Tag Archives: Executive Vice President

Hotel Association of India has elected its new Executive Committee, and KB Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, South Asia at Radisson Hotel Group is the new President of the prestigious association for a two-year term. Vice President is Rohit Khosla, Executive Vice President, IHCL; JK Mohanty, MD Swosti Group is the Hony. Secretary and Sanjay Sethi, MD & CEO, Chalet Hotels, is the new Hony. Treasurer for the association. Two new EC members include Shashank Bhagat, MD, Radisson Blu Marina Hotel and Sonali Chauhan, General Manager, IHCL.

At the recently-concluded Round Table on Tourism on the sidelines of the Russian Indian Summit 2018, Ivan Breganov, Regional Manager of IFS (Russian Visa Center) confirmed that the number of tourist visas issued from January to September 2018 has already surpassed the total number of visas issued in 2017, pegging the YoY growth around 27 per cent. The round table was organised by Russia Expo Center, Moscow along with Russian Information Center, Mumbai (RIC) with more than 120 trade professionals from India attending along with TAAI MC Member Rajan Sehgal and EEMA Executive Vice President Sanjiv Pasricha making the keynote address along with Timur Vekilov, Chief Representative in India of Russ Expo Center. The round table moderated by Paresh Navani, Director, Russ Information Center discussed the needs and special services required by Indians and ways to address the same. In this regard, Russ Information Center announced the pre-launch of Ural Airlines set to begin operations from March 24, 2019 connecting Mumbai to Yekaterinburg and Moscow along with some tourism products to take advantage of the new airline service between the two countries, further RIC presented its ‘Indian Friendly’ programme to the Indian travel trade, the Indian friendly programme trains Russian hotels on Indian culture, cooking Indian dishes and ensure that other specific needs are provided to Indians in Russia. Another point noted by the attendees was that tourists from Russia to India has also grown over the last years by around 29 per cent, showing good recovery of arrival compared to the past few years.

Jet Airways is set to introduce the country’s first non-stop service between Mumbai and Manchester effective November 5, 2018, further strengthening the airline’s connect with the United Kingdom. Jet Airways will deploy a wide body A330-200 with 254 seating for the service, which will now operate five days a week including Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Manchester will become the 21st international addition to the Jet Airways network and with the introduction of this new flight – the carrier’s fifth non-stop service to/from the UK, Jet Airways will also become the largest carrier between Mumbai and the UK. Jet Airways’ flight 9W 130 will depart from Mumbai at 02:30 hrs and arrive in Manchester’s Terminal 2 at 07:55 hrs (local time). The return flight, 9W 129 will depart from Manchester at 09:30 hrs (local time) and arrive in Mumbai’s Terminal 2 at 00:40 hrs. Marnix Fruitema, Executive Vice President – Commercial, Jet Airways said, “Our new 5 days-a-week non-stop service brings Manchester into our global network, expanding our footprint as well as the choice of connectivity to and from the United Kingdom for our guests. Guests can also avail the advantages of various Jet Airways’ programmes such as eduJetter and JetEscapes to make their journeys enriching.” Speaking of  the new route back in May, Andrew Cowan, Chair of the Manchester India Partnership & CEO, Manchester Airport said, “I am delighted Jet Airways have recognised this by launching what I’m sure will be a hugely popular service, not least for the 500,000 people of Indian origin living across the North.”    

Airbus has appointed Anand E Stanley, a veteran leader in the global aerospace and defence industry, to succeed Pierre de Bausset as President and Managing Director of Airbus India. Stanley and Bausset will work through a transition before the new appointment takes effect on October 1, 2018. Stanley brings a wealth of international experience in Sales, P&L management, M&A, Aftermarket and Manufacturing. His knowledge of the Indian market will deepen Airbus’ commitment to the local aerospace and defence industries, and will drive its indigenisation to boost India’s economic growth. He will pursue the consolidation of Airbus businesses in India with a view to further reinforcing the position of the group for long-term success and growth in India. “Anand will successfully leverage the large fleet of our products flying in India, our support and services capability, the quality of our engineering team and the deep links that have been forged with local aerospace and defense industrial partners,” said Patrick de Castelbajac, Executive Vice President – Strategy & International, Airbus. A polyglot who has lived and worked in eight countries, Stanley served as Global Executive Vice President – Strategy, The Linde Group prior to joining Airbus. He started his aerospace career at Pratt & Whitney before holding multiple leadership roles within UTC and Lockheed Martin.      

Starting from April 16, 2018, Wyndham Hotel Group brands is set to unite its family of hotel brands under one umbrella by adding ‘by Wyndham’ suffix to their names. Brands adding the hallmark are Super 8, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, AmericInn, Baymont, Ramada, Ramada Encore, Dolce, Dazzler, Esplendor and Trademark – representing 7,074 properties across the globe. The move not only unites the company’s diverse hoteliers under a common mission and name, but is also expected to favourably impact guest trial and brand awareness throughout the company’s portfolio. “As the leader in midscale and economy lodging, the Wyndham name has become synonymous with making hotel travel possible for all,” said Barry Goldstein, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Wyndham Hotel Group. “This new designation for our brands is a celebration of the accomplishments we’ve made in our mission to make travel possible for everyone, revolutionising Wyndham Rewards and elevating our brands through a laser focus on quality, technology, and sales and marketing,” he said. The updated brand names and logos will appear across Wyndham’s digital placements from brand websites to mobile sites and third-party listings.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts recently kicked off the Asia Pacific series of its 50th anniversary celebrations at The Leela Palace New Delhi with a specially curated luncheon presentation at Le Cirque, hosted by the group’s CEO Lindsey Ueberroth and Executive Vice President Saurabh Rai. “As we commemorate the Preferred brand’s 50-year legacy of inspiring travel, we are more committed than ever to providing travellers with even more opportunities to embrace the spirit of independence and to making our pineapple logo synonymous with the ultimate hallmark in world-class hospitality,” said Ueberroth. “It is so exciting and humbling to see how far we have come as a company, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate this major milestone with our associates, partners and friends from around the world. “As the region’s largest independent hotel brand, Preferred Hotels & Resorts is entering its 16th year in India, and we are focused on continuing to build on the foundation of our company’s 50-year legacy of championing the independent hotel space. We are committed to forging ahead with more innovative and strategic consumer-focused initiatives to foster greater engagement in this market,” added Rai.

Ambience Mall, Gurugram played host to a two-day Korea Festival showcasing South Korea’s art, culture and heritage for the visitors to the mall. Organised by (KTO), the event was targeted to the consumers and had a separate stall where travel partners for KTO also showcased their itineraries and travel products to people. The event was inaugurated by Min Hong Min, Executive Vice President, KTO and Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The event also saw high energy B-boying performances and Nanta performance by professionals flown in from South Korea, especially for the event.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts has launched a new mobile app and member rate program as major enhancements to its points-based hotel rewards program, iPrefer. “The new mobile app and member rate program are designed to better connect today’s travellers with the unique appeal of the independent hotel experience through a seamless loyalty program that delivers exclusive, on-the-go access to an attractive rate, points, and valuable on-property perks,” said Casey Ueberroth, Chief Marketing Officer, Preferred Hotels & Resorts. “These enhancements are a testament to our continuous commitment to making iPrefer the most compelling loyalty program for independent-minded travelers.” In celebration of iPrefer and the pursuit of independent travel, Preferred Hotels & Resorts is gifting 25,000 bonus points to iPrefer members who make a booking within the app by April 21, 2017. “India is one of the fastest growing travel markets globally, and innovations in technology are significantly influencing the way Indian travelers can explore unique destinations and find independent hotels around the world that offer immersive experiences. The noteworthy benefits of the iPrefer mobile app and member rate program shall further strengthen the rising popularity of the iPrefer program in India, as well as encourage discerning luxury travelers to conveniently book their holidays directly through iPrefer channels for access to competitive rates and valuable benefits upon every stay,” said Saurabh Rai, Executive Vice President, Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Through the app, which was built in collaboration with American Express, members can search and book stays at more than 600 iPrefer participating hotels worldwide, access exclusive offers such as member rates and the iPrefer Last-Minute Escapes, update their profiles, view  past/upcoming stay history and related points earnings, and immediately access and redeem …

Bird Travels has been appointed as the GSA for Avianca Brazil in India. “We are very delighted to represent and promote Avianca Brazil as their GSA in India. Avianca is a member of Star Alliance covering 22 domestic and one international destination with over 200 daily flights. It has a modern fleet of 41 Airbus aircraft. The major hub airports are Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador. In India we are also entering the BSP very soon for wider distribution,” said Praful Khosla, Executive Vice President, Bird Travels.