Business
The concept of timeshare holidays or fractional ownership of vacation resorts began a few decades ago in the West and then gradually spread across the world. In 1996, the Mahindra Group started its very own vacation ownership company, Club Mahindra, with a simple yet meaningful purpose -- bringing happiness into the lives of its Members.
Today, the company’s over 260,000 members enjoy memorable holidays at great resorts and destinations in India and abroad while strengthening their family bonds. Club Mahindra’s business philosophy is closely aligned with the ‘Good Business’ approach that the Mahindra Group follows in all its businesses, where the goal is not just about making profits, but also about bringing positive change in the lives of its customers, other stakeholders and the community at large.
This philosophy can trace its origins back to the Group’s founders JC and KC Mahindra who established Club Mahindra’s parent company Mahindra & Mahindra way back in 1945 with the clear vision to help India meet its growing needs for steel and then transportation, just as the nation was shaking off colonialism and was on the cusp of becoming a newly independent nation a mere two years later.
As for Club Mahindra, the company itself has been something of a pioneer, discovering unknown destinations across India, beginning with Munnar, and developing them into very popular tourist destinations. It has done this by building ecologically sensitive resorts that over the years, have helped drive prosperity within the communities that live near its resorts, providing employment and other commercial opportunities.
Creating memorable experiences
One unique aspect of Club Mahindra is its ability to create customised, memorable experiences for its members. It has done this at all its 60+ sprawling resorts across India, with many experiences that highlight the unique culture and history of that destination.
From treehouses with a view of the Himalayas in Binsar, Uttarakhand; to floating cottages in Ashtamudi, Kerala; igloos in Manali, and pool villas in Poovar, the company is focused on creating that elusive ‘wow’ factor when its members’ check-in to the resort. This, along with its focus on offering great local cuisine, really helps members absorb the vibe and culture of the destination.
‘Happy Hub’, Club Mahindra’s main activity centre at its resorts, has curated 500+ experiences for families to do new things, learn new skills and connect with new people, cultures and hopefully themselves. For thrill-seekers, adventure experiences on offer include zip lining, aqua zorbing, rafting, kayaking, jungle safari, tea-picking and quad biking. More culture focused activities include pottery and puppet making, local dance-forms and cooking local dishes.
Going global
Club Mahindra has also gone global in recent years offering members access to 100+ resorts in India, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Finland and more. The company keeps adding new resorts to the list, ensuring that its members never run out of choices, including 4,500+ RCI resorts worldwide.
Sustainable thinking
The company has been increasingly focused on becoming sustainable and driving positive change in the communities in which it operates. It has eliminated single-use plastics across all its resorts as it moves to become a completely ‘zero waste to landfill’ company. In addition, Club Mahindra sources materials that are eco-friendly and biodegradable -- for example, the straws, laundry bags and packaging of bathroom amenities at its resorts are made out of corn starch.
Biodiversity assessments have also been carried out at its Virajpet and Madikeri properties to make them even more ecologically sensitive. As for water conservation, the company follows the four principles –reduce, reuse, recycle and rainwater harvesting. Anumber of its resorts are already becoming self-reliant when it comes to water usage.
Covid-19 has thrown up new challenges for the Hospitality industry, and Mahindra Resorts is responding with vigour developing its ‘travel with confidence’ solution that offers end- to- end range of services that make travel much easier. Despite the challenges, Club Mahindra remains as committed as ever to its original mission of bringing happiness into the lives of its members all over the world.
Customer testimonial video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMyc1SC783Q
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