Tag Archives: Deputy Managing Director

Maldivian, the National Carrier of Republic of Maldives, will start direct flights between Maafaru and Mumbai from April 13, 2021. Aishath Jennifer, Deputy Managing Director, Maldivian, shares that Indians can land at Maafaru and reach their respective resorts or guest houses in no time. “It will be very convenient if they come to Maafaru Airport, and we have four atolls with about 10,000 tourist beds in this region. With four islands in this vicinity, there is a lot of opportunity for the tourists. Unlike Male, we are asking the tourists to report to the airport only two hours prior to departure of the flight, so that they can spend more time in their resort or guest houses,” she said.

Lemon Tree Hotels will be operating 85 hotels with 8,674 rooms across 57 cities by FY2021, informed Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels and Director, Carnation Hotels. He said, “This year, we have enjoyed very high occupancy, close to 79 per cent. We have opened a few properties this year, including Dehradun, Pune, Siliguri and Morjim. We should be able to open an owned hotel in Mumbai, followed by Kolkata. Then we should be able to open a managed property in Kalina, Mumbai.”    

Displaying an aggressive growth over the last few months, Lemon Tree is now on an expansion spree. Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels, says, “As far as our expansion is concerned, we will go where a larger section of Indians tend to go. In both Sri Lanka and Dubai, the largest inbound is from India. We are focussing on these two locations because we know here the brand strength will create the guests for us, without having to work much hard.” Keswani reveals that the brand is chasing a few pieces in both these places. “Our strength is our loyalty programme and depth in the Indian customers. About 90 odd per cent of our customers are Indians. So, that’s our focus but we have not scored any goals that I can talk about at this moment.”  

Hotelivate has kicked off its 6th Hotel Operations Summit India (HOSI) at Taj Palace, New Delhi with stimulating discussions on topics pertaining to the hospitality industry. HOSI, the only dedicated forum for hotel professionals in the region, aims to empower today’s hospitality leaders through enabling conversations on management and operations-related issues, the rapidly evolving marketplace, latest industry trends, benchmarking and best practices. With the focus on increasing the diaspora of the speaker by bringing in leaders from businesses that are intricately tied up with the hospitality industry, the programme encompassed a series of keynote addresses by distinguished speakers and thought-provoking group discussions. Notable speakers included industry leaders such as Anshuman Bapna, Chief Product Officer, Goibibo; Dilip Puri, Founder and CEO, Indian School of Hospitality; Jiggs Kalra, Mentor and Culinary Director, Massive Restaurants; Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer – South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group; Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels; Navjit Ahluwalia, Senior Vice President and Country Head – India, Hilton; Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO Rooms; Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO, Indian Hotels Company, to name a few.

Lemon Tree Hotels announced the formal opening of its new hotel, Lemon Tree Hotel, Siliguri, marking its entry into West Bengal. Carnation Hotels, the hotel management arm of Lemon Tree Hotels, will be managing this midscale hotel owned by Unitech Mercantile. The management agreement was signed by Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director – Lemon Tree Hotels & Whole Time Director – Carnation Hotels, and Binod Kumar Gupta, Co-promoter, Unitech Mercantile. Speaking on the occasion and overall expansion plans across India, Keswani, said, “We are delighted to add Lemon Tree Hotel, Siliguri, West Bengal to our portfolio and look forward to welcoming our guests here. This hotel opening brings us another step closer to our aim of becoming the fastest growing hotel chain in the country. This occasion marks a few firsts for Lemon Tree Hotels (through our management arm, Carnation Hotels) that will be operating in Siliguri.” Speaking on the hotel launch, Parvez Gupta, Co-promoter of Unitech Mercantile said, “This is the first hotel project undertaken by the company. With Lemon Tree Hotels as our partner, we are able to fill the gap for a good branded hotel in Siliguri.” The hotel boasts of a vibrant lobby, innovative interiors and inspiring artwork that make for a setting that is truly refreshing, contemporary and stylish.

Lemon Tree Hotels announced the opening of its two hotels, Lemon Tree Premier, Patna and Lemon Tree Hotel, Alwar. Signaling the group’s focus on Bihar, and their overall expansion plans across India, Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels and Director, Carnation Hotels, said, “We are delighted to bring the Lemon Tree brand to Patna and Alwar. These hotels are a first for us and present an exciting branded alternative to the city residents as well as our existing customer base. Both cities imbibe a rich cultural heritage and attract business and leisure travelers alike. We invite guests to discover our unique brand and enjoy the same refreshing experience, quality and consistency that Lemon Tree is known for.” Lemon Tree Premier, Patna boasts of plush and stylish interiors and charms its visitors with large glass doors and a beautiful fountain in the driveway, a contemporary lobby accentuated by a serene Buddha sculpture and remarkable modern art. Designed to offer both comfort and convenience to its guests being located in the heart of the commercial and entertainment hub of the city, just 5 minutes from the railway station, it’s proximity to prominent office near Gandhi Maidan such as, RBI, Biscomaun Bhavan, FCI, NABARD, and city landmarks like Vidhan Sabha, Patna Secretariat and Patna High Court, is also an advantage. Together with 105 plush and spacious rooms and suites, a 24×7 multi-cuisine coffee shop– Citrus Café with a show kitchen, a rejuvenating spa and salon- Fresco, a fully equipped gym, a rooftop swimming pool and a soon to open Indian restaurant, the hotel offers a refreshing alternative to both business and leisure travelers as well as city dwellers. The hotel also …

The Lemon Tree Hotel Company is on an expansion spree and will be opening 8-9 hotels at various destinations in India this year. Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels & Director, Carnation Hotels, said, “In the Carnation operating space, we have 8-9 hotels opening in this fiscal year. Since the demonetisation pressure, some of our properties are getting delayed by another three months or four months. We will open hotels in Sikkim, Siliguri, Jammu, Corbett, Trivandrum, Coimbatore and we will open one hotel in Sohna Road as well. Also, there will be 7-8 hotels in managed space. But mid next year, there will be few openings that we will be doing in our own spaces. We will have Kolkata and Pune open and even Udaipur could be on cards.”

The launch of Sandal Suites, operated by Lemon Tree Hotels, marked the opening of Noida’s first upscale serviced suites. Sandal Suites features 195 suites, extensive banqueting facilities, numerous dining options, and an array of recreational facilities, in a contemporary setting. These serviced apartments, situated just off the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, are located within Assotech Business Cresterra, the LEED Gold Certified office complex in the IT hub of Sector 135, Noida. Speaking at the launch, Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels and Director, Carnation Hotels Pvt. Ltd., said, “This occasion marks a few ‘firsts’ for Lemon Tree Hotels – it is the first property Lemon Tree Hotels (through our management arm, Carnation Hotels) will be operating in Noida, and our first foray into the upscale serviced suites space. This is also our first partnership with Sandal Suites Pvt. Ltd., one that we hope to see grow in strength in the coming years. “The launch of Sandal Suites is in response to the growing demand for comfortable and convenient extended stay accommodation options for business and IT professionals in our vicinity. It is the only upscale accommodation available within an 8 km catchment and is the perfect address for those looking for a “home away from home” – be it business travellers, project teams or relocating families,” he added.

The State Bank of India (SBI) announced pilot launch of a distribution alliance with Cox & Kings Ltd for sale of travel prepaid cards in India. This partnership will help marketing of Travel prepaid card available in eight Currencies (US Dollar, GBP, Euro, Singapore Dollars, Jap Yen, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars & Saudi Riyal) and will currently target the corporate customers of the bank. Manju Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director,(Digital Banking and New Businesses) State Bank of India said, The Bank is excited as this has been the third  alliance SBI has entered into for travel Card business to supplement their distribution reach which is already very deep in the consumer segment. The partnership with Cox & Kings Ltd will help the bank to serve their corporate segment and travel segment, where the Bank is not very active in the product category due to service delivery challenges which can be facilitated with Cox & Kings Ltd   coming on board. The pilot will be initiated in select branches and based on the learning will be expanded across the country in near future. Anil Khandelwal, Chief Financial Officer, Cox & Kings Ltd, said, We are delighted to partner with SBI and to offer the entire gamut of forex services and the State Bank Travel card to its corporate customer base. Cox & Kings has an excellent track record in the distribution & servicing of forex travel cards and this association with SBI is a great opportunity to expand our presence and service large corporates.

Lemon Tree Hotels is all set to cash in on growing Indian tourists and corporate travel to the UAE, as it plans to operate eight properties in the next three years in the region. The company will be opening a mix of hotels and serviced apartments in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Dubai, where it expects to operate its first property. According to Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels, they are trying to harness the spending power of Indians through this development. Lemon Tree has tied up with the Sydney-based real estate agent Raine and Horne to open Lemon Tree properties in the region, including in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The company, which operates properties under the Lemon Tree and Red Fox brands, said the planned hotels would have between 60 and 100 rooms on average, and could include pool, spa and up to three restaurants. Lemon Tree Hotels is also looking at Sri Lanka and the Thai capital Bangkok. Sanjay Chimnani, MD, Raine and Horne, said it would be looking at neighbourhoods in Dubai such as Jaddaf, Business Bay, City Walk, Al Barsha, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Jebel Ali and Jumeirah Village Circle to open more properties.