Saturday 27 / April / 2024
Muscat: With large-scale hospitality and tourism projects coming up across various governorates in the Sultanate of Oman, these are good times for this beautiful country to woo visitors, according to Tapan Piplani, Valor Hospitality’s Chief Operating Officer.
The top boss of one of the leading hospitality groups said: “A state-of-the-art marine-biology experiential centre with focus on growing coral reef in the Sea of Oman would boost marine tourism while thrill-seeking tourists could enjoy adventure sports in Jabal Akhdar and nearby mountain ranges.”
In an exclusive interview with the Times of Oman, Piplani spoke about the tourism sector in Oman and outlined what more could be done to attract tourists to the Sultanate.
Excerpts from the interview:
How is the tourism sector shaping up in Oman?
Oman is blessed by nature and hence tourism should be the obvious economic driver. Omanis are naturally hospitable, welcoming and friendly people. They are also hardworking and willing to learn. Hence, availability of a willing, skilled local workforce is a big advantage for the tourism sector. Investment in the airport infrastructure was a bold move by Oman and even though the pandemic may have impacted the arrivals to the country, the recent decision to provide Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) residents visa on arrival access for 14 days without any costs is again a massive step in the right direction. Additional flights especially from India, Pakistan, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and China would give a boost to the tourism sector in Oman. Oman Air can then provide better internal connectivity to Salalah and Duqm whilst the private sector can initiate affordable transportation to Sohar, wadis and mountains.
What brings you to Oman?
Finding the right partners to collaborate with is very important to the Valor business ethos. We have been fortunate on that with our first hotel in Oman i.e. Four Points by Sheraton, Muscat which is currently undergoing a full-refurbishment and we hope to open it in the fourth quarter of 2024. We are exploring further opportunities in Duqm, Sohar, Muscat, Salalah and Jabal Akhdar with multiple ongoing discussions and negotiations. We are totally committed to expanding the Valor portfolio to at least 500 keys under management in Oman over the next 2 years.
What difference can you bring into the Oman market when you will open the first property in Oman?
While Franchised hotels constitute almost 70 percent of the world’s hotel inventory approximately in the Middle East including Oman, the concept is still very new. We help owners have a greater say and involvement in their own business under the advice and supervision of a highly skilled and experienced team of hotel professionals. Whilst we provide a business model which improves the investor returns significantly, we are also protective about the brand equity and hence train our hotel teams to deliver exceptional service levels. Our presence in Oman will help hotel owners improve their investment yields thus encouraging financial institutions, family offices and foreign funds to invest in the country within the tourism projects whilst providing an avenue to global hotel companies in introducing a wide-array of brands spread across Premium, Mid-scale, Economy and extended stay segments.
What will be the USP of Four Points by Sheraton?
Four Points by Sheraton in Qurum, Muscat has a unique location in the heart of a business and retail district that will offer fully refurbished new age hotel rooms; suites both for short-stay and extended-stay guests and combine that with a well-lit co-working lounge, multiple bars and dining options and leisure amenities including a 24x7 fully equipped gymnasium. The hotel is ideally located close to business houses, international corporations, international airports, malls and beaches. However, what will stand-out in the hotel would also be the service culture and the training we intend to provide to both the local Omani talent and the expatriates in conjunction with Valor Global’s partner institute the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality from the Memphis University, US.
When are you opening your first hotel in Oman?
The Four Points by Sheraton is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Are there any improvements in the tourism sector after COVID?
Post-COVID, the tourism sector has made better use of technology in hospitality and consumers have adapted to these technological advances. App-based check-in provisions, the use of QR coded menus in restaurants, cafes, spas, and in-room guest directories has reduced paper and material wastage. There is also a greater focus on hygiene in high-traffic areas, such as elevator buttons and main doors. Delivery of F&B, QSR style is now an integral part of hotel food and beverage as well. Reduced availability of skilled hospitality workforce around the world also meant that hotel companies had to evolve delivering more with less thus improving margins as business volumes improved.
Everybody wins in the above scenario, including the investor and the consumer.
What lessons have you learnt from COVID?
Never take anything for granted, prepare for the uncertainty and have faith in your people because they are the ones who can make or break a company. We have focused increasingly on providing our hoteliterians an opportunity to learn more, do more and grow quicker. We have re-evaluated our operations and adapted to changing market conditions. Cross-training staff have enabled businesses to be more agile and responsive to customer needs, while face-to-face interactions have become even more valuable in a world where remote work and online communication have become the norm. The survival of genuine businesses has also instilled greater trust and confidence in the industry, as customers seek reliable and trustworthy partners for their travel needs.
As a business we did not exit from various global markets, and were able to retain 98 percent of our global talent pool and have only expanded since the peak of the Covid.
What are the benefits of working with Valor Hospitality Partners?
Valor Hospitality offers owners flexibility for their assets, allowing them to be highly or less involved in day-to-day operations while maintaining insight and transparency. We are able to operate multiple hotel brands under franchise from global hotel companies for same or multiple owners, which allows both portfolio and individual asset owners operating efficiencies with shared resources and cross selling within the Valor portfolio.
We also deploy our proprietary BI tools that allow owners to have access to information and data in real time. Besides, an owner is no longer relying only on an individual such as the GM or the Director of Sales but a whole team that works seamlessly at all times even if there is a change in personnel at the hotel level. Business risks from loss of personnel are mitigated to a large extent.
How did your company respond to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the tourism economy?
Valor Hospitality followed local legislation in each market we operated in and did not let go off any staff globally as we believed they would need them as soon as there was an uptick in the tourism sector. This was the right choice as we were ready in each market as they started to open. In the Middle East, we opened our first hotel in Dubai in 2021 and significantly grew the team between 2020-2022. During this period, we also entered new markets like CIS with an office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, North-Africa with an office in Casablanca, Morocco and Pakistan. Working in diversified markets geographically yet being connected through a common thread helped us a lot as an organisation and we were also grateful for some support provided by the regulatory authorities in the US, the UK and the UAE.
What needs to be done to bring more tourists to Oman?
Building the new airport was a great start. Taking that forward is important by improving the airlift to the country from various important source markets in Asia, the UK, Europe, CIS, ME and Africa. The recent initiative of giving 14-day free visa on arrival to all residents in GCC is wonderful, it needs to be marketed aggressively via public-private partnership especially through global hotel companies already doing business in Oman. Domestic flight connectivity within Oman is also important to drive tourists beyond Muscat.
Diversification in hotel concepts by introducing both the mass all-inclusive group tourism as well as boutique lodges and resorts would help reach a wider audience both geographically and spending power wise. Setting up of hotel training academies in partnership with global hotel schools and hotel companies with quality internships would boost the Omanisation efforts and provide seasonal workforce to the hotels thus improving service levels and experience of visiting tourists.
A state-of-the-art marine biology experiential centre and focus on growing the coral reef in the Sea of Oman would also help drive marine tourism enthusiasts.
Adventure sports in the Jabal Akhdar and nearby mountain ranges can be a massive attraction.
