Despite being a new entrant in the Silicon Valley of India, The Den Bengaluru is clear about what it wants.Vinesh Gupta, the property’s General Manager, talks about what the Israeli hotel chain looks forward to in 2019.
It’s been a little over a year since the setting up of The Den Bengaluru. Your hotel takes pride in catering to both urban globetrotters and traditional travelers. How did 2018 turn out for your property?
Being the first year, 2018 was the year of consolidation. We were warmly accepted as a new brand and product. We were being perceived as a trendsetter. We were innovative. We gave attention to detail. We were focused on quality. We made sure we took care of the security aspect of the property. We witnessed positive month-on-month growth. 2018 was also the year of stabilization. We realized that the market is becoming increasingly competitive. However, as a brand, we are sticking to our core philosophy, which helped us position ourselves in the right direction.
What do you look forward to in 2019?
We started off on an optimistic note where we are considering our position as a millennial luxury hotel. We look forward to a stable and productive year ahead and are confident of delivering handsome profitability to our owners.
What new marketing strategies are you implementing this year to promote the brand better?
We have an elaborate roadmap for 2019 where we are looking at focusing on national brand awareness, especially in metro cities. We understand the importance of mobile experience, and we are optimizing our website accordingly. We want to make the guest experience mobile-friendly. We want to be aggressive with enough spend and be a trendsetter on social media and other digital platforms. We are also looking at enhancing SEO, SMO, and remarketing, which would definitely help us to get the social proof needed for marketing success and amplify our brand concepts to reach luxury lifestyle market and B2C through all media platforms.
What’s the demographics of the guests who stay at your hotel?
Our guests are 30% Indians, 35% from the United States, 25% from Europe, and 10% from the rest of the world.
What steps are you taking to make the hotel more Instagram-friendly?
Our property as a whole is picturesque. The Den Corner rooms, in particular, has natural light seeping in through the big windows, enabling the guests to click stunning moments. One of our key USPs of our Mediterranean rooftop restaurant, Layla is dining under the night sky on the 21st floor. The breathtaking location of the rooftop restaurant makes it an ideal place for Instagrammers. Our other notable additions include live shows, live cooking, and DIYs to engage the guests.
What’s the roadmap for The Den in 2019?
By gauging the growth of the hospitality sector in India, we would like to introduce the brand to both tier 1 and tier 2 cities.
