Saurabh Rai, EVP, South Asia, ME & Africa, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, envisions India leading the growth of Beyond Greens.
Surbhi Sharma
Q: What are your short-term and long-term plans for South Asia region? Do you see a higher demand for luxury stays or experiences?
A: We have been in India for nearly 22 years now and India holds a dear spot within the Preferred Travel Group. Currently, we boast a portfolio of over 30 hotels across the South Asian region, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, among others. Our short-term goals are two-fold. Firstly, we have noticed an uptick in luxury travel trends within the industry over the past couple of years. Our Legend Collection, representing our top-tier ultra-luxury properties within the world of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, has experienced a surge in growth over the past two to three years. From last year to this year, we have witnessed a 10 per cent rise in portfolio size—roughly 100 hotels worldwide. Therefore, we are excited about the opportunity to develop and expand the Legend Collection portfolio in the region.
In the short-term, expansion remains of critical importance to us. One of our commitment is to increase the market share of our existing partner hotels. So, our focus is not solely on achieving a specific number of expansions, but rather expanding our reach, while maximising our contribution to our partner hotels’ business shares.
Q: How do you want to enhance your portfolio in the South East region by tapping unexplored regions?
A: India, as a destination, offers numerous emerging circuits. We are monitoring and studying destinations such as Madhya Pradesh, and the strategies implemented by the central and state government tourism departments for their growth. This presents an exciting opportunity for us, and we are tracking developments in these destinations.
Q: Are you rethinking your marketing and operations to appeal to Gen Z?
A: Understanding and engaging with Gen Z can be challenging. It is evident this generation places little emphasis on ownership of material possessions. Instead, they prioritise investing in experiences. Gen Z has made it clear that they allocate a portion of their disposable income to social experiences and travel. This presents an opportunity for us to address. Our role, as a luxury brand, is to engage, collaborate, and discuss with them to understand how we can tailor the luxury hospitality experience to appeal to Gen Z.
Q: Future-aligned skilling is another area of concern. What is your brand doing to overcome this?
A: Future-aligned skilling is not merely an option for luxury hotel brands; it is a necessity, given the disruptions post-COVID. Traditionally, the industry has been slow to adopt new technologies. However, it must now leapfrog and become early adopters.
We dedicated 2019 and 2020 to developing our thoughts, strategies, and launched mission-driven sustainability brand called Beyond Green in April 2021. Beyond Green is a sister brand of Preferred Hotels & Resorts and operates with a focus on sustainability. We started with 24 founding members and have since grown to close to 40 members across 20 countries worldwide.
Q: Beyond Green has carved a niche for itself. Talk about the response and feedback from your patrons?
A: The mission of Beyond Green is to unite a community of pioneering leaders and trailblazers in sustainability within the travel industry, including hoteliers and operators. We do not set hard targets in terms of numbers to attain, instead, our focus is on identifying deeply aligned individuals and organisations committed in sustainable luxury experiences.
Our evaluation process is structured around 50 objective criteria aligned with SDGs, which serve as the foundation for our standards. Every potential Beyond Green member must undergo a pre-joining sustainability audit inspection. This inspection covers three pillars: environment, culture, and community.
Q: India is a potential market for Beyond Green. Do we see an expansion in its India portfolio this year?
A: The growth of Beyond Green is spearheaded by India and we are anticipating expanding into other regional destinations that align well with our mission, such as Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives.
Q: From marketing to operations, there has been a shift towards ‘experience’ — how does your brand finalise potential associations or partners?
A: For us, experiences have become a prominent business driver. But in the world of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Preferred Travel Group, and now Beyond Green, experiences have been at the forefront. Our focus is on delivering a sense of local luxury and embracing the destination, including its cuisine, culture, and more. We achieve this by expressing these elements through the perspective of independent regional hotel brands and luxury brands.
Many global brands have had to pivot or acquire experiential brands to keep up. Our vision is to continue expanding and fostering new partnerships. One of the most unique aspects of Preferred Travel Group and Preferred Hotels & Resorts as the largest independent brand in the world is our glocal approach. We are a global brand, headquartered in California.
Q: Do you engage with travel trade, per se, regarding the numbers from India?
A: We have expanded our capabilities to cater to various segments of outbound travel bookings from India. Recently, we bolstered our team on the ground by adding two more sales leaders exclusively focused on the Indian market. Their primary task is to cultivate strong relationships with Indian outbound travel agents and secure a larger share of business from these travellers for our luxury hotels worldwide.
“Our guiding principle is to seek out hotel brands that excel in experience curation, always staying at cutting edge of industry.”
Saurabh Rai, Executive VP, South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Preferred Hotels & Resorts
