With the blue blood of publishing flowing in her veins, is it any wonder that Rajini Pandit, daughter of the legendary RV Pandit, publishes the only Hotel directory in India called ‘Hotelist’? RV Pandit was the power behind the magazine ‘Imprint’ that held sway in the country for decades. “I came out of the Catering College Institute in Dadar, Mumbai and worked for a couple of years in the south of France running my father’s restaurant in Monaco called ‘The Taj’. After coming back to India, I joined the Taj West End and worked there for a year, when I saw a void in information about Hotels in India.”

“There was no directory compiled which would help travellers and travel agents check out which hotels were available in a particular city. So twelve years ago, I began Hotelist, my hotel directory. It was tough work breaking into an unknown market and it took me four years to break even with my investment,” she reveals.
Looking at the glossy latest edition with the Windsor Manor, Bangalore, on the 2008 edition’s cover, one can see how helpful a directory like this can be for travellers coming to the country for the first time. Each page has pictures of the hotel from the outside as well as a view of the bedroom. “It’s a standard format for all the pages,” says Rajini, “that way, all the hotels can be seen at a glance. Plus we give the tariff and the contact details, which help the traveller make confirmed bookings to avoid any problems while travelling. Today, most hotels in India go fully booked and so this helps the travellers keep up with their schedule.  I have in the latest edition approximately 2,000 hotels in the book, from two-star going up to five-star rating.”

Travelling everywhere

The directory is printed on art paper with perfect binding, making it easy to carry. “The entire design is done in-house by me. I have a graphic designer who puts the book together so I oversee the entire book to its finished stage. One thing I have never stinted about is the quality of the art paper used and that is why everyone is satisfied with the quality of my directory,” she feels.

The directory is out on the stands every year in January as Rajini works alongside the hotels’ yearly tariff change. “Hotels change their tariff every January, so I work along with them and my directory holds good for a year.”
Looking back on her twelve years in the business, Rajini explains how she had to travel personally to hotels, to sell her concept initially. “I checked every room and bathroom before they were included,” she says. Today she does not as the hotels know her and immediately send their material to her on a CD or via the email.

“The internet has cut down my work considerably,” she explains, “and most of the hotels come back to my directory year after year as they have reaped the benefits of being in it. However India is so vast and there are so many cities I still have to visit and there are so many hotels which can be included every year. With India’s booming economy, hotels are big business and new ones pop up all the time, across the country.”

New plans

Does she have any new plans on the anvil as stagnation can submerge a good product? “ Yes! I feel there is a big need for a directory of budget hotels for small, travelling salesmen. There is an army of them travelling across the country and I want a directory which can be sold at railway stations and bus depots that focus on budget hotels costing Rs 2,000 and below. This directory will not have photos, just information of ten hotels per page. It will be a boon for salesmen who are on the road most of the month,” she explains with confidence.

Hotelist today is sold in the bookshops across the country. “I also give free copies to every hotel, every consulate and every Indian mission abroad,” explains Rajini.

In response to the question of which is her favourite hotel Rajini says, “the Neemrana Fort Hotel in Alwar. It is the most romantic hotel in India. It was almost in ruins before it was refurbished by Frenchman Francis Vazirak. Anyone who loves India should at least stay one day there.”

  For details contact Rajini at: South Block 516, Manipal Centre, 47, Dickenson Road, Bangalore – 560042. Mobile: 9845020225