Category Archives: Hotels

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has assured the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) that the government is working on re-opening protocols. He said that they would re-open in a phased manner to avoid any backlash. Thackeray also informed that the government is working on certain concessions such as in excise fees to help revive the industry.

While RevPAR has been low throughout the country, Chennai and Mumbai have been the top performers ( with -83% and -83.3% RevPAR YoY) in May 2020, according to HVS ANAROCK monthly newsletter, H2O.

Palladium Hotel Group has begun its summer season with the opening of seven properties: Grand Palladium Palace Ibiza Resort & Spa and Grand Palladium White Island Resort & Spa (July 3), Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza (July 10), Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife (July 30), Bless Hotel Ibiza (July 10), Agroturismo Sa Talaia (July 8) and Palladium Hotel Costa del Sol (July 16).

Rare India has unveiled three new initiatives for sustainable living- RARE Travel Agency Network (RATAN), RARE Influencers Network (RAIN) and Beautiful Planet. The company is also open to partnership with travel agencies to promote a sustainable way of living.  

Expanding its portfolio in Gujarat to seven hotels, Sarovar Hotels has announced the opening of its latest project in the temple town, Somnath. Sarovar Portico, Somnath is spread in beautiful landscaped terrain and has aesthetically designed Presidential and Royal suites, Studio rooms, superior rooms and executive rooms. Culinary highlights at the hotel include ‘Flavours’ that offers a multi-cuisine menu served with flair. Commenting on the development, Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said, “We are delighted to further strengthen our presence in Gujarat; Somnath will be our seventh hotel in the state. This development allows us to establish ourselves in the state more strongly. We look forward to welcoming guests to Sarovar Portico, Somnath and offering them our signature Sarovar hospitality.”

After serving 3 years as COO- India and South Asia at Accor, Jean-Michel Cassé has announced his retirement from the global hospitality brand. In a farewell letter to its colleagues and partners, Cassé said that his last working day will be July 15.  Furthermore, Accor announced the appointment of Puneet Dhawan as Senior Vice President Operations- India & South Asia. Dhawan will take charge from August 1.

The Lords Hotels and Resorts have resumed operations with heightened precautionary measures and new SOPs in place.

In order to understand the pulse of the industry amidst these unprecedented times, HVS ANAROCK conducted an anonymous online survey with Hotel General Managers (GMs) in the last week of April 2020. The survey revealed that despite expecting low occupancies, over 71% of the GMs will not discount their rates by more than 20%. Over 42% GMs believe that occupancy would be close to or higher than 50%, while 46% of the GMs believe that occupancy will remain below 40%. The survey revealed that most GMs expect demand to pick up by Q4 2020.

Though the occupancy rate across hotels in key cities of India has been plummeting for some time now, the sector is hopeful that by Q4 this year, they will be above 40%. This was revealed by HVS General Manager’s Sentiment Survey, where more than 53% respondents said that occupancies in Q4 could be anywhere between 40-50%, maybe even more. In fact, over 42% of the General Managers surveyed believe that occupancy would be close to or higher than 50%, while 46% of the General Managers believe that occupancy will remain below 40%.

A delegation of the Karnataka Pradesh Hotel and Restaurants’ Association (KPHRA) recently met the state chief minister BS Yediyurappa said at his office in Bengaluru and has requested him to grant permission to re-open hotels. The Karnataka Chief Minister said he will decide on the reopening of hotels and restaurants by May 31, when the fourth phase of lockdown ends. The KPHRA delegation has also requested Yediyurappa for a special package for hotel and restaurant workers in terms of waiving off three months of electricity bills and property tax of hotel buildings.