This week we chat to Rohan Bhargava from BeeAar Hospitality who fills us in on the serviced apartment industry in India: how more and more international corporations are setting up a base over there and why home will always be where the heart is.
Can you tell us a bit about your business?
BeeAar Hospitality are an Indian based hospitality company primarily focused on the corporate market. Our clients include many of the large telecommunication and IT companies like IBM and Microsoft, and pretty much all the big embassies in India. We effectively work in three locations. One is in the Delhi NCR region and we also have small presence in Mumbai and in Chennai.
How long have you been in operation?
Since 2002, so BeeAar Hospitality is more than 10 years old now and it’s been quite an interesting time with the increased demand in India as a lot of companies have been opening offices in the country.
How do you see the serviced apartment industry differ in India from UK?
I guess the key difference is that in India, aside from the traditional formula, it’s very common to rent out rooms within a single apartment. We have found it works well when one company is taking an apartment for several of its employees to share on the duration of their project; each room will have its own en suite but will share the common space. It’s good when junior staff are staying for a few months on a single project to work together as they have the evenings to socialise. It’s developed from companies booking the apartments for long periods then using them as and when required.
Do you have new projects in the pipelines?
No, we are focusing all our efforts on solidifying our presence in India and building on our client relations to reach a point where we can say, “Where do you need to be” and we're able to find you an apartment there. The company was founded by my father and I’ve been based here for 11 years now. I see that in the future there is a lot of potential for us to grow within India as more corporations begin to move offices over there.
Quick fire round
Wine or beer: Wine
Beach holiday or city break: Beach holiday
Facebook or Twitter: Facebook
Tea or coffee: Coffee
England or India: Always a tough one, but India
BeeAar Properties
Beverly Park Apartment
With an impressive range of on-site amenities, Beverly Park is ideal for business travellers. As Rohan pointed out, companies in India often prefer to book an apartment with multiple rooms for groups of their employees so this spacious three-bedroom apartment fits this criteria perfectly. Guests can enjoy use of the on-site gym, café and restaurant, as well as private kitchen and laundry facilities.
Grand Arch Apartments
These two-bedroom Grand Arch Apartments are perfect if you are travelling or relocating with your family: free parking, a private balcony and kitchen and laundry facilities. As with many BeeAar properties, this features a wide range of on-site amenities such as a gym, sauna, swimming pool and restaurant, café, bar and food shop.
