Any conversation about five star hotels of Pune is likely to include Blue Diamond because it is the oldest. The elite crowd of Pune has a special connection with this hotel. Recognising this, Tata Group’s hospitality arm, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), has included it in its collection of iconic hotels under the brand named SeleQtions. In other words, Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond, is now rebranded as Blue Diamond — IHCL SeleQtions.
“Blue Diamond has been in the city for so many years that it has become an iconic landmark. People who have had their first birthday’s celebrated in the hotel have come back to have their wedding here too. The hotel is known for its history,” says Suju Krishnan, general manager, Blue Diamond — IHCL SeleQtions.
Heading the team that is leading the hotel into the transition, he says his job has become more exciting. “This is my second year in this hotel. I’m excited to be a part of creating history with the migration from Taj to SeleQitions. My responsibility now has only enhanced. We need to channelise our efforts and focus on what we want to create. We are looking forward to the brand value going up by creating unique experiences for our guests. The great thing about this transition is that the hotel will no longer be defined by standardised level of quality, but instead will be creating memorable experiences for its guests with its signature traits which could be customer interfaces and touchpoints that are unique to Blue Diamond. Be it our signature cuisine, the unique identity of uniforms keeping the location in minds, or our music philosophy, or phase-wise refurbishment of the property, we are in the process of coming out of the regular pattern and living up to being a handpicked boutique hotel,” says he.
Apart from this location, the brand SeleQtions has taken over 11 more hotels across the country which have a distinct character such as the President in Mumbai, Ambassador and The Connaught in New Delhi, Tajview in Agra and Devi Ratn in Jaipur, Pratap Mahal in Ajmer, Savoy in Ooty, Gateway Coonoor, Gateway Chikmagalur and Gateway Varkala and Cidade de Goa.
Though moving away from the Taj brand now and going back to its roots to establish its own identity, Krishnan, who has been a Taj loyalist all through his career, says that the hotel will be retaining qualities such as trust and courteousness. “Being from the house of Tatas, we live with values of trust, awareness and joy. We want to carry on with that. We will keep creating an ideal work environment with warmth and courteousness,” says he, adding, “In terms of interaction with customers, we want to make sure that we take it to the next level of personalisation. The associates who serve the customers should know their preferences and how to customise their stay and make it a more personalised experience for them. With our hotel being most important hotel in this chain, we want to build ourselves along with the brand as it moves ahead,” says Krishnan.
While the hotel already has its loyal clientèle, they also want to reach out to new, younger customers. And what better way to do this than through bloggers and online reviews. “We have to be more abreast of what’s happening in real time basis. Anything shared on social media must be responded to in the positive manner it deserves. We respond positively to criticism and find a way to better ourselves however we can,” says Krishnan, adding, “We want to record the feedback from our guests so that we can enhance their experience when they visit us again. We have to be agile and responsive to what is being spoken about us on the internet.”
