Below is an Autogenerated Transcript

Ron: Well, it’s also a very good time because LUX* was all about creating things that hadn’t been created before.

Nitesh:  Absolutely. So, you know, when the company started LUX*, it started with many reasons to go, which created a light kind of you know, it really shook the whole industry over here because the whole industry was getting very stagnant and things like that. There was no innovation..and boom! LUX* comes in with lots of creativity and innovation. And the challenge was how to sustain that now. How to make sure that we continuously innovate, because to stay on the top, we had to do that otherwise if we don’t do it. 

Ron: Yes. Others would just come along and copy you.

Nitesh:  Absolutely. Absolutely.

Ron: So it became really part of the culture of the organization, to continuously, and the LUX* Innovation Contest, which started in 2013, 14, 15, 16, institutionally ensured that it would go on.

Nitesh: Absolutely, and I think it was a big step forward because there was a LUX* Innovation Challenge, but the best part of that was that each hotel was one team. So everyone in the team got an opportunity to come up with an idea, share with the general manager, you know, the best idea gets picked up, and that becomes the idea for the hotel. Now it was a very healthy competition because from all of them. Yeah, you had many hotels, and every year there was one topic. So the topic this year would be for the guests, next year would be for the team members, third year would be something else. So the team members, you know, they were like stretched to kind of come up with the best idea, and even though one idea wins, but we had. 

Ron: Oh, but everybody felt so proud of what we did, what we tried…

Nitesh: Plus we have a collection of ten plus very good ideas that could be launched across the hotel, across the company. 

Ron: Then SALT. 

Nitesh: Absolutely the SALT. So in 2016, 17, we felt that LUX* was a monolithic brand, you know, and we felt that we’re just one brand. Yes, we’re helping our guests celebrate life, but it’s only one sector of the entire, people who are traveling, we are targeting, and we felt that there’s much more to do. At the same time, you know, since 2011, the LUX* we have completed a decade, and there are many challenges which has come up in this decade. Of course, COVID being the final nail. 

But we felt at that time that, you know, the world needs a more humanistic approach to hospitality. You know, more human touch, more care, more responsible, more meaningful holidays. And that’s why we came up with a brand called SALT, with not just, you know, like LUX* was helping people celebrate life, but SALT was about giving you meaningful holidays, helping you connect with the local people and places. So you don’t just go to a destination, but you get inside the skin of the destination. You know. It became the first, SALT of Palmar, became the first hotel in Mauritius to go for zero single-use plastics, you know. 

Every hotel they want to keep the guest inside, you know, that you come and you stay with us for all the meals and all. SALT was not for that. The other way. You want to take people out into the community. Exactly. Because we wanted them to see the real Mauritius. We created a guidebook which was not done by, you know, where the tourist goes, but where the locals go, you know. Where did the locals go and eat the local food? Where would they go for the best sunrise? Where would they go for the best art classes? Things like that. And the guidebook became a huge success because, you know, we’d see all the guests take the bike, water bottle, and a guidebook. Here we go. Off they go,

You know, when the guests were leaving SALT, I’ve seen so many guests crying because, you know, like so we’re not saying that we’re going to transform you when you come and stay at SALT, you know. We can’t. That’s your journey. If you want to get transformed, you need to go to the Himalayas, live in the cave for 17 years. When you come out, you will be transformed. However, at SALT, what we have done is we have created several different touch points, very caring touch points in the guests’ journey. And when the guest goes through all those touch points, They feel a little better from the time of arrival to the time of departure. And if we can make you feel a little better in your heart, if you can make you become a better person in life, from the time of arrival to time of departure, we feel we are successful.