Kerala Houseboats double up as corporate meeting venues
Published May 22, 2008 | 
Alappuzha: Companies looking out for five star hotels for carrying out their business meetings have long become cliché. More and more companies are opting for the piping hot option of sprawling and drop dead gorgeous houseboats, which are fully air conditioned to convene their business meetings. It goes without saying that not many options can match the charm of these unique floating palaces that skim along the enchanting Kerala backwaters.
Jala Samrat is the first of its kind in the league of floating convention centres. It is a double-storey, 150-foot long and 16-foot wide, fully air-conditioned houseboat with a seating capacity of over 160 executives on the first floor. Costing over 8 million, this houseboat is equipped with all the latest communication systems. Inaugurated a year ago, it is owned by Pulickattil Tourism Group. Within its short span of operation, it has been an instant hit as a popular business conventional centre of several commercial banks, public sector undertakings and even foreign companies. It is interesting to note that their customers have been their biggest brand ambassadors, who promote this boat by their word of mouth publicity.
Some of the celebrity meetings that were hosted in this houseboat include the official meetings of Parliamentary Affairs and Indian Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Steel, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Its laurels transcended the barriers of time and space when Bahraini Labour Minister Majeed Al Alawi preferred to held a meeting aboard Jala Samrat. In the coming days, more such boats might take the Kerala backwaters by storm.
