Category Archives: Hotels

Keys Hotels expands its portfolio in North India with its 4th hotel in the region—Keys Lite Mayfield hotel in Gurugram. Located in sector 44, Keys Lite Mayfield is targeted towards both corporate and leisure travellers. Anshu Sarin, CEO, Berggruen Hotels, said, “Gurugram is an important market for Keys Hotels. Though it is located just over 30 kilometers southwest of national capital New Delhi, the city has emerged as a major finance and technology hub in its own right. We see it as one of the major gateways to North India and, crucially, the new hotel allows us to establish our presence in the region.” Berggruen Hotels currently has 22 hotels in 20 cities.

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.”

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.

Fern Hotels & Resorts is on an expansion spree not only in India but in neighbouring Nepal as well and is all set to close the financial year with three operational properties with a total of 233 keys, reveals Suhail Kannampilly, COO, Fern Hotels & Resorts. The company recently started managing the 73-room Summit Hotel, a Nepali-styled boutique hotel located 7 km from Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. “The Fern Residency, Bharatpur in Nepal is a 48-key property which will be operational by the end of the current financial year,” Kannampilly informs. The company will also be managing another 112-room upcoming hotel property in Kathmandu under The Zinc brand. It is scheduled to be operational by year end as well. The company is looking to increase the key count to 500 in Nepal during the course of the next 18 months and aims to become one of the biggest hospitality players in Nepal by having presence in key destinations like Pokhara, Lumbini, Nagarkot, Biratnagar. The company already manages a chain of six boutique island resorts in Seychelles. “As of now we are managing seven properties outside India and will add two more to our kitty by the year end taking our tally to 9”, he said. “In the Indian market we are going to open a property every single month in the current financial year and are expecting to reach a figure of 59 operational properties,” he adds. “Our long-standing relationships with local Corporates and the Travel Trade, along with our strong connects with all the key OTAs, ensures volumes are driven into all our hotels from all these key channel partners”, he further elaborated. The company has appointed a full-fledged …

Dilip Puri, Former Managing Director and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, South Asia, announced his new education venture – Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) with a promise to reimagine hospitality education in India. ISH has partnered with LHC in preparation for an academic certification by Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), the world’s oldest and top ranked hospitality management higher education institution worldwide. Located at Sector 83, Gurgaon, ISH will be housed within a commercial campus that boasts of state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities. The campus, which is under development, will be ready by May 2018 for the first intake of students in August 2018. Puri said, “Education in hospitality is the beginning of a journey into a diverse and exciting range of career opportunities, not limited to hotels and food and beverage, or even the corporate world. While more and more businesses in the service sector are reaching out to professionals with a qualification in hospitality, a large number of young graduates are also pursuing entrepreneurial ventures straight out of college.”

Hoping to cash in on the growing leisure travellers in the city of the Taj, VITS Hotels Worldwide has launched a four-star property, VITS Agra. Chandrakant Shetty, Chief Executive Officer, VITS Luxury Business Hotels says, “Agra is a world renowned tourist destination, home to the Taj Mahal and also called city of love. We are delighted to launch our property in the city that would enable us tap the growing potential of tourist inflow.” VITS Agra offers 60 rooms with three categories- deluxe, suite and executive deluxe, each boasting of tastefully adorned décor, luxurious ambience and modern services. Each room is replete with amenities ranging from Wi-Fi connectivity, 24-hour room service, tea/coffee maker and an attached bathroom with complimentary toiletries. With major tourist attractions namely the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Akbar Tomb and Jama Mosque in close proximity, the hotel boasts of aesthetically designed rooms and suites ideal for business and leisure alike. VITS Luxury Hotels currently operates nine properties located and has an inventory of 600 rooms with host of banqueting, conferencing, restaurant and lifestyle facilities.

Royal Orchid Hotels has announced that it has reached an agreement to represent Bespoke Hotels in India. With this strategic partnership, Bespoke and Royal Orchid shall work together to enhance each other’s revenues and brand presence in their respective markets. Royal Orchid now has the ability to offer its guests hundreds of hotel options across multiple global markets. Bespoke, in turn, shall promote this new partnership in the Indian subcontinent to its guests. Bespoke Hotels has grown to represent and manage over 200 properties worldwide, with over 50 represented hotels in India, and stands as the UK’s Largest Independent Hotel Group. Founded in 2000 by Haydn Fentum and Robin Sheppard, Bespoke has consistently grown to the point where they now manage over 9,500 hotel rooms, 8,000 employees and £815 million of assets. Chender Baljee, Founder, Royal Orchid Hotels, says, “We are thrilled to have Bespoke Hotels on board, to offer our guests 100’s of hotels abroad, and to market our hotels to inbound International travellers. We are looking forward to growing and reinforcing the standing of both brands in the future.” With over 47 hotels under management and ownership, Royal Orchid Hotels encompasses a range of luxury and five star properties in Bengaluru, Jaipur, Mumbai, and Goa. Robin Sheppard, Founder, Bespoke Hotels, says, “We are delighted to have reached agreement to represent Royal Orchid and welcome them to our burgeoning international portfolio. They boast a portfolio in some of India’s finest locations, with a commitment to the highest standards of hospitality.”