Hotels and restaurants have welcomed the government’s move to reduce Goods and Services Tax on all restaurants from earlier 18 per cent to now 5 per cent. Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), said, “Reduction of GST rate to 5 per cent for all restaurants has come as a pleasant surprise. This is a big boost for the industry which has been reeling under a slowdown for quite sometime. Now irrespective of whether the restaurant is air conditioned or not, the consumer will have to pay a uniform GST rate of 5 per cent. This will definitely encourage the consumer to eat out again. “However, denying the ITC benefit on the grounds that we have not been passing on benefits is unfair. As of now, none of our vendors have reduced prices and there has not been any reduction of prices in raw materials for us. In fact, post introduction of GST the costs of operations and raw materials have actually gone up. The move to remove ITC amounts to double taxation and is inflationary. It also goes against every tenet of ease of doing business. We wish that the GST Council had considered that rent and interest attract 18% GST. However, overall we welcome the developments. We understand that something as revolutionary as GST will bring some disruptions in the initial stages. We just hope that going forward, Input Tax Credit will be restored,” he added.

jüSTa Hotels & Resorts is all set to opened their largest property in Udaipur—jüSTa Sajjangarh. The 63-room hotel has a range of eating options including an open air restaurant with live kitchen overlooking the Monsoon Palace in Udaipur. The luxury five-star property also has a teppanyaki restaurant  for the guests. With 7500 sq ft of space for convention and conferences, it is a great option for MICE too. This includes banquet and lawns at the property. The boardroom can accommodate 35-40 people while the banquet hall can accommodate around 350 people.

OYO has announced OYO Home, a Home Management service that utilises the company’s existing on-ground operations, hospitality technology, housekeeping skills, revenue management algorithms and distribution prowess to deliver a hassle-free solution to second home-owners. Piloted in December 2016, the service intends to focus on locked and unused homes across top holiday destinations in the country. It is already managing over 300 private homes including villas, apartments, bungalows and farmhouses in five cities. Kavikrut, Chief Growth Officer, OYO, said “At OYO, we are focused on solving the problem of lack of quality and supply-demand imbalance in the hospitality sector. India’s top holiday destinations have a sizeable number of homes that are locked and unutilised. Homeowners are unable to put these assets to personal or commercial use due to lack of time and-or expertise in homestay-management. We saw this as an untapped opportunity where our business has existing synergies – we have people resources all across India, our hospitality-operations and distribution technology is best in the category, travellers trust our brand and we are already known for pioneering effective solutions tailored to local-market needs.”

AccorHotels has announced the opening of the Novotel and Ibis OMR Chennai. Being termed as the first combo property in Chennai, the hotel has the advantage of being strategically located in the centre of the IT Expressway (OMR). The 342 (combined) rooms property is AccorHotels first joint development in the city. Featuring midscale and economy brand under the same complex, the 153- room Novotel and 189-room Ibis Chennai OMR offers travellers a choice of offerings across different price points. The inauguration and the ribbon cutting ceremony on November 9, saw august presence of some illustrious guests such as Catherine Suard, Consul General of the Republic of France for Pondicherry & Chennai, Jean-Michel Casse, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, AccorHotels, Daniel Chao, General Manager Novotel ibis Chennai OMR and General Manager Delegate for AccorHotels Chennai and Kapil Bhatia, Executive Chairman, InterGlobe Enterprises. At the press conference Casse said, “The Novotel and Ibis Chennai OMR joint development is one of our significant openings based on the success of co-locating the most relevant brands for different market needs. AccorHotels has a network of 53 hotels with India and especially Chennai being a key market for us.” Chao expressed, “Chennai is Indias fourth largest city and a leading business and leisure hub in South India. This winning combination of the Novotel and Ibis properties offers guests a unique value proposition and a distinctive choice where they can make themselves comfortable, relax, work and relish a delicious meal under in roof.”

THAI Smile Airways has commenced its new flights on the Bangkok–Mumbai–Bangkok route. The airline has already been operating since last quarter of 2016 direct flights from Bangkok to Jaipur, Lucknow, Gaya and Varanasi. This new route will help all segments like – leisure, corporate and MICE travellers. THAI Smile operates its Bangkok-Mumbai flights five times a week under the flight no. WE335 Bangkok – Mumbai (BKK-BOM) on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 22.15-01.35 (+1), WE335 Bangkok – Mumbai (BKK-BOM) on Friday and Sunday at 23.55-03.10) and WE336 Mumbai – Bangkok (BOM-BKK) on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 02.40-08.55 and WE336 Mumbai – Bangkok (BOM-BKK) on Monday and Saturday at 04.40-10.55. All flights are served in full service of excellence with complete course of foods and beverages. The foods on board are divided into vegetarian (Vegetarian Jain Meal) and common foods (Non-Vegetarian Hindu Meal). Baggage loading is up to 40 kg for Premium Economy Class or Smile Plus and 30 kg for economy class passengers or Smile Class. Both classes have spacious seats that passengers can select seats without additional charges and can also earn mileages with Royal Orchid Plus (ROP).

After opening a direct flight connection between Brussels and Mumbai last March, Brussels Airlines has welcomed over 60,000 travelers on its flights. The airline now increases its flight offer from 5 to 6 weekly flights during the winter season, offering more flexibility and choice. This week, Brussels Airlines participates to the Belgian Royal State Visit to India and partners up with other Belgian organizations to organise a dance event at the Gateway of India. On March 30, Brussels Airlines inaugurated its direct flights between Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji airport and Brussels Aiport and has since seen its results on the route growing more and more. After a positive 7-month period with an average seat load factor of almost 80%, the airline has decided to invest even more in the route, by adding an extra flight on Saturday, bringing the total to 6 flights per week and additional flight frequency on Saturday. “Our new service received a warm welcome here in the Indian market and we are very happy with the results. Adding this 6th weekly flight confirms our investment in the Indian market. We are therefore, very happy to participate to the Belgian Royal State Visit here in Mumbai. With this spectacular event at the iconic gate of India, we are proud to bring the best of Belgium to India and to emphasize on the importance of the economic bonds between our two countries,” says Bernard Gustin, CEO of Brussels Airlines At the end of 2018, Brussels Airlines gradually renews its long haul fleet with the replacement of 7 of its 10 Airbus A330’s. On board of the entire long haul fleet, the airline will introduce a brand new product with …

South African Tourism has appointed Hanneli Slabber as Regional General Manager Asia, Australasia and Middle East. She has held the reins at South African Tourism’s India office for the past seven years. Slabber hands over to Alpa Jani whom she has worked with for six years and who will function in the capacity of Acting Hub Head, MEISEA, South Africa Tourism. During her tenure at the India office, Slabber has grown to love and understand India. She has developed effective and long-lasting ties with media houses, travel trade, airlines and other authority figures in the travel industry. She has enabled, motivated and led the India office team as it has conquered the various taking the destination to the top of holiday-maker’s popularity charts: from establishing South Africa as a standalone destination, to building aspiration and universal appeal with celebrity, Bollywood and cricket personality associations and making classroom trainings identifiable and interesting. She has been instrumental in helping the South African travel industry understand India better, encouraging them constantly that it will be worth it to tailor not just for India but for the tastes and demands of people various regions/ states of India. Her experience in taking a destination from one-among-many to a must-see safari and adventure hotspot with multi-segment appeal is expected to help South Africa make waves in the Middle East and South East Asia, where South African Tourism has recently set the ball rolling on destination promotion. Prior to her posting in India, she served as Global Product Head for the tourism board, based in South Africa where she learned the intricacies of various markets planning hosted trips for media and travel agents from various source markets. …

India is the most digitally-advanced traveller nation and ranks first in the league table of countries surveyed by Travelport for its Global Traveller Survey, ahead of its Asia Pacific counterparts, China and Indonesia. According to the results of Travelport’s Global Traveller Survey, which had 11,000 respondents across 19 countries, of which 1000 respondents were Indian, Indian travellers were at the top of using the digital assets when it comes to travel. Rabih Saab, President and Managing Director EMEA of Travelport, launched the findings of the report in New Delhi and said, “These findings demonstrate the significance of digital tools for Indian travelers before and during their journeys, though the result is frankly unsurprising for those of us who have been following the digital market here for some time. The findings highlight the need for the $7.6 trillion global travel and hospitality industry to adapt continually to provide responsive, relevant and timely services for customers.” The major findings of the survey revealed that 91 per cent of Indian travelers use peer-to-peer reviews when researching a trip, while 87 per cent use videos and photos posted by their friends as part of their research. A total of 85 per cent Indians use price comparison sites to help them find a good price or package, while 67% use voice search, utilising devices such as Siri or Amazon Echo, when researching a trip, which is 20 per cent more than the global average.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts announces the addition of 25 new member hotels and resorts across eight countries between August and October 2017. The new hotel additions include: Shahpura House (Jaipur, Rajasthan, India), Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach (Honolulu, Hawaii), Le Bristol Beirut (Beirut, Lebanon), H10 Metropolitan (Barcelona, Spain), Wanda Reign Wuhan (Wuhan, China). Additional member hotels to join Preferred Hotels & Resorts between August 1 and October 31, 2017 include: • WelcomHotel Dwarka, New Delhi (New Delhi, India) • Shahpura Haveli (Jaipur, India) • Cala de Mar Resort & Spa Ixtapa (Guerrero, Mexico) • Royalton Hotel (New York, United States) • The Maritime Hotel New York (New York, United States) • Green Park Inn (Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States) • Cork Factory Hotel (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States) • The Commonwealth (Richmond, Virginia, United States) • Alpenhof Lodge (Teton Village, Wyoming, United States) • The Queensbury Hotel (Glen Falls, New York, United States) • Yurbban Passage Hotel & Spa (Barcelona, Spain) • H10 CUBIK (Barcelona, Spain) • Myconian Naia (Mykonos, Greece) • THE BODRUM by Paramount Hotels & Resorts (Bodrum, Turkey) • Pestana Amsterdam Riverside (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) • Cresta Palace (Celerina, Switzerland) • Turyaa Chennai (Chennai, India) • The Primus Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao (Shanghai, China) • The Longemont Hotel Shenyang (Shenyang, China) • Connect Busan (Busan, South Korea) Preferred Hotels & Resorts is the world’s largest independent hotel brand, representing more than 650 distinctive hotels, resorts, residences, and unique hotel groups across 85 countries.

Vistara has introduced ‘Vistara Getaways’ for user-customisable holiday packages covering flights, hotels, cars, and sightseeing options at attractive package prices. Customers can choose holiday packages for as many as 35 cities in and around Vistara’s network of 21 destinations, at getaways.airvistara.com. The packages include air travel options on Vistara, airport transfers as well as car rental options, and sightseeing tours, and hotel stays in partnership with leading hotel chains such as Taj, Hyatt, Radisson, Le Meridien, and upscale boutique hotels. In addition, ‘Vistara Getaways’ allows travellers to personalise their holiday packages by choosing the duration of holidays, their preferred cabin class for air travel, options to upgrade hotels and the category of rooms, and even upgrade the choice of cars for local transportation. Customer can even choose to split their stay in a city in more than one hotel. Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara, said, “Planning the perfect holiday involving air, hotel, car, and sightseeing options can be an arduous and time-consuming task. With Vistara Getaways, the globally experienced discerning travelers of today are assured of having all their holiday needs met via a convenient, online one-stop-shop, and more importantly, with attractive pricing and great flexibility to design their holidays the way they want it, very unlike traditional packaged holidays. The introduction of Vistara Getaways is in line with our promise of providing more options along with a seamless world-class travel experience to our customers.” As part of the launch, Vistara is offering an inaugural discount of flat Rs. 4,000 on the holiday package price for the first 100 customers of Vistara Getaways. The discount is available using the promo code ‘FIRST100’.