Hotel consulting success stories

What these hotels have in common

Look at the map behind these stories and a pattern appears. Deoria, Gorakhpur, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Bhilai, Bhilwara, Datia, Bhuj: most of these are cities where a branded hotel was, until recently, a rarity. The owners were usually local business families who knew their city intimately but had never negotiated with a national hotel chain.

That is exactly the situation in which independent advice pays for itself. A brand’s development team has a standard term sheet and every reason to use it. An owner who has never seen a management agreement has no way of knowing which clauses are normal, which are negotiable and which will hurt in year five. Amit’s role in these projects was to level that field.

The work behind a brand tie-up

In a typical brand engagement, Amit first tests which brands genuinely fit the site, the likely room rate and the owner’s budget. He then approaches several of them at once, so that the owner receives competing proposals rather than a single offer. Once a preferred brand emerges, he negotiates the commercial terms and the contract: fees, performance tests, the owner’s approval rights over budgets and key staff, the area of protection, and how either side can exit.

For hotels such as Sarovar Portico Deoria and Clarks Inn Bokaro, the result was a recognised brand on terms the owners understood and could live with. For Sarovar Premiere Bhopal it meant a five-star signing for a 100-room hotel. In every case, the owner made the final decision with full information.

Satisfaction, measured simply

Every project in this list was recorded with 100% client satisfaction, 100% quality assurance and a five-star guest rating at the time the case was published. Amit is proud of those numbers, but prouder of the fact that most of his new work comes from introductions by owners he has already advised.