Udaipur Marriott GM Vaibhav Sagar On Balancing Scale, Culture, And Sustainability

Vaibhav Sagar’s journey is not traditional from a trade graduate and banker to a hotelier who manages one of the largest luxury properties of Udaipur. As the General Manager of Udaipur Marriott Hotel, it blends with financial acumeni operational expertise to create a place that balances big weddings, mouse activities, cultural dipping and sustainable hospitality – the hotel is a preferred choice for both travelers and local people.

Quotes from a special interview

Tell us about your past. How was hospitality for you?

I am originally from Faridabad near Delhi. I did my academic history in trade – Delhi Art and Trade College (Hons.) From B.com (Hons.). I didn’t follow the hotel management. Instead, I started my career as an intern in the account section of Grand Hyatt, Vasant Kunj, who is currently a great new Delhi.

This way I first met hospitality. I worked for two to three years in the field of finance, and then I made MBA in the field of finance and marketing. My campus settlement took me to a state bank where I spent four years. Finally, my heart pulled me back to hospitality this time.

Over the years, I have spent in operations and marketing about ten years and in the last seven years as a general manager. My journey made me through finance, sales, marketing and income – contributed to the leader I am today.

Do you think your financial history helps you as a GM?

Definitely. Finance is the backbone of any business. As a GM, you don’t just manage operations, but you also lead a job. Having this financial agriculture allows me to balance income with profitability without sacrificing brand standards or guest experience. In fact, today, most hotel brands encourage GMs to be exposed to finance, because critical for long -term sustainability.

What distinguishes Udaipur Marriott from other properties in the city?

Our biggest differentiating is the scale. We have 227 rooms and more than 25,000 square meters of closed feast. This makes us one of the biggest hotels in the city in terms of inventory and event facilities.

This enabled us to bring jobs to Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) on a scale that has not been realized before. Weddings have always been the powerful outfit of Udaipur, but now mice have become an important segment for us, and this is something we are proud of.

How do you bring local delicacies to a global brand like Marriott?

Local experiences are an integral part of our offer. We have a live flute performance for breakfast. Most guests are met with traditional Rajasthani music. In the evening, we host cultural performances such as famous Kalbeliya Dance and Puppet shows.

Of course, the kitchen plays a big role. Our menus have authentic local dishes as well as global flavors that give guests the best of both worlds.

What will be your restaurants-do you see more burial or internal guests?

Interestingly, when we opened our restaurants, it took it faster than our rooms. As the closest five-star hotel to the city (only 12-15 minutes from the celebration shopping center), we see a lot of walks not only tourists, but from the inhabitants of Udaipur. Considering our food sales points, accessibility and Udaipur’s weather and natural environment, it has been extremely popular due to an outdoor food experience, which is a great draw.

Udaipur is synonymous with weddings. What kind of places does Marriott offer?

When you talk about Udaipur, you immediately think of target weddings and our hotel is fully built for it. It has more than one place that lends them to big celebrations. At the lobby level, we have 12,000 feet square open space. Then we have another large open courtyard and grass area below the lobby level, at the same time 14,000 feet square – they can easily contain 400 people for any dinner, whether they have breakfast, lunch or dinner. Furthermore, our large terrace – is also a special Sundown area – 12,000 feet square and is designed by considering performances. While the form of configuration can perform from a designated area, guests enjoy the activity by the pool or the pool. If the clouds allow, the sunset is just breathtaking.

Our rooms and suites are also designed by considering weddings and purchasing processes. We have 227 rooms and one-third of our inventory-87 Rooms-Fields and Weddings are a great advantage for twins. Suites for a wedding are the greatest differentiating. There are 24 suites in total, four on each floor, and they do not concentrate only one or two levels like many hotels. There are suits on every floor here. This makes it extremely appropriate when we buy a wedding, because each floor can be assigned as a bridal floor or groom floor. All of the key family members and their close relatives can be accommodated there and can be upgraded to suites. Both families work really well in terms of planning and comfort.

Among the suits, our luxury suite has 1000 feet square and 12 of them – we have two on each floor. Then we have luxury and premium suits with 550 and 650 feet square respectively. With such a spread to all floors, we can be sure that both the bride and groom sides have equal access to premium areas. Our large base category of 40 square meters contributes to the experience of leisure and exclusivity with the greens of the forest land surrounding each bathroom and property with four fixed installations and bathtubs. Therefore, we believe that we are perfectly placed in Udaipur as a preferred wedding destination.

Sustainability has become a large part of hospitality. Which initiatives did you adopt?

It is at the center of our sustainability operations. We are a zero waste hotel-everything produced here is consumed or used in property. Like all Marriott hotels, we have eliminated the disposable plastic in guest rooms and replaced them with distributors.

We have already planted 2,000 trees and saplings on the property and we are in the process of adding 1,000 more. At the end of this year, we must have about 3,000 trees that contribute to the natural forest cover around us. In addition, we are trying to establish a bottling plant and home charging stations by ensuring that our luxury offer is responsible.

What is your vision for Udaipur Marriott?

Our vision is to be the most preferred event and entertainment hotel in Udaipur. What makes us unique is our position – surrounded by forest, we offer privacy and sectors, but we are still close to the city and the airport.

Other luxury hotels in Udaipur are too far in the old city or on the hills, but we are at the beginning of Tiger Hills. This balance of accessibility and exclusivity is our greatest power and will continue to separate us in the coming years.