JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity, one of the pioneering luxury hospitality addresses in the aerocity district, has celebrated its 12th anniversary recently. Sharad Datta, general manager of the hotel, who steered the property in the post-Covid recovery and revival, spoke exclusively and shared how the hotel is preparing for the next big leap as the district is set to have major inventory addition and other developments.
Celebrating 12 years of redefining luxury hospitality in Delhi’s Aerocity, JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity is preparing for its next chapter of growth. As the district continues to evolve into a vibrant hub of hotels, fine dining, and retail experiences, Sharad Datta says the hotel is focused on maintaining its leadership position through product innovation, service excellence, and reputation management.
“Aerocity is going to evolve into two or three times of what it is currently,” Datta says confidently. “From a hospitality point of view, there’s new inventory coming in, but I think the demand is going to be even higher than that.”
With new developments such as Worldmark 5, 6, and 7 and a large experiential entertainment center coming up in the hospitality district, the area is emerging as an epicenter of luxury experiences for the national capital.
As one of the first hotels to open in Aerocity hospitality district, JW Marriott New Delhi has continuously reinvented itself to stay ahead of guest expectations. The hotel has recently completed the complete makeover of its guest rooms, a mammoth task for an over 500-room hotel, operating with very high occupancy round the year.
“We wanted to be the first mover in terms of upgrading our rooms because this has been a very busy hotel. We undertook a vast project of upgrading all our guest rooms, and now we’re also upgrading our food and beverage spaces,” Datta explains. “You’ll soon see a new coffee shop coming in and maybe a new restaurant being added. For us, it’s important that our product always looks fresh and relevant to what the customer expects today.”
For Datta, maintaining brand reputation is central to the hotel’s philosophy. “We’ve got a great brand on the building, and I’m a firm believer that reputation drives revenue,” he says. “Reputation is driven by great service, great food, great product, and the warmth you give to a customer — and we’ll continue to do that.”
On the food and beverage front, JW Marriott has long been a trendsetter in aerocity with iconic dining addresses like K3 and ADRIFT Kaya. With new dining and entertainment options opening up in the district, while competition will get tougher, Datta felt that it would also attract more footfalls into the destination.
“The more restaurants that come in, the more footfall everyone will get. There will be enough business for all. But for us, quality is key. We’ll continue to operate at a notch above, both in pricing and delivery,” he adds.
Looking ahead, the hotel plans to reimagine K3 and introduce a new restaurant next year. “That will create another buzz in the market and bring in a new set of clientele. We are very excited about what’s in store for the future of our F&B,” says Datta.
As aerocity is evolving as an “integral hub” for luxury hospitality, retail and entertainment of India’s premier gateway city, Datta felt that it was critical that everyone in the ecosystem shared the responsibility of “showcasing the best of Indian hospitality” to the global audience.
As Datta is slated to move to Mumbai with new responsibilities within the Marriott portfolio soon, he felt that Marriott as a group, will also becoming a pivotal player in the evolving ecosystem of Delhi aerocity with more brands from their portfolio taking positions in the hospitality district.
“We’re opening the St. Regis and the Marriott Marquis next year, adding almost 900 rooms to our portfolio. With the strength of the Marriott Bonvoy program, this will only elevate our brand presence in this part of the world,” Datta remarks.
