For some travellers, a hotel stay begins long before they check in. It begins with a reason for the journey, a temple they want to visit, an aarti they don’t want to miss, or simply the need to travel somewhere with a little more meaning attached to it.


 Hotels are beginning to notice this shift.

At Sheraton Grand Palace Indore, General Manager Neil James has seen a distinct change in the kind of guests travelling through the city. The hotel, which is Marriott International’s first all-vegetarian property, has found itself catering increasingly to travellers heading towards Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar, rather than only the traditional corporate guest.

“People frequent this property because it has easy access to both Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar temples. And the added advantage is being vegetarian, which complements their spiritual journey.”


 The location has made the hotel an interesting stopover for pilgrims, families and groups travelling together. Some arrive in groups of 20 or 30, often by small buses, with an itinerary built around darshan rather than sightseeing.

The hotel has an active travel desk, but James says the larger idea is to take some of the uncertainty out of the journey. Packages can include the car, the temple visit and meals, including food packed for guests who leave at night and return around breakfast time.

That understanding appears to be shaping the hospitality around these journeys. Rather than treating a pilgrim like any other traveller, the hotel has begun thinking about the small things that might matter along the way: a packed meal, a temple kit, something local to take home, or even a small reminder of the journey.

“We have started creating touch points,” James says, adding, “Right from the traditional welcome when the guest steps in to what we put in the rooms as a welcome amenity, to something that they can carry away, like a small fridge magnet—everything is well thought out.”

With spiritual and faith-led travel continuing to influence the way Indians explore the country, Marriott’s initiative is built around the thought of “Stay Blessed, Stay Rewarded/In Your Spiritual Journey, Stay Peaceful.”

James says the increase in religious travel has been noticeable not just at his property but across the city’s Marriott hotels.

“The number of people travelling for religious tourism has considerably increased,” he says.

The change is also reflected in the way hotels think about their people. Staff have to understand that someone travelling for darshan may have very different expectations from a business traveller or a conference guest.

“We are sensitising our associates because this is a very different guest that is travelling, versus a tourist or a MICE traveller,” reasons the GM.

Perhaps that is the larger change taking place. Hospitality is learning that travel does not always have to be about business, leisure or luxury. Sometimes people are simply trying to get somewhere that matters to them.

And when the destination carries spiritual significance, the journey itself demands a different kind of attention.

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