Category Archives: Hotels

Mark Willis, CEO – Middle East and Africa, Accor, has said that in line with their expansion plans, with regard to openings in India, the group has over 25 hotels in the pipeline to open over the next 36 months. “Apart from the Raffles in Jaipur, other key openings for the year include a second ibis in Mumbai which will open late in the year,” he adds.

Absolute Hotel Services India has announced the signing of a Management Agreement with Rivergate Resort India Limited and has added to its portfolio, U Rivergate Karjat. The project encompasses 42 rooms and 100+ individual gated Villa Scheme. Sameer Dharkar, Managing Director, Absolute Hotel Services – South Asia & Middle East region said, “We are thrilled at the opportunity to partner with Mr. Chandan Parmar, Director – Rivergate Resort India Limited and bring to the fore another premium leisure property in Maharashtra. This partnership gives us an opportunity to leverage the State’s tourism treasure trove and offer discerning travelers a global brand which will cast indelible hospitality impressions.”

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has submitted a representation to PM Narendra Modi, FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of MSME Nitin Gadkari and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel requesting for urgent support to save the sector from imminent collapse. It has stated that financial reliefs extended during the first pandemic wave were inadequate and improperly implemented. The FHRAI has pleaded for immediate fiscal measures including a 3-year moratorium extension on all loans and a complete waiver of interest on loans.

Sharing his perspective on inbound tourism, Rohit Khosla, Executive Vice President – Operations, North & West India, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), says, “The hospitality and tourism industry needs to ensure that it is future-ready to tap all the potential growth opportunities and safeguard against all kinds of crisis situations, including national disasters and pandemics. I believe that 2023 is when international tourism will resume in India.”      

Both Kerala Travel Mart Society as well as Hotel Association of India (HAI) have requested the FM to customise the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 3.0 that has been extended to the industry. They have also requested to investigate the anomalies in the operational guidelines and FAQ released by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC), due to which, the scheme itself is being nullified.

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has opened a 108-key Vivanta hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Ideally suited for business and MICE, Vivanta Thiruvananthapuram is in partnership with Muralya Group – part of the SFC Group, founded by Kesavan Muraleedharan. The Group has a vision of opening similar hotels across leading cities in India and emerging as a leading hotel brand in India.

Cross Hotels & Resorts has signed a significant hotel management agreement with Kasetsinn Co to open Cross Pattaya Phratamnak. This will be the first property after their luxury brand renaming from X2 (Cross To) to Cross. The 78-key hotel is set to open in August 2021.

Spree Hotels celebrated the launch of three hotels – Zip by Spree Hotels Avishi Greens in Manali, Spree Hotel Kriday in Dehradun, and Zip by Spree Hotels The Claire in Gurugram, with the NCR  fraternity in Gurgaon. The event was Covid-compliant. It was outdoors with adequate social distancing. Spree showcased its care for Covid-compliant travel to the travel community, and it looks forward to welcoming their guest to Spree to enjoy the three new hotels.

The Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) and Hotel & Restaurant Association of Gujarat (HRA Gujarat) have submitted a representation to PM Narendra Modi to allow takeaway and home delivery services till 12am for hotels and restaurants in the state. The 2 associations have expressed agreement with the Gujarat government’s decision to impose restrictions for controlling the spread. However, taking into consideration the industry’s year-long crises, they have pleaded for some leeway.

Haitham Mattar, who presently serves as Senior Advisor at Saudi Ministry of Tourism, will take over as Managing Director of India, Middle East & Africa (IMEA) at IHG Hotels & Resorts April 18th onwards and will be based at their Dubai office. This is Mattar’s second stint at IHG, having previously spent 11 years at the company between 2000 and 2011 in different capacities.