Exclusive Interview | Mr.Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder & MD, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts
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Go for everything, learn about every department and then find out where you didn’t feel as if you were working. That will be your future calling.
Mr. Sarbendra Sarkar
Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
My journey began 27 years ago on course to encompass diversified experience that I have been able to gather in hotel operations, project development, business development and brand management. And my real journey began when I realised that there is a scope of creating a new brand to offer something niche amidst a hospitality market flooded; the chances were challenging, yet I took my chances and founded Cygnett Hotels and Resorts in 2014. I had to prove myself and here I am and satisfied that I took the right step to contribute to the industry the way I wanted to.
In fact, in 2018, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts earmarked the year by maximum number of hotel signings in India. It was a milestone for a relatively new hospitality chain. The promise of our brand experience led to our success.
Today, we are on course to our ambitious target set last year of adding more than 5,000 keys and establishing Cygnett as a 100 plus strong hotel group in the next five years. Besides 4 to 5 projects in the North East, we are looking at opening new properties in markets like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to name a few.
What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
With the success of Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, I realised—the healthy relationships that we share as a brand with its property owners and customers are the ultimate to achieve success. While it is one thing to manage customer expectations in a hotel/resort, it is a different ball game to manage the expectations of hotel owners who rely on our expertise to give them profits. Moreover, aligning them with our philosophy and style of work becomes important and creates room for success.
What advice would you give to a young, aspiring hotelier for their internship?
Go for everything, learn about every department and then find out where you didn’t feel as if you were working. That will be your future calling.
What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?
Before I answer, I wish to share that Cygnett Hotels and Resorts is excited about its new wellness brand, ‘Ayurvyaas’. The brand aims to offer a holistic wellness experience to its guests for physical, cognitive and spiritual healing using ancient Vedic sciences and contemporary practices. These elements are becoming key to capturing customers’ demands after two years of the pandemic. I believe these facilities will be keenly observed by travellers and are extremely sought out for. The importance of wellness has gained significant importance in the Covid world. Hence, these facilities have already started trending. We are looking to offer a one-of-its-kind wellness experience through Ayurvyaas. Destinations like Rishikesh are well suited for such a brand.
Talking about trends in terms of destinations in India, the Northeast is very much on the radar. As part of the policy, the Indian government has been investing heavily in infrastructure projects like national highways, railway networks and telecommunication in the NorthEast region. By 2024, the plan of the government is to connect the capitals of all eight states by air. This approach makes sense. Other initiatives like 'Make in Northeast' are helping attract investments. Therefore, I believe it is the region to be in for hospitality. It is a fact that the corporate presence has increased in the region as economic activities have grown. All this is surely helping bring more tourists to the Northeastern states and boosting corporate travel. I expect the Northeast will emerge as a big corporate travel destination over the next few years.
Overall, MICE is an important and growing segment for us. In many of our hotels, especially those in destinations like Nainital, Lucknow and Jaipur, MICE contributes more than 50 per cent to the overall demand. Weddings have also emerged as a very important segment for us with it contributing above 50 per cent to the business recorded in several of our hotels. This proves, MICE will continue to trend.
What tech would you like to see in operations? What operational problems need tech solutions?
Technology is at the core of the Cygnett brand. Technology is a core enabler in our USP to deliver the ‘Cygnetture Experiences’. We have our own state-of-the-art, next-generation technology platform called the ‘Cygnett CX’. This platform seamlessly integrates with our cognitive website. We are also brainstorming to identify how we could use Artificial Intelligence in our system as well. Technology could be a game changer in any industry if used rightly, and AI will change the dynamics of hospitality operations in a few years.
Two things you would like to change in the industry.
Since the inception of Cygnett, I have witnessed there is a different thought process toward companies that are managing properties. It is not as valued as that of ownership. However, my understanding is that not all owners understand the dynamics to keep operations afloat and profitable. Hence, this mindset needs to be changed. Ownership and management are different streams and in many cases, both exist as a merged format.
Cygnett is responsive to the demands of a rapidly changing world without compromising on the founding tenets of hospitality – quality, comfort and outstanding service. The growth strategy of Cygnett mainly consists of attaining pre-owned possessions from the unorganised sector at key, strategic locations in both non-metro and metro cities. I want to change this mindset of believing that managing properties is just a mere business angle—no, we are equally invested to ensure to give owners their due (read RoI) in every possible way. I am doing my little service to ensure that this negative thought gets removed from the minds of hospitality professionals sooner than later.
What do you look for when you hire? Do you have any favourite interview questions or processes?
It would be unfair to reveal what I actually look for in a candidate, beyond the standards of professionalism we seek in hospitality, to be part of my team. Based on the role there are several parameters I need to judge a person which I try to gauge through different scenarios.
That’s how I arrive at my judgment. Needless to say, having been in this industry has given me an insight into understanding people and their knowledge during the course of the conversation. And, there’s no question that can be a favourite one…as situations always demand me to be innovative and impromptu during my conversations.
What does the future look like? For the industry, the property? Expansion plans? What can we expect from Cygnett Hotels in the near future?
I believe that the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic is now behind us and travelling is spiralling once again. The economy is steadily coming back on track and therefore the demand is accelerating, even in non-metro cities. Strong occupancy and ADRs are really boosting the scope of hospitality.
For the industry, the domestic tourism market has gained significant importance. Inbound travel is picking up slowly. Domestic tourism’s importance has grown manifold, and travellers are willing to pay well to stay longer and safer. F&B is back into the reckoning and emerging as a strong spine for hospitality. In these scenarios, many hotel owners are seeking associations with a reputed brand. So, apart from the brand association, we offer such owners technology, sales and marketing, financial, call centre and training support; our Franchise Plus offering is a customised solution that will offer an answer to any requirement of a hotel owner. Cygnett also offers staff training to its partner hotels under its franchise model.
Apart from two hotels under the franchise model, the group currently has over 35 alliances with 20 operational hotels and 15 hotels in the pipeline and in various stages of pre-opening. Therefore, our focus will be more on the Franchise Plus programme. At present, the majority of the hotels under its portfolio are managed. We are keen to have 60 per cent of the properties under the Franchise model and the rest either managed or owned.
Earlier, our thrust was only on the management model but now we are also focusing on the Franchise Plus model. One of the brands that we view is well-positioned to grow as a franchise-based model is Cygnett Inn. If our brand standards are met, we are open to tie-up with hotel owners who may be facing difficulty in business in the wake of the pandemic and offering our franchise solution to them.
