Category Archives: Hotels

Marriott Hotels hosted its South Asia Market Place at Westin Gurgaon. Representatives from a total of 53 hotels across the region were present at the event with 120 customers for one-on-one meetings. The customers included travel trade, MiCE agents as well as corporates. Hema Hariramani, Area Director, National Sales- India, Marriott International said, “We started this concept last year. The first edition of  South Asia Marketplace was held last year in November and we started with JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity. We saw overwhelming response over there and the latest edition happening at Westin Gurgaon for the first time again is bigger and better, because we have changed the format a little bit. Last year we started with the trade in the morning and then we went on to one-on-one meetings, which was only for two hours. However, after doing a survey and customer feedback as well as discussion with internal partners, we were told to have more time for one-on-one meetings, and hence we have extended the time for the same to three and a half hours and everybody has liked this format and has been well received. We will make more changes in it next year and hope to make it bigger and better.”

The Tamara Kodai is the newest addition to The Tamara brand of luxury resorts. It is located in the historical La Providence in Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu and offers 53 suites of French Provincial design, each boasting of a bedroom with large balcony, living room, and an attached bathroom. Each suite features wooden floors, room heaters, contemporary in-room amenities, complimentary high-speed internet, LED TV with satellite channels and 24/7 room service facility. It also has a Ball Room that can accommodate more than 100 guests with a spacious pre-function area. Wellness facilities will include The Elevation Spa, Yoga Lounge and a fitness centre. La Providence is a historical structure dating back to the 1840s that was known to be one of the first structures to come up in the region. An expansion took place staying as close to the old colonial style of architecture as possible.  

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has opened UK 27 The Fern – An Ecotel Hotel at Belagavi (Belgaum), Karnataka. With this, the tally of the hotels managed by The Fern Hotels & Resorts goes up to 53 hotels.  UK 27 The Fern is an upscale 90 room hotel which is situated in the heart of the city. It offers rooms in different categories such as Winter Green, Winter Green Premium, Fern Club Studio, Fern Club Premium Studio, Hazel Suite and Fern Club Suite.  All the rooms are equipped with modern amenities suiting the requirements of a business traveller. Some of the comforts which the guests can enjoy in the room include LED television, eco friendly bathroom amenities and lighting arrangements, in-room dining, digital safe, in-room tea & coffee facility. Various other facilities available to the discerning guests are express check-in & check-out, car parking, 24-hour front desk, banquet and meeting rooms, health club, swimming pool and many more. The hotel offers many dining and entertaining options. Mélange, the world-cuisine restaurant offers a culinary voyage spanning the length of Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean and Continental. The UK 27 Lounge at the rooftop is a chic haven based in the heart of Belagavi where cocktails and cuisines strike the perfect balance. Spices, the authentic Indian vegetarian restaurant showcases the best of Indian cuisine with exotic flavors and ingredients. The Deli @ lobby level serves hot & cold beverages along with a variety of light snacks.

Micro-hospitality brand SaffronStays has launched its first-ever training centre to facilitate 360-degree training locals who can be employed as cooks and caretakers in vacation homes across the country. The brand will teach, train and empower 1500 individuals in skills ranging from hygiene to health-care, and cooking to concierge. Tejas Parulekar, Founder, SaffronStays, says, “We are an inclusive brand. Our caretakers are our ‘Moment of Truth’ since they are first recall points of brand experience, and hence training them was a priority. The training centre in Panvel is our first giant step towards skills development, and would over time, become a part of our CSR activity. We would eventually look at top hospitality brands to collaborate and co-create the modules to train the staff”. The first successful test run involved caretakers from SaffronStays 9 Palms, Alibaug, SaffronStays Sanskriti, Kashi, and SaffronStays Little Paradise, Murud. The caretakers were imparted in-depth knowledge of local dishes that covered over 25 recipes for breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner. Various types of service-enhancing modules were taught during the three-day session. This included styling and setting up of community tables, table decoration and flower arrangement using locally-grown flaura. The aim is to cater to the larger goal of running 500 homes and providing a parallel support of skilled caretakers.

AccorHotels has signed an agreement with Mövenpick Holding and Kingdom Holding to acquire Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, for an amount of CHF560 million (€482 million). Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO, AccorHotels said, “With the acquisition of Mövenpick, we are consolidating our leadership in the European market and are further accelerating our growth in emerging markets, in particular in Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. The Mövenpick brand is the perfect combination of modernity and authenticity and ideally complements our portfolio.” “Its European-Swiss heritage is a perfect fit with AccorHotels. By joining the Group, it will benefit from AccorHotels’ power, particularly in terms of distribution, loyalty-building and development. This transaction illustrates the strategy we intend to pursue with the opening up of AccorInvest’s capital: to seize tactical opportunities to strengthen our positions and consolidate our leaderships, as well as leverage our growth,”Bazin added. Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will benefit from AccorHotels’ loyalty programme, distribution channels and operating systems, which will help optimise their performance. This acquisition further consolidates the current footprint in Europe and in the Middle East and accelerates growth notably in key regions where the Group has been established for many years, such as Africa and Asia. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. It should be completed during the second half of 2018.

Pride Group of Hotels has recently launched the Pride Hotel and Convention Centre in Indore by entering into a tie-up with HRJ International. Speaking at the inaugural function, SP Jain, MD, Pride Group of Hotels, said that Madhya Pradesh presents avenues for numerous opportunities. “The city of Indore is located close to two Jyotirlinga and tourists visit these destinations round the year. The hotel is located at Dewas Bypass making it the ideal choice for leisure and business activities as two important industrial hubs Pithampur and Dewas are located nearby”, he added. The Pride Hotel & Convention Centre Indore offers a choice of Deluxe, Suite rooms and 10 luxury villas, a gym, a business centre and a swimming pool. Pride Hotel & Convention Centre offers extensive convention facilities. The HRJ Grand Hall can accommodate upto 900 to 1,000 persons at the HRJ Grand with an area of 10,000 sq ft and additional pre-function area of 4500 sq. ft. There is a separate grand ceremonial entrance, an exclusive pre-function area which makes Indore’s biggest banquet hall even more spacious. This distinguished hall can also be customized and split into three different venues. The Hall and the 35,000sqft lawn can together accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 persons with ample parking for more than 750 cars.

OYO is betting big on the Indian hotel market by partnering with hotels and real estate assets with large inventory portfolio consisting of 100+ rooms under its franchisee and management contracts. In the coming years, it aspires to have 10,000+ rooms as a part of its large-asset category. Currently, OYO has already partnered with 12 such hotels and is managing them across markets including Delhi, Goa, Bengaluru, Tirupati, Hyderabad, Noida, Vrindavan and Patna. Commenting on the milestone, Maninder Gulati, Chief Strategy Officer, OYO said, “This excitement we are witnessing in the large 100+ rooms property space post establishing our market leadership with 75,000 keys in boutique and small assets is a testament of the strong and trusted brand we have created with our asset partners and customers. We are thankful to them for their continued support. At OYO, our mission is to add value to every form of real estate and being a full-stack hospitality company, we’ve built capabilities of on-boarding hotel rooms, locked homes, serviced apartments and at the same time managing large-format hotels.” “In the past year, we’ve on-boarded over 10+ such hotels with inventory ranging from 100-200 rooms and another 10+ hotels having over 80 rooms. With similar additions in the coming months, we’ll continue to expand our large hotel portfolio and dominance over India’s hotel market while ensuring high yield for our partners. We are upbeat about our India story and plan to go deeper into our existing markets while adding 50+ cities to the network  and capturing a 5% share of India’s hotel market by 2018-end,” Gulati said.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has announced its new Taj Hotel in Lonavala after signing a management contract with Wilds and Water Developers, a part of the Kakade Group. The announcement strengthens its position of having the largest number of leisure hotels in the country. Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President, Real Estate & Development, IHCL said, “We are delighted to partner with the Kakade Group in bringing our latest leisure offering to Lonavala. Consolidating our presence across key leisure circuits has always been our focus and Lonavala presents the right opportunity as a getaway for travellers in and around Mumbai and Pune.” The Taj branded resort will be conveniently located with easy access through the Mumbai – Pune expressway. Nestled along the serene waters of Lake Pawana, amidst the picturesque hills, the sprawling address will span over 30 acres of land and include 150 guest rooms, an all-day diner, a specialty restaurant and a bar. Vikram Kakade,  Kakade Group said, “We are proud to partner with the iconic Taj brand and bring their famed hospitality to Lonavala. With this partnership we along with our development partner, David Lazarus aim to create a first-of-its kind Taj resort in Maharashtra, and provide a unique experience to our customers.” Lonavala is a tranquil small town that has emerged as a leading tourist destination in Maharashtra. A scenic hill station, it has for years been a favourite of travellers from Mumbai and Pune.

StayWell Holdings has announced its first Park Regis portfo in South India, with the rebranding of Aveda Resort & Spa in Kumarakom to Park Regis Aveda. The 44-room hotel will be the the first hotel to open post the acquisition of StayWell Holdings by Prince Hotels. Located in Kerala, Park Regis Aveda is in an international tourism hub, with the region renowned for its palm-lined beaches and backwaters, as well as the spice and tea covered hills of the Western Ghats. Simon Wan, President & Director, StayWell Holdings said, “Opening a hotel in Kerala presents many benefits for StayWell in India, as well as operators in the local region. Kerala is a popular tourist destination and Aveda Kumarakom has fast become the preferred accommodation for guests who place emphasis on privacy and luxury while travelling. We will continue to look for opportunities to expand our brands both in India and internationally.” On the tie-up with StayWell Holdings, Prashant Chawla, Owner, Park Regis Aveda, Kumarakom said, “I am thrilled to be working alongside a brand with the global recognition of StayWell Holdings and am certain the hotel experience will be elevated under their leadership, offering an unmatched hospitality and par excellence service.  This partnership will not only open up our horizons in India, but also internationally, and we look forward to taking this association beyond one property.” Park Regis Aveda will be StayWell Holdings’ 23rdth operational property and marks the brands move into a new space of luxury travel.  

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has announced the opening of Sarovar Premiere Jaipur. The upscale full-service hotel features 80 guest rooms and suites with modern interiors, stylish furnishings and spacious event and banquet space. The hotel also adds ease to those travelling to the city as it is conveniently located close to the airport, railway station, Vidhan Sabha and famous tourist attractions. The hotel was launched in the presence of Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels and Sandeep Sharma, Executive Director, R S Sharma & Co (Delhi), Jaipur. “This new hotel is a fantastic addition to our growing portfolio in Rajasthan,” said Bakaya. “Jaipur is one of the most significant destinations in India for leisure as well as business travel and this is our fourth hotel in the city after Sarovar Portico Jaipur, Nirwana Hometel Jaipur and Park Inn Jaipur. Sarovar Premiere Jaipur’s superior features, state-of-the-art amenities, and incredible location will make it a top destination here. The Sarovar brand continues to expand its presence and we are further opening hotels in Ajmer and Jaisalmer soon” The hotel offers exciting dining options, fitness centre, business centre, free Wi-Fi and swimming pool. The hotel can also serve as a venue for meetings and special events. The 1,800-square-foot meeting space can accommodate up to 200 people. Located at Lal Kothi in Tonk Road, Jaipur, the hotel is ideal for discerning corporate as well as leisure travellers.