Category Archives: Hotels

Sarovar Hotels has signed an agreement for a 60-room hotel, Presidium Sarovar Portico, in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh and it is expected to be operational by the end of 2018. Presidium Sarovar Portico Dalhousie is Sarovar Groups’s third hotel in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The other two hotels are located in Mashobra and Palampur. The hotel will offer all modern facilities including an all-day dining restaurant, bar, gym, swimming pool, spa and banquet facilities. Commenting on the development, Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels, said, “We are happy to open a Sarovar Portico hotel in this charming town of Himachal Pradesh. With its unparalleled scenic beauty, Dalhousie is an important tourism destination with rising number of visitors from across the country. It is an important location for us and a significant addition to our portfolio. This hotel equipped with all amenities required by a modern day traveller is set to be the finest in the region.” The property is owned by Vikram Seth of Holy Heart Presidency School Amritsar.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings, HNA Group and Blackstone has announced that HNA will acquire an approximate 25 per cent equity interest in Hilton from affiliates of Blackstone, establishing a long-term strategic investment in Hilton and Hilton’s planned spin-offs of Park Hotels & Resorts (Park) and Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV). The transaction is valued at approximately $6.5 billion, or $26.25 per share in cash, reducing Blackstone’s interest in Hilton to approximately 21 per cent. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. Following Hilton’s previously announced spin-offs of Park and HGV, which are expected to occur on or about the end of the year, HNA will own approximately 25 per cent of all three companies.

After strategic tie-ups with four state tourism departments across India for joint promotion of homestays, Stayzilla the largest homestay aggregator now gets on board with Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) to promote and launch more homestays in the region. The MoU was signed and exchanged in the presence of Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Raman Singh, M.T. Nandi – IFS – Managing Director – Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, Shreerang Pathak – Deputy General Manager – Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, Dilip Acharya – Head Operations Section – Chhattisgarh Tourism Board and Ankit Rastogi, VP Marketplace, Stayzilla.com. Under this agreement, Stayzilla will support verification procedures, jointly boost homestays in cities & places of interest within Chhattisgarh. All homestays registered within the state will receive technical support in the form of inventory management and software applications to ensure seamless booking procedures. Stayzilla & Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) will also jointly conduct educational and training sessions for Chhattisgarh registered homestays on best practices such as online usage, content management, operations and expense management.

Hotelbeds has announced a strategic partnership with AccorHotels that aims to double sales for the hotel through the bedbank over the next two years. Carlos Muñoz, managing director Hotelbeds – Bedbank, said, “We are very excited and pleased to confirm that we have taken our longstanding relationship with AccorHotels to the next level with this strategic partnership. This summer´s trial resulted in the best ever booking results we´ve seen for the hotel. Based upon this we are already working together on a plan to double the amount of bookings that AccorHotels receives through Hotelbeds within the next two years.” As a result of this new agreement – reached earlier in the year and trialed over the summer months – Hotelbeds has recently registered its best ever bookings results from the hotel chain. Hotelbeds is a long-standing B2B partner of AccorHotels that embraces its dynamic rates through outstanding XML connectivity.

General Hotel Management (GHM) has joined hands with Rajesh LifeSpaces, Mumbai-based real estate company, to bring The Chedi brand to the hospitality market in India. Hans R. Jenni, Director and President, GHM, expressed his optimism for the project, “We have always wanted to plant a GHM flag in India and being able to establish The Chedi brand in the thriving city of Mumbai is an honour as well as a challenging opportunity my team and I are eager to face.” The Chedi Mumbai is situated in close proximity to the Powai region, an area where infrastructure developments, connectivity and social groundwork have laid the foundation for the growth of a diverse expatriate community. It is also an increasingly favoured residential precinct among the locals and the burgeoning district is becoming an enclave for the who’s who in society. The strategic location of this iconic hotel is also not far from Bandra Kurla Complex: this ambitious development is set to be an emerging hub for work and leisure outside of South Mumbai and will house a new convention and exhibition centre, an art auditorium, cultural plaza, residences and offices. These, coupled with the fact that The Chedi Mumbai is close to both the domestic and international airports, and is supported by a comprehensive network of highways and roads, assure travellers of the ease of commuting and roadway connectivity between the northern and southern parts of the city. When viewed from these various perspectives, The Chedi Mumbai is truly a testament to the owner’s vision for it to become a destination in and of itself, the epicentre of this metropolitan city.

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts continues to expand its luxury portfolio with the opening of its eighth hotel in India, JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata. This is Marriott International’s first hotel in Kolkata and East India and is located in the heart of the city, minutes from the old central business district. Comprising of 281 rooms, JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata, boasts the largest ballroom in the city and features a unique bridal room, offering brides an exclusive, private space available for pre-wedding preparations. In addition to 38,370 square feet of indoor and outdoor event spaces measuring, the hotel offers five intimate studios for meetings, each one equipped with cutting-edge facilities. The hotel is also home to India’s largest in-built video wall measuring 32 feet x 18 feet and comprising 64 LED panels. “The opening of the first JW Marriott hotel in Kolkata marks a great milestone for Marriott International. It was a matter of time before we presented one of our luxury brands –JW Marriott – to the city of Kolkata. JW Marriott is globally renowned for its intuitive service and commitment to providing guests with truly enriching luxurious experiences,” says Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President, South Asia, Marriott International. The other facilities include a range of premium F&B and entertainment options, a roof top lounge on the 24th floor, wellness facilities including the brand’s signature spa, an outdoor infinity pool with Jaccuzzi and private cabanas for guests to unwind and relax and a fully-equipped 24-hour Fitness Centre. “We look forward to presenting our discerning guests with signature JW Marriott experiences where they leave feeling enriched. Our team is confident the hotel will be recognised as the most stylish and sought-after …

Lemon Tree Hotels has announced the opening of two new hotels – the Lemon Tree Hotel, Candolim in Goa and the Lemon Tree Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. The Lemon Tree Hotel Candolim is the group’s second property in Goa. The hotel offers 34 rooms, with base category rooms measuring around 27 square meters. It also features an all-day dining restaurant, a terrace-top bar, a rooftop swimming pool and a conference room of approximately 800 square feet. The Lemon Tree Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh is located in close proximity to Tala Gate, the most tiger inhabited zone of the Bandhavgarh National Park, and marks the group’s entry into the wildlife resort segment. Spread over five acres, the hotel features 11 cottages measuring approximately 34 square meters, an all-day dining restaurant, a swimming pool and a 480-square-foot conference hall.

AccorHotels has joined hands with LinkedIn to enrich its mobile app with an unprecedented new service for travellers. All AccorHotels guests can use this new feature ‘Business Check powered by LinkedIn’ to create and facilitate business opportunities. By allowing travellers to identify people in their professional network who are based in the city they are in and suggesting relevant profiles to connect with, this new feature enables professionals to stay connected on the move. Romain Roulleau, Senior Vice President for E-commerce & Digital Services at AccorHotels commented, “This partnership between AccorHotels and LinkedIn is a world first in the hospitality industry. It will enrich the services we already offer on our mobile app which is used before, during and after the stay, notably by business travellers, who represent 60% of the app’s users. This new feature creates business opportunities, and our app will therefore facilitate and foster seamless, instinctive business travel sharing, thus generating guest engagement and visibility for our hotels.” Joshua Graff VP Marketing Solutions EMEA at LinkedIn commented, “There are over 26 million business travellers on LinkedIn and by partnering with one of the world’s leading travel groups, these professionals can now be even more informed, connected and productive while on the go. We all like to get the most out of our business trips abroad and this new feature will make it even easier to connect with clients, prospects, suppliers and colleagues old and new.”

The iconic Raffles Hotel Singapore will embark on a careful and sensitive restoration programme. The restoration of this heritage hotel, owned by Katara Hospitality, will be conducted over three phases to ensure every detail of the programme is approached with careful consideration. Phase one of the programmes will begin in January 2017 and see the Raffles Hotel Arcade undergo restoration works while other areas of the property operate as normal. The Raffles Hotel Arcade houses 40 regional and specialty shops, indoor and outdoor function areas including The Ballroom and The Lawn and a variety of restaurants and bars including well-known Long Bar, home of the iconic Singapore Sling. Phase 2 will begin in mid 2017 when restoration efforts will commence on the main hotel building and Lobby as well as a portion of the hotel suites. Following that, Raffles Hotel Singapore will close for the final phase near the end of 2017 before a grand reopening in the second quarter of 2018. “Raffles Hotel Singapore has always evolved to stay distinctive and relevant, moving with the times and adapting to the changing needs of today’s traveller. We have a rich and colourful history and are about to begin a new chapter in our ongoing story – a sensitive restoration that will enable us to continue to offer what our guests expect and value,” said Diana Banks, Vice President, Raffles Brand, Raffles Hotels and Resorts. The last restoration was conducted from 1989 to 1991 where the hotel closed for two and a half years.  The luxury hotel has 103 individually designed suites – 84 Courtyard and Palm Court Suites, 12 Personality Suites, 5 Grand Hotel Suites and 2 Presidential Suites. Raffles …

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) celebrated the completion of 50 years at a gala event at The Ashok, New Delhi. The event was graced by the presence of Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Umang Narula, Chairman & Managing Director, ITDC. The who’s who of the travel and hospitality industry joined the celebrations and raised a toast to ITDC.