The document discusses the experiences of Arindam Chakraborty, the general manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ludhiana, Punjab. Chakraborty notes that since taking over in March 2015, the hotel has seen steady increases in revenue and profitability due to collaborative efforts across departments. Food and beverage makes up 65% of the hotel's revenue, with 40% from banqueting. Banqueting poses challenges as local wedding resorts offer lower prices, but the hotel provides quality, hygiene and bundled services. Chakraborty aims to increase banquet space utilization to further boost profits.

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THE GM ARINDAM CHAKRABORTY
A GM RUNNING A HOTEL IN LUDHIANA,
THE HEART OF PUNJAB, SHARES
HIS EXPERIENCE OF A CIT Y WHERE
BANQUET BUSINESS IS KING
THE RIGHT MIX OF
PUNJABI TADKA

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THE GM ARINDAM CHAKRABORTY
BY: BIKRAMJIT RAY
ARINDAM CHAKRABORTY, the General Manager of
the Radisson Blu Hotel MBD, Ludhiana spoke to BW Hotelier
about the challenges and rewards of operating a global brand
in the industrial hub, also known as the Manchester of India,
and how he and the hotel and doing currently. Chakraborty
joined the hotel in March 2015, re-locating himself from the
Eros Hotel, New Delhi. Chakraborty has worked in the MBD
group before as F&B head at the Radisson MBD Noida.
“I think since me taking over the mantle there has
been a steady increase in revenues and profitability and
that has come through a lot of collective efforts of the
sales team, the operations team and the back of the house
as well,” he began. The property has 78 rooms which will
increase to 81 with the addition of three suites.
The hotel is a predominantly F&B driven hotel, with
multiple food and beverage outlets, with the iconic signature
restaurants RED and Made in India from the Noida property.
They also have an 80-seater coffee shop called Cafe
Delish. There is also the Chocolate Box, which Chakraborty
felt has a lot of potential to grow.
“The specialty restaurants have picked up their
popularity among locals and resident guests, but the bar,
called Peg is a slow starter. We are going to be adding
a nightclub as well, in the coming months--but the main
strength of the food and beverage business is banqueting,”
he explained. With two large banquet spaces and pre-
function area, adding up to around 20,000 square feet, the
hotel has substantial offerings in that segment.
“Our break up is such that food and beverage
constitutes around 65 percent of the hotel’s revenue with
30 percent coming from rooms and five percent from minor
operating departments. So it’s predominantly about food and
beverage operations,” he says. Of the F&B revenue, almost
40 percent (of the 65 percent) comes from banqueting. The
further division of banquets is 75 percent social and 25
percent corporate events, he added. The city has not seen
major MICE business and due to poor airport connectivity
major MICE movement shifts to Chandigarh or Zirakpur.
“Our rooms business has taken off and the outlets
are doing well too. Banqueting though getting us revenues,
needs to cover ground, since we are talking about 20,000
square feet of space. We need to come up to the level of at
least 65 percent banquet space utilisation to realise at least
Rs 12 to 14 crore in a financial year, so that bottom line can
be further enhanced,” he added.
According to Chakraborty, the banquet space poses
multiple challenges. “Before hotels came in, Punjab had
lots of marriage resorts which, due to low running costs
were able to offer large buffets and food stalls at basic
prices. Guests expect the same from hotels, which does
not add up for us because we have high running costs. On
the other hand, Hotels deliver on quality, hygiene and most
importantly are a one stop shop with food and beverage,
accommodation, bridal and salon services, limousine
services and honeymoon packages all at one place,”
Chakraborty said.
Taxation too is a deterrent, when it comes to having
functions in a hotel, as they go as high as 32 to 37 percent
and are unavoidable. Guests don’t want to spend so much
over and above the set rate. For this reason, the hotel has
create the all-inclusive package.

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percent of the business, according to Chakraborty, with the
rest going to leisure. “Ever since the Bollywood film shoot
crews stayed with us last year, things are looking up for
long stay as well. Punjab seems to be an ‘in’ place for film
shoots. Average guest stays have also gone up from 1.5 to
around 1.9. We are also seeing long stayers come and stay
from different companies,” he added.
One of the major challenges of operating in Ludhiana,
according to him continues to be lack of quality manpower,
due to the local student’s inclination towards opportunities
abroad. Imported ingredients too are a challenge to source,
with the hotel having to be dependent on suppliers from
Delhi or Chandigarh. Another issue which he saw as a
hindrance was the non-availability of premium liquor and
wines and the fact that brand registrations was also stuck
for months.
On the bright side, the market itself was a growing
and evolving one. With international presence and new
businesses being established constantly.
“The saving grace is the size of the market is growing
with new projects and establishments coming into the
area and the fact that a lot of top level players are already
present here. It means there should be enough business for
everyone,” Chakraborty ended on a hopeful note.
AUTHOR BIO: Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor of BW
Hotelier.
65 PERCENT OF TOTAL
BUSINESS IS F&B AND
40 PERCENT OF THAT
IS BANQUETING
“We have three different packages. You get food, soft
beverage, decor and DJ, all inclusive. Buyers can go for a
basic, premium and diamond category. This has made it
easier for us to make the customer understand what they
get for their buck,” Chakraborty said. The idea was to cater
to the market sensibilities, he continued, “They are big
foodies, so that is a great advantage for us at the property,
something which we love to propagate and grow.”
For the rooms business, the corporates take 65
THE GM ARINDAM CHAKRABORTY