Girish Jhunjhnuwala, the Indian origin owner and founder of Hong Kong based lifestyle hospitality brand, Ovolo Hotels, is looking at expanding his brand to different countries, including India. By Sudipta Dev
What is the USP of Ovolo Hotels brand?
We make hospitality effortless from check-in to check-out. Ovolo guests never had to worry about such things as whether they will be charged for the can of coke at the minibar, because it’s all inclusive with their rate in our suite of signature freebies. In addition to a free fully-stocked minibar, the suite includes free daily happy, high-speed Wi-Fi in the hotel and the city, self-service laundry, flexible checkout and much more. Our eight hotels ensure that the utmost effort is made to all of life’s necessities are an arms-length or phone call away.
Your expansion plans in the next five years?
To continue growing the Ovolo brand overseas, particularly in the Australian market. We see great potential for our boutique concept in established markets, and aim to open more hotels in the country, while keeping a close eye on opportunities elsewhere in APAC, Western Europe and the US.
Will this expansion be through management contracts or owned properties?
Our business strategy has always been focused on owned properties. Every property (currently 10 in total: eight hotels; two serviced apartments) in Ovolo’s portfolio is both owned and operated by us. This will continue to be our development focus for the foreseeable future.
How focused are you on India, as a source market for your properties?
There’s incredible potential in India’s every-growing middle-class market. We’ve had significant interest in recent years for Ovolo hotels, particularly in Hong Kong, from the Indian market, and have also begun seeing upward trends in interest for Australia from Indian business and leisure travellers. Our goal is to show Indian travellers, who are already spoiled for choice in premium hospitality within their own country, that Ovolo is a brand that count on for consistent quality with a unique approach, when travelling overseas, every time.
Do you have any plans to introduce Ovolo Hotels in India? If yes, then where?
We’re very keen on expanding the Ovolo brand to India, and it’s certainly in our five-year plan to introduce our game-changing, exciting brand to India. Our brand is highly focused on the millennial demographic, a sector which India is expecting to have more than 700 million constituents in the coming years. We couldn’t be more excited to introduce the Ovolo brand to them.
Your perception of the evolving trends in APAC’s hospitality market.
Customisation and individuality are becoming more and more highly demanded in APAC’s hospitality market. The age-old idea of creating one hotel brand, and copying it across various markets for consistency is no longer valid, especially with millennials. They want to stay at hotels they can ultimately “call their own”. Hotels that cater to their various needs. We firmly believe Ovolo’s leading this rising trend.
Any other significant factor you would like to highlight?
When we started Ovolo, everyone doubted our ability to succeed with our all-inclusive vision. But we’ve proved over and over the concept works. There’s nothing worse than checking out from a hotel, and finding additional charges for things you didn’t even know were billable. Transparency can come in a lot of ways. For the hotel business, we firmly believe letting your guests know what they’re paying for upfront, is the guaranteed path to customer loyalty.