I came here as a bride; my children were born there. We’ve many sentiments attached to this place, so we wanted to retain it,” recalls Vidyullatha. “That’s how the Neemrana Group stepped in and it became the city’s first
‘non-hotel’ hotel.”
These hotels have created a ‘community-based model hotel’, whereby they promote history, arts and culture. “We have an in-house heritage trail or road map where guests can walk down to the flower market and visit the temple in the vicinity,” explains Francis.
Call it a knee-jerk reaction to over-spending or sheer curiosity whatever the case may be, guests are willing to explore the unusual. Ironically, encouragement for offbeat hotels comes from the dizzying pace of urbanity. For instance, the Chittaranjan Palace built for the princesses of Mysore has been converted as the Green Hotel. It has, interestingly, been set up as a model of sustainable tourism by a UK charity. All profits are distributed to charitable and environmental projects. The Green Hotel has in fact been nipped and tucked in synch with its philosophy.
Says Stan Thekaekara, one of its directors: “We have used cross-ventilation instead of air-conditioning, solar water-heating and lighting wherever possible. The water from the bathrooms is treated and recycled for the garden. And our rainwater-harvesting system is used to recharge the groundwater which feeds our well.”
Wanderers find the green alternative a refreshing interlude. The hotel has been growing year on year even during the slump. “There wasn’t a drastic drop in occupancy, instead the occupancy levels were higher than last year,” Thekaekara adds.
Time to check in?
— kavita@epmltd.com