Rituparna Chatterjee – Mumbai
Maison de Voyage, the general sales agent (GSA) for Swiss Youth Hostels in India, is looking at promoting the brand in the India market with a renewed focus and for the same they are looking at approaching schools through the travel trade. Speaking on this, Jenaifer Daruwalla, general manager, Maison de Voyage, stated, “Swiss Youth Hostels was introduced in the India market in 2012, but till now it hasn’t got the expected numbers. Next year, we want to approach schools across India, however getting through them is a big challenge. Hence, it brings us to narrowing down on travel agents who work with schools. If this segment opens up we are looking at having groups of a few hundreds that we can send across.”
The major clientele from the India market for this product has been the youth. However, they are looking at positioning Swiss Youth Hostels as a product for all traveller segments. For the same, they recently organised an all women familiarisation trip to three Swiss Youth Hostels’ properties across Interlaken, Zürich and Ticino. Presently, the hostels are located in 54 different locations across Switzerland. “It is not a new product, but a relatively new concept for the India market. The travel trade doesn’t want to venture out and do something that is out of the box. The market needs to be more receptive to this product. Hence at this point of time, we are mainly focusing on B2B marketing,” she added. When asked about the USP of the brand, Daruwalla opined, “The hostels are similar to any three or four star hotels. We have varied accommodation options for everyone at different price points, starting from 35 Swiss frank to 80-90 Swiss frank per person. There is Wi-Fi facility in the lobbies of all the properties. At the same time, it also an eco-friendly product. For instance, at the end of the stay you are required to wrap up your bedsheets and towels and give it to the housekeeping staff. Also the lights in the lobbies are sensor based, they light up when someone walks through. We have a lot of families and corporates coming in as they want to experience the local life.”