“Over the years, we realised the shaadi segment is growing”
We’ve also realised there’s an opportunity here because none of the big players have sort of dealt with that space.

#ShaadiByMarriott not #WeddingsByMarriott
We’ve used the word shaadi instead of weddings. Being an international operator, we want the Indian customers to endear themselves to us.

“The Indian customer is the big customer”
Everyone wants Indians to travel to their market. In India, there’s this two-play now — domestic customer consumption and outbound. Given the fact that we have so many hotels across the globe, the outbound piece is also important to us. It’s a bit of both.

“To be able to deliver good weddings, we have to be operationally prepared”
Could we have come out with this in 2015? Probably. But we decided to roll it out in 2016 because we wanted to be prepared. This is not about a marketing campaign. It’s about being able to execute it when people come to the hotel.
As we plan the facilities and criteria for new hotels, if there is a propensity to be a wedding destination, our operation team plans in such a manner that it will allow for weddings to be held, and at the same time for the hotel to run its normal operations.

“We then spent a lot of resources and time on the marketing bit”
There was a Letters to Dad campaign launch last year, a video that got us a lot of traction.

“JW Marriott Calcutta is designed for weddings”
The ballroom, separate entrance, bridal room, the whole floor, the areas outside… the whole thing. It’s a hotel that’s built its reputation on weddings and it’s a great way to endear us to the market. Weddings have helped us get phenomenal traction overnight. People return for a meal, to stay or to buy a health club membership because they visited the hotel for a wedding.

“We’ve added hotels like Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa”
Some of our properties popular for weddings include JW Marriott Aerocity, our Mumbai hotels, our resort locations Jaisalmer and Mahabaleshwar, destination weddings at Mussoorie or Kochi. We opened a hotel in Sri Lanka a few days ago, I think the Indian market will flock there.... It’s time to really stamp our authority in this space because it’s about reinforcement. 

Closer home, RANJU ALEX, multi-property vice president east, on weddings at the Bypass hotel  

How is JW Marriott Calcutta designed for weddings?
The hotel has the largest and most ornate ballroom in the city with a separate entrance which gives ample privacy to the wedding guests. The great combination of an outdoor as well as indoor space gives our wedding guests the option to use it for various other functions like mehndi and hence avoid repetition of location. The bridal studio, the only one in the city, is a beautiful room where a bride can get ready and come to the ballroom without manoeuvring her way through corridors, elevators etc.

We understand the culinary needs of various communities and work around it to create amazing packages for our guests. To add to it, we have an immense talent pool within the Marriott spectrum to bring to our guests, as far as culinary and service is concerned. We have a perfectly designed “adda zone” for the guests to chill through the day when they are not busy with rituals. Gold, our nightclub, is a hot spot for bachelor nights and after-parties for weddings. And to top it all we have the perfect route for the baraat to take. 

Trends being seen in Calcutta weddings with respect to... 
Experience: Destination wedding despite being in the city
Menu: Molecular cuisine
Decor: Traditional and Bollywood inspired
Anything else: Sangeet is as big as the wedding