So we have developed a ‘soak your feet in a beautiful ceramic bowl’ [fazet] that is offered to you in an interesting information piece saying ‘if you would like to soak your feet give us a call’. In about 10 minutes a person shows up with a little basket that has towels, salts, a flask of hot water and a bowl with a stand.
They set up the bowl with the hot water, the salts, aromatic oil and a towel by your side, and you just soak your feet — it’s done simply. We want people to say ‘somebody really thought about this’”.
Malhotra says large chains have forgotten the importance of positive guest-focused experiences; quite an issue considering he believes 60-70% of a guest’s ‘carry aways’ come from personal interaction rather than the “splendour of the setting”.
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“When you become big as a hotel company you focus more on systems and structures as opposed to guest experiences and I think that is a trap most hotel companies fall into.
I’m not saying all of us do, but when you have 200 hotels you are into a completely different range of focuses that are not necessarily centred around the guest experience anymore. And to us those guest experiences then have to be delivered.
So we are in the process of creating a Shaza Ethos and creating training programmes that are [aimed at helping] our people be knowledgeable and inspiring so that they can be themselves.”
Malhotra says the brand, which has been relatively quiet on the marketing front, is ready to launch its campaign at the end of this month.
“The key features of the brand are its mystery; it’s intriguing, it’s multi-layered, it is cultured yet contemporary. It is not 1001 Arabian Nights, it is understated, it is well travelled, so that is the kind of personality [of Shaza],” summarises Malhotra.
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