Category Archives: Hotels

The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace has appointed Deepak Verma as the Director of Sales and Marketing, spearheading the hotel’s business development, brand reputation and planning strategies to strengthen the positioning of the hotel. With 13 years of experience, Deepak has excelled in hospitality business development, strategic management and knowledge of various market segments. In his career, he has been associated with some of the leading Indian and global luxury brands, such as The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and Accor. In each of his previous roles, he contributed immensely towards creating milestone achievements for the respective organization. In his last assignment as Director of Sales at the Pullman and Novotel New Delhi Aerocity, Deepak was instrumental in boosting the collective business for the twin properties. A dynamic team leader, Deepak, in his current role, will be focusing not only on the business recovery of the hotel post the pandemic but would also work towards reinforcement of the brand and its core ethos. He will also strive to create new and sustainable business streams for the hotel. Hailing from West Bengal, Deepak was based out of New Delhi for most of his professional career. An ardent movie buff, he likes spending time at home, watching a series or a movie with his family.

Steve Borgia, Founder and Chairman of INDeco Leisure Hotels, has signed an agreement with Sanjay Sharma, Founder and CEO of BluSalz Hospitality, for the management of the former’s properties. The agreement was signed on July 20 at Yercaud in Tamil Nadu. INDeco hotels are rural-centric and work to rebuild the neighbourhood and local communities.

Sudeep Jain, Managing Director, South-West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, has said that they have signed Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Jalandhar to strengthen their footprint in Punjab and Holiday Inn Express Pokhra Lakeside in Nepal. “We are optimistic about the year ahead and are in active discussions to meaningfully expand our presence across key markets in the country,” he added.

Bento Resorts has entered a partnership with Red Apple Travel, a global giant in the business of travel and hospitality. Under the new deal, Red Apple Travel will exclusively Market Bento resorts. Manish Tandon, Chairman, Bento Resorts said, “We wanted to bring more flavour and flair to the industry and therefore wanted to expand the scope and area of our operations within the country.”

Kamala Vardhan Rao, IAS, C&MD, ITDC, has said that India has tremendous potential for medical value tourism. Speaking at a webinar for Tourism Collaboration between India and Saudi Arabia, he added, “India holds 10th position globally as far as Medical Value Tourism is concerned, due to affordability, accessibility, and availability of medical facilities. It is the 7th dominating country in the world and 3rd in Asia Pacific region in terms of wellness tourism. India has received 4.95 lakh medical tourist in 2017 which has gone up to over 7 lakhs in 2019. With 800 NABH and 36 JCI accredited hospitals, India is a viable destination for medical facilities due to a robust ecosystem which is already well developed. Medical Value Tourism (MVT) is one of the 10 champion sectors identified by the Government of India, and we are perhaps the only country in the world with a dedicated Ministry of alternate healing and traditional medicine, the Ministry of AYUSH, which promotes Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy medicine. Ayurveda is taking off in a very big way world-wide, with its proven efficacy in the post-COVID recovery phase.”

Heritance Aarah and Adaaran Resorts, situated in the luscious paradise atolls in the Maldives, take pride in announcing that 90% of its ground staff at the resorts is vaccinated with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is in line with the heightened health and safety practices adhered to as part of Aitken Spence Hotels. The Aitken Spence Group believes that the well-being of its guests and associates is of paramount importance. Collectively, the hospitality brand has taken stringent measures to enact elevated precautionary operational protocols that address heightened health and safety, to give their guests peace of mind regarding future stays. These protocols are based on international and local health and safety guidelines and have been enhanced by in-house experts to provide guests with a safe environment. Susith Jayawickrama, Managing Director, Aitken Spence Hotels Group said, “As we continue to combat the challenges posed by the surprising intruder that has unsettled the world – COVID-19, we are inspired to make our resorts a safe haven for our guests. This optimism is carried through at all our hotels and resorts, as we welcome you back, with open arms and heartfelt smiles.”

In its monthly overview of the hotels and hospitality sector, HVS ANAROCK reveals that while hotel occupancy in most cities witnessed month-on-month decline in May due to restrictions and lockdowns in various states, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai observed the highest occupancy in the country (31-35%) during the month.

Raffles Udaipur has announced the appointment of Rajan Malhotra as Director of Sales and Marketing. A postgraduate diploma holder in business administration, Malhotra brings along with him 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry. His rich body of work includes long, successful stints at Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Services India Pvt. Ltd., The Zuri Group of Hotels & Resorts, Le Méridien Jaipur Resort & Spa, Taj Palace, New Delhi and The Grand New Delhi. In his role, Rajan Malhotra will take charge of introducing the world-renowned Raffles brand experience in the country as well as planning and implementing strategies to support the hotel’s unrivalled positioning. He will be leading the sales and marketing team, exploring business opportunities and will be responsible for the budgeting, forecasting and achieving the hotel’s commercial objectives. He will be a part of the pre-opening leadership team of the property. Commenting on the appointment, Abhishek Sharma, General Manager, Raffles Udaipur said, “We are delighted with the joining of Rajan Malhotra as a part of the pre-opening leadership team for this important launch. With his extensive experience of working for some of the leading luxury hotels and knowledge of the diverse market segments, we are confident that Rajan will best support the positioning of India’s first Raffles as a market leader.”

Raffles Udaipur has announced Abhishek Sharma as General Manager, who joins the property with over 9 years of leading teams in the role of General Manager, throughout luxury hotels and resorts, including The Oberoi Group in India and Soneva Fushi Resort in The Maldives. Sharma is a well-recognized leader with over two decades of outstanding experience in luxury hospitality and has an exceptional network across the industry. In his new role, Sharma will be leading the task of introducing the legendary Raffles brand to the country and taking charge of operations for Raffles Udaipur. On the appointment, he says, “I am filled with an incredible sense of excitement and responsibility as I lead the team at our first Raffles in the country. The Raffles brand is a global phenomenon that has set the benchmark for unparalleled excellence in guest experience and personalized services. Ethos of the brand are depicted across many noteworthy elements of the hotel, and I am particularly inspired by the  signature Writers Bar for its sophistication and innovation, where we hope India’s renowned writers, present and future, will pen their stories.  I feel honored to be working alongside a dynamic team to bring the legendary service of Raffles to our guests.” Commenting on the announcement, Puneet Dhawan, ‎Senior Vice President of Operations – India & South Asia, Accor says, “I am delighted to welcome Abhishek for this key launch of Raffles’ first outpost in India. Abhishek has wealth of experience that has enhanced his project management skills and strengthened his abilities in elevating guest engagement. He has aced the curation of bespoke and immersive guest experiences and I am confident that his knowledge and the ability to …

In a major development for the hospitality segment following the COVID-19 outbreak, Click Hotels by Suba has acquired leisure budget hospitality chain 1589 Hotels, owned and run by Clarks Group of Hotels. With this deal, Suba added 35 new properties to its portfolio across 22 prime destinations in India which marks the milestone of total 2,000 rooms. This expansion drive is a part of Click Hotels’ acquisition of 1589 Hotels including GenX, RNB, and RNB Select. With this, Click Hotels by Suba has marked its transition to an asset-light business model and has expanded its footprint across key destinations like Ranthambore National Park, Jim Corbett National Park, and Dalhousie.