Category Archives: Hotels

Best Western Hotels & Resorts continues its rapid expansion plan in India with the addition of two new hotels in New Delhi. They are the first international hotel brand to make inroads into Paharganj in Central Delhi.  The pre-opening activities for the newly constructed upper midscale ‘Best Western Plus Central’ have been initiated with a soft opening slated in January 2018. The midscale ‘Best Western Pearl’, which is a conversion hotel, is scheduled to open in September 2018 after renovation. Both the hotels have been designed to meet the needs of business as well as leisure travellers. Best Western Plus Central will feature 71 well-appointed rooms, including rooms with a private balcony for large families or small groups, a multi-purpose hall, health club, and three F&B outlets. Guests can cool off in the outdoor Jacuzzi, enjoy sumptuous kebabs at the terrace Barbeque that offers a pleasant view of the old city and the distant high rise buildings of Connaught Place. Best Western Pearl will have 35 rooms, one multi-cuisine restaurant connected to a terrace restaurant, fitness center, and a small conference room. A street café will be added to the facilities offered by the hotel soon. “As we continue our journey in taking the reimagined Best Western brand into the future, we are dedicated more than ever to offer the best in hospitality to our guests,” said Atul Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Best Western Hotels & Resorts – India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka. “It gives me immense pleasure and pride to announce our partnership with one of the largest hotel companies in the world having 4,200 hotels in more than 100 countries. Our association with Best Western Hotels & Resorts …

Royal Orchid Hotels has announced the opening of its new hotel ‘Regenta Inn The Dwarika’ in Dwarka, taking the number of properties under Royal Orchid group to 46. Chander K. Baljee, Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels, said, “We are taking continuous steps towards expanding our presence in India. The new hotel launch in Dwarka is one such move towards our aim. By now we have added five properities – Mysore, Ahmedabad, Dehradun, Kanpur and Dwarka in the current fiscal year. We are on target to take the number of properties to 50 under the Royal Orchid Group before the end of this fiscal year.” Situated at a walking distance from the main shrine of Dwarikesh Temple in Dwarka, the hotel offers a range of category of rooms including Deluxe Rooms, Executive Rooms, Royal Suites, Club Rooms and Family Suites.

The Indo-American Business Chamber of SME in association with Lords Hotels & Resorts recently organised a comprehensive forum on Goods & Service Tax (GST) for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai. The forum witnessed a number of entrepreneurs from various industries including manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and banking. Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, Government of India who was the chief guest for the evening addressed many concerns expressed by the attendees and clarified nuances around the latest GST resolutions announced last month. While applauding the Govt. and its revolutionary tax reform, P R Bansal, Chairman & Managing Director, Lords Hotels & Resorts, also raised a few concerns affecting the real estate and hospitality sectors. In his speech, he appealed to the Minister to consider the pleas and convey the concerns to the GST Council for deliberation. “The reduction in GST rate for restaurant was made by the GST Council based on the feedback we received from people. We are happy that we not only reduced the GST rate from 18 per cent to 5 per cent but also made it uniform for all restaurants,” Shiv Pratap Shukla concluded.  

The National Capital Region is all set to witness the 5th Global Hospitality Conclave (GHC) at The Leela Ambience Gurgaon on January 6, 2018. The conclave, an independent initiative by the alumni of the erstwhile Oberoi School of Hotel Management (OSHM), now The Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development (OCLD), brings together a host of industry leaders to discuss the trends and developments in the hospitality, travel & aviation industry. GHC will see the participation of Pramod Bhasin, Vice Chairman Emeritus, Genpact; Jan Tissera, President, Travel Click; Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Spice Jet; Puneet Chhatwal – Managing Director & CEO Indian Hotels; and Shyam Saran, Indian career diplomat, IFS as keynote speakers. Panel discussions will be held on topics such as Disruptive Innovation, Tourism Trends and a session themed Young Turks with young achievers. Organised annually, the Global Hospitality Conclave sees participants from across the world who have been part of The Oberoi Group in a leadership position. The objective is to get the Oberoi Hotels alumni together annually, who are presently employed in different sectors across the world and creating a platform of knowledge exchange, experiences and networking opportunities.  

The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has signed a transfer agreement with Rajasthan government on December 9 to transfer Hotel Jaipur Ashok to the state government. As per the agreement, Hotel Jaipur Ashok located at Collectorate Circle would now be operated and managed by the Rajasthan State Hotel Corporation Ltd, with new identity ‘Hotel Jaipur’. The agreement was signed by Piyush Tiwari, Director – Commercial & Marketing, ITDC and Nihal Chand Goel, Additional Chief Secretary – Tourism, State government in the presence of Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Minister of Tourism, Govt of India; Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson and Managing Director (CMD), ITDC; Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India and other dignitaries. ITDC executed transfer documents for transferring the hotel to the Rajasthan government at a negotiated price of Rs 14 crore. Earlier on September 5, a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) was executed among ITDC, Ministry of Tourism and Government of Rajasthan for transfer of Hotel Jaipur Ashok to the state government at a negotiated value of Rs 14 crore without any liabilities and encumbrances.  

The New Mauritius Hotels, which owns 100 per cent shares of Ste Anne Resort, has signed an agreement with Club Med, a French Group, for the redevelopment and subsequent rental of Beachcomber Seychelles Sainte Anne Resort & Spa. The agreement was signed on November 10, 2017. The project is expected to start in the second quarter of 2018, while the handover to Club Med is planned for the end of 2019. Jean-Louis Pismont, International Operations Manager, The New Mauritius Hotels Ltd, said, “This new initiative of our group is yet another marked testimony of our continued belief in the Seychelles tourism industry. We want to bring the resort at Sainte Anne to the next level to upgrade the offer of the destination. We are proud to be linked with the arrival of the first major French hotel group to Seychelles.” In a press statement, New Mauritius Hotels Ltd said the resort will be refurbished and extended as per Club Med’s five-star standards and will reopen with 295 rooms, providing job opportunities for some 500 employees.  

VITS Hotels Worldwide has announced a joint venture with Exhicon Group in Thailand. The new entity will operate under VITS-EXHICON (Thailand) Co. and an office with a seasoned team of professionals will be established in Bangkok. Vikram Kamat and Chandrakant Shetty will be directors in the new entity. The JV partnership will work on hotel acquisitions, OTA management, staff training, procurement and F&B operations within Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Dubai. VITS Hotels will provide hotel management expertise, marketing, sales support, human resources and distribution network while EXHICON will support with its local business network, project acquisitions and overseas procurement. Both VITS and EXHICON will own 50 per cent share in the joint venture management company. Vikram Kamat, Managing Director, VITS Hotels Worldwide, said, “Our partnership offers immense opportunities to leverage on each other’s expertise to expand the VITS hotel brand in Far East and Middle East. We aim to channelise our resources with our valued partner to establish footprints in key destinations and draw tourists from India and abroad.” Chandrakant Shetty, CEO, VITS Hotels Worldwide, said, “With our collaboration with EXHICON Group, we are now pleased to announce the VITS luxury experience in overseas shores. The joint venture will create a formidable recipe for establishing hotels in key destinations. We will be launching our first hotel in Phuket near Patong beach by January 2018.”

Hilton has announced the opening of Hilton Garden Inn Lucknow, the first Hilton Garden Inn and second Hilton property in Uttar Pradesh, following the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Agra. “India is an important growth market for Hilton Garden Inn and we are delighted to expand our portfolio by opening our fourth hotel in the country. We remain committed to giving our guests exceptional experiences while staying true to our brand promise to make the guests’ stay better,” said John Greenleaf, Global Head, Hilton Garden Inn. Hilton Garden Inn Lucknow boasts 125 contemporary guestrooms, including four junior and executive suites. The hotel provides an abundance of amenities to elevate guests’ stay experience, including bedding with hypoallergenic pillows, 43-inch LCD TV and a spacious workstation with Herman Miller ergonomic chair. Complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi access is available throughout the hotel and guests may choose to stay connected and productive at 24-hour business center, which offers complimentary printing facilities.    

Ashok Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management (AIH&TM), the Human Resource Development division under India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), has been certified with ISO 9001:2015 certification for imparting quality education in hospitality and tourism management. To ensure that various activities undertaken by the institute are standardised with latest quality policy Ashok Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management (AIH&TM) has now upgraded to ISO 9001:2015 Certification. Besides conducting short duration customised training programmes for hotels and restaurants, AIH&TM has offered hospitality-related training consultancy for Ministry of Tourism, President House, Prime Minister’s House, State Bhawans, Indian Foreign Services, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, public sector organisations and State Tourism departments. Commenting on the certification, Piyush Tiwari, Director Commercial & Marketing, ITDC, said, “ITDC stands for change and development in tourism and hospitality and assist in building a better nation. Also, we ensure that we are parallel to the advancements in terms of quality and technology. The ISO 9001:2015 certification confirms our capability to deliver knowledge and training in the best possible way to help build a skilled India.”  

Sterling Holiday Resorts has launched its new brand identity in line with its new service philosophy of delivering experiences and discoveries. Ramesh Ramanathan, Managing Director, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, shared that with the new branding, they are looking to become the leading holiday brand in India. “Today, we are not just opening a new chapter for Sterling but one in the Indian holiday market. We have been working on developing our new service philosophy and brand standards over the last few years and are now ready to make our customers ‘holiday differently’.” He added, “At Sterling, we are look forward to being a part of this new India that is looking to have newer experiences and take away a little bit of what they see and feel when they holiday. Over the past few years, we have invested in the revamp of existing resorts and launch of new ones. Our focus will be on delivery and service for all kinds of holidayers. In the process, we would also be contributing to local economies, creating jobs and taking the brand abroad to places where Indians holiday,” Ramanathan added.