Marriott on ECR eyes destination wedding pie

With an average room cost of Rs 1.25 cr, per key this high ticket investment is being pitched as both a luxury and a wedding destination property in South by the global hospitality giant. Close to 17 weddings have already been fixed in this property and upcoming parties have been booked until January 2019.

According to Shibil Malik, “The construction of the resort began in Feb 2016, and was completed in a record time of 2 years and 5 months. Marriott has more than 6,500 hotels globally and 106 hotels in India. Tamil Nadu is a very important market, as far as the tourist influx is concerned. Apart from being a key luxury resort, we also aim to pitch this property to the corporate customer base, and as a premium destination wedding resort. OF the 13 hotels in TN, 8 are managed by Marriott and 5 are managed by franchisee.”

Sources tell us that an average destination wedding could cost anywhere between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, for a 250 pax turnout coupled with room rentals and other charges. However, as weddings ceremonies have assumed a status symbol as well, people are willing to shell out anywhere upwards of Rs 1.2 cr.

On the distribution of the rooms on ECR, there are close to 750 keys on the stretch, excluding Puducherry. When asked about the pricing model employed by the group, Malik said, “We have priced our rooms 15% higher than two luxury properties off ECR and 20% higher than one luxury property on ECR. We will soon be launching a Courtyard by Marriott in Madurai as well. There is also the new Tribute by Marriott in Kochi which is among our new properties.”