Blending Business Leisure & Culture by the Sea

As luxury hospitality is evolving in response to rising affluence and shifting guest expectations, star hotels are redefining what it means to deliver value. To stay relevant, they are now not just focussing on luxury, but on delivering comfort, entertainment, and memorable dining in more personalised and culturally immersive ways. Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach is exemplifying this shift, balancing global standards with local relevance, technology with human touch, and profitability with purpose, tells General Manager KUNAL Shanker to BISHAN Kumar.

With disposable incomes on the rise, one thing that has changed significantly is the consumer’s expectations, particularly in the luxury hospitality sector. Over the past 25 years, there has been a notable shift towards personalised, experiential, and culturally immersive stays. This evolution is driven by a combination of rising affluence, increased travel frequency, and a desire for unique, locally relevant experiences that go beyond traditional luxury offerings. Modern guests seek meaningful connections, whether through local cuisine, wellnesscentric stays, or immersive cultural activities.

In this evolving landscape, Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach focusses on creating intuitive, balanced experiences offering curated dining festivals, wellness menus and thoughtfully designed spaces to deliver bespoke services that feel both relevant and memorable. “The future of hospitality, I believe, lies in offering simplicity with soul,” is how Kunal puts it.

Balancing it Right

The hotel sits at a rare intersection where a beachfront escape meets a bustling metro. As such, the key to managing diverse guest expectations lies in creating versatile, intuitive spaces.

The hotel balances lifestyle and functionality by providing sea-facing rooms and wellness-driven dining for retreat, while catering to corporate travellers with express services and proximity to the airport. The hotel’s food and beverage areas are multifunctional, ideal for both informal meetings and weekend brunches. “We are committed to offering experiences that are both inspiring and practical, ensuring every guest, whether here for work, leisure, or a blend of both, feels perfectly at home by the sea,” says Kunal.

Having worked with leading hotel chains, Kunal understands well the importance of adapting international hotel standards for the Indian market while maintaining brand consistency. This involves integrating Indian consumer preferences, local tastes and customs into the service and design, while upholding core brand values and operational standards. “I strongly feel that while global standards set the foundation for consistency, their real success lies in how well they are localised,” he explains.

Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach reflects this philosophy by upholding Accor’s international benchmarks in service, safety, and sustainability, while customising them through an Indian lens. The result is a blend of international efficiency and Indian warmth, with regional cuisine offered alongside international menus tailored to local tastes.

Investing in Experiences

Balancing commercial performance with guest satisfaction often involves counterintuitive decisions. A key example is optimising the food and beverage offerings. “I have learned that guest satisfaction and commercial performance are not always at odds. Sometimes, investing in experiences over immediate ROI can drive stronger long-term gains,” Kunal says. For instance, the hotel’s decision to reimagine its Sunday brunch into a family-oriented experience with interactive zones for kids, live counters, and wellness-led menus, resonated deeply with guests, leading to increased footfall, repeat visits, and strong wordof-mouth.

This approach, combined with efficient procurement and strategic pricing, can drive revenue growth without compromising on the guest experience, proving that authentic engagement often yields better results than transactional strategies.

Building & Sustaining Value

Pre-opening a hotel is both a challenge and an opportunity in the sense that it offers a blank canvas to craft a culture rooted in purpose. Kunal’s approach begins with building a core leadership team that embodies brand values and co-creates operational SOPs, service rituals, and guest journeys aligned with both Accor’s standards and local market nuances. Effective communication, clarity, and consistency are crucial and every team member must understand not just the ‘what’ but also the ‘why’. “For me, it’s about delivering memorable first impressions and building a service DNA that can scale sustainably,” he says.

But delivering consistent excellence doesn’t stop after opening. Sustaining profitability in the face of rising operational costs and evolving guest expectations requires a shift from traditional hospitality models to smarter, experience-led approaches. Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach has achieved this by embracing a hybrid approach of thoughtful technology with personalised service. For example, digital check-ins and QR-code menus reduce operational redundancies, freeing up teams to focus on genuine human interactions. “We have also introduced curated food and beverage concepts that focus on quality over volume, driving both differentiation and profitability,” Kunal informs.

From a sustainability standpoint, energy-efficient systems and conscious sourcing play a vital role in managing costs while aligning with guest values. Importantly, the hotel regularly engages with guests to understand shifting preferences, allowing it to stay agile in its offerings. “Profitability today is about value creation across touchpoints, ensuring guests feel seen, heard, and cared for,” Kunal explains.

Sustainability & Tech

Sustainability at Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach goes beyond the ‘compliance mindset’, woven into how it engages with the community. The hotel practices sustainability initiatives like banning single-use plastic, operating an inhouse water bottling plant, EV charging station, and resource monitoring to manage energy use.

Kunal believes that in the next five years, artificial intelligence and machine learning, coupled with sustainability initiatives, will change the way fivestar hotels operate in India. These technologies will personalise guest experiences, optimise operations, and anticipate preferences. “Smart energy systems and automation will also play an essential role in aligning cost-efficiency with environmental responsibility,” he states. However, he insists that technology should not replace human interaction but enhance it, freeing teams to focus on emotional intelligence and memorable connection with guests.

Competitive Dining

Food and beverage operations often make or break a hotel’s profitability and guest experience, especially given the rising competition from premium standalone restaurants. While hotel F&B operations benefit from infrastructure and in-house guests, standalone venues can often deliver greater flexibility distinct dining experiences, and potentially lower overheads, making them attractive alternatives.

As such, star hotels need to define their dining strategy. Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach caters to a diverse clientele by offering a range of dining experiences that blend familiar international flavours with authentic local tastes. Sampan, for example, delivers heritage Cantonese cuisine with an oceanfront view. Gadda Da Vida, the beachfront bar, pairs global small plates with signature cocktails, creating a social and immersive atmosphere. And Bageecha, the Indian grill pop-up reimagines regional flavours in a rustic outdoor setting.