Kathleen Taylor, President and Chief Operating Officer, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts firmly believes that they are uniquely placed at doing what they are best in: Hotel Management, for its untapped market of travelers not just in India but worldwide. With a strong market base and an eye for opportunity, Four Seasons is sure to win the hearts of the first timers at the Hotel. This and much more has been discussed in this interview with Tripti Chakravorty.

This is the first time that Four Seasons Hotels is making an entry into India. What was the preliminary thinking and spadework that went into venturing into the country?

We have been looking to open a hotel in India for a very long time. We believe there is tremendous opportunity for Four Seasons in India. Because Four Seasons is a hotel management company - we don't own our hotels - we depend on our partners to provide the capital necessary to bring a hotel to fruition. After years of exploring the market, we found an excellent development partner who shares our vision for a world-class hotel in Mumbai. Another key element in the development process is finding the right location. We believe we've found the best possible location in the emerging Worli district - central for both business and leisure travelers.

What according to you is the present scenario of the Hospitality Industry in India and what would be your suggestions in improving it, in case it needs an improvement? What should we focus on?

Tourism has emerged as one of the major sectors for growth in the Indian economy. Last year, the tourism industry registered a growth rate of 17.3 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals, which has been the highest in the last 10 years. India's tourism industry is thriving due to an increase in people visiting the country as well as increased travel by Indians to domestic destinations and abroad. The growth of the Indian economy has raised middle class incomes, prompting more people to spend on travel. I believe with improved infrastructure, particularly bringing airports and roads to global standards, travel statistics in India would soar even higher.

What is most typical of Four Seasons Hotels as compared to the other leading names in India?

Four Seasons is known around the world for providing exceptional service in hotels and resorts of unparalleled quality, in the most important urban centres and exotic resort destinations in the world. Our people are carefully selected for their desire to serve and create memorable experiences for our guests. When our guests enter our hotels, they feel an immediate sense of ease and comfort, because they know their every need will be met. We look forward to offering this type of experience to our guests in Mumbai.

As the President and Chief Operating Officer what do you foresee the response of opening the Hotel in Mumbai would be? What is your specific strategy in marketing the Hotel in India? Why did you choose Worli (a location which is central west of Mumbai) to have the first hotel come up?

We expect the response to our new hotel in Mumbai to be overwhelmingly positive. Any time we enter a new market, we discover that people welcome the experience we offer, because in general it is quite different than the experience that has been available previously. In order to achieve that kind of recognition, we are doing a number of things to inform people that we are here, including advertising in local publications, sending direct mail to travel agents and previous Four Seasons guests, engaging the local media with public relations campaigns and using the web to get our message across.

With respect to Worli, it is an up and coming area. Four Seasons has a history of changing the face of a neighbourhood, as we tend to attract further developments of similar quality as well as internationally recognized retailers, businesses and restaurants.

How do you intend to market the brand in a country like us and which segment are you really catering to?

We have a job to do to educate people in India about Four Seasons, because it is a relatively unknown quantity here. We expect much of our business to be generated locally, so our marketing efforts have focused primarily on spreading the word in India. That said, Mumbai is an international business centre, so we are running advertising in places such as New York and London, because we know people travel from those places to India for business.

How do you intend to compete with large Hotels such as the Taj, Hilton, Leela, and the like of such hotels? What would be your strategy there?

There is no question that there are a number of well known, established hotel brands in the market, each of which have a very loyal following. I think there is an opportunity to reach an untapped market of travellers who can be more productive in an environment where every need is catered to, enabling them to focus on the work they hope to achieve during their stay or get the most out of their precious downtime.

Besides Mumbai, are you planning on opening another of your hotels elsewhere in the other metropolitans as well?

Our development team is constantly looking for new opportunities in destinations all around the world and India is no exception. We expect to open further properties in the country over time. Certainly Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi among others, are destinations of interest, but we don't have any news to share regarding new projects at this time.

What would be your message to the Indian business community and all first timers to your hotel when it begins in Mumbai?

Give Four Seasons a try. We encourage everyone to visit the Hotel, whether they are staying for a few days or just dropping in for a cocktail, a meal or a spa treatment. The best way for people to understand what makes Four Seasons unique is to experience it first hand.