Category Archives: Hotels

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the initiation of the process of disinvestment of hotels/properties of the India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (ITDC). In the first stage of the disinvestment process, three hotels have been taken up for disinvestment—Hotel Lake View Ashok, Bhopal Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati, Hotel Bharatpur Ashok, Bharatpur. In all three cases, the hotels/properties are being given back to the concerned states. In the case of Bhopal and Guwahati, ITDC is divesting its share of 51 per cent in the Joint Venture Company formed for operation of the hotels whereas in the case of Bharatpur, the unit which was only managed by ITDC is being returned to the State Government. The decision on disinvestment has been made, keeping in view that running and managing hotels on professional lines is not the work of the Government or its entities. Further, there has been considerable development in the hospitality sector in the country in past years, with world class hotels and all leading international chains of hotels present in the country and providing services and facilities of highest standards. As part of the disinvestment policy, it has been decided to lease/sub-lease the hotels/properties jointly with the concerned states or return the properties to the states, after fair valuation. The states would then have the option to upgrade and operate the Hotels by involving the private sector or to utilize the properties as per their requirements. States have exercised their options accordingly, in each case going forward with the option best suited to their needs, in line with the overarching principle that it is not the business of Government to run or manage hotels.

Absolute Hotel Services India has announced the opening of Eastin Hotel Kurseong Darjeeling, the first International four-star deluxe resort hotel in Kurseong Darjeeling. The hotel has opened its door to guests on April 15, 2017 with special opening rates starting from Rs. 4,999++ per room per night. Located on the foothills of the Himalayas, Eastin Hotel Kurseong Darjeeling will offer 35 rooms under Deluxe, Executive and Suites with views of the Himalayan mountain range, green woods and tea estate. Other recreation activities include star gazing sightseeing, local dance and music, trekking, bird watching and tea tourism. Facilities include a signature all day dining multi-cuisine restaurant, specialty vegetarian restaurant, lounge bar, terrace café to relax and admire the scenic beauty, banquet and meeting centre, wellness spa,, gym, meditation and yoga. It will also feature first of its kind teahouse which will offer finest Darjeeling tea and spiced up creative tea mocktails/cocktails to the guest.  The contemporary wooden interiors will provide guests a warm cosseting atmosphere reminding them of the colonial era. The resort hotel has easy access to attractions like Eagle Craig, Dow hill, Giddapahar View Point amongst many, along with tea estates, temples, churches, museums, as well as famous historic schools that were setup during the British colonial days.

RARE has taken on board, Pepper Trail, located in 200 acres of spice plantation in Wayanad, north Kerala. A part of the plantation heritage, Manglam Carp Estate founded by Colin Auley Mackenzie, Pepper Trail is a sliver of dense land that is visually fenced in by flat paddy lands, large swathes of forests and a road leading up from Sultan Bathery. Accommodation in the tree houses, bungalows and pool villas are designed as intimate abodes to relax, play, walk, read, cycle or indulge in a spa till city life claims you or your itinerary urges you ahead. Thoughtfully plated meals, serving Kerala’s delicacies with a hint of surprise, cater to well-travelled palates. ‘Pazhey Bangala’ – the beautifully restored Mackenzie colonial home offers two suites. Soon, two beautiful pool villas will be ready within the plantation Wayanad stretches across the Western Ghats, ranging between 700m to 2100m. The higher regions induce a kind of misty romanticism intensified as the sun goes down and dusk turns its head to the sun at dawn. Picture this on a continually farmed, active plantation of tea, coffee and spices from the high grounds of a 200 acre plantation and you are in nature’s idyll.

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has announced the signing of a hotel property in Belgaum, Karnataka. The new property, a 60-room strategically located business hotel, is currently in its last phase of development and is slated to start operation by the year end. The hotel is merely an hour’s drive from Goa. Speaking on the latest addition, Rahul Banerjee, Associate Vice President–Operations, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “Clarks Inn witnessed one of its biggest growth year in 2016 opening and signing a total of 21 new properties, including 12 operational, with the total tally reaching 75 hotels last year spread across 17 states in India and one in Nepal. With a strong development pipeline, we are expecting another year of robust growth in 2017. And with the latest addition at Belgaum we are confident of reaching a 100 hotel portfolio milestone by the end of the year.” With the latest addition Clarks Inn now boasts of a portfolio of 76 hotel properties, including 42 in operation, spread across 17 states in India and one in Kathmandu, Nepal. “The 60-key Clarks Inn Belgaum will be a vibrant hotel property with strategic location that will cater to all the needs of the modern day discerning business and as well as leisure travellers. As a hotel company, we now have the most widespread presence in Karnataka with as many eight hotels currently in operation at Badami, Bagalkot, Bengaluru, Gadag, Hampi, Hubli, Mysore and Shimoga and four more slated to open door over the next one year,” said Rupam Das, Area Director-Operations (South), Clarks Inn Group of Hotels.

AccorHotels has announced the opening of Uttar Pradesh’s first Novotel in the capital city of Lucknow – Novotel Lucknow Gomti Nagar. The business hotel is located in the heart of the city’s commercial hub – Gomti Nagar, a short drive from Lucknow airport and railway station. The hotel features 106 rooms, including two suites, all equipped with modern in-room amenities, plush interiors and high speed Wi-Fi connectivity. Designed to meet the needs of today’s modern and hyper connected travellers, the business hotel’s lobby features a dedicated web corner equipped with Mac PCs, a multi-touch table interactive platform that allows guests to experience a wide range of entertainment from fun learning games for children to the latest movie blockbusters for guests and a virtual concierge help desk that gives guests access to important information on their fingertips to plan their travel itinerary in the city. Jean-Michel Cassé, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, AccorHotels said, “The cultural capital of North India, Lucknow has traditionally been the epicentre of literature, cuisine, and performing arts. The city’s radial expansion has given way to new growth corridors, attracting plentiful investments. It is this confluence of culture and business that makes Lucknow a compelling destination for travellers and we are delighted to open our very first Novotel property here.”

Created exclusively for the ultra-luxury market, One&Only Resorts recently held a presentation over lunch in Pune city. About 60 agents attended the event that had presentations from all One&Only Resorts, with a focus on One&Only Royal Mirage. A similar presentation was held in Ahmedabad this week as the focus for the hospitality group is on Tier-II cities of India this year.

After venturing in to Malaysia last year, OYO Rooms is now entering Nepal with the launch of its debut hotel in Kathmandu.  Launched in 2013, OYO’s network has grown to 7000 hotels in 200 cities.  Nepal is the second overseas market for OYO, after its successful venture into Malaysia in January 2016 where it has now grown to 200 hotels. Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO, said, “OYO has been at the forefront of the small and budget hotels revolution in India. Building the category grounds-up, we have employed technology and operational acumen to deliver delight to our customers and unparalleled benefits to partners. Our network has witnessed robust growth to become the largest in India. After our successful overseas foray in Malaysia, we are now thrilled to offer OYO’s hassle-free and standardized stay experience to travellers visiting Nepal.”

Lords Hotels & Resorts has announced the signup of its fourth hotel property in Nepal. With 105 keys, the premium resort property will be named Lords Resort Budhanilkantha because of its proximity to the sacred temple. It is slated to commence operations by the end of 2017. This would become Lords Hotels & Resorts’ second hospitality offering in Kathmandu with Mirage Lords Inn being its first. Besides these two, the hotel chain has signed up two other hotel properties in Birjung and in Bhaktapur which too will shortly open to tourists. With four properties, Lords Hotels & Resorts will become the leading Indian hospitality brand in the paradise tourist destination of Nepal. “We are pleased to announce the launch of Lords Resorts Budhanilkantha and are positive that this will become a landmark resort in Kathmandu. Built on a vantage point, it is away from the hustle bustle of the city. Access to the city, however, is unrestricted and convenient. Being located at the top of a hill, skirted by dense flora, every room will offer a magnificent view of the valley and its fauna. Besides offering an unparalleled location advantage, the resort will also cater to travelers across the spectrum from leisure to adventure and business to pilgrimage,” says P.R. Bansal, Chairman & Managing Director, Lords Hotels & Resorts.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is getting ready to become the first hotel company to develop and launch a next-generation Guest Reservation System (GRS) that will revolutionise the technological foundations of the global hospitality industry. This is in partnership with Amadeus and it had started work on this early 2015. Amadeus will use a new cloud-based community model, a first in the hotel sector, and similar to the model it developed for the global airline industry. Speaking about this major development is Sudeep Jain, ‎Vice President, Development, South West Asia, IHG. He says, “The biggest change we have seen in the industry is the advent of digitisation. Applications on mobile phones that allow hotels to reach consumers directly is going to drive the change forward. We as a company have invested heavily in the digital space in partnership with Amadeus. We will get a cloud-based Guest Reservation System (GRS) which can customise and personalise the experience of our guests in terms of booking, choosing and deciding how to stay. It is being tested now and will be launched globally next year. These developments will help us automatically drive relationships with our customers.”

Marriott International has plans to open around 17 properties in India in 2017 and it is believed that most of the growth will be driven from the tertiary markets for the chain, revealed Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President-South Asia, Marriott International. The hotel chain has marked its entry into two new countries – Nepal and Sri Lanka – with major expansion plans for India as well. Govil said, “We have opened our first Fairfield in Kathmandu and will be opening a hotel in Sri Lanka which will mark our entry into these two countries. In India, we will be opening about 15-17 hotels in India in 2017 and most of the growth we would have is in the tertiary markets. We are looking to grow across the spectrum of segments. We now have 30 different brands globally so we plan to bring in new brands as well grow with the existing brands. India is second in terms of growth after China in the Asia Pacific region for us.” Speaking about life after the merger with Starwood, Govil adds, “We merged on the 23 September and it has been great so far. We have managed to synergise on a lot of programs we were looking to and we are very much on track. Cultural integration will take much more time. We have now set up the corporate structure in South Asia. We have also got the right talent from both sides of the legacy organisations on board. We are now looking to leverage the economies of scale that we have as a result of this integration. For us, it is about maximising top and bottom line opportunities and look to have the best in …