The budget hospitality industry in India has improved manifolds in the last few years, a development that has been aided by the E-Commerce boom. To better understand the sector and see how it stacks up against its global counterparts in terms of offerings and prices it would be apt to compare it with its counterpart in America, and would also help in highlighting the inherent differences in the standard operating procedures across the two regions.
This article is based on my experiences in B&B,s, Motels and Guest Houses while travelling through the eastern states in America (mainly North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia )and drawing on the same to make a comparison against similar experience in India.
While it would be tough to make an apples to apples comparison when comparing a property in New York to one in Outer Banks (N.C), there are a few constants, which according to me are the same across regions and properties
Let us look at some of the salient differences between the establishments of the two countries
Method of Search
In America, one inevitably spends a lot of time on the road as most towns are located a fair distance from one another, your car becomes a rather important asset and you end up spending a lot of time in it. With the expansive road network a GPS system becomes a must- have gadget, the GPS interface contains very well sorted information and can point you to your nearest B & B/ Hotel based on your location and search criteria ( this is something that I used quite frequently there).
In India, majority of the search is done on Desktops and Mobiles ,GPS interfaces are slowly catching on and their usage is not as widespread as their American counterparts.
Usage of manpower and modus operandi
What was the most prevalent feature in each of the facilities was the minimalistic approach towards human resources- each property would have the bare minimum number of employees who would manage the whole premises, often doing more than once function themselves -at night there would only be one person at the reception manning a fifty or sixty room property!
In India this industry is quite manpower intensive, and even small establishments provide employment to over ten people.
Complimentary Breakfast and Water
The concept of complimentary breakfast in the mid budget properties ($60 to $150) properties was pretty much a non-existent one, even complimentary bottles of water are a rare sight. In India the concept of complimentary offerings in well enshrined in the manuals of Service Apartments and Motels, and complimentary breakfast is almost a given.
Tariff Comparison
In order to facilitate a fair comparison we will compare similar facilities and use the US dollar as the common currency.
Price Comparison (USA and India) Region/City Highway Motel Service Apartment Guest House New York 70 to 120 170 to 250 120 to 200 North Carolina 50 to 100 100 to 200 75 to 170 New Delhi 20 to 30 50 to 100 30 to 60 Gurgaon 15 to 30 50 to 100 25 to 60
*All figures in US Dollars
Facilities and Services
After staying at various establishments during my trip, I can definitely say that the facilities and services offered at the Service Apartments and Guest Houses in India are definitely more those offered in the American establishments (this is with regard to a comparison within the same category). Facilities like Gym, Table tennis table and 24/7 concierge, free breakfast are not available in stand-alone boutique properties whereas the same are available in the boutique non-branded Service Apartments in Gurgaon.
In conclusion it is fair to say that that due to the robust infrastructure, systems and processes in America, many of the added facilities are not really required in the B and B's and Motels whereas in India, due to the developing infrastructure and manpower dependent processes the hospitality industry has to work harder to provide in-house facilities and a higher service levels to their guests and patrons in order for them to have an enjoyable and comfortable stay.
Martin Wynn
