Hotels that opened in 2015-16 in India  averaged 42.7 per cent and, new openings of 2016-17 averaged  45.9 per cent occupancy in their very first year, according to a report by HVS Global Hospitality Services. Similarly, while  first year ARRs were successively lower than their  preceding years from 2012-13 to 2014-15, the ARR for  hotels that opened in 2015-16 and 2016-17 have seen  an increase in comparison to their preceding year, the report said. Both these figures, coupled with the demand-supply  outlook for the next sixty-months, further corroborate our view that most  markets in India are at a point where both occupancy and ARRs can substantially improve. The question is whether the sector’s stakeholders will truly manage to capitalise  on the evident opportunity, or do we still need to live by  the adage, the report said.

Skål International India’s third Congress welcomes its members to Kolkata. The event is being held from August 17 -19. “This is the third Skål Congress, first we had in Goa, then we had in Kochi and now we have in Kolkata. Its our privilege to call upon all Skal members all over India which is 1250, which is second largest club in th world, to welcome them to Kolkata,” said Sanjeev Mehra, 2nd Vice President Skål International India. “Pan India, all the travel professionals who are  member of Skal are coming to Kolkata participate in the Congress and together we will mvoice as together we can, a slogan which we all like to raise,”said Manav Soni, President, Skal International Kolkata.

The global increase in social media usage since January 2017 in terms of tourism destinations is 13 per cent, according to a study by TrekkSoft. India is second in place with 31 per cent of people using social media to know about various tourist destinations. Saudi Arabia has the largest year-on-year increase in social media users since January 2017 (32 per cent), a 17% increase compared to the global average.  Indonesia and Ghana as technology is improving and social media becomes easily accessible to more of the population. UAE, South Korea and the UK have the slowest increase with 5 per cent. Facebook has the most daily active users compared to other social network, the study said.  

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has decided to launch an online B2B marketplace for its members. Sharing more details of this, Pradip Lulla, Vice President, TAFI, says, “We are coming up with an online platform for our members and it is already under construction. The idea is to have a marketplace where you can buy and also sell products. On the back end, we will tie up with suppliers – domestic and international. Initially, we will have more focus on accommodation including hotels and home-stays, and the airline products will follow. It will also have a payment gateway and we are talking to different companies for providing the payment solutions.” Speaking about the criteria for such a partner, Lulla adds that the cost for transactions should be lower and it should also be seamless with multiple options for payment. “The site is ready and we are only integrating the back end right now. It is not live yet. We will be releasing a beta version shortly to test it out and remove any bugs. Getting our members on it will take some time but we should have it active within two months. The members will need a login and password,” Lulla says. The name of the portal has not been finalised yet.

OYO Hotels has announced the acquisition of wedding banquet company Weddingz.in to expand its playfield to real estate sector. Globally, the wedding industry has grown to become a $500 billion market and OYO’s sharp focus on global expansion will support its debut in disrupting these markets. Commenting on the development, Maninder Gulati, Chief Strategy Officer – OYO, said, “What this partnership facilitates is combining OYO’s capabilities of asset management and technology with the scale Weddingz.in offers in India’s fragmented $40bn weddings industry. The company has a healthy scale of managing 1,500-plus wedding events per quarter, with an inventory size of over 40 banquets spread across Mumbai and Delhi.’’ With more than 10 million marriages in India held annually, the segment holds immense potential for innovation, improvement and standardization of processes. “Weddingz.in is India’s largest banquet management company specialising in weddings led by an extremely ambitious founder Sandeep Lodha and his talented team and the value proposition they bring to the table via skills in managing weddings is clearly visible in their dominance and popularity.’’ added Maninder. Sandeep Lodha, Founder, Weddingz.in, commented, ‘’This alliance will work towards simplifying wedding planning for Indians while tapping the enormous opportunities this space offers.”    

Airbus has appointed Anand E Stanley, a veteran leader in the global aerospace and defence industry, to succeed Pierre de Bausset as President and Managing Director of Airbus India. Stanley and Bausset will work through a transition before the new appointment takes effect on October 1, 2018. Stanley brings a wealth of international experience in Sales, P&L management, M&A, Aftermarket and Manufacturing. His knowledge of the Indian market will deepen Airbus’ commitment to the local aerospace and defence industries, and will drive its indigenisation to boost India’s economic growth. He will pursue the consolidation of Airbus businesses in India with a view to further reinforcing the position of the group for long-term success and growth in India. “Anand will successfully leverage the large fleet of our products flying in India, our support and services capability, the quality of our engineering team and the deep links that have been forged with local aerospace and defense industrial partners,” said Patrick de Castelbajac, Executive Vice President – Strategy & International, Airbus. A polyglot who has lived and worked in eight countries, Stanley served as Global Executive Vice President – Strategy, The Linde Group prior to joining Airbus. He started his aerospace career at Pratt & Whitney before holding multiple leadership roles within UTC and Lockheed Martin.      

In a crucial update, Air China has announced that it will discontinue IATA commission on SOTO (sold outside ticketed outside) tickets effective September 1, 2018. According to a statement released by the airline, any ticket issue with wrong commission would attract Agency Debit Memo (ADM). Earlier, Jet Airways and Oman Air have also have withdrawn IATA commission for agents.

In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for creating digital museums at stations using QR code, Ministry of Railways has recently made ‘digital screens’ operational at 22 stations as an innovative low-cost solution to spread awareness among public about the heritage of Indian Railways. Being initiated on a pilot basis, the project aims at showcasing the legacy of Indian Railways through one to two minute-long movie clips on digital LED screens at the entrance gate of railway stations and also at different comfort areas. The short films will showcase heritage buildings, locomotives and much more to make people aware of the rich heritage of Indian Railways. For now, the screens have been set up at New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Howrah, Sealdah, Jaipur, Agra Cantonment, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Varanasi and other railway stations. In addition, QR code based posters on Railway Heritage are also being displayed at these stations. Passenger can scan the QR code on their mobile to view a streaming video on their mobile on various facades of Railway heritage.  

Due to heavy rains in Kerala, operations to and from Cochin airport have been suspended from August 15-18, 2018 on account of water rising in the operational area. However, Trivandrum and Calicut airports are available for scheduled operations. For international operations, both immigration and customs facilities are available 24*7 at these airports. Trivandrum airport can also accommodate wide-body aircraft. In view of the above and to cater for the stranded passengers, scheduled domestic airlines have been advised to reschedule their flights to/from Cochin to Trivandrum and Calicut airports till such time the situation at Cochin airport returns to normal. All scheduled domestic airlines have been advised to ensure that airfares for flights to/from   Trivandrum   and   Calicut  airports  in   Kerala are kept at optimal level proportionate to sector distance so that travelling public is not inconvenienced.

TruJet is now connecting 14 major destinations in South India including Cuddapah, Nanded, Bellary, Mysore and Salem in the Regional Connectivity Scheme. The airline has been further awarded with 20 new routes in the western and eastern states, and will connect Kandla, Porbandar, Keshod, Jaisalmer, Jalgaon & Nasik from Ahmedabad & Burnpur, Cooch Behar, Tezu and Rupsi from Guwahati. This ushers the commencement of the second phase of TruJet‘s “Sky for ALL” effort where Trujet connects Bharat with India and promotes the unserved/underserved cities to the metropolitans. TruJet has been the first airline to complete all the route connectivity in the first bid of UDAN and Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued a citation for TruJet for being the first airline to commence flight operation in all the RCS routes awarded in UDAN.