Category Archives: Hotels

Radisson Hotel Group has unveiled new global offering for the meeting and events segment. Known as Radisson Meetings, the incentive is available across the group’s seven hotel brand. Radisson Meetings is developed around the three core elements of successful events – Personal, Professional and Memorable – while being 100% carbon neutral through offsetting . Eric De Neef, Executive Vice President & Global Chief Commercial Officer, Radisson Hotel Group, said: “We are investing in our meeting venues at our 1,100+ hotels worldwide, in training of our teams, and in technology. A state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and distribution platform are core elements helping us to deliver our brand promise.” With the launch of Radisson Meetings, Radisson Hotel Group automatically offsets the carbon footprint of every meeting or event taking place at our hotels worldwide, at no cost to attendees or organisers. To do this, Radisson Hotel Group has teamed up with FirstClimate, one of the largest carbon offsetting organisations in the world.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced that 21 new luxury hotels and resorts are planned to open in Asia Pacific by the end of 2020. This expansion is comprised of seven Park Hyatt branded properties, six hotels each under the Grand Hyatt and Andaz brands and two Alila branded resorts, boosting Hyatt’s luxury portfolio in the region by more than 25%. Additionally, the Grand Hyatt brand continues its steady growth momentum with new openings in emerging cities in China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Planned openings in 2019 are- • Andaz Dubai The Palm in the United Arab Emirates • Andaz Gangnam Seoul in South Korea • Grand Hyatt Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia • Grand Hyatt Gurgaon in India • Grand Hyatt Hefei in China • Park Hyatt Auckland in New Zealand • Park Hyatt Doha in Qatar • Park Hyatt Jakarta in Indonesia • Park Hyatt Kyoto in Japan • Park Hyatt Shenzhen in China

Ajay K Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, in an exclusive conversation with Tourism Breaking News discloses the group’s robust plans for the India and Africa market. He says, “We chose Africa, besides India because we understand the continent more than our competition does and the potential is colossal. We would love to go to the Middle East; we’ve had very little success there but now we are working harder than before. In 2019, we will be opening close to 1000 rooms in India and Africa. The properties that will open this year are in – Rajahmundry, Dar Es Salaam, Katra, Dehradun, Dahisar, Jammu, Goa, Dibrugarh, Morbi, Junagadh, Dalhousie, Auxum (Ethiopia), Bodh Gaya and Jalandhar.

The Ultimate Travelling Camps (TUTC) has uber luxurious seasonal camps in Leh and Nubra Valley have begun operations from May 15, 2019, until end of September— a favourable time to visit Ladakh. A delight for the senses and soul, Chamba Camp Thiksey has a newly introduced Wellness Hermitage – Swadhya that will introduce guests to the most unique self-discovery and healing rituals waiting to be rediscovered. These healing therapies are an amalgamation of Ayurvedic and Tibetan healing that has been practiced for thousands of years in Ladakh. The packages start from Rs. 96000 per tent (on double sharing) for 3 night package in Diskit and Rs. 108000 per tent (on double sharing) for 3 night in Thiksey.

OYO Hotels & Homes has announced that it has now become the second-largest hotel group in China and is the world’s sixth largest chain of leased and franchised hotels, homes and living spaces. OYO has expanded its presence to 320 cities, nearly 10,000 OYO-branded hotels and 450,000 rooms, surpassing the scale of traditional and established hotel chain brands in China, such as Home Inn, Hanting and others. The franchisee contract renewal rate of more than 97% has been highly encouraging and reflective of the value that OYO creates for asset owners, while providing quality affordable accommodations to guests. Commenting on the development, Sam Shih, COO, OYO China said, “OYO Jiudian (Hotels) operates like a Chinese company and delivers better living for middle-income people across the country. We have ensured that for the first time you can get a great living space in less than RMB 150 as well. Everyday, over 200,000 heads are on OYO Jiudian pillows in China due to the great experience at low cost. Also, we have enabled jobs for over 100,000 young people due to the occupancy rise and, as more people stay in our hotels, more economic opportunities are created. I am humbled to see that over 97% of franchisee partners have come back and renewed their contracts, a testament to the impact we have had on their business, both at occupancy and revenue levels. Today, we are less than 2% of the country’s accommodation market that stands at ~35 mn rooms. We have an incredible opportunity ahead of us and we are just getting started.”

In a recent statement, Mohan Pandithage, Chairman, The Kingsbury, Colombo, said, “We greatly appreciate and thank you for your loyal patronage of The Kingsbury over the years and we consider you a dear friend of our establishment. The recent events have been very disturbing; however our passion to serve our valued guests remains resilient in the face of this challenge. We feel it is our duty by our staff and our patrons to restore normalcy and resume operations. Accordingly we have got Hotel accommodation, Banquets, the Spa, Laundry facilities and Restaurants, Yue Chuan, CÉ LA VI, and The Kings Bar, already functional to serve our clientele.” He further said, “Under the circumstances, we wish to reassure you that the security of the hotel has been strengthened in coordination with the state authorities. This includes enhanced security at the premises and the periphery of the hotel. All vehicles entering the perimeter of the Hotel from the main entrance are being scrutinized including an undercarriage check. Baggage and bag scanners and personal scanning devices will be used to clear visitors at the main entrance. Metal detectors will also be used at receiving areas to scan suppliers. The hotel is also protected by State security along with our own security team. All measures have been taken to heighten the safety of The Kingsbury property and all our valued guests who patronize it.”

Goldstone Hotels & Resorts has recently entered the hospitality industry as a boutique management company. The brand already has properties in Dehradun, Shimla, Udaipur, Nahan and Dhanaulti under its umbrella and will further expand to locations like Dharamshala, Manali, Patna, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Amritsar and Ahmedabad.  The brands under Goldstone Hotels and Resorts are- Comfort, Elite, Heritage, Exotic and Luxury. Apart from this, Goldstone Hotels & Resorts also strives to cater to the needs in the Home Stay Service Apartments & Co-living under its brand- Gold Stay’s.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has recently announced the launch of its new hotel brand- SeleQtions and Ambassador New Delhi has been rebranded and joins the SeleQtions family. The property is now called as Ambassador, New Delhi IHCL SeleQtions. Rajindera Kumar, Director of the hotel, said, “Today, the hotel has come under the SeleQtions brand of IHCL and we are very proud of the same. I must compliment Puneet Chhatwal for this endeavour.” The new brand has launched 12 hotels across the country and the first phase include properties present in seven key lodging markets of India: President, Mumbai; Ambassador, New Delhi; The Connaught, New Delhi; Blue Diamond, Pune; Cidade de Goa; Tajview, Agra and Devi Ratn, Jaipur. The other hotels are Pratap Mahal Ajmer; Savoy, Ooty; Gateway Coonoor; Gateway Chikmagalur and Gateway Varkala.

The pipeline data for the Asia Pacific region by STR- a provider of premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for global hospitality sector, showed 1,892 hotel projects accounting for 423,343 rooms in construction as of April 2019. This represented a 23.3% year-over-year increase in the number of rooms in the final phase of the development pipeline. Five countries reported more than 20,000 rooms under construction including India- 21,068 rooms (7.4%) .

THE Park Hotels has announced the opening of its new hotel located at Juhu Tara Road, THE Park Mumbai. The 60-room property will offer six categories of rooms; with views of either the Arabian Sea or the city while some overlook the historic Juhu airfield. The rooms and studio suites have been designed with a monochromatic colour palette with world-class amenities. The room rates start from INR 17,000 onwards.