I wrote a
blog back on 13 Nov 2008 on a similar subject less than two weeks before the terrible Mumbai terrorist attacks. Since then, Mumbai started picking up the pieces, and I ventured off to Mumbai three more times in 2009 for more design charrettes and presentations to our TAJ client.
On a recent trip to Mumbai again earlier this month, Nick Poynton and
Stephen Albert (from our WATG London office) and I attended the
HIFI conference (Hotel Investment Forum India) at the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre 12-14 January. It was a “networking-fest” for hotel executives, investors, lenders and developers who are interested in doing business in one of the world’s hottest markets – India.
With approximately 200+ in attendance (relatively small as far as hotel investment conferences go), we were able to meet and exchange business cards with many people in a very short period of time.
Although the HIFI focuses on the Indian hotel market, the opening session on e-marketing strategies worldwide remains on my mind. The topic was how the Internet basically transformed the hospitality world with folks from Expedia and Travelocity leading the way. It took the Internet only 11 months to reach 10 million people -- compared to radio, which took 47 years and television (24 years) to reach the same milestone.
Industry experts suggested that China and India are expected to be the hottest markets for the next several years to come. This was resonated by the Hotel Leaders Forum with top officials from Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, Carlson, Choice, and Hotel Leela.
Stephen was one of four panelists for the last session of the conference titled, “Development Track Workshop – Upscale and First Class Hotels.” The session was very interactive with discussions concerning whether first class hotels can stand alone or whether mixed-use developments are more viable … This all obviously depends on location, location, location. It definitely seems to be less expensive to develop in India compared to other parts of the world; but I was reminded that the land cost in Mumbai is as high as in Manhattan, New York!
At the conclusion of the HIFI conference, we met many chairmen, CEOs, MDs, VPs, students of the hotel industry, and other architects and designers. We digested what the India market and the conference speakers had to offer, and believe WATG’s position as the leaders in hospitality design is best maintained by our continued cultivation of business development relationships.
With that, Stephen went off to Delhi to present a project in Goa and to meet with other clients for future projects. Nick and I stayed on in Mumbai to do the same, and had organized a timely meeting with our TAJ client for an ongoing project in Mumbai. Our meetings went well, and I am looking forward to our next trip.
Flight back to Seattle was a short 24-hour door-to-door journey… We’ll be doing this all over again throughout the year.
For our next project inspiration, Mrs. Feng Lin and Mr. Wang Feng of the New Century Real Estate Group escorted me to the
Tiantong Temple (the temple of the heavenly child), which is a Buddhist temple located at the foot of Taibai Mountain in Ningbo, China. The weather was warm, and the sky was a pretty light blue. The wistful, bracketed eaves and variety of simple wood grillwork in each hall were a delight to see. Woven black lacquered sheets were tightly wrapped around wood columns which added a soft and interesting texture. Circular porticos framed delicately carved mythical creatures such as the dragon and phoenix. We gently ascended to the top pavilion through covered walkways, and encountered vignettes for contemplation and poetry. The temple consists of 730 rooms and houses and played an important role in the cultural exchange between China and Japan. It was built in 300 A.D. and sits in front of Wangong Pool pictured below. We ended our thoughtful, self guided tour by feeding the turtles with fresh watermelon slices.
Conde Nast Traveler magazine recently had a big feature on Russia today, and in a sidebar discusses the country’s stereotypical penchant for over-the-top style. This is my take on the notion that Russia is all about bling:
New money is new money, anywhere in the world. Russians certainly have their own style but it is indeed very arrogant and foolish to write them all off as being tacky. I think an anecdote with a client best illustrates this. We were recently asked to look at a very upscale community on a beautiful lake north of Moscow. When we started to talk about architectural styling, we asked the client if she had any ideas. "Yes," she said. "I would like to build residences that look like MY house." She showed us photos. It was a timber, minimal cube. Beautiful, sophisticated and simple…
