The Hindu Business Line : Serviced apartments prove a boon for medical tourists

Bangalore, June 24 The serviced apartments segment of the hospitality industry in Bangalore has managed to attract not just business travellers, but also medical tourists to the city. Serviced apartment brands are now looking at tying up with hospitals to move patients – mostly in the post-operative-care stage of treatment – into their apartments.

Brigade Hospitality Services, the hospitality arm of the Brigade Group that owns the Homestead brand of serviced apartments, has a tie-up with Wockhardt Hospitals for The Woodrose Club property.

“We have, at any given point of time, about five such patients as guests at the property,” says Mr Vineet Verma, Chief Executive Officer, Brigade Hospitality Services. The inspiration for such an arrangement comes from similar services available in Bangkok, Thailand.

“There are many patients from the US, the UK and Canada, who come for knee replacement or heart surgeries; high tariffs at business class or five-star hotels make India a costly proposition for medical tourism. Which means, countries like Thailand stand to benefit,” says Mr Pradeep Thukral, Associate Vice-President and Head of International Business, Wockhardt Hospital Group.

The hospital’s special package with Brigade Hospitality costs $1,000 for a seven-day stay. This is inclusive of “customised food for patients as prescribed by doctors” prepared in-house, according to Mr Verma.

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