#heritageresorts

Heritage hospitality has been a key segment in the travel and tourism sector not just in our country, the world over. Spend a day in a restored fort, palace, haveli, castle or mansion, the experience can be overwhelmingly romantic, transporting you to the rich glory of the historic past. The lifestyle, adventures and F & B of the past add to the charisma of holiday where the erstwhile Indian rulers and their families once lead an opulent lifestyle. Most heritage hotels today have gone on to become an integral part of the international tourism map.

The preservation and restoration of the palaces and forts is a laudable effort, first identified with the tourism of Rajasthan, followed closely by other states of India including Madya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, etc. The private hotel chain endeavoured fervently to transform heritage sites into hotels. The objective was to create new heritage tourism products. The government must now join hands with the popular hotel chains to give it a real go. The efforts should be primarily focused on long-term goals, and nurtured for at least a decade or so.

The experience offered by heritage hotels is uniquely warm and personalised. Every guest is treated in the signature style of the royal family.  The biggest challenge, however, lies in rendering the authenticity and novelty of the experience as conscious efforts must be put in to renovate heritage property for re-use as well as revive the glory of a bygone epoch.

Several state governments including Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamilnadu and later Kerala took a keen interest in infusing a fresh lease of life into erstwhile forts, mansion, and havelis. Investment outlays were huge and maintaining them to their optimum level posed different challenges. The Tourism Department of India allocated funds to bring in such properties into their fold, and revive the opportunities lurking behind these properties. Heritage hotels, therefore, are divided into one of the following sub-segments: Heritage, Heritage Classic and Heritage Grand, each having its own norms and regulations.

Identifying the right heritage property can be daunting for hotel owners For instance, heritage properties with low room counts may lead to increased operational costs and less cash flow, the last thing any hotel investor would want, though the prospect of turning a heritage site into a modern luxury stay may seem exciting. In almost all cases, any one of the modes of operation apply, which again varies from property to property: managed properties, stand-alone properties, leases, joint ventures, branding and marketing and pure-marketing agreements. These are essentially management and ownership strategies even under a single chain that will be required to fit properly into the puzzle. 

Converting any property that is actually unused or a ruin, and making it viable is the most workable strategy that is also uncomplicated and comfortable. At the same time, the heritage values of the property are identified and made public. This said leisure tourism still needs to be packaged, marketed and sold as a concept.

Many consider heritage hotels as old wine in a new bottle. Rather, heritage hotels have reinvented the wheel to wed antiquity with the modern, the past with the present, and the heritage regale with the overly sophisticated. Transforming some of the oldest buildings including forts, mansions and havelis into luxury stays, whilst also preserving its historical and cultural significance presents its own challenges and opportunities too.

As such transformation is generally highly capital-intensive, only the major chain of hotels in India had the muscle to infuse sophistication into traditional spaces. However hotels owners, with the help of investors, were able to revive a few historically significant settings into experience-rich, luxury stays, as there exists a huge business potential in terms of the sheer market size of domestic and foreign tourism.

India holds cultural and traditional values very dear to her heart and this is evident in our everyday walk of life. Heritage hotels of India are built on strong traditional roots and cultural ethos binding on their food, drink, milieu and hospitality. This aspect makes heritage hotels special in many ways compared to regular hotels and luxury stays.

If a survey conducted in 2012 is anything to go by, there were about 200 properties—forts, palaces and havelis—waiting to be transformed into heritage hotels.

It comes as no surprise that the travel and hospitality industry is the most severely hit industry, besides manufacturing, construction and transportation. Lockdown after lockdowns, in conjunction with specific rules imposed on the functioning of few sectors, has completely brought the travel industry to a standstill. With no signs of respite yet, a long and an arduous road to recovery of the travel sector awaits. Heritage hotels have been heavily hurt by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Most heritage hotels in Tamilnadu sport an almost deserted look with very few takers. The bars also remain hollow of tipplers. Most heritage hotels have been opened for visitors with security protocols in place. Guests are thoroughly checked, luggage fumigated, and rooms allocated only after the required sanitisation. All said and done visitors flow only in trickles, despite the strict process.

Smaller hotels in the state have struggled to pay off their staff as maintenance is still required to keep them afloat. Hotel owners expect a waiver of license fee by the government, with revenues under severe strain.