The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Banglore

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Differentiation is essential, as the presence of a variety of Hotel brands in India is

limited, whereas consumer choices and patterns show a need for more brands. Taking
this into account as well as branding a strategy of not wanting an omnibus known as
Taj defining all its properties the company has rebranded its properties into Taj,
Vivanta by Taj, The Gateway and Ginger. Gateway is positioned above the economy
brand Ginger but placed below the Residency and the Taj brands.
The Gateway Hotel caters to a pan-India network of hotels and resorts offering all the
key services at competitive prices. The pricing starts from Rs 3,000 and to over Rs
6,000 depending on the location. The company plans to invest aggressively to
promote the brand through owned and managed properties. The Gateway Hotels are
to be set up in each of the country’s business districts and leisure locations, catering
primarily to the contemporary traveller.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The world has changed drastically over past one year and so has business and its
trends. With the global melt down of the economy and its impact most of the
corporate have resorted to drastic cost cutting measures. The effect is contagious- the
meltdown is getting transmitted throughout the industries. Due to this The Gateway
Hotel is experiencing a slowdown in its banquet sales.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
➢ To understand the effectiveness of the standard operating procedures of

banquet sales department and determine the gaps that occur during
implementation.
➢ To understand a corporate clients preferences while choosing a particular
banquet facility
➢ To determine their perception of The Gateway Hotel’s banquet facilities and
recommendways to make The Gateway Hotel a preferred banquet destination
for the corporate customer.
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CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………......................................................6
THE HOSPATILITY INDUSTRY……………………........................................14
HOTEL INDUSTRY IN INDIA.......................................................................... 18
THE TATA GROUP……………….........................................…………………31
• The Taj
• Indian hotels company Ltd
THE GATEWAY HOTEL RESIDENCY ROAD…..............................…........36
DESIGN & ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE……….................………….39
• Introduction & objectives
• Research Methodology
• Analysis of the questionnaire
• Observations
SUGESSTIONS………………………………………...............................….56
CONCLUSION…………………………………......…........................……...75
ANNEXTURE…………………………................................….....………….80
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – AN OVERVIEW
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Hospitality is all about offering warmth to someone who looks for help at a strange or
unfriendly place. It refers to the process of receiving and entertaining a guest with
goodwill. Hospitality in the commercial context refers to the activity of hotels,
restaurants, catering, inn, resorts or clubs who make a vocation of treating tourists.
Helped With unique efforts by government and all other stakeholders, including hotel
owners, resort managers, tour and travel operators and employees who work in the
sector, Indian hospitality industry has gained a level of acceptance world over. It has
yet to go miles for recognition as a world leader of hospitality. Many take Indian
hospitality service not for its quality of service but India being a cheap destination for
leisure tourism
With unlimited tourism and untapped business prospects, in the coming years Indian
hospitality is seeing green pastures of growth. Availability of qualified human
resources and untapped geographical resources give great prospects to the hospitality
industry. The number of tourists coming to India is growing year after year. Likewise,
internal tourism is another area with great potentials.
The hospitality industry is a 3.5 trillion dollar service sector within the global
economy. It is an umbrella term for a broad variety of service industries including, but
not limited to, hotels, food service, casinos, and tourism. The hospitality industry is
very diverse and global. The industry is cyclical; dictated by the fluctuations that
occur with an economy every year. Today hospitality sector is one of the fastest
growing sectors in India. It is expected to grow at the rate of 8% between 2007 and
2016. Many international hotels including Sheraton, Hyatt, Radisson, Meridien, Four
Seasons Regent, and Marriott International are already established in the Indian
markets and are still expanding. Nowadays the travel and tourism industry is also
included in hospitality sector. The boom in travel and tourism has led to the further
development of hospitality industry.
In 2003-04 the hospitality industry contributed only 2% of the GDP. However, it is
projected to grow at a rate of 8.8% between 2007-16, which would place India as the
second-fastest growing tourism market in the world. This year the number of tourists
visiting India is estimated to have touched the figure of 4.4 million. With this huge
figure, India is becoming the hottest tourist destination. The arrival of foreign tourists
has shown a compounded annual growth of 6 per cent over the past 10 years. Besides,
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travel and tourism is the second highest foreign exchange earner for India. Moreover,
it is also estimated that the tourism sector will account for nearly 5.3 per cent of GDP
and 5.4 per cent of total employment.
Visitor Personal Capital Govt.
GDP Employment
Export T&T Investment Expenditure
Outlook
for 7.80% 1.40% 10.90% 6.90 % 8.30% 7.70%
2006
Outlook
for
6.60% 1.00% 7.80% 6.70% 7.80% 6.60%
2007-
2016
ATITHI DEVO BHAVO (guest is God)- we have all heard this phrase many times
during our childhood from our parents and grand-parents. We can also find its
presence in the earliest Vedas and religious epics. Hospitality is deep-rooted in our
traditions and comes as an integral part of our heritage. In very simple terms,
hospitality is the art of being warm to strangers and has been derived from the Latin
word hospitalitem, which means "friendliness to guests".
The hospitality industry covers a diverse range of establishments in the form of
accommodation, food and drinks. It includes hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, ships,
airlines and railways. The concept of hospitality business started when people started
traveling away on business and they needed a place away from home which could
cater to all their needs.
Today hospitality has evolved from the basic food and accommodation industry and
taken a very important position in almost all businesses. In fact, it has become a huge
industry and drives economies across the globe. The scope of hospitality/ service
industry today is far more than one could have ever imagined a few years back.
Earlier people who graduated from a Hotel School could get employed either in
Hotels, Cruises or Airlines.
But service is the BUZZ word for all businesses today. Be it the Retail Sector,
Banking Industry, BPO, Telecom world, Real Estate or any other sector having direct
customer contact, a person with hospitality background has an edge above the rest,
because of their sheer capability of understanding the needs of a customer better and
handling difficult customers/ situations efficiently.
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Hotel industry depends largely upon the foreign tourist arrivals further classified into
business travelers (around 65% of the total foreign tourists) and leisure travelers. The
following figures show that business as well as the leisure travelers (both domestic
and international) formed major clientele for hotels in 2007.
Over the last two years, the hotel industry has seen higher growth rates due to greater
number of tourist arrivals, higher occupancy rate (being around 75% in FY'06) and
significant increase in average room rate (ARR). The major factors contributing to
this growth include stable economic and political conditions, booming service
industry, FDI inflow, infrastructure development, emphasis on tourism by the central
as well as state governments and tax rationalization initiatives to bring down the tax
rates in line with the international levels.
CONTRIBUTION TO INDIAN ECONOMY

The Indian hospitality industry is going great guns presently, with high operating
margins and increase in the number of travellers visiting India - both inbound and
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outbound. Thus, the only direction left for the sector points upwards. However, what
needs to be focussed on is the fact that opportunities are not missed, which presently
include the large gaps in rooms supply as compared to demand. India has
approximately 100,000 rooms only in totality, which is lesser than that in Las Vegas,
besides contributing to an insignificant portion of the GDP - just 5.4 per cent says
Sudeep Jain, executive director of JLLM. In comparison to nations like China,
Thailand and Malaysia where the hospitality share ranges between 12 and 15 per cent,
India's growth potential is boundless. "By 2020, the hospitality and tourism sector
would be a major contributor to the Indian economy," says Jain.
South Asia is and will remain a must-visit destination and India is looking more and
more lucrative. Within the nation, major contribution as destinations will be from the
growing tier I and II cities with a special emphasis on business hotels across
categories as well as the prime leisure destinations like Goa, Rajasthan, etc, which
will remain on the growth path, creating the aura for India as a leisure destination.
Accordingly, the needs of the traveller, will be nothing less than perfection. Jain says,
"They will be more discerning and more value conscious." With an increase in
choices available, they will be less forgiving of service deficiencies. Guests will
require higher levels of service in the full-service segments, which will warrant
greater training requirements for hotel staff. The limited service hotels will require a
complete shift in the perception of customer service. Nevertheless, this is directly
related to the travellers' travel persona. "The same person will have different
standards when he/she is on a business trip, versus an escape with his partner versus a
leisure trip with the family," he explains.
Future-wise
Hotels as a product will witness evolution, says Jain. According to him, "As the
market becomes more segmented, especially in the mid-market and select service
categories, more product types will appear." The driving force behind these will be
global brand standards and therefore they will have standard specifications creating a
degree of uniformity and standardisation in certain limited and mid-market hotel
segments. Differentiations in product type will evolve more at the higher end of the
market with boutique hotels, resorts, convention centres, etc. The need to differentiate
design will play an important role. Various brands and operators will play a larger role
in driving design standards, getting involved at early project planning stages. "As
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hotel segments cater to specific demand segments, design typologies will be more
customised to suit traveller's lifestyle," says Jain. Equal importance will also be given
to green-building concepts in terms of development and operations, which will go
beyond cost-saving, placating the demands from both investors and customers. "From
the investment side, there will be enough environmentally-conscious investors, who
will only invest in green buildings and will also pay a premium for such properties
relative to other properties," predicts Jain. In addition, 'green-conscious' business and
corporate groups will patronise hotels and brands that support green concepts," he
further adds.
Besides all this, the reliance on technology will move beyond Wi-Fi and internet
requirements to tools to support sales and marketing as well as yield management.
Even basic interiors will be upgraded with the use of technology like self check-in
and information kiosks. This will also revamp sales and marketing as international
brands will leverage their central reservation systems and will initiate networks with
third party reservation agencies. In addition, systems will become more sophisticated
and targeted, customising sales and marketing efforts for each targeted traveller.
F&B, an area of immense importance within a hotel will also evolve, especially for
the select-service hotel categories. Jain gives an example. "The standard two/three-
meal restaurant could be replaced by limited service 24-hr cafés that occupy a smaller
area and employ fewer staff and can provide limited room service." Similarly he
speaks of grab-n-go concepts also that would make inroads in the select service
segments. However when discussing service, which is the main play of this industry,
it has to be understood that the growth phase is still on and the market is currently
undersupplied in terms of trained hotel staff to cater to the large supply pipe-line. "A
larger number of globally recognised training institutes are required in the country
and this is a great opportunity for educational institutions," believes Jain.
The driving force

Being part of a real estate money management and services company, Jain discusses
the various driving factors for growth opportunities, quoting research done by Jones
Lang LaSalle Hotels. He believes that if the country is able to sustain its economic
growth specially in the service sector, it will have a direct influence on the hotel
industry. This is directly related to the incoming foreign investments, not just in the
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hotels but the economy as a whole. Also equally important is the fact that India has
now discovered the power of marketing and with campaigns like Incredible India,
there are also the various large scale regional and global events like the upcoming
Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the recent Indian Premiere League that
builds interest about the nation. "These are just external factors. The policies and
incentives that will be provided over the next decade could further act as a catalyst to
this industry," says Jain. Apart from these external factors there are other factors
where the industry can be given a great boost. For instance if land prices became
more realistic, the process of getting approvals and licences to build and operate
hotels are streamlined, together with strong infrastructure development and
investment and more tax/levy incentives being provided to build hotels, it would
prove very fruitful for the industry. "Also, moving to a more 'international' FSI
guideline will stimulate development. Today, FSI's for hotels in India are only a
fraction of those that exist in other mature markets," says Jain. He believes that there
would be no stopping the growth in the industry if these measures were undertaken.
But the fact remains that half of these changes will only occur if the government
begins to take some proactive measures and provide the much needed stimuli to
further accelerate development.
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
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1. Natural and cultural diversity : India has a rich cultural heritage. The "unity in
diversity" tag attracts most tourists. The coastlines, sunny beaches, backwaters of
Kerala, snow capped Himalayas and the quiescent lakes are incredible.
2. Demand-supply gap : Indian hotel industry is facing a mismatch between the

demand and supply of rooms leading to higher room rates and occupancy levels. With
the privilege of hosting Commonwealth Games 2010 there is more demand of rooms
in five star hotels. This has led to the rapid expansion of the sector
3. Government support: The government has realized the importance of tourism and
has proposed a budget of Rs. 540 crore for the development of the industry. The
priority is being given to the development of the infrastructure and of new tourist
destinations and circuits. The Department of Tourism (DOT) has already started the
"Incredible India" campaign for the promotion of tourism in India.
4. Increase in the market share: India's share in international tourism and hospitality
market is expected to increase over the long-term. New budget and star hotels are
being established. Moreover, foreign hospitality players are heading towards Indian
markets.
WEAKNESSES
1.Poor support infrastructure: Though the government is taking necessary steps,

many more things need to be done to improve the infrastructure. The total
expenditure made in this regard was US $150 billion in China compared to US$ 21
billion in India.
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2.Slow implementation: The lack of adequate recognition for the tourism industry
has been hampering its growth prospects. Whatever steps are being taken by the
government are implemented at a slower pace.
3.Susceptible to political events: The internal security scenario and social unrest also
hamper the foreign tourist arrival rates.
OPPORTUNITIES
1.Rising income: Owing to the rise in income levels, Indians have more spare money
to spend, which is expected to enhance leisure tourism.
2.Open sky benefits: With the open sky policy, the travel and tourism industry has
seen an increase in business. Increased airline activity has stimulated demand and has
helped improve the infrastructure. It has benefited both international and domestic
travels.
THREATS
1. Fluctuations in international tourist arrivals: The total dependency on foreign

tourists can be risky, as there are wide fluctuations in international tourism. Domestic
tourism needs to be given equal importance and measures should be taken to promote
it.
2.Increasing competition: Several international majors like the Four Seasons,

Shangri-La and Aman Resorts are entering the Indian markets. Two other groups - the
Carlson Group and the Marriott chain - are also looking
forward to join this race. This will increase the competition for the existing Indian
hotel majors
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THE HOTEL INDUSTRY
Hotel Industry in India has witnessed tremendous boom in recent years. Hotel
Industry is inextricably linked to the tourism industry and the growth in the Indian
tourism industry has fuelled the growth of Indian hotel industry. The thriving
economy and increased business opportunities in India have acted as a boon for
Indian hotel industry. The arrival of low cost airlines and the associated price wars
have given domestic tourists a host of options. The 'Incredible India' destination
campaign and the recently launched 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' (ADB) campaign have also
helped in the growth of domestic and international tourism and consequently the hotel
industry.
In recent years government has taken several steps to boost travel & tourism which
have benefited hotel industry in India. These include the abolishment of the inland air
travel tax of 15%; reduction in excise duty on aviation turbine fuel ; and removal of a
number of restrictions on outbound chartered flights, including those relating to
frequency and size of aircraft. The government's recent decision to treat convention
centres as part of core infrastructure, allowing the government to provide critical
funding for the large capital investment that may be required has also fuelled the
demand for hotel rooms.
The opening up of the aviation industry in India has exciting opportunities for hotel
industry as it relies on airlines to transport 80% of international arrivals. The
government's decision to substantially upgrade 28 regional airports in smaller towns
and privatization & expansion of Delhi and Mumbai airport will improve the business
prospects of hotel industry in India. Substantial investments in tourism infrastructure
are essential for Indian hotel industry to achieve its potential. The upgrading of
national highways connecting various parts of India has opened new avenues for the
development of budget hotels in India. Taking advantage of this opportunity Tata
group and another hotel chain called 'Homotel' have entered this business segment.
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According to a report, Hotel Industry in India currently has supply of 110,000 rooms
and there is a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling hotel room rates across India.
According to estimates demand is going to exceed supply by at least 100% over the
next 2 years. Five-star hotels in metro cities allot same room, more than once a day to
different guests, receiving almost 24-hour rates from both guests against 6-8 hours
usage. With demand-supply disparity, hotel rates in India are likely to rise by 25%
annually and occupancy by 80%, over the next two years. This will affect the
competitiveness of India as a cost-effective tourist destination.
To overcome, this shortage Indian hotel industry is adding about 60,000 quality
rooms, currently in different stages of planning and development, which should be
ready by 2012. Hotel Industry in India is also set to get a fillip with Delhi hosting
2010 Commonwealth Games. Government has approved 300 hotel projects, nearly
half of which are in the luxury range. The future scenario of Indian hotel industry
looks extremely rosy. It is expected that the budget and mid-market hotel segment
will witness huge growth and expansion while the luxury segment will continue to
perform extremely well over the next few years.
Over the last decade and half the mad rush to India for business opportunities has
intensified and elevated room rates and occupancy levels in India. Even budget hotels
are charging USD 250 per day. The successful growth story of 'Hotel Industry in
India' seconds only to China in Asia Pacific.
'Hotel Industry in India' has supply of 110,000 rooms. According to the tourism
ministry, 4.4 million tourists visited India last year and at current trend, demand will
soar to 10 million in 2010 – to accommodate 350 million domestic travellers. 'Hotels
in India' has a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling hotel room rates across India. With
tremendous pull of opportunity, India is a destination for hotel chains looking for
growth. The World Travel and Tourism Council, India, data says, India ranks 18th in
business travel and will be among the top 5 in this decade. Sources estimate, demand
is going to exceed supply by at least 100% over the next 2 years. Five-star hotels in
metro cities allot same room, more than once a day to different guests, receiving
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almost 24-hour rates from both guests against 6-8 hours usage. With demand-supply
disparity, 'Hotel India' room rates are most likely to rise 25% annually and occupancy
to rise by 80%, over the next two years. 'Hotel Industry in India' is eroding its
competitiveness as a cost effective destination.
‘India Hotel Industry' is adding about 60,000 quality rooms, currently in different
stages of planning and development and should be ready by 2012. MNC Hotel
Industry giants are flocking India and forging Joint Ventures to earn their share of pie
in the race. Government has approved 300 hotel projects, nearly half of which are in
the luxury range. Sources said, the manpower requirements of the hotel industry will
increase from 7 million in 2002 to 15 million by 2010.
With the USD 23 billion software services sector pushing the Indian economy
skywards, more and more IT professionals are flocking to Indian metro cities. 'Hotel
Industry in India' is set to grow at 15% a year. This figure will skyrocket in 2010,
when Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games. Already, more than 50 international
budget hotel chains are moving into India to stake their turf. Therefore, with
opportunities galore the future 'Scenario of Indian Hotel Industry' looks rosy.
Sky hitting property prices in metros are forcing the players of the hotel industry to
expand their horizons to tier-II and tier-III cities.
Now the focus is shifted on tier II and III cities, after the top metros of India, as these
cities would drive the investment and growth phase of the country owing to the huge
unexplored potential capabilities.
A survey was conducted on Tier II cities of India. The cities like Chandigarh,
Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Indore,
Surat, Goa, Mysore, Coimbatore, Kochi and Vishakhapatnam were selected and
surveyed.
During that survey, the parameters studied were investment scenario, physical and
social infrastructure, business environment, real estate, decadal growth, purchasing
power, literacy and so on and these cities were declared as the fastest growing cities
after the metros.
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One of the main reasons for the big players in hotel industry to venture in these cities
is the ever increasing land prices in metros. The land prices in tier two and three cities
are far lesser compared to metros. So it leads to lower costs in setting up a hotel.
The middle segment people mainly look for basic criteria like hygiene, affordability,
safe and secure accommodation and also good food. They don’t want too much of hi-
fi facilities with exhorbent prices. People prefer a hotel which is affordable and meets
the necessary requirements to have a pleasant stay.
The mid-sized segment is the fastest growing one in the hotel industry. Increasing
demand for affordable holiday stay has triggered for growth. So all the key players are
eying on tier-II and tier -III cities for their new projects to gain profits.
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THE TATA GROUP
The Tata Group is India’s best-known conglomerate in the private sector with a
turnover crossing US$ 11 billion. Long known for its adherence to business ethics,
with 230,000 employees across 95 companies, is also India’s most respected private
business Group.
Founded by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata in the 1868, the Group’s early years were
inspired by the spirit of nationalism. The group pioneered several firsts in the Indian
industry. India’s first private sector steel mill, India’s first private sector hydro electric
power plant, the Indian luxury hotel chain 91903) and India’s first international airline
(Air India) are among the few. The Group’s pioneering spirit has continued in more
recent times when in 1958. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS Ltd) was founded which
stands as India largest software and services companies today. In 1999, the Groups
automobile company, Tata motors became the first to develop a car designed,
manufactured, and produced indigenously. Tata Tea, after the takeover of the British
Tea company Tetley, became the largest manufacturer of tea in the world.
The business operations of the Group currently encompass the Engineering,

Materials, Energy, Chemicals, Consumer products, Services, Communications and
information systems sectors. The Group has the largest footprint in India’s largest
private sector telecom service provider. Today, the scale of the Group’s operations is
increasingly turning global. Tata Tea is the first Indian MNC in the global tea industry
and India’s largest integrated tea company; Tata chemicals is Asia’s largest
manufacturer of soda ash; Titan is one of the worlds top six manufacturer brands in
the watch segment; Tata Engineering is amongst the top ten commercial vehicle
manufacturers in the world and Tata Indicom with the takeover of VSNL became
India’s largest ILD services provider and one of the largest players in the internet
service market.
To leverage the value of the Tata brand, the thrust of the Group’s business has shifted
from a product-driven to a brand driven portfolio. The Group’s array of brands and
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services includes Tata Tea, Tetley, Titan, Taj Group of Hotels, Tata Indica, Tata Safari,
Tanishq, Westside, Tata Indicom and Tata salt.Today the Tata group accounts for 5.1
% of the country’s total exports.
The Group has always believed in giving back more to the society than what is has
received. Thus, nearly tow thirds of the equity of Tata sons, the Group’s premier
promoter company, is held by philanthropic trusts, which have created a host of
national institutions in natural sciences, medical care, energy and the arts.
By combining ethical values with business acumen, globalization with national
interests and core strengths with flexibility, the Tata group aims to be the largest and
most respected global brand from India; a long-standing commitment to improving
the quality of life of its stakeholders.
Five core values
The Tata Group has always sought to be a value driven organisation. These values
continue to direct the growth and business. The five core Tata values underpinning the
way business is done are
Integrity: We must conduct our business fairly , with honesty and transparency.
Everything we do must stand the test of public scrutiny
Understanding: We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for our
colleagues and customers around the world and always work for the benefit of India
Excellence: We must constantly try to achieve the highest standards in our day to day
work and in the quality of goods and services we provide
Unity: we must work cohesively with our colleagues across the group and with our
customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on
tolerance , understanding and mutual cooperation
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Responsibility: We must be responsible , sensitive to the countries , communities and
environments in which we work, always ensuring what comes from the people goes
back to the people many times over
THE TATA BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODEL (TBEM)
The Tata Business Excellence Model has been instituted in memory of late Mr.JRD
Tata as a tribute to his eternal quest for perfection and quality. This model forms the
basis of the JRD QV (“JRD’ for JRD Tata and “QV” for Quality values) award. The
award aims to promote customer driven quality in the products and services offered
by Tata companies by recognizing those Tata Companies which excel in instilling
Quality as an organization wide value, articulated throughout every aspect of
business.
THE OBJECTIVE
To recognize Tata companies for the emphasis that they lay on quality values in every
sphere of their functioning. Only when the quest for the highest level of Quality is an
ongoing and continuous process within the company, will the company reach world
class standards.
Towards this end the Tata Business Excellence Model provides a framework for
improvement and assessment of quality on the following dimensions, which the
model terms as “Categories”
Category 1 Leadership
Category 2 Strategic Planning
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Category 3 Customer & Market focus
Category 4 Information & Analysis
Category 5 Human Resource Focus
Category 6 Process Management
Category 7 Business Results.

TATA BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODEL
Framework and interface with current group. Initiatives launched till date.
CUSTOMER FOCUSED STRATEGY AND ACTION PLANS
HUMAN
STRATEGIC RESOURCE
PLANNING FOCUS
BUSINESS
REVIEW GROUP
COMMITTEES HR
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BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP RESULT
GROUP GROUP
EXECUTVE FINANCE
OFFICE
PROCESS
CUSTOMER AND MANAGEMENT
MARKET FOCUS
INFORMATION & ANALYSIS

THE HISTORY OF THE TAJ GROUP OF HOTELS
The true story of our beginning starts in the last decade of the 19thcentury (1868) with
the founder of the House of Tata’s. Mr.Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata. The story goes
that Mr.Tata decided he would build a hotel in Mumbai, the likes of which would
never have been dreamt of anywhere in the British Raj to contribute to the city of
Mumbai formerly known as Bombay which supported him and his endeavours. He
formed a company – the Indian Hotels Company in 1897, raised finances, invested his
own money, hired the best of architects and craftsman and he began constructing the
Taj Mahal Hotel in 1902 on a prime reclaimed site at Apollo Bounder, with the rooms
looking out to brilliant sunrise on the horizon of the Arabian sea, against the backdrop
of the hills that lay beyond the city. The hotel was opened to the guest on 1903.
In those days, The Taj Mahal Hotel was built around two or three great walls, which
ran the full height of the building, the straits were of stone and the railing of iron, and
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around the great walls wan galleried, likewise with stone floors and iron railings. The
corridors were as much an exchange place of gossip as any market place. The bearers
from one end to the other of the vast hotel knew everything about the guest of the
hotel, his vices and his peculiarities, his meanness or generosities It was as if each
room were walled with glass for the entire world to look inside.
In those days, Bombay was a wide-open town. The Taj Mahal was a famous
rendezvous for men and women from all over the East. They came from Sumatra and
Madagascar and the Malay States, from Medan, Delhi and Semarang and Borneo and
Ceylon and Sourabya. There is a legend that the hotel was designed to face the bay
but the Indian Contractors who built it put the wrong was round and that the English
architect who designed it look one look at the on his arrival in Bombay and seeing
what they had done, hanged himself. Although this is and amusing tale, there is no
truth in it the reason hotels gardens are located at the back is so that they could offer
guest a safe haven from the noise and filth of Bombay.
From 1903 till the end of the ‘06s the Indian Hotels Company was synonymous with
the Taj Mahal Hotel, for our Company restricted itself to the sunning of this one hotel
pnly. In the early 60’s when it was becoming apparent that India’s future and here
ability to earn foreign exchange was crucially dependent on fostering the Tourism
Industry, the company began to take in more professional men and women with
proven abilities and great potential.
Mr.Jehangir Ratanji Dababhoy Tata took over as the Chairman of the Tata sons in the
year 1938 and remained the chairman of the company until 1991 when the current
chairman Mr.Ratan Naval Tata took over. Mr.J.R.D. Tata passed away after a brief
illness on November 29, 1993 at the age of 89.
While in 70s Taj group was expanding at rapid race, it was content with its
achievements in India alone. The group’s success in India had now become known all
over the globe and the company started receiving offers to promote technical know-
how and supply success recipe to hotels and restaurants abroad.
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Billed by the Times, London as the finest hotel in the East, the Taj’s first hotel, the Taj
Mahal palace & Tower, Mumbai was perhaps the only place in the world where a
British Viceroy could rub shoulders with an Indian Maharajah, where the Congress
could debate with right wing leaders, and where sailors on shore leave could flirt with
Pompadour Follies. Built at the cost of a quarter of million pounds, the hotel
introduced a series of firsts that set new benchmarks in Indian hospitality. Over the
years, the Taj brought into Bombay, “Professors of Dance” Mademoiselle Singy to
raise temperatures and a few eyebrows with the Tango, the first air-conditioned ball
room to cool things down, the first cold storage, the first licensed bar, and more.
The changing decades ushered in new tastes and newer guests including Mick Jagger,
Steven spielberg, and David Rockefeller, to name a few. From Nobel laureates to rock
stars, fashion divas, to oil-rich sheiks, Taj represented a global village long before the
term was to become a cliché. Even today, a hundred years on, guests will find Taj
talking luxury to greater heights in all its hotels around the world including business
capitals, fairy-tale palaces, on secluded islands, in private yachts, abroad executive
jets, and amidst spas and resorts. Still, as the discerning traveller will note, a little
ahead of its time.
VISION
Embrace Talent and harness Expertise to leverage standards of Excellence in the Art
of Hospitality to grow our International presence, Increase domestic Dominance and
Crate value for all stakeholders.
MISSION
Product, Service and Profit Leadership.
21
TAJ PEOPLE PHILOSOPHY
You are and important member of the Taj family.
We endeavour to select, retain and compensate the best talent in the industry
We reward and recognize quality customer care based individual and team
performance.
We commit to providing you with opportunities for continuous learning and

development.
We abide by fair and just policies that ensure your well being and that of your family,
the community and the environment.
We commit to regular and formal channels of communication, which nurture

openness and transparency.
We strongly believe that you are the Taj.
THE INDIAN HOTELS COMPANY

The Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj
Hotels Resorts and Palaces, which is recognized as one of Asia's largest and finest
hotel companies. Incorporated by the founder of the Tata group, Jamsetji Tata, the
company opened its first property, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, Bombay in 1903. The
Taj, a symbol of Indian hospitality, completed its centenary year in 2003.
22
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces comprises 64 hotels in 45 locations across India with
an additional 15 international hotels. The most significant additions to the Taj
portfolio have been The Pierre, the iconic landmark hotel on New York's Fifth
Avenue, the Taj Boston and the Blue, Sydney.
In 1993, the company established the Indian Institute of Hotel Management in
Aurangabad in Maharashtra in western India.
AREAS OF BUSINESS
IHCL operates in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market
through the following:
➢ Taj is the flagship brand for the world’s most discerning travellers seeking
authentic experiences in luxury. Besides luxurious living and fine dining,
Taj Hotels also promise a whole new experience of tranquility and total
‘wellness’, through Jiva Spas, a unique concept, which brings together the
wisdom and heritage of the Asian and Indian philosophy of wellness and
well-being.
➢ Taj Exotica is a resort and spa brand found in the most exotic and relaxing
locales of the world.
➢ Taj Safaris are India's first and only wildlife lodges circuit, that allow
travellers to experience the unparalleled beauty of the Indian jungle amidst
luxurious surroundings
➢ Premium Hotels provide the new generation of travellers a contemporary
and creative hospitality experience that matches their work-hard, play-hard
lifestyles.
➢ The Gateway Hotel is a pan-India network of hotels and resorts that offers
business and leisure travellers a contemporary hotel experience.
➢ Ginger is IHCL’s revolutionary concept in hospitality for the value
segment.
The other areas of business include:
Taj Air, a luxury private jet operation and Taj Yachts, which can be used by guests in
Mumbai and Kochi, in Kerala. It also operates airline catering services.
JOINT VENTURES, SUBSIDIARIES, ASSOCIATES

Taj Sats Air Catering: a joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services, a
23
subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, Taj Sats Air Catering is the largest airline catering
service in South Asia
Roots Corporation: a wholly-owned subsidiary that operates the Ginger chain of
budget hotels in India.
LOCATION
IHCL’s head office is in Mumbai, India. Taj properties are located in Asia, the UK, the
US, Australia and Africa.
IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF TAJ
1903: Created history with the opening of The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Bombay
(Mumbai) – India’s first Luxury hotel
1971-72: Pioneered the concept of authentic Palace Hotels in the country with
sthe Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, the Palace of the Maharajah of the Esrtswhile state of
Jaipore.
1974: Conceptualized the unique beach resort at u built within the walls of a
Portuguese fort overlooking the Arabian Sea
1978-82: Taj launched in Delhi with its luxury hotel - Taj Mahal Hotel on No. 1 Man
Singh Road and then prepared India for the Asian Games by setting up Taj Palace,
Delhi with the largest convention centre in the country
1982: Taj established a presence in the Western Hemisphere with the historic St.
James Court Hotel near Buckingham Palace, London
24
1984-92: Well before these destinations became world renown for their beauty, Taj
expanded to Kerala and Sri Lanka
1992-97: Rolled out Business Hotels in key cities and towns across the country,
branded as Taj Residency hotels
2000: Consolidated its position as the largest chain in India with hotels in Ahmedabad
and Hyderabad, the latter city being a joint venture with GVK Hotels resulting in a
dominant position in the market for premium and luxury hotel rooms
2002: The new Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives, within six months of its launch,
was awarded "The Best Resort in the World" - Harpers and Queen Travel Awards .
TAJ PROPERTIES
The Taj Hotels are broadly classified under three SBU’s (Strategic Business Units)
Luxury SBU Business SBU Leisure SBU

Palace Hotels ITPL Cultural
Residency Heritage
City Hotels Gateway Hotels Garden Retreats
Resorts
TAJSATS
Taj also offers innovative flight catering and related services, TajSATS. TajSATS Air
Catering Ltd., is a joint venture of the India Hotels Company, popularly known as the
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and SATS (Singapore Airport Terminal Services).
TajSATS is the market leader in airline catering. TajSATS operates out of the 4 major
25
metros in India, viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. Currently TajSATS caters
to over 26 international and domestic airlines, and is the leader in the India flight
catering market.
The Taj Madras Flight Kitchen operates airport restaurants in Chennai. The Company
is a joint venture of the Indian Hotels, SATS and Malaysian Airlines. All these
facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and advanced kitchen
equipment for efficient and hygiene food production and handling. At the heart of out
offering is a commitment to be ‘One with the Customer’. We are focused on creating
affinity with our customers every single day. We believe in strengthening this
relationship by delighting the customer in every interaction.
TajSATS is expanding its operations in the following cities in India – Amritsar,
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Hyderabad & Pune. Amritsar is first on the list and
construction has been initiated already. All the other cities would have commenced
operations with the next 12 months.
INDITRAVEL
Inditravel was formed in 2002; Post the acquisition of the 18 year old agency stallion
Travel services Pvt. Ltd by the India Hotels company Limited.
Headquartered in Mumbai, with branches in 34 locations across India, Inditravel is a
professionally managed travel agency providing total travel management solutions.
Affliated to IATA, UFTAA, PATA, TAAI and the Department of Tourism, India.
Inditravel offers the following services:
 International Air ticketing

 Domestic air ticketing
 Rail ticketing
 Hotel Bookings
 Car Rentals
 Visas
 Passport Assistance
 Foreign Exchange Assistance
26
 Global Telecards
 Medical Insurance.
CORE VALUES
PEOPLE DIVERSITY,
People are our greatest asset and the key to our success. We
INTEGRITY &
respect diversity of people, ideas and cultures and honour the
RESPECT
value of individuals in a team
PASSION FOR
EXCELLENCE We believe the perfection to achieve excellence. We
continuously improve processes to surpass global benchmarks
27
EXCEED
We succeed by exceeding expectations of all stakeholders and
EXPECTATIONS
protecting the interest of our shareholders and playing by the
rules.
INNOVATION
We encourage innovation, embrace change and support growth
through knowledge and learning
SENCE OF URGENCY
We accept responsibility and deliver on promises with a sense of
& ACCOUNTABILITY
urgency and agility
SOCIAL
We commit to improve the quality of life of the communities we
RESPONSIBILITY
serve and our concern for the environment by returning to
society what we earn
We recognize and respect each others in all interactions and set

the example for our guests, business associates and colleagues.
JOB AT WORK We encourage a fair environment that supports equal
opportunity to attract, develop and retain the best talent and
Endeavour to have fun too.
THE GATEWAY HOTELS

Differentiation is essential, as the presence of a variety of brands in India is limited,
whereas consumer choices and patterns show a need for more brands. For instance,
the margins of luxury hotels have taken a beating in recent times, but budget hotels
and above are doing brisk business. Taking advantage of such gaps, global hotel chain
majors like the Wyndham group, MGM Mirage Hospitality, Langham Hotels,
Movenpick, Accor Hospitality and Jumeriah are launching a variety of brands that
will operate at different levels.
Taking into accountas well as branding a strategy of not not wanting an omnibus
known as the Taj defining all its properties the company has rebranded all its
28
properties into Taj , Vivanta by Taj , The Gateway and Ginger. The Gateway is
positioned above the brand Ginger but placed below the Residency and Taj Brand.
“We think the star game in hotels is outdated and, therefore, we have not defined this
brand as any star. It remains an upscale option whereas Ginger would be our economy
segment,’’ said Ajoi Misra, senior V-P (sales and marketing), IHCL.
The Gateway Hotel caters ss to a pan-India network of hotels and resorts offering all
the key services at competitive prices.
The pricing starts from Rs 3,000 and to over Rs 6,000 depending on the location. The
group is looking at smaller cities as they are growing and also plans to expand in
places such as Varanasi and Agra which attract a lot of leisure travelers.
The brand will be present in all business districts and leisure locations across India to
offset the growing competition in the Indian hospitality market in the future .16
existing hotels have migrated to this brand and another 10 new hotels have already
been signed up to be incorporated within the Gateway chain.
The hotels that are rebranded as Gateway are at Agra, Bangalore, Calicut,
Chikmagalur, Conoor, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Madurai, Mangalore, Nasik, Sasan Gir, Surat,
Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijaywada and Visakhapatnam.The group has also signed up in
all key metros – Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune. Other locations signed up are
Jalandhar, Mysore, Navi Mumbai, Raipur and Gondia.
The existing 16 hotels have been refurbished to maintain consistency across the
Gateway brand.The company plans to invest aggressively to promote the brand
through owned and managed properties. The Gateway Hotels are to be set up in each
of the country’s business districts and leisure locations, catering primarily to the
contemporary traveller.
29
30
THE GATEWAY PROPERTIES
The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Bangalore
The Gateway Hotel Beach Road Calicut
The Gateway Hotel Fatehabad Road Agra
The Gateway Hotel KM road Chikmanglur
The Gateway Hotel Church road Conoor
The Gateway Hotel Marian Drive Ernakulam
The Gateway Hotel Ramgarh Lodge Jaipur
The Gateway Hotel Rawalkot Jaisalmer
The Gateway Hotel Pasumalai Madurai
The Gateway Hotel Old Port Road Manglore
The Gateway Hotel Ambad Nashik
The Gateway Hotel Athwalines Surat
The Gateway Hotel Akota Gardens Vadodara
The Gateway Hotel Ganges Varanasi
The Gateway Hotel Anardhanapuram Varkala
The Gateway Hotel MG road Vijayawada
The Gateway Hotel MG road Visakhapatnam
31
DEPARTMENTS AT THE GATEWAY HOTEL
1. FRONT OFFICE
• Customer contact point
• Counters - Reception
Cash counter
Bell desk
Travel desk
• Reservations, operator’s cabin
• Business centre
2. ENGINEERING
• Maintenance of buildings, equipments
• Suggestions and installation of new machines
• Plumbing and air conditioning
• Ensures smooth flow of operations
3. LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
• Provides training for staff
• Ensures that staff are well equipped with perfect knowledge
4. SYSTEMS
32
• Implementation of IT
• Connects all the departments with IT
• Ensures proper communication within and outside the company
5. HUMAN RESOURCES
• Responsible for the overall productivity of the organisation
• Recruitment, selection, staffing
• Takes care of problems, grievances, progress, development and welfare of the

staff
6. FINANCE
• Accounts
• Credits
• Stores
7. FOOD PRODUCTION (KITCHEN)
• Kitchen work (cooking)
• Deep freezer, butchery area
• Bakery, salads
• Ensures proper hygiene
8. SECURITY
• Crisis management
• Responsible for sensitive situations (guests and outsiders)
• Deal with public unrest, strike, terrorist attacks, bomb scares, etc.
9. SALES AND MARKETING
33
• Responsible for sale of rooms and banquets
• Generate revenue, attract customers
• Advertisement and promotion
• Public relation
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
34
INTRODUCTION
As a part of my endeavour, I interacted with the various corporate customers availing
the banquet facilities of The Gateway Hotel , Residency Road Bangalore as well as
corporate who didn’t use the hotels banquet facilities These interactions gave an
insight into the various factors that influence a customer’s choice of banquet facilities
and how they perceived the hotels banquet facilities. On the basis of the various
criterions that would enable me to meet the objectives of the study, a questionnaire
was designed. The questionnaire was administered by me rather being filled by the
customers. This was due to two reasons:
1. The customer would not be restricted by choices
35
2. The survey was conducted over the telephone
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
➢ To understand effectiveness of internal standard operating procedures and the

deviation from the S.O.P’s
➢ To determine the factors that influence a customers choice of banquet facilities
➢ To evaluate customer perception of The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road

banquet facilities
➢ Recommend ways to make The Gateway Hotel, Residency road the preferred
banquet destination for the corporate customer.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Data Collection:
Primary Data:
• Direct Interaction.
• Observations
• Questionnaire Method
Secondary Data
36
• Reports, Journals
• Newspapers
• Internet
Data Analysis:
• Percentage Method
• Bar graphs
• Comparative charts
TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS: 100
• 84 Clients
• 16 Non clients
37
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTEPRETATION
1. How often do you use The Gateway Hotel?
Usage Frequency Percentage
Always 6 6
Frequently 20 20
Occasionally 38 38
38
Rarely 20 20
Never 16 16
INTERPRETATION
In course of the study , it was found that only 6 % of the corporate customers use the
Gateway hotel whenever there was a function where as a substantial 38% used it
occasionally.
• Always being 100% of all the company’s events being held at The Gateway
• Frequently being more than 80% of the company’s events being held at The
Gateway
• Occasionally being 40%- 80% of the company’s events being held at The
Gateway
• Rarely being less than 40% of the company’s events being held at The
Gateway
2. Does The Gateway Hotel’s Banquet service provide you with complete
and accurate information in good time?
Response Frequency Percentage
39
Yes 80 95
No 4 4.7
Response accuracy
No
Yes
No
Yes
INTERPRETATION
Around 95% of the respondents felt that they were provided with complete and
accurate information about the banquets in good time and all the respondents recall
their banqueting experience with The Gateway as good. This suggests that the
performance of the banquet sales team highly satisfactory. This also indicates that
current SOP are effective and they are being adhered to.
3. How did you come to know about The Gateway Hotel banqueting
facilities?
40
Source Frequency Percentage
Word of mouth 34 34
Advertisements 0 0
Sales Calling 12 12
Internet 6 6
Brand Recall 42 42
Company List 6 6
Source
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
et
ts
g
th
st
l
al
llin
rn
Li
en
ou
ec
te
Ca
ny
m
m
R
In
se
pa
d
of
an
rti
le
om
d
ve
Sa
or
Br
C
W
Ad
INTERPRETATION
42% of the customers had the brand in mind when they came to avail the banquet
facility where as 34% came to know about the services through word of mouth.
Whereas only 12 % came to know about the facility through sales calling, which
suggests that the frequency of sales calls should be increased. The effectiveness of
advertisements showed to be nil
41
4. Grade the following parameters, which drives or influences you to choose
a banquet facility of a particular brand?
PRICE
Opinion Frequency Percentage
Strongly Disagree 0 0
Disagree 14 14
Disagree Somewhat 2 2
Neutral 8 8
Agree somewhat 34 34
Agree 24 24
Strongly Agree 18 18
42
Level Of Agreement
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
e
e
t
t
e
t ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
re
ew
ag
Ag
ew
eu
Ag
ag
is
N
is
m
m
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
re
re
St
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
INTERPRETATION
In various degrees of agreement 76% agree that pricing was one of the factors that
influenced their choice of banquet facility ,with 34% agreeing that price influenced
their choice only to an extent. It was also observed that overseas clients didn’t
consider price as a major determining factor
CUSTOMER SERVICE

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 16 16
Agree 36 36
43
Level Of Agreement
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
l
ee
t
t
e
ee
tra
ha
ha
re
re
gr
gr
eu
Ag
ew
ew
Ag
isa
isa
m
m
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
ee
re
St
gr
ro
Ag
St
isa
D
INTERPRETATION
Out of the total sample size of 100 respondents 36% agreed and 26% strongly agreed
that good customer service was one of the factors that promted them to use a
particular banquet facility.
CONVINENCE

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 10 10
44
Agree 24 24
Level Of Agreement
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
l
e
t
t
e
ee
ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
t
gr
Ag
eu
ew
ew
g
Ag
isa
isa
m
m
y
D
gl
D
so
So
n
y
ro
gl
e
ee
re
St
n
gr
ro
Ag
St
isa
D
INTERPRETATION
The research revealed that convenience is of paramount importance as 44% of the

respondents strongly agreed that it influences their choice of banquets andan overall
90% agreeing at varying levels . It was also noted that none of the respondents
disagreed to the fact at any level.
DECOR & AMBIENCE

45
Disagree 0 0
Neutral 14 14
Agree 30 30
Strongly Agree 6 6
Level Of Agreement
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
e
e
t
t
e
t ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
re
ew
ag
Ag
eu
ew
Ag
ag
is
N
is
m
m
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
re
re
St
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
INTERPRETATION
Out of the 100 respondents 44% said that decor and ambience somewhat influenced
their choice while selecting banqueting facilities which reveals ambience and decor
was not a major determining factor.30% respondents agreed to it though
14% remained neutral.
46
QUALITY OF FOOD

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 14 14
Agree 34 34
Level Of Agreement
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
e
e
t
t
l
e
t ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
re
ew
ag
Ag
ew
eu
Ag
ag
is
m
is
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
re
re
St
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
INTERPRETATION
It was found that 86% of the respondents agreed in varying levels that Quality of food
will affect their decision while selecting banqueting facilities out of which 28%
strongly agreed and 34%agreed.
47
VALUE FOR MONEY

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 0 0
Agree 32 32
Level Of Agreement
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5 c
0
e
e
e
t
t
l
e
t ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
re
ew
ag
Ag
eu
ew
Ag
ag
is
N
is
m
m
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
re
re
St
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
INTERPRETATION
Value of money emerged as a very important parameter with 44% strongly agreeing,
32% agreeing and 24% somewhat agreeing to it as a decisive factor moreover as
compared to price the level of agreement was stronger . This suggests that the banquet
offerings should be such that the customer perceives it as value for money
48
GOOD DELIVERY
Disagree 0 0
Neutral 20 20
Agree 32 32
Level Of Agreement
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
e
e
t
t
l
e
t ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
re
ew
ag
Ag
ew
eu
Ag
ag
is
N
is
m
m
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
re
re
St
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
49
INTERPRETATION
When 30% of the sample strongly agreed and 32% agreed that good delivery of
service was a decisive factor, as compared to other decisive factors 20% maintained
that it had nothing to do with their choice of a banquet facility
RECOGINIZED BRAND NAME

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 12 12
Agree 18 18
INTERPRETATION
The major reason effecting the corporate’s choice of a banquet facility emerged to be
a recognised brand name with 50% of the sample strongly agreeing that a recognised
brand name followed by 20% who agreed somewhat and 18% agreeing was brand
was important while choosing a particular banquet facility while no one disagreed to
the fact at any level
50
QUALITY OF SERVICE

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 12 12
Agree 30 30
Level Of Agreement
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
e
e
t
t
l
e
t ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
re
ew
ag
Ag
ew
eu
Ag
ag
is
m
is
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
re
re
St
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
51
INTERPRETATION
40% strongly and 30% agreed that Qualityof service as a decisive factor while
selecting Banqueting facilities while no one disagreed to it at any level
EASE OF ACCESS

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 14 14
Agree 30 30
52
Level Of Agreement
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
t
t
ee
e
e
ee
ha
ha
tra
re
e
r
gr
r
ew
ew
eu
ag
Ag
ag
A
N
is
m
is
ly
D
D
so
So
ng
ly
ee
ro
ee
ng
St
r
gr
ro
Ag
isa
St
INTERPRETATION
With 28%strongly agreeing and 30% agreeing, ease of access is a factor kept in mind
while corporates select the banquet. The location of the Banquet, hence, is an
important decisive factor.
GOOD SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Disagree 0 0
53
Neutral 22 22
Agree 26 26
Level Of Agreement
30
25
20
15
10
5
0 t
t
ee
e
ee
ee
ha
ha
tra
e
gr
gr
r
ew
ew
eu
Ag
ag
A
N
is
m
is
ly
D
D
So
so
ng
ly
ee
ro
e
ng
re
St
r
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
INTERPRETATION
The research revealed that a good sales representative was essential but did not to a
great extent influence the choice while selecting a banquet facility with 22%
disagreeing some what and 22% neutral to the variable
5. Rate The Gateway Hotel banquet service on the following attributes…
54
GOOD FOOD

Disagree 0 0
Neutral 4 5
Agree 40 48
Strongly Agree 6 7
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
t
l
t
ee
e
ee
ee
ha
ha
tra
e
gr
gr
r
ew
ew
eu
Ag
ag
sa
A
N
m
s
ly
Di
Di
so
So
ng
ly
ro
ee
ng
re
St
gr
ro
Ag
a
St
is
D
INTERPRETATION
Out of a total sample of 84 respondents 48% agreed that the food provided by The
Gateway Hotel was good and 36% felt that it was satisfactory. Taking this into
55
account it can be inferred that the quality of food provided by the hotel is to the liking
of the customer
EXPENSIVE or VALUE FOR MONEY
EXPENSIVE VALUE FOR MONEY

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
Opinion
Strongly Disagree 0 0 0 0
Disagree 44 52 0 0
Disagree Somewhat 14 17 8 10
Neutral 14 17 10 12
Agree somewhat 4 5 12 14
Agree 4 5 32 38
Strongly Agree 4 5 22 26
INTERPRETATION
With 52% disagreeing and 17% disagreeing somewhat it can be deduced that the
customers did not find the banquet offerings of the hotel expensive. With 38%
agreeing and 26% strongly agreeing it can be inferred that the customer perceived the
services as good value for money
THE GATEWAY HOTEL AS A BRAND YOU CAN TRUST
56
Disagree 0 0
Neutral 6 7
Agree somewhat 6 7
Agree 36 42
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
e
e
e
t
t
l
e
t ra
ha
ha
re
re
re
re
ew
ag
Ag
ew
eu
Ag
ag
is
m
is
ly
D
so
So
ng
ly
ro
e
ng
re
re
St
ro
Ag
ag
St
is
D
INTERPRETATION
Further, among the customers who had used the banquet facilities of the hotel 84%
fell in the category who agreed that The Gateway was a brand that could be trusted. It
was noted that the customers preferred to refer to the brand as The Taj Gateway.
57
GOOD AMBIENCE
Disagree 1 2
Neutral 24 29
Agree 30 36
Strongly Agree 6 7
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
l
t
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D
INTERPRETATION
36% of the respondents agreed that the hotel’s decor and ambience was good With
28% disagreeing and 28% neutral to the idea it leaves the hotel with a scope for
improvement
58
SUGGESTIONS
RECOMENDATIONS
• Most of the customers came to know about the banquet facility through word
of mouth or through brand recall where as only a few claimed to have been
59
approached through sales calling and through company lists .So i would
recommend the hotel to increase the frequency of sales calls which would
also increase its chances of being on the corporate lists
• A good majority of the clients used the services of the hotel only occasionally
(40%- 80% of the company’s events) and some who used the services rarely
(less than 40%) . To tap this market the hotel would have to differentiate its
product offerings from that of its competitors. Keeping this in mind a
suggestion that I would like to make is to enliven the Meetings, Conferences
Inductions and other corporate events by first understanding the nature of the
event and by offering appropriate themes and making them more interesting
• In course of interaction with the clients it was found that most of them still
were not comfortable accepting the gateway as a standalone brand they
preferred to associate it to the Taj . The gateway being a start-up brand should
focus on building itself as brand
• Foreign clients who used the banquet facility cared less about the price factor
and more about the delivery of service which suggests that the hotel can up
sell its banquet offerings to overseas clients
• Another important suggestion that i would like to make is to revise the

existing corporate rates and to also set a limitation period for such rates
• As per the research convenience is one of the major factors that that influences
the customer’s choice of a particular banquet facility keeping this in mind an
improvement that can be made is to incorporate state of the art technology
rather than outsource it .
• Another suggestion in this regard would be that one operations staff should be
always present as far as corporate functions such as meetings, inductions,
60
conferences, seminars; trainings etc are concerned as it would be more
convenient for the client to have a person on call.
• ATTENTION TO DETAIL! The hotel needs to focus more on detailing its

offerings. A suggestion in this regard would be to give more importance to
presentation in terms of food and venue presentation.
• The analysis also suggests that there is scope for improvement of the hotels
decor and ambience
• Most of the corporate customers were looking for value for money rather than
a cheaper price therefore I would like to suggest that the banquets should
increase its offerings in terms of the standard menu which would be perceived
by the customer as value for money rather than negotiate on the price
• Rack rates need to be fixed and the pricing should be more structured , rates
should be quoted keeping a fixed profit margin because compromising heavily
on the rates would dilute the brand perception
RECOMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE S.O.P’S
• The banquet staff need to be given training on negotiating skills as negotiation

was one of the prime factors that influenced banquet profits
• More emphasis should be given to handling enquiries and a foolproof and

paperless operating procedure should be incorporated to keep track of
enquiries as the existing SOP for tracking enquiries is ineffective
• Weekly and monthly forecasts need to be made mandatory as this would give
a more clear picture.
61
• In my opinion the hotel can do away with banquet procedures as it would be
more convenient and smart to do the same digitally.
• PAPER LESS OFFICE!!Some of the SOP’s such as maintaining a trace file,

present file, past file , future file and menu briefing register have become
redundant and needs updation.
62
CONCLUSION
The corporate clients of The Gateway hotel were satisfied with the hotel in terms
of food and felt that the hotels offerings was worth the money they spent.
However some of them felt that the ambience needed improvement. The
customers were also satisfied with the quality of the food provided by the hotel
The analysis also revealed that the customers were not very price conscious but
were on the lookout for value for money. The corporate clients mainly looked out
for convenience a good brand name. They were also interested in the prospect of
having a wider spread of menu..
During the course of the research not much deviation from the SOP’s were
observed which is supported by the fact the customers were happy with the quality
of service provided by the hotel .How ever most of the clients still were not
comfortable accepting the gateway as standalone brand they preferred to associate
it to the Taj . The gateway being a start-up brand should focus on building itself as
brand. The other hotels that the customers frequented for their banquets were The
Leele Palace , Royal Orchid and The Taj Residency.
Through the implementation of the suggestions made through the analysis and
observations of this project, I believe that corporate clients of The gateway Hotel
Residency Road can be increased in terms of banqueting and also deliver a better
experience
63
ANNEXTURE
64
QUESTIONNAIRE
THE GATEWAY HOTEL
Sir/Madam,
This is a general study on customer perception of banquet facilities in hotels. I seek
only your general views about banquet facilities. I would like to thank you for your
65
co-operation and information that you have shared with me
1. How often do you use The Gateway Hotel?
• Always
• Frequently
• Occasionally
• Never
2. When was the last time you used The Gateway services and do you recall your
experience?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
………………
3. Does a The Gateway Hotels banquet service provide you with complete and
accurate information in good time?
• Yes
• No
4. What is your source of information about banqueting facilities?
• Word of mouth
• Advertisements
• Sales calling
66
• Internet
6. Please Grade the following parameters, which drives or influences you to use a
banquet facility of a particular brand?
( 1- Least importance , 7- Most
important )
1. Economy
2. Customer service
3. Convenience
4. Décor and ambience
5. Quality of food
6. Value
7. Good delivery
8. Recognized brand name
9. High quality
10. Ease of access
11. Easy/fast service

12. Good sales representative
7. Please tell us how The Gateway Hotels banquet services would rate on the
following attributes
( 1- Least importance , 7- Most
important )
1. Quality
2. Expensive
3. A brand I can trust
4. Good value
5. Good ambience
67
7. Which other Hotel services have you used / are using?
• The Leela Palace
• Royal Orchid
• Capitol
• Artria
• Chancery Pavilion
• Ista
• St Marks
• Others
Company Information
Name
Person in authority
Phone number
I sincerely thank you for sparing your valuable time and parting very useful
information which will help me a great deal in my research project
Truly yours,
Ann Mary Joseph
( 1st year MBA , Christ University )
68
BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.tajhotels.com
www.thegatewayhotels.com
www.knightfrank.com
www.indiamart.com
The Gateway newsletter
Business and management chronicle
Understanding and managing customer perception – Dagmar Recklies
69
70

The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Banglore

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Differentiation is essential, as the presence of a variety of Hotel brands in India is

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

➢ To understand the effectiveness of the standard operating procedures of

THE HOSPATILITY INDUSTRY……………………........................................14

HOTEL INDUSTRY IN INDIA.......................................................................... 18

THE TATA GROUP……………….........................................…………………31

• Indian hotels company Ltd

THE GATEWAY HOTEL RESIDENCY ROAD…..............................…........36

DESIGN & ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE……….................………….39

• Introduction & objectives

• Analysis of the questionnaire

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – AN OVERVIEW

CONTRIBUTION TO INDIAN ECONOMY

The driving force

2. Demand-supply gap : Indian hotel industry is facing a mismatch between the

1.Poor support infrastructure: Though the government is taking necessary steps,

1. Fluctuations in international tourist arrivals: The total dependency on foreign

2.Increasing competition: Several international majors like the Four Seasons,

The business operations of the Group currently encompass the Engineering,

Five core values

THE TATA BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODEL (TBEM)

Category 2 Strategic Planning

Category 4 Information & Analysis

Category 5 Human Resource Focus

Category 6 Process Management

Category 7 Business Results.

CUSTOMER FOCUSED STRATEGY AND ACTION PLANS

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS

Product, Service and Profit Leadership.

You are and important member of the Taj family.

We commit to providing you with opportunities for continuous learning and

We commit to regular and formal channels of communication, which nurture

We strongly believe that you are the Taj.

THE INDIAN HOTELS COMPANY

JOINT VENTURES, SUBSIDIARIES, ASSOCIATES

IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF TAJ

Luxury SBU Business SBU Leisure SBU

 International Air ticketing

We recognize and respect each others in all interactions and set

THE GATEWAY HOTELS

The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Bangalore

The Gateway Hotel Beach Road Calicut

The Gateway Hotel Fatehabad Road Agra

The Gateway Hotel KM road Chikmanglur

The Gateway Hotel Church road Conoor

The Gateway Hotel Marian Drive Ernakulam

The Gateway Hotel Ramgarh Lodge Jaipur

The Gateway Hotel Rawalkot Jaisalmer

The Gateway Hotel Pasumalai Madurai

The Gateway Hotel Old Port Road Manglore

The Gateway Hotel Ambad Nashik

The Gateway Hotel Athwalines Surat

The Gateway Hotel Akota Gardens Vadodara

The Gateway Hotel Ganges Varanasi

The Gateway Hotel Anardhanapuram Varkala

The Gateway Hotel MG road Vijayawada

The Gateway Hotel MG road Visakhapatnam

• Customer contact point

• Reservations, operator’s cabin

• Maintenance of buildings, equipments

• Suggestions and installation of new machines

• Plumbing and air conditioning