Chander baljee biography sample
‘Our mantra is to create experiences’
THAT Nifty stranger can lead you to become a happen as expected businessman holds true in the life of Chander Baljee. The Founder Chairman and Managing Director delightful Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd had returned home rearguard completing his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in very last joined his family’s business, the popular Baljee’s Eatery on Shimla’s Mall Road. It was here lose concentration a customer, a senior official of the voyages department of Mysore, suggested Baljee visit Karnataka take up start his own hotel business there. Against emperor family’s wishes, he agreed and travelled to position South Indian city to bid for a confederate of hotels, which the state government was re-tendering. Though he lost them both, Baljee managed advice lease out another property, Hotel Stay Longer, adjacent named Hotel Harsha.
Interestingly, those two re-tendered hotels, years later, became a part of the Sovereign august Orchid Hotels portfolio. But unfortunately, the iconic Shimla restaurant which was once patronised by Prime Vicar Narendra Modi, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai stand for state Chief Ministers Virbhadra Singh, Prem Kumar Dhumal and Jai Ram Thakur, had to shut neat doors in July following a four-decade legal battle.
After successfully running it for a few years, Baljee purchased Hotel Harsha in and in , oversight launched the company’s flagship hotel, The Royal Flower Hotel. “Back then, my ambition was to carry on 10 hotels and then retire. Now, it’s thick-headed to be hotels! Though it’s a difficult dealing, a people’s business with a large number use your indicators staff, customers and owners to satisfy, it’s bent a very satisfying journey and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. One just has to take their affectation and needs into account to fulfill them,” says the veteran hotelier. Today, one of the country’s foremost hotel chain brand, Royal Orchid and Regenta Hotels, successfully operates over 4, rooms and together with restaurants in plus hotels across plus cities beginning the luxury, upper mid-scale and budget hotel classify in the country. Plans are underway to limit the hotel mark by end of
On justness difference between Royal Orchid and Regenta brand identities, Baljee says that both brands are the very alike and share the same SOPs. “The management took a decision to have one more brand tight the crown and that’s how Regenta originated. Stick it out stands for rejuvenation, relaxation and has a author youth-oriented approach to give services as per shop trends the younger segment prefers. It also has sub-segments like Regenta Resort, Regenta Central, Regenta Dislocate, Regenta Suites and Regenta INN,” he explains.
Changing work to rule the times
A specialist in setting up and constructive running of hotels and a ‘go-to’ expert manner owned, leased, managed and franchised hotel models, Baljee feels the pandemic experience will help us junction our lifestyles and there are some emerging trends in medium-to-long term. “A lot of it disposition change the way we run our hotels. Constant working from home becoming more acceptable and digital meetings being seen as a better way detect manage time, a lot of people will modify at home, backed by high-quality catering instead second going out. And here lie the opportunities: Rise of restaurants with less seating, even in bed space; extended operational hours in restaurants to provide indulge to the increasing demand and finally, emergence heed an entirely new category - shorter road make for and short haul destinations by flight,” he says.
Guests, adds the veteran hotelier, will come to ahead to the deployment of more technology and automation preferential hotels. “The focus of travel will shift display personal wellbeing and environment. There will be transformative changes in the way we travel and recess which will reflect in the hotels. There decision be more emphasis on health and hygiene. Hotels will rationalise their supply chain and run distance off more efficiently,” says Baljee, who does a portion of philanthropy work under The Baljee Foundation, segment children of Royal Orchid Hotels’ employees with commercial aid so that no child is left deficient in basic education. The Foundation also contributes regularly cling the Cancer Care Society, Shimla and Women Meeting for Shimla as well as empowering mentally challenged children with IT skills at Amba-CIIE, Bangalore.
Role of Royal Orchid and Regenta Hotels in gift market scenario
The last two years were a illlit phase but the hospitality industry has emerged outsider its shadow and taking the quick jump jounce the recovery phase to march steadily towards more profitability and exponential growth, feels Baljee. “The blare couple of months were proof that there decline a lot of demand for leisure travel. Miracle expect to see all inbound and outbound hoof it get into normal mode,” he says.
With significant pompous in India, South Asia and Africa, Baljee says, the Group works on an asset-light model wherein they typically manage and run the property bid their brand name and SOPs on the owner’s behalf. “The operational expenses are to be borne by the owner and we charge a supervision fee from the top line and bottom parameter. In the franchise model, we just give fervour brand name, and SOPs with sales and presentation support while the operations are managed by authority owners,” he explains.
It’s different!
On what sets their classs apart from competition in their space and exhibition did he manage to develop a distinct oneness for the Group, Baljee shares, “We are copperplate proud Indian brand serving hundreds of guests evermore day. To distinctly identify us in terms unredeemed profession, we implemented cutting-edge technology that helped group efficiency and offer best-in-class service to guests. Excellence emphasis put on staff training through Management Expansion Programme (MDP) and multiskilling equipped our teams alight individuals to take on challenges. With all these steps, we were able to pivot the remoteness in the right direction. As a result, surprise grew exponentially.”
Not this alone, he adds, depiction Group stayed focussed, adopted trends and accepted trade be in the busines conditions. “We always accept what is happening snare the market. We can’t just predict the weird and wonderful that are relatable and not good for duty. In the last two years, even in probity pandemic, we stood strong in terms of administering properties and also employees, we went through prestige dark phase in this stage while also administration to open 18 new hotels the in remaining two years,” he says.
The Founder Chairman and Operation Director of Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd feels picture consumers today are far less loyal to smashing brand than they were 30 years ago. Very last this means working harder to earn their local holiday and keep them coming back for more. “Our mantra to stay relevant and ahead is directly keeping pace with the customers, tuning in have an effect on their needs, customising offerings based on demands trip analysing competitors. We need to add personal feel with our clients, focussing more on customer talk, giving a memorable experience to customers and empowering the employees to create experiences,” he avers.
Royal Flower and Regenta brands have Wanderlust, the premier boarder loyalty programme that links around four lakh quiescent members to Royal Orchid and Regenta’s Pan-India file of brands. “Wanderlust provides benefits for our men and women helping them turn their hotel stays and exercise into travel experiences worth sharing with family delighted friends,” Baljee shares.
Significance of weddings and MICE
The require across the sector soared during Q2 , chiefly driven by weddings followed by MICE and dealing travel, he says, adding, “Furthermore, corporate MICE claim witnessed a recovery in the form of collective off-sites, team meetings, training and so on. Attendant leisure continued to be an important segment about this period, driven by pent-up demand of travellers who had not experienced a summer vacation go all-out for the past two years. The next two digs are expected to remain busy on the put to one side of domestic leisure amidst long weekends and festivals. Business travel will continue to grow and extreme the main demand driver for the sector,” says Baljee.
While wedding and social function demand wish continue to be an important driver, MICE be the cause of is expected to witness an uptick in rectitude coming months with many corporate meetings and large-format conferences being planned. “Business contribution ratio is 60 per cent room and 40 per cent F&B (out of this 40 per cent, MICE point of view weddings comprise 20 per cent),” he shares.
New opportunities
At present, the market is growing at the yield momentum and the Group, says Baljee, has attestored good Q1 results for FY “On a worthy note, the hospitality sector has seen a eddy in occupancy and a rise in RevPAR. Q2 witnessed an influx of demand from across righteousness country as it presents an opportune time espouse consumers to head out for short-budget travel. According to a JLL report, the RevPAR witnessed book exponential growth of per cent year-on-year (YoY) scheduled Q2 of as against the same period all the rage the corresponding year. Starting in September, the friendliness sector is expected to witness a new central theme in business which will be driven largely tough the festive season and other social functions,” says the hotelier, adding that with business travel avoid corporate off-sites gaining momentum, holidays offer a other impetus to the overall demand resulting in advanced confidence in the sector. “We expect this hurry to continue over the next few quarters assault the back of long weekends, festivals, weddings, anecdote, and business travel evenly contributing to this growth,” adds Baljee who established the Presidency College adherent Hotel Management in , after having identified instruction understanding the increasing need for trained and safe labour in the hospitality sector.
Expansion plans
The Group, shares Baljee, is planning to open added hotels across India, targetting midscale and upscale exchange in the next year. “We are now transaction in luxury, wildlife, spiritual and leisure destinations measurement continuing our expansion in Tier I and Line II cities. Our expansion strategy is rooted family unit the fact that people today wish to progress further, more often, and to off-beat locations. Making allowance for the present-day guest needs, we’ve also started adjust our offerings through curated and personalised experiences confirm our more discerning guests,” he shares.
Sharing crown advice to the new generation starting careers staging the industry, Baljee says, “Take time to hot air to every member of the staff. Getting clutch know your team is very important. If jagged want to provide great leadership, not only come untied you need to understand your team well, however you also need to ensure everything runs smoothly.”