Viraj Sarovar Portico, Bari Brahmana, Jammu

Sarovar sees 500% growth in revenue from direct bookings

Amritara Hotels Drives 12% of Total Bookings Through Simplotel’s Booking Engine

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Amritara Hotels Has Increased Direct Bookings, With Online Bookings Jumping to 55% in The Past Year

Most of us do not take the road less traveled. But then you have Sarovar Hotels and Resorts who did, and they became trailblazers in the Indian hospitality industry.

Sarovar operates 96 hotels across 55 destinations worldwide. One of the leading hotel chains in India, Sarovar was founded by Anil Madhok (Executive Chairman) and Ajay Bakaya (Managing Director) nearly a quarter of a century ago. Sarovar Hotels was the first mover in India to adopt the asset-light model, where it manages and services other hotel properties through strategic alliances with other chains.

Sarovar started operations when it took franchises of Park Plaza and Park Inn brands for India. A decade later (circa 2005), Sarovar began promoting its own brands: Portico, Hometel and Premiere. Fast-forward to another decade and the Louvre Hotels Group, one of Europe’s leading hospitality brands, purchased a stake in Sarovar in 2017. Another milestone in this impressive growth story.

Amritara Hotels, a well-respected name in the Indian hospitality sector, has come a long way since its founding in 2007. Initially starting with just eight properties, the brand has now expanded to 22 locations across India, including beach resorts and religious retreats, offering guests personalized and memorable experiences. The group’s continued success has been built on its dedication to excellence and adaptability, and its latest achievement in direct bookings highlights just that.

An image of a well lit facade and a huge lawn at Amritara Avadh

Prior to partnering with Simplotel, Amritara Hotels faced a significant challenge. Their online bookings were stagnant, hovering around 35-45% overall at best with OTAs being 35-40% of overall bookings. The brand recognized the need for a more robust, user-friendly system that could improve their direct booking performance, reduce dependence on third-party distribution channels, and streamline the guest experience.

Shatabdi Dutta, General Manager (Marketing) at Sarovar, believes that Simplotel’s USP is its digital marketing service. “Simplotel helped us rank in terms of traffic generation across online channels and drive conversions. We received great technical support from the team, which we lacked earlier. The website design is great and user friendly. We have received positive feedback from guests that the booking journey does not take much time, is hassle free, and most importantly, the mobile site is responsive!”

After thorough research, Amritara decided to integrate Simplotel’s booking engine into their system. The transition was seamless, and it didn’t take long for the results to become apparent. Karanveer Singh, the Group Revenue Manager at Amritara Hotels, shared, “We wanted a solution that could make the booking process easier for our guests and increase direct bookings. Simplotel’s booking engine checked all the boxes for us — it’s intuitive, easy to use, and most importantly, mobile-friendly.”

An image of Amritara Chandra Mahal building with multiple storeys and in front there is also a swimming pool

Simplotel Hotel E-commerce Solution:
Amritara Hotels & Resorts has leveraged the Simplotel Booking Engine.

After implementing Simplotel’s booking engine, Amritara Hotels saw a remarkable 12% of total bookings through their website & booking engine during this financial year. Online bookings jumped to 55%, demonstrating the immediate impact of the new system. The brand's ability to directly manage bookings has allowed them to reduce their dependency on third-party channels and enhance overall revenue generation from their website.

Pawan Mudgal, Asst. Revenue Manager at Amritara Hotels, highlighted the simplicity and user-friendliness of Simplotel’s solution, noting, “Simplotel’s booking engine has been incredibly easy for our team to manage. From an internal perspective, it’s intuitive and doesn’t require extensive training. For our guests, the booking journey is seamless — it’s fast, mobile-optimized, and efficient.”

Simplotel’s booking engine didn’t just improve direct bookings; it also came with powerful analytics and revenue management features. These tools provided Amritara Hotels with detailed insights into guest behavior, allowing the team to better adjust rates and content to meet market demands. The ability to leverage this data has been key to staying competitive, especially in the wake of the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karanveer Singh added, “The post-COVID environment has required us to be agile, and Simplotel’s solution has allowed us to pivot quickly. The flexibility in managing rates and optimizing content based on guest behavior has been crucial in driving performance and maintaining a strong presence in the market.”

The collaboration between Amritara Hotels and Simplotel has proven to be a game-changer. With a growth in direct bookings and the tools to optimize their online booking strategy, Amritara Hotels is well-positioned for continued success. As the brand continues to expand, they are confident that Simplotel will remain a key partner in achieving further growth and delivering an exceptional guest experience.

Within a year of onboarding Simplotel, Sarovar had hit over 3x growth in revenue from direct bookings. In another year, this growth doubled to 6x since it went live with Simplotel. “We were able to use Simplotel’s technology to begin promotions and campaigns that gave us a major boost”, says Khan. The average monthly organic traffic also nearly doubled for The Louvre Hotels-backed hospitality chain. However, this was only possible as Sarovar had managed to put their vision into action and achieve the almost impossible in such a short span of time.

On personal learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic, both Khan and Dutta agree that they have learned to live life more passionately and prioritize family. On the professional front, they have learned to think out of the box to jumpstart Sarovar’s operations and forge deeper connections with their partners.