T R Suresh, Marketing Manager, CAG Pride, speaks to Coimbatorebest.com on the Hospitality Industry in Coimbatore and the role of Marketing. Soft-spoken Suresh comes across as a warm and friendly person, characteristics that he says, have helped him in the Hospitality Industry.

Marketing the hospitality industry in Coimbatore...

I would certainly differentiate between Marketing in other industries and Marketing in the hospitality industry.  The basic difference is the focus on building and retaining relationships.  This is not a manufacturing industry, where you have to worry about stocks and other things.  We have to keep looking for new clients and adding to the existing client base. The number of corporates, number of individuals and groups using your property should go up.  We also have to play the role of damage controller, when maybe a group books a few rooms and one or two guests are not satisfied.  You have to immediately think up a creative solution to please the guest.  The challenge that is both exciting and difficult to be meet is that we have to provide the solution even before we have fully come to terms with the problem.  My role also includes playing the part of a Public Relations Officer or a Guest Relations Executive.  Ideally speaking a lady candidate would be perfect for this position.  But in a city like Coimbatore getting qualified personnel to work in these areas is very difficult.  In a major metro like Chennai or Mumbai all you have to do is advertise and immediately you are able to source or recruit the kind of person you need. 

We use the latest technology available to get back to our customers.  We get a lot of communication through e-mail and also through our website.  It is important that we get back to the customer very quickly because if you don’t take care of your customer, somebody else will.  We have a 24-hour EDP department.  Messages are passed on to me.  I am informed immediately the moment a mail is received.  This is so that I can get back to them immediately.  Even if a mail comes requesting for some discount or something like that when I am at home, I am contacted immediately over my mobile and I tell my colleagues what figures they can quote.  Even otherwise they are trained to reply to e-mail's.

60% of our business is from the corporates based in Coimbatore.  Majorcorporates in Coimbatore have guesthouses, but the guesthouses are not open to all of their travelling visitors. The rest of the business is from business travellers coming from neighbouring metros like Chennai and Bangalore.  We also get business travellers from Mumbai, Cochin and Delhi.  There is a very small percentage of leisure guests. In summer, when it is very difficult to get rooms in Ooty, Kodaikanal and Yercaud, the charges are doubled.  During those times a few people prefer to stay here since these places are just a few hours drive from here.  But, otherwise 90% of our guests are business travellers. 

My role does not stop with improving and monitoring sales of the rooms, but also in improving the revenue from the in-house restaurants.  Incidentally, Coimbatore is still not in the league of cities like Chennai or Bangalore when it comes to eating out.  This habit of going out and dining is just picking up.  Thanks to a few corporates and the booming IT industry, which is bringing in a lot of dollar revenue to Coimbatore, the situation is changing.  The standard of living is going up.  More than 5,000 engineers are graduating in and around Coimbatore every year.  At least 15 – 20% of them settle down in the United States, so there is quite a substantial flow of dollar revenue.  AlsoTirupur, just an hour’s drive from Coimbatore - it is bringing in foreign exchange worth of Rs. 5,000 crore.  There is one good property there, but most of the exporters there host their guests here in Coimbatore.  The flights land in Coimbatore only after noon and since almost half of the day is over they check into one of the hotels here itself and spend the rest of the day relaxing.  Though there is still a long way to go, the younger generation is really coming out and spending their weekends out and wanting quality entertainment. It is up to the Marketing Manager to devise strategies to drive more traffic to the in-house restaurants.  And last, but not the least, we also have banquet and conference halls so we have to sell conference and banquet packages. 

On the pace of growth of the market.....

We have only a few major three-star properties in Coimbatore.  After that we have budget hotels.  The basic reason would be that Coimbatore is not a tourist spot and the floating population is not that big. Also, it is at one end of Tamil Nadu.  We do not have the kind of traffic of even cities like Madurai or Salem.  Coimbatore goes to sleep after 9.00 pm or 10.00 pm.  So people who travel to Coimbatore have some specific business or purpose here, otherwise people do not have any other reason to travel to Coimbatore.  I believe that one or two major hospitality giants are planning to set up their own properties in Coimbatore.  I think that should be a fair indication of growth.  Sometimes the local VIP’s, when they have a big function like a marriage, they usually accommodate their important guests here.  Also, Coimbatore has what is probably Asia’s biggest pillar-free exhibition hall - COINTEC.  Earlier the place where it presently stands was called the G V Fair Grounds.  And now just the first phase of construction is over and once the full project is completed in a few years, it is going to be a marvel.  It is definitely going to bring in a lot of business for us in the form of visitors coming to participate in these exhibitions.

What is the customer profile of a typical three star property like this?

Most of the business travellers in the age group between the early 30’s and late 50’s.  If I were to put a percentage to the business travellers, it would be 60 to 70 % of the guests.  Some of them bring their families along especially when they club their business visits along with a weekend, so after a day or two of hectic business they want to take a break and go to the nearby hill stations.

Could you do a SWOT analysis of the market in Coimbatore – (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat)?

One of our strengths is the climate; we are very close to Ooty.  We have the world’s second best water available from Siruvani on the Kerala border.  These are nature’s gifts to Coimbatore.  We have excellent transport facilities, both road and air.  We have a model airport and one cargo company has started operating international cargo from Coimbatore Airport.  Cheap labour is also an added incentive for anyone who wants to start a new industry.  Entrepreneurship has of course always been there.  Getting power connection is also not difficult in Coimbatore and we have SIDCO – Small Industries Development Corporation.  In Tirupur we have industrial estates.  Real Estate is not expensive. So Coimbatore is the ideal place to start a business because the necessary infrastructure is in place.  Next to Ernakulam, Coimbatore can be considered a major industrial jewellery market and a lot of jewellery is manufactured here. And that brings in a lot of dealers of gold and silver to Coimbatore. 

Our weakness is that we are not close to a dockyard, harbour or port.  It is not a tourist spot or hill station.  So hotels as such will have to bank on business travellers  It is a small city when compared to Chennai and Bangalore, from one end to reach the other end in just 25 minutes!  It is a city with a population of just 10 lakh.

Opportunities – Yes, the IT industry, small-scale industries, labour, infrastructure, which are all bringing in more entrepreneurs to Coimbatore. Nearby cities like Pollachi and Valparai have been identified as underdeveloped areas and are being given a lot of attention by the government.  So maybe after 10 years they may become part of Coimbatore and the city may expand, which in turn would mean more opportunities and options. 

In other states, the luxury tax is not a problem, but in Tamil Nadu the 25% luxury tax is a dampening factor. So if the government considers this, it will work to our advantage.

What do you think are the factors affecting Average Room Rates?

Well, we are offering all the facilities right from the rooms, ambience and our service on par with the major metros. But when you take the example of say, senior Government officials, they have their entitlements according to the cities – Major metros, A graded cities and B graded cities.  For the same kind of quality and service, they will be getting say RS 2,000/- for Chennai, while they will be getting RS 600/- or so for a B graded city like Coimbatore.  So they are not able to come to our branding.  Though we give our best we are not able to charge on the level of metros.  This is a major factor affecting room rates. 

What do you think is important to ensure customer loyalty?

In all three star properties the facilities, room space, furniture, restaurants are by and large similar. There is not much of a difference in these things, from hotel to hotel.  But if I were to be a guest, I would expect somebody to call me by my name especially if I am staying there for the third time or fourth time.  So we have to have a team, who can find out the preferences of the guests and take care of meeting them.  It makes a difference if we can single out guest preferences; like say a person prefers The Indian Express newspaper in the mornings, and we provide it to him.  Sending a greeting card for the birthday or anniversary of the guest or a gift... all these play an important role in ensuring guest loyalty.