By BW Hotelier RUMOURSS GROUP forayed into the hospitality segment with the launch of their first resort, on the lines of a Japanese tree house chalet, Rumourss Sky Villa & Resort in Lonavla, Maharashtra. Over the next two years, the group plans to come up with more projects with its signature style sky villas across India. The villas at Rumourss Sky Villa & Resort are erected on a single iron mast at a height of between 30 and 40 feet. ’This is one of a kind. Rumourss Sky Villa & Resort will alter the travel experience of tourists in India. Instead of going for regular structure with more rooms, we decided to make the villas unique and enhance user experience. The resort will have eight villas ’ four of them sky villas and four ground villas. This will enable us to provide quality service to each of our guests,’ said Devang Badiyani, Managing Director, Rumourss Sky Villa & Resort Pvt. Ltd. Rumourss is set on a picturesque location with easy accessibility. It houses a fully lit swimming pool and a multi cuisine restaurant. During the monsoons, guests can enjoy the view of Tata lake from their Sky villas.
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By BW Hotelier IN THE wake of the fire disaster at a Kurla eatery in Mumbai few weeks ago, Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India)-(HRAWI) expressing its sympathy, has appealed to the Government to scrap all irrelevant laws so that both the enforcers and the hotels could concentrate on total compliance on all relevant laws and procedures. The industry has complained that it is reeling under a barrage of archaic laws that are unfeasible to comply with and are totally irrelevant. Bharat Malkani, President, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), (see photo) said, ’For instance, many hotels that have invested heavily in modern fire fighting technology are still required to keep a sand bucket. A sand bucket cannot douse most fires, but if a hotel or a restaurant does not maintain a sand bucket, it can get booked for non-compliance of safety norms. Or take the case of whitewashing a restaurant kitchen, almost all hotel kitchens are tiled, but we still have to provide a certification of white washing.’ ’Hoteliers in Mumbai have a tradition of adhering to maximum compliance. If there were any shortcomings, they were mostly minor oversights like being unable to produce a license on time or practical challenges in adhering to outdated laws. But we can assure our patrons that there wasn’t a single case of violation that had a potential to impact their safety or health. Hoteliers are as serious about safety as anyone else. The owners spend more than 16 hours a day in their restaurants and consequently are at a bigger risk than anyone else. When it comes to health and safety norms, we are very careful,’ opined Kamlesh Barot, Past President, HRAWI. ’We want to operate in a system where there are rational licenses, zero ambiguity of laws and clearly defined check list and guidelines provided by enforcing authorities. We wish for a system that works on the principle of accountability and clarity of laws. The Chief Minister’s recent decision to reduce the number of operating licenses to 25 is a step in positive direction. We are hoping that the laws will be rationalized at the earliest,’ concluded Malkani. The hotel industry today needs a whopping 134 licenses and permissions to operate in Mumbai. A large number of the licenses were formulated when the British ruled India. If the 89 year old ’Entertainment Licence on Festival Occasions’ was framed by the Britishers for controlling a subject nation, ’Licence for Chimney under Smoke Nuisance Act’ created in 1912 when food was cooked in firewood is completely irrelevant today. The oldest license is ’The Eating House Licence’ formulated in 1876. Nineteen of the seventy key licences were formulated before 1950.
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By BW Hotelier ECOLE HOTELIERE at Lavasa (LEH) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with International University Bonn/Bad Honnef (IUBH) to foster academic exchange and research in advancement and dissemination of international hospitality learning. This partnership is the first step in strengthening Indo-German academic relations, where a sovereign German university is collaborating with a leading Indian hospitality management institute. The MoU focuses on joint curriculum development to establish Ecole/IUBH Dual Degree Bachelor Programme, where students would graduate with an Indian diploma and an official German degree at simultaneously. The MoU also encourages student and faculty exchange programmes and joint research to strengthen hospitality management education. Expressing his belief in the vast potential regarding the collaboration, Nathan Andrews, Director of Ecole Hoteliere at Lavasa, said, ’We welcome this MoU with IUBH for the mutual development of the hospitality industry. Both, our Indian and German students, now have further world class options to add mettle to their academic experience. The exchange program and the cultural exposure, caused by the union of two global academic leaders, will give our students a significant advantage in their journey to be the hospitality leaders of tomorrow. Prof Dr. Peter Thuy, Rector of IUBH shared a similar view point about the tie-up saying, ’The value of great hospitality in the Indian culture is recognized globally. Together with the Ecole h-teli-re de Lausanne standards, this is creating one of the best talent pools for the global hospitality industry. We are pleased to be partnering with LEH across a variety of initiatives like academic knowledge sharing, dual degree certificates, joint research missions and academic events. We are confiden t that this will be a landmark milestone in the future of Indo-German academic cooperation.’ A leading objective of the partnership is to identify huge untapped potential for German undergraduate programmes in India. The Dual Degree Programme will enable Indian students to gain global exposure and work with the best in German hospitality. IUBH has a stellar record of campus placements where each meritorious student has graduated with four job offers to choose from. Apart from attractive placements, Indian students will benefit tremendously from 1.5 year work permit in Germany on successful completion of this programme. For German students, LEH would be an ideal place to get hands on training and expertise in the field of Indian hospitality management. The state of the art campus and a dedicated faculty would play a significant role in sharpening their skill set. As a first step, 15 3rd year hospitality students from IUBH will train at the LEH campus at Lavasa from the next academic year.
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By BW Hotelier SHANGRI-LA HOTELS and Resorts announced the integration of virtual reality (VR) experiences into worldwide hotel sales efforts. The group has rolled out Samsung Gear VR headsets across all Global Sales Offices and produced immersive 360-degree videos for over a quarter of its 94 hotels and resorts. Nearly half of the hotel portfolio will have VR videos available by January, with full roll out to be completed in 2016. Powered by Oculus, the Gear VR headsets enable travel advisors, meeting planners and potential corporate clients to virtually experience Shangri-La hotels and destinations around the world. They will be used as promotional and educational tools at tradeshows, industry events and sales meetings, instantly ’transporting’ advisors to places such as the rooftop of Jokhang Temple in Lhasa or the Grand Ballroom in Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong. Travel advisors will also be able to share the 360-degree videos with their customers via-www.shangri-la.com/VR. The videos can be watched online on a 360-degree video player or, for a fully immersive experience, freely downloaded and viewed on a VR headset that uses the Oculus platform. ’Shangri-La is investing significantly in technology and the future of travel content, which is why we are embracing virtual reality on this scale,’ said Steven Taylor, chief marketing officer of Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd (see photo). ’VR is a revolutionary new sales tool. The technology has evolved so that it is now affordable, light and portable; virtual reality is on the cusp of becoming more mainstream.’ ’Travel experts play a critical role in their fields and the traveller’s decision-making process. This is why our first VR efforts are focused on them,’ said Taylor. ’Their clients depend on them to ensure holidays, business trips and meetings are enjoyable and effective. Shangri-La’s VR experiences will enhance their knowledge about our hotels and their ability to sell with confidence to their clients.’ Shangri-La began developing virtual reality videos in May with Brand Karma and previewed ones of Shangri-La hotels and excursions in Ulaanbaatar, Lhasa and Shangri-La City at ILTM in Shanghai this past June. Video production was accelerated given the positive feedback in order to roll the headsets out to the group’s 17 Global Sales Offices. ’We want to employ innovative technology in a way that is meaningful to our trade partners and beneficial to consumers,’ said Taylor. ’Not only will Shangri-La’s immersive 360-degree videos provide travel experts a better understanding of the Shangri-La product and experience, but there are many creative applications. For example, a travel planner could virtually walk a CEO through Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong’s ballroom prior to a big product announcement or use it to heighten clients’ anticipation for an upcoming trip.’
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By BW Hotelier MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc reported third quarter 2015 results. Third quarter 2015 net income totalled USD 210 million, a nine-per cent increase over 2014 third quarter net income.- Diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the third quarter totalled USD 0.78, a 20 per cent increase from diluted EPS in the year-ago quarter.- On July 29, 2015, the company forecasted third quarter diluted EPS of USD 0.72 to USD 0.76. Arne M. Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International, (see photo) said, ’Our company posted solid performance in the third quarter.- North American system wide RevPAR rose over 4 per cent despite the impact of unfavourable holiday shifts on our group business compared to the year-ago quarter.- Our hotels are full with occupancy at nearly 78 per cent allowing us to continue to raise rates and reduce lower-rated business to drive RevPAR. ’Our global development pipeline continues to increase, reaching more than 260,000 rooms at the end of the quarter as owner and franchisees continue to choose our brands.- Combined, our pipeline and open rooms exceed one million rooms worldwide.- Recently unveiled in the U.S., Moxy and AC Hotels have a combined five hotels open and 82 hotels signed or approved domestically.- Our newest brand, Delta Hotels, expects to open its first U.S. property later this year, a conversion from a competitor’s brand. ’Our asset-light business model continues to deliver significant profit growth with modest capital requirements, yielding outstanding return to shareholders.- For the full year 2015, we expect to return more than USD 2.25 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, a record, which would bring our total return to shareholders to nearly USD 8 billion over the last 5 years.- Over the last 12 months, our return on invested capital has totalled 47 per cent. ’For 2016, we expect system wide constant dollar RevPAR will increase 4 to 6 per cent in North America, outside North America and worldwide.- Our group bookings for our North American full-service hotels for 2016 are up more than 7 per cent with about 75 per cent of expected group business volume booked thus far. ’Given our strong development pipeline, we anticipate our number of rooms will increase 7 to 8 per cent, gross, in 2015, including the 9,600 rooms from the Delta acquisition, accelerating to 8 per cent, gross, in 2016.- Nearly 40 per cent of our more than 260,000 room pipeline is already under construction.’ For the 2015 third quarter, RevPAR for worldwide comparable system wide properties increased 4.5 per cent (a 2.2 per cent increase using actual dollars). International comparable system wide RevPAR rose 6.2 per cent (a 4.0 per cent decline using actual dollars) in the third quarter. -International RevPAR growth was helped during the quarter by the earlier start of Ramadan and very strong demand in Europe. Marriott added 68 new properties (10,253 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio in the 2015 third quarter, including Mandapa, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Indonesia and The Hotel Lucerne, Autograph Collection in Switzerland.- Twenty-one properties (2,596 rooms) exited the system during the quarter.- At quarter-end, the company’s lodging system encompassed 4,364 properties and timeshare resorts for a total of 750,000 rooms. The company’s worldwide development pipeline totalled 1,591 properties with more than 260,000 rooms at quarter-end, including nearly 600 properties with roughly 95,000 rooms under construction and over 100 properties with approximately 20,000 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts. Worldwide comparable company-operated house profit margins increased 50 basis points in the third quarter with higher room rates, improved productivity, and lower food and utility costs.- House profit margins for comparable company-operated properties outside North America increased 60 basis points and North American comparable company-operated house profit margins increased 40 basis points from the year-ago quarter. For the 2015 fourth quarter, the company expects worldwide comparable system wide RevPAR to increase 4 to 6 per cent on a constant dollar basis.- Outside North America, the company expects comparable system wide constant dollar RevPAR to increase 3 to 5 per cent.- Compared to the fourth quarter RevPAR guidance provided on July 29, today’s fourth quarter outlook for our international regions assumes more moderate RevPAR growth in the Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa regions. -For North America, the company expects comparable system wide RevPAR will increase 5 to 7 per cent on a constant dollar basis.- Based on early fourth quarter transient RevPAR trends, North American RevPAR is likely to increase at the low end of the guided range. The company anticipates gross room additions of approximately 7 to 8 per cent, or 6 to 7 per cent, net, worldwide for the full year 2015, including the 9,600 rooms from the acquisition of the Delta brand.
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By BW Hotelier LITE BITE Foods has launched a delivery app at the airport, FooGo. The app is currently operational at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. FooGo app is available free on Android and can be downloaded at the Google Playstore. The FooGo mobile app enables travelers to not only discover great places to eat but also offers them the option of having a hot, fresh meal delivered directly to them at their check-in gate within a convenient boarding time. The app allows food delivery to be tracked in real time. The FooGo app allows the air passengers, who are bored of the in-flight food, to have easy access to the food menus at the two airports, without even being physically present. Amit Burman, Chairman, Lite Bite Foods, (see photo) said, ’Food, travel and technology are so intertwined that there's a need for a simplified product to help people make new dining discoveries or easily find authentic ideas or suggestions. The FooGo app provides us a platform to interact with the consumer tastes and choices by simply allowing customers to skip the queue at the airport restaurants. We have also kept the app open for restaurant brands to get listed on it as it plays a significant role in generating business. Consumer mobile media is a key focus of Lite Bite Foods as we rapidly grow our platforms and audience. We plan to expand the delivery services at the airport whether it be food or other products for the ease of all the travelers at the airport. It would give us extreme pleasure to create a happy consumer base!’ While talking about next steps, Burman said, "The present day consumer is informed and conscious about their food habits. They care about what they eat and thus we plan to introduce food centric categories for the consumers where they would be able to choose from a range of categories like vegan, gluten free, low carb, high protein, Jain food, and a lot more." Rohit Aggarwal, Director, Lite Bite Foods, said, ’With the advent of social media and the busy lifestyles, the present day travelers are crunched on time and moreover, everyone enjoys a relaxing and sumptuous sit-down meal. We have made FooGo user friendly and the most convenient and reliable airport food assistant."
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By BW Hotelier AIR INDIA SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd. (AISATS), announced the appointment of Mike Chew as its Chief Executive Officer. Chew succeeds Willy Ko, who was the CEO of AISATS since April 2010. Speaking on his appointment, Chew said, ’I am privileged to be taking on this role at AISATS at a time when the civil aviation sector in India is poised to grow significantly. This will require world-class airport services, which we are strongly poised to deliver on the back of our strong local and global experience in the business, and the use of cutting-edge technology. This capacity enables us to offer our customers unparalleled value and a high level of service.’ Chew was previously the Senior Vice President of AISATS, Delhi. He started his career with Singapore Airlines (SQ) in 1993, managing the airport operations at various locations such as New York, Beijing, Kaohsiung, Guangzhou, Surabaya, Frankfurt and Mumbai. Prior to joining AISATS in June 2013, he was the Director of Airport Services and Reservation at Star Alliance Frankfurt for six years, where he was responsible for coordinating service standards and procedures and developing and implementing new services and products for the alliance.
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By Rashmi Pradhan WITH 47 properties operational across seven brands in India, Starwood Hotels & Resorts is looking to bring in the W Hotels brand next year. Nelli Yong, Vice President, Brand Management Asia Pacific, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts spoke to me about the launch of the new entrant to India and the Starwood brand strategy for the country. I began by asking Yong about the entry of W Hotels in India. ’We are at the discussion and planning stage for the debut of ’W Hotels’ brand in India. We will be opening the first W, the W Retreat & Spa Goa in Vagator Beach, Goa by mid-2016,’ she told me. The resort will have 160 rooms, she added. Even with nine more months to go before the opening, Yong felt this was a critical time for the brand launch. Goa has been on the global map for travelers seeking something different. The global traveler may be aware of the destination without having actually visited it, she told me. ’The destination (Goa) has everything from music to lifestyle to cuisines. This syncs with the three-core pillars of W--Design, Fashion and Music. Goa being a hub for design and fun, is a perfect match,’ Yong said. This year Starwood opened nine hotels across India and is looking forward to surpassing the 100 hotel mark next year, she told me. ’This will be a mix of operating hotels and signed contracts. By next year Starwood will have eight of their ten brands operational in India (except for Tribute and Element),’ she added. The fastest growing Sheraton brand in India currently was Four Points by Sheraton, Yong shared adding that India was witnessing tremendous growth in the metro as well as Tier II cities and the upscale Four Points brand, with the largest number of hotels in the pipeline for Starwood, was a perfect fit. ’We started in India back in 1973 associating with Oberoi for our Sheraton brand and with ITC Hotels for Luxury Collection. India has strong domestic brands in the hospitality segment. The country has self-created and developed brands like the Taj, Leela and Oberoi. Not many country in Asia can boast of such a strong selection of home grown hospitality brands,’ she said. In the 1990s, more Indian tourists began to travel abroad and that gave them brand awareness, this saw increasing numbers of international brands entering the Indian market in the early 2000s, she observed. This was when chains found owners to tie up with the international brands, Yong added. When it came to the Starwood group’s brand strategy, Yong said, ’Each of our brands have different brand positioning and are marketed independently. We have a clear brand position that is understood by our guest’. Yong gave the example of the Westin brand’s 6 pillars of wellness: Sleep Well, Eat Well, Move Well, Feel Well, Work Well and Play Well. This wasn’t merely a marketing tool, she explained, but something all guests staying at Westin Hotels actually experienced. ’We are marketing through the experiences provided to our guests. We have a strong SPG (Starwood Preferred Guests) loyalty programme, which is the common thread that links our 1200 hotels and 10 brands worldwide,’ she concluded. The author is Assistant Editor of BW Hotelier.
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By BW Hotelier HYATT REGENCY Gurgaon has appointed Chef Liam Crotty as Executive Chef of the hotel. Chef Crotty holds a graduate degree from Cork Institute of Technology (C.I.T) in Professional Cookery and Secondary education from St. Colman’s Community College, Middleton, co. Cork, Ireland. As Executive Chef of the largest convention hotel in Gurgaon and over 18 years of professional experience Chef Crotty is in-charge of overseeing all the culinary aspects of the kitchens, menus, training modules and most importantly securing the standards of excellence expected by both domestic and international patrons. Passionate about cooking, the dynamic chef is a connoisseur of culinary arts from across the globe. Prior to joining Hyatt Regency Gurgaon Liam was a part of the pre-opening team at Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights. Chef Crotty’s successful stint starts from a young age working in a Seafood Restaurant in the fishing village of Ballycotton, Co. Cork, Ireland. Crotty joined the Hyatt family in 2008 at Grand Hyatt Dubai. This was followed in May 2012 by a move to Park Hyatt Maldives as the Executive Chef of the only resort property of the Park Hyatt brand. Commenting on his joining Chef Crotty, said, ’It’s great to be a part of the team here in Hyatt Regency Gurgaon, I am excited about working in such an atmosphere as I have experienced since my arrival. I feel very lucky and I’m sure it’s going to be a great period of my career.’
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By BW Hotelier MAHINDRA HOLIDAYS & Resorts India Limited (MHRIL) has announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. For the second quarter ended September 30, 2015, total income stood at Rs 236.3 crores as against Rs 200.1 crores in Q2 FY15, up 18 per cent year-on-year. Profit after Tax (PAT) for Q2 FY16 stood at Rs 28.9 crores vs Rs 24.7 crores in the year-ago period, an increase of 17 per cent. For the first half of the fiscal (H1FY16), total income stood at Rs 467.2 crores as against Rs 390.7 crores in H1 FY15, a 20 per cent increase year-on-year. Profit after Tax (PAT) stood at Rs 53.9 crores vs Rs 45.1 crores in H1 FY15, up 20 per cent. Commenting on the results, Arun Nanda, Chairman, Mahindra Holidays, (see photo) said, ’A 50 per cent growth in member addition during the quarter despite the current economic environment, is a reflection of the level of customer satisfaction your company has been able to achieve and I believe it augurs well for the future.’ Kavinder Singh, MD and CEO, Mahindra Holidays, said, ’Our successful execution of the strategy to make ’Club Mahindra’ an aspirational brand that provides unique family leisure holidays along with 'lifestyle' experiences, is helping create ’consumer pull’ for our offering. This is reflected in healthy operating metrics such as member additions, referrals and successful alliances. We intend to build on this momentum in the near future.’
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