Category Archives: Hotels

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, signed a long-term management agreement with Panchshil Corporate Park to launch The Ritz-Carlton, Pune, expected to open in 2019 with 198 rooms.  The company also announced The Ritz-Carlton, Mumbai, which slated to debut in 2020 with 238 rooms. Its debut will mark the brand’s second property in India and is one of three Ritz-Carlton hotels in the pipeline for the country. The Ritz-Carlton brand entered India in 2013 with the launch of The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore.

Minor Hotels and NH Hotel Group are integrating their brands under a single corporate umbrella with presence in over 50 countries worldwide. Both groups are already sharing their know-how and experience in the sector with a view of materialising opportunities in the short term, taking advantage of the complementary nature of their hotel portfolios, the scope for economies of scale with a broader customer base and exploring the development of all of their brands in different markets. A first step in this direction is the upcoming transfer to NH Hotel Group of the operations of a portfolio of 15 Minor Hotels in Portugal and Brazil

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has launched its new SureStay Hotel Group concept in India with the opening of a brand new hotel in Amritsar. The hotel features 30 contemporary guestrooms, equipped with convenient amenities, including complimentary Wi-Fi, Café Sure – multi cuisine restaurant with bar, elegant banquet hall and Let’s Talk – the private dining room cum meeting room. Every morning, guests can start their day with a sumptuous buffet breakfast. “We are delighted to unveil SureStay Hotel by Best Western Amritsar, an exciting new hotel that will redefine the smart economy hotel sector,” said Atul Jain, Best Western’s Chief Operating Officer for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “By combining the ease and affordability of economy hotels with the international standards of a global chain, SureStay Hotel Group is sure to appeal to business and leisure travelers alike”. Its strategic location confers on the SureStay Hotel by Best Western Amritsar, Ranjeet Avenue an unmatched advantage. Guests can reach the hotel from the international airport and railway station in just 10-15 minutes, and a visit to the Golden Temple takes only 15 minutes. “Chick, comfortable and convenient, this is an ideal concept for smart business and leisure guests seeking centrally located, international quality accommodation. We are seeing rising demand for branded economy and lower-midscale accommodation in key cities across India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. SureStay Hotel Group is perfectly positioned to fill this gap in the market and we look forward to introducing this exciting new concept to more cities across the region in the future years,” Atul added. SureStay Hotel Group was first introduced in late 2016, and the concept made its Asia Pacific debut in October 2017 with …

Kempinski Hotels is conducting its three-city roadshows across Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, says, “Roadshows like these are very important for our industry to meet key hotels and partners across the world. We look forward to shaking hands with 450 key operators across three cities. The Indian traffic to Kempinski Hotels grew by 32 per cent in 2018 vis-à-vis 2017. The first couple of months have started well. The focus largely remains on leisure and corporate markets. Besides that, weddings as well as MiCE are also very important for Kempinski.”  

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the opening of seven more Holiday Inn Express hotels from the IHG-SAMHI partnership. The hotels are spread across Pune, Hyderabad, Nashik, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. With the latest announcement, 10 Holiday Inn Express hotels from the IHG–SAMHI partnership are now open across the country. IHG and SAMHI entered a partnership in 2017 to rebrand 14 hotels (approximately 2000 rooms, operating and under construction) in India to Holiday Inn Express hotels. All hotels in the portfolio were closed while they were being refurbished and upgraded with the latest design directives, to ensure the portfolio is fully representative of the Holiday Inn Express brand globally. The new Holiday Inn Express hotels are located strategically providing easy accessibility to local shopping centres, tourist attractions and business hubs. Promising unparalleled comfort and convenience to the guests, all newly-opened hotels offer well designed, contemporary rooms with a range of in-room amenities, service culture and feature the brand’s signature ‘Great Room’, a dynamic space to socialise as well as relax and unwind. Vivek Bhalla, Regional Vice President, SWA, IHG said, “The Holiday Inn Express brand has gained tremendous momentum in the country and we have also made significant progress towards our commitment to strengthen our mid-scale portfolio in India. We are confident that all newly opened Holiday Inn Express hotels in partnership with SAMHI, will successfully cater to the needs of the modern business and leisure travellers, across cities.” Ashish Jakhanwala, Founder, MD & CEO, SAMHI, added, “We began this journey with IHG in 2017 when we signed an agreement for 14 Holiday Inn Express hotels in India. With the opening of 10 Holiday Inn Express hotels from the portfolio, across seven …

Sterling Holiday Resorts has launched its latest resort Sterling Mount Abu. This is Sterling’s third resort in Rajasthan, which increases their total holiday network to 36 resorts across the country. The resort is at a driveable distance from Ahmedabad and Udaipur. Sterling Mount Abu features 69 guestrooms and offers amenities such as a 24/7 fitness centre, a holiday activity centre, a spa, a swimming pool, yoga and meditation room, and a conference hall which can accommodate up to 140 guests. The resort has a poolside bar and multi-cuisine restaurant. It also has a private entry from the resort to the forest which facilitates bird watching or a hike for Sterling guests.

The Accor Showcase 2019 will be held in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 13 at Sofitel Mumbai BKC and in Delhi on Friday, March 15 at Pullman New Delhi Aerocity. The event will witness participation from over 23 countries and representation from more than 70 Accor hotels and resorts worldwide, of which, 45 are international properties. Also, recently, Accor has launched a new premium visual language including a new corporate logo. The two distinctive brands, Accor and ALL, will utilize the same ‘iconic A’ monogram which fuses the letter A with the bernache which is the historical emblem of the group. The brand has announced a disruptive and dramatic shift of its loyalty program into a fully integrated global platform integrating rewards, services, and experiences across our entire ecosystem. This is to increase the global visibility of our brands to strengthen the efficiency of our distribution networks and to offer our guests an attractive and unique loyalty program in the industry.

Fortune Hotels  has launched two new hotels – one in Jalandhar and another in Mahiya near Kasauli. Fortune Avenue, Jalandhar is located in close proximity to the city’s business and entertainment hub. The hotel has a selection of 51 contemporary rooms with free Wi-Fi connectivity and round-the-clock dining. The three signature food and beverage venues are Orchid – The Multi Cuisine Restaurant, Neptune Bar and Lounge, and Fortune Deli. This is further complemented by the 4000 sq ft modern banquet venues that can accommodate up to 350 to 500 people.

According to a recent report by JLL India, eight out of eleven cities in India witnessed an increase in RevPAR performance in Q4 2018 over same period last year. While Mumbai is the RevPAR leader in absolute terms, Ahmedabad is the leader in RevPAR % change in Q4 2018 over same period last year. For CY 2018, Delhi is the leader in RevPAR growth change. All eleven markets witnessed increase in ADRs in Q4 2018, except for Kolkata. International hotel operators dominated signings over domestic operators with the ratio of 57:43. Importantly, 25% of new signings are conversions of old hotels. Rajasthan is the leading state in brand signings and Goa leads in hotel openings in Q4 2018.

InterContinental Hotels Group has signed a management agreement with Indroyal Hospitality Services for Crowne Plaza Amaravati. The 300-room hotel will be the first IHG hotel in the city and is expected to be operational by 2024. Amaravati, the soon to be capital of Andhra Pradesh is being rapidly developed as a world class city and is expected to attract high-value manufacturing and service industries, creating strong economic growth opportunities in the years to come. Connected to the major cities in India by land, rail and air through its neighbouring city of Vijaywada, Amaravati is expected to attract both domestic and international travellers.” Commenting on the announcement, Sudeep Jain, Vice President, Development, South West Asia, IHG said, “We are delighted to partner with Indroyal Hospitality Services Pvt Ltd. for our first hotel in Amaravati. Amaravati is being developed as a world class capital city, offering a business-friendly environment, and we are confident it will emerge as an important destination for corporate travellers. Our brand Crowne Plaza with its business ready services, is a perfect fit for the city’s future, and we are very pleased to be one of the first hospitality companies to establish our presence in this upcoming city.