Tag Archives: COO

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has added another hotel to its portfolio with the launch of KK Beacon Hotel in Rajkot. This is the eighth hotel which is managed by the company under the Beacon Hotels brand. Suhail Kannampilly, COO, The Fern Hotels & Resorts, said, “The 34-key hotel is the second property which the group is managing in Rajkot. We already have The Fern Residency. With this launch, we have further consolidated our position in Gujarat.” The other Beacon properties are located in Ajmer, Amritsar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Udaipur. Beacon Hotels (brand owned by The Fern Hotels and Resorts) is positioned as ‘smart and efficient’ hotels in the economy segment. The new hotel comprises 34 air-conditioned rooms with amenities like internet facility, cable television, direct-dial telephone, multiple computer/mobile phone charging points, mini bar, hairdryer and multiple dining options. The hotel is located 3 km from the airport and in close proximity to the railway station and bus stand.

Blue Square Consultants has been appointed as the sales and marketing representative for ‘Australia & Beyond Holidays’ in India. Formed by Simon Bernardi, Australia’s inbound travel management operator provides global solutions to Indian travel agents, from both DMC products and FIT. Through its online Agora booking system, the company offers thousands of land products and hotels worldwide, many with allocations. Simon Bernardi, Director, Australia & Beyond Holidays, said “India continues to be an important tourism market for Australia, with growth of over 15 per cent in arrivals over last year and a 30 per cent increase in travel spend. The Indian market spends on average 13 nights in Australia allowing us to develop itineraries to inspire our customers from India. Blue Square Consultants is the apt partner to have in India because of their highly professional team and undisputed knowledge of the travel trade in India.” Lubaina Sheerazi, COO, Blue Square Consultants, added, “Our emphasis has always been to associate with reputed clients and we have achieved this once again with our recent alliance with Australia & Beyond Holidays. We are confident that our association will not only be beneficial for the client but also for Australia as a destination.”  

Pricol Travel, in association with Advantage Travel Partnership UK, will offer holiday agencies products, technology and services to help them better manage their business. The Advantage Asia consortium offers programmes that will provide an edge to holiday travel agencies, enabling them to offer the best blend of travel products and services to their customers. The agencies can subscribe for the membership on a monthly subscription plan. The services the programme offers includes operations management, marketing, overall business management, training and networking opportunities. The partnership programme is suitable for small to medium sized travel agencies, who aspire to grow their business in the outbound leisure segment. Advantage Asia will work with their member partners and share collective knowledge. Vikram Mohan, Chairman, Pricol Travel said, “Advantage Travel Partnership UK has empowered thousands of small and medium travel agents in Europe, providing them with the necessary updated product knowledge and current technology for them to be relevant at all times.” A Dharmaraj, COO, Advantage Asia Travel Partnership said, “The programme provides different services that support various aspects of an agency. We work closely with our member partners to provide them with tools to offer their customers the most inspirational, yet affordable range of travel products. We are looking forward to associate with over hundred agencies within the next three years.”

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has added another hotel to its portfolio with the launch of Avins Beacon Hotel in Udaipur. This is the seventh hotel which is managed by the company under the Beacon Hotels brand. The other Beacon properties are located in Ajmer, Amritsar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Udaipur. Beacon Hotels, a brand owned by The Fern Hotels & Resorts, are positioned as ‘smart and efficient’ hotels in the economy segment, providing value-for-money accommodations and offering limited services. Suhail Kannampilly, COO, The Fern Hotels & Resorts, said, “This is the second property which the group is managing in Udaipur. We already have The Fern Residency, Udaipur. With the launch of Avins Beacon, we are looking to service a different segment of clientele in Udaipur which is growing at a very fast pace.” Avins Beacon Hotel has 22 rooms with 19 Deluxe Rooms and three larger Executive Rooms.

BirdRes has appointed Shashikant Jugran as Chief Operating Officer. In his current role, he will be responsible for managing the company’s B2B conglomerate known as birdres.com. Prior to this, Jugran was GM & Head—B2B Business & Partnerships at Yatra.com, where he built the B2B business in the country and introduced new product verticals. With around 18 years of experience in building up businesses, Jugran possesses skills in e-commerce, quality and process management, account management and market development.

Around 90 travel agents from Saharanpur, Roorkee, Meerut, Haridwar and Rishikesh attended STHI Group’s first roadshow of the year in Dehradun. Exhibitors from Air Arabia and Sheraton were also seen at the event. Speaking at the roadshow held on January 24, Lalit Singh, COO, STHI Group, said, “We want to aim for global fraternity by hosting this roadshow in our earnest endeavour. We want to do everything possible to achieve this goal for posterity.”

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has added another property to its portfolio of hotels with the launch of The Fern, Akota-Vadodara. Situated 2 kms from Alkapuri, the commercial hub of Vadodara, this is the second Fern property in the city with 72 rooms in two categories, namely, Winter Green and The Fern Club Rooms. Dining options include Zeste-a multi cuisine all-day-dining restaurant and 24 hours in-room dining service. The banqueting facility comprises Magnolia and Terraco banquet halls along with a meeting room. Suhail Kannampilly, COO, The Fern Hotels & Resorts, said, “The Fern, Akota-Vadodara gives us another opportunity to host our guests in Vadodara. We have a strong presence in Gujarat with nine hotels operational in seven cities and we look forward to further consolidate this.”

MakeMyTrip has launched its latest product for the domestic market—Made for You Holidays. Coinciding with the holiday season, these 150 holiday experiences offer a range of hand-picked escapades for discerning travellers. These domestic travel packages are specially targeted towards those who want to make the most of long weekends at destinations in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and many more. Mohit Gupta, COO, MakeMyTrip, said, “At MakeMyTrip, we are bringing a balance between personalisation, authenticity and reach to offer holidays that will resonate with discerning travellers looking beyond cookie-cutter package tourism. By tracking social media, website analytics, search metrics, traveller reviews, etc., we want to align our product offerings to match what holiday goers are looking for.” Made for You Holidays is being rolled out under six themes for holiday-goers including Wildlife, Romantic, Friends & Family, Once in a lifetime, Rugged Getaways and Indulgence.

Delhi-based destination management company, STHI Group hosted roadshows in Raipur and Nagpur on the 16th and 18th of December, respectively. Over 45 travel agents attended the event in each city. The Nagpur roadshow is STHI Group’s 12th roadshow this year. The company has been focusing on Tier-II and III cities as part of their marketing activities. STHI promoted airlines like Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Scoot Airlines and Singapore Airlines. The destinations showcased included Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Adelaide, Malaysia, Singapore and Victoria. Hotels showcased included Banyan Tree Hotels, Shangri La, Centara Hotels and Sheraton. Speaking at the roadshow, Lalit Singh, COO of STHI Group, said, “We have been hosting such roadshows every month and this is our 12th roadshow in Nagpur. The response we are getting from the travel agents is phenomenal and it’s a good platform to connect with the agents. We have recently started promoting USA as a destination to our partners. This year we had a double digit growth as compared to last year and we continue to do such activities.”

Concept Hospitality has opened a 110-key property in Kolkata called The Fern Hotels & Resorts. Spread across 20 acres of landscape, the resort offers a host of activities such as rock climbing, rappelling, shooting and paddling. It offers rooms in five different categories. The property also has one of the largest banqueting facilities both indoors as well as outdoors. The indoor space is spread over 5,000 sq ft and is ideal for big conferences and cocktail dinners. The lawns occupy an area of 45,000 sq ft. Suhail Kannampilly, COO, Concept Hospitality, said, “We feel proud to announce the opening of Ibiza. This takes the tally of hotels managed by the company to 52. We are trying to consolidate our position in the eastern part of the country. The company will be managing a few more hotels in the near future.”