Bhubaneswar-based Mayfair Hotels & Resorts has appointed Bjorn DeNiese as Vice President, Business Development. In the new role, he will be responsible for spearheading the group’s future, as it aims to deploy a new sub-brand into the market.
Anupriya Bishnoi
Tell us about your new role at Mayfair.
Mayfair Hotels & Resorts has always owned and operated its hotels. With this new vertical, we will get into the management, franchise, and lease segments of operating hotels. So, it’s a much lighter model, rapidly growing model we’re looking at.
The new vertical will initially focus on the East of the country and subsequently look to make headway to central and North East India. The upcoming projects include Raipur (early 2019) as well as Siliguri and Kolkata (2020). The new vertical will be responsible for the development and expansion of the group, which will establish itself through lease, management, and franchise models under a yet-to-be-named brand. It will aim to add another 100 rooms to the current portfolio of 515 rooms by the end of this financial year and double the number of rooms within three years.
What will be your business strategy to achieve the said target?
Our entire team is going to be brand-new, imbibing a contemporary approach to things, and a forward-thinking, novel style of management. We will ensure that the signature Mayfair touch is there, but we are looking to leverage technology in a big way in the future.
What’s your take on competition?
All brands that are there in the region already have a lot of international presence, but the eastern region has been our market for more than 30 years now and we know it well. It’s time to make sure the legacy goes forward.
Tell us about the kind of challenges you face.
In the eastern and north eastern regions some of the biggest challenges we face are internet connectivity and accessibility. There’s a lot of potential here, but infrastructure hasn’t been the most helpful. The recent tax changes have also impacted us significantly. As an industry, if we are looking forward to establishing a better tourism circuit in the East and North East, we must ensure that there’s some government support in terms of infrastructure and policies, to have a futuristic approach towards the tourism sector and the untapped potential it has.
