By BW Hotelier COX & KINGS Group has acquired 100 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares of UK-based Late Rooms Ltd for GBP 8.5 million. LateRooms, an online hotel booking specialist in the UK. Its extensive offering encompasses a full range of accommodation options with over 54,800 properties globally, which can be booked up to a year in advance. LateRooms has a 3.5 million opted-in and active consumer database and had 93 million online visits in the financial year ending September 30 2015, generating total transaction value (TTV) of GBP 300 million and net revenues of GBP 50 million. Peter Kerkar, Director, Cox & Kings, (see photo) said, ’We are confident that bringing the LateRooms brand and technology into the fold will provide a significant boost to Cox & Kings’ growth trajectory and technology capabilities.’ Hugo Kimber, Executive Chairman, Cox & Kings Leisure Division-EU, said, ’The acquisition of LateRooms and access to its online technology platform bolsters the Group’s delivery capabilities across all geographies for the Leisure business.’ LateRooms operates a Single Web Platform, which optimises the website for mobile device usage. In FY15 57 per cent of traffic was driven from smartphone and tablet. LateRooms also owns various brands and domain names including AsiaRooms.com. The acquisition fits the Group’s strategic intent to expand its global online and B2C leisure proposition. The Group also expects to drive synergies and value from LateRooms’ association with the Cox & Kings subsidiary, SuperBreak Mini-Holidays Limited, a leading short break packaged holiday specialist in the UK. LateRooms’ industry-leading technology platform, now built for mobile is a key strength which Cox & Kings will look to leverage more widely across its footprint.
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By BW Hotelier RAM CHATTERJEE has been appointed as Director of Spa at Pullman Novotel New Delhi Aerocity. With over 20 years of experience in hospitality industry, in his new role at Pullman Novotel New Delhi Aerocity, Chatterjee will be responsible for developing the concept of flagship Spa & Fitness division of Accor India Group of hotels based in New Delhi, India. His expertise in spa, salon and recreational activities and a deep insight into Personal fitness, Naturopathy, Yoga and Natural Living from Yoga gives him an edge in strategic wellness consulting, including spa and wellness business plan and sales strategy development. Chatterjee has been associated with hotels and like Grand Hyatt Goa, Grand Hyatt Mumbai, Hyatt Regency Kolkata, Taj hotels and ITC hotels.
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By BW Hotelier SANJEEV TANDON (photo top) has joined the Hyatt family in India as the Director of Sales and Marketing, Grand Hyatt Mumbai and Area Director ’ Sales and Marketing, West India, Hyatt Hotel Corporation. In his new assignment Tandon will be overseeing the Sales and Marketing function for Grand Hyatt Mumbai as well as assisting the West India hotels ’ comprising seven hotels in Mumbai, Pune and Goa and soon to open Hyatt Place Goa. A hotel management graduate of IHM Mumbai and an alumni of SP Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai, with a Master’s degree in Marketing, Tandon hails from Lucknow. With an enriching experience of over two decades with renowned hospitality brands in India, Middle East and recently Thailand, he is very excited to be back home for this exciting assignment with Hyatt. His extensive experience comprises stints at Sheraton, Le Meridien, Taj, Oberoi, Dusit Thani, Jumeirah International and Moevenpick Hotels. Grand Hyatt Mumbai has appointed Varun Mohan as Front Office Manager (photo right). Mohan will be a part of the Rooms Division team and will be leading the Front Office and Guest Services teams. This new assignment is a homecoming for Mohan as he started his hospitality journey with Grand Hyatt Mumbai as a Corporate Leadership Trainee in 2008. He was subsequently part of the Front Office team at the hotel till 2012, when he moved to Hyatt Regency Chennai, the first foray of Hyatt in South India as the Assistant Front Office Manager. After his schooling in Shimla, Varun completed his higher studies from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal.
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By BW Hotelier SUNISHCHAL PARASNIS has appointed Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa as Director of Sales. In his new role, he will be supervising and supporting the sales and events team of the hotel both in Mumbai and Goa for the 249 keys luxury resort in South Goa. Parasnis has been associated with the hospitality industry for almost a decade now, with 9 years in Hyatt India. Prior to joining Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa, he held various roles in the Sales and Marketing at Grand Hyatt Mumbai in various roles in the Sales and Marketing team, Sunishchal has now been A native of Mumbai, Parasnis has spent most of his childhood in Mumbai and has completed his higher education from Guwahati and Masters Degree in Mumbai. He loves to spend time with his family, mountaineering and exploring new places.
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By BW Hotelier THE 2015 State Ranking Survey compiled by HVS in association with World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII), aims at analyzing the state-wise potential of Travel and Tourism in India, and assessing the relative competitiveness of different states in the country. The report assess the competitiveness of the 30 Indian states and identify the best performers from the hospitality industry's viewpoint. The report employs 12 key parameters to evaluate the different states. The Survey ranks Maharashtra No 1, stating a strong economy, good infrastructure, presence of a sizeable quantum of branded hotel rooms and a variety of demand generators to occupy these rooms. In line with these factors, Maharashtra has recorded perfect scores in four parameters’ tourist visits, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign and aircraft movement. Delhi slips to No 2. Its advantage lies in it being the capital, a major port of entry and exit to the country, and an important business destination. However, the state has recorded a relatively low score in terms of luxury tax on hotel rooms, which continues to be levied on published tariff. The lack of a single window portal in terms of ease of doing business has caused the state to score relatively low in that parameter, it goes on to say. Goa ranks 3rd this year, displaying similar performance as in the previous survey. Though one of the country's most popular tourist destinations, infrastructure growth has been slow in Goa. The much talked about development of the MOPA airport still remains uncertain, the report notes. Karnataka, coming in 4th, has moved up one place since the last survey. -What is worth drawing attention to is the fact that the state has risen eight places since 2009 The state has seen high tourist visitation, attracting a good mix of business and leisure travellers, thanks to it featuring destinations such as Bengaluru, Mysore, Chikmangalur, Hampi and Coorg. Nonetheless, the report believed that Karnataka's tourism potential has not yet been harnessed completely. Gujarat, falling one place since 2013, shares the 5th rank with Tamil Nadu this year. The state has achieved high scores in the ease of doing business, GSDP per capita and intangible parameters; however, it performed only moderately well across the other criteria. Tied in for 5th place, Tamil Nadu has achieved a perfect score in total number of tourist visits as in GSDP per capita. Tamil Nadu is known for its medical tourism, which generates a high number of domestic and foreign visitations. On the flip side, the state ranks amongst the bottom three in terms of state expenditure on tourism, allocating only a miniscule amount of the total state expenditure toward this sector. The State Ranking Survey, a biennial publication compiled by HVS in association with the World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII), aims at analysing the state-wise potential of Travel and Tourism in India, and assessing the relative competitiveness of different states in the country. Historically, the evaluation has been carried out for 29 states; however, the split of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 has resulted in the addition of Telangana, increasing the tally to 30 states in this edition. The Travel and Tourism industry is an integral part of the Indian economy. In 2013, the industry accounted for US$18.4 billion in foreign exchange reserves, becoming the thirdlargest foreign exchange earner in the country. In 2014, the foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism recorded a growth of 9.7% over 2013, crossing the US$20 billion mark. Overall, the government has taken progressive steps for the industry in recent years with the introduction of the electronic visa scheme (e-Tourist Visa), formulation of a new tourism policy (a draft version of which was released earlier this year), creation of tourist circuits based on specific themes, and more. However, India still has several critical issues to circumnavigate in order to establish itself as a major destination for international tourism. As per the Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the total number of International Tourist Arrivals (ITA) worldwide was 1,133 million in 2014, of which the Asia Pacific region accounted for 23.2% and South Asia, in particular, captured only 1.5%; India managed to attract merely 0.67% of the world's international tourist arrivals, largely under penetrating the market. The report is authored by Manav Thadani, MRICS, Chairman, HVS Asia Pacific and Sanaya Jijina, Analyst, Consulting & Valuation, HVS. The see the complete report click here:-HVS - 2015 India State Ranking Survey
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By BW Hotelier RANJU ALEX, General Manager of Goa Marriott Resort & Spa has been recognized with the General Manager of the Year Award (Asia Pacific) of the 2014 Hotel and General Manager Awards of Marriott International. She brings with her close to two decades of experience in hotel management and operations. In her earlier stints, Alex has served as the General Manager of Oberoi Grand Hotel, Kolkata. The Hotel and General Manager Awards are an annual feature of Marriott International. Each year, a handful of the top performing general managers and hotels are selected to be acclaimed for outstanding business and individual performances in various categories.-This recognition forms a fundamental part of the company’s core values of ’Putting People First’ and ’Pursuing Excellence’. This award, in the division of ’Full Service’ hotels comes on the heels of the very same award for the select service segment, which Alex bagged for her last stint as GM of Courtyard by Marriott, Pune Hinjewadi in 2012; and even closer to her most recent accomplishment of India Sales General Manager of the Year 2014, for her spirited spearheading of sales and market growth efforts at the Goa Marriott Resort & Spa. Alex is also, most notably, the first lady to lead the team in the entire 16-year tenure of the property. A Diploma holder in Hotel Management, Alex is an alumnus of IHM Kolkata. She is also a gold medalist from the Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development (OCLD).
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By BW Hotelier HILTON WORLDWIDE has appointed Kaushik Vardharajan as Vice President, Development ’ India. Vardharajan leads the expansion efforts of Hilton Worldwide in India. He reports to Andrew Clough, Senior Vice President, Development ’ Middle East and Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide, and he is based at the company’s India Regional Office in Gurgaon, Delhi NCR. A global veteran from HVS Hospitality Services, Vardharajan’s career with the firm spanned almost 15 years and included positions in North America and Asia. Most recently, as Partner Managing Director, Asia Pacific, HVS Hospitality Services, Vardharajan spearheaded strategy for the region driving overall performance of the firm. ’We are very pleased to welcome Kaushik. His appointment is an affirmation of our commitment to India, one of our key strategic growth markets. With his extensive experience and intimate knowledge of the industry, Kaushik is an exceptional asset to our business,’ said Clough. Vardharajan holds a Masters in Hospitality Administration as well as a Bachelor of Science in Hotel ’ Restaurant/Institutional Management from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI. He is also a graduate of the Owners and Presidents Management (OPM) programme at Harvard Business School. -Vardharajan is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and part of its Valuation Board for South Asia. He has also served as Adjunct Professor for Real Estate Finance and Valuations at New York University, New York.
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By Rashmi Pradhan THE FLAGSHIP property of Marriott International in India, the JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu is known for its F&B offerings and celebrity factor. BW Hotelier speaks to Pavithran Nambiar, General Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu (see photo) on what makes this property so special and his business strategy. The property welcomed its first guest in 2002, tell us about the journey so far? It has been almost 13 years and it’s a constant challenge to run the hotel. People appreciate quality and good service so the fundamentals remain the same. We keep on leveraging on our strengths, which is the amazing location and view of the sea, huge gardens and swimming pools. Our F&B is another of our strengths, since we opened the hotel. Almost 60 per cent of revenue is from F&B. We are proud to state that 60-70 per cent of our F&B revenue comes from non-residential guests. We are fortunate to receive great support from Mumbaikars for our restaurants. We continue to focus on quality, authenticity and great service at our restaurants. We have 60 per cent domestic and 40 per cent international guests. The domestic market is increasingly important. We receive 70 per cent of corporates and 30 per cent is leisure travelers. Besides F&B, the wedding and exhibitions business is crucial for the hotel. JW Marriott is now an established brand in India, how difficult it is get business? We have to work hard to keep getting business and keep what we have. We can never fall into the trap of believing that just by being in the market, we can prosper. Competition is increasing compared to what it was, when we opened in 2002, there are many good hotels and lot of choices available. In order to be successful we have to work not just from the sales and marketing point of view but also guest relations and delivery. In a high profile business, the expectations of guests are higher. This is a 24X7 business, we can serve the best breakfast in the city, but that has no bearing on lunch. We constantly strive to do better. What are the challenges of running a hotel? The biggest challenge is finding, training and retaining talent. Marriott has been repeatedly recognised as one of the best places to work and that has a big impact on our services. The attrition rate at this hotel is 9.6 per cent, which is extremely low. Our associates are extremely important to us and we strongly believe that they are the beginning and end of the success of our business. We put huge focus on associate training. Tell us about the trends in hospitality industry over the couple of years. There has been tremendous growth in the hospitality sector. Five years ago, Marriott had 14 hotels in India, now it has 29. This just proves the fact that there is so much opportunity. Not only the hotel industry but airlines, travel and tourism industry has witnessed huge growth. The mushrooming standalone restaurants business is another segment to watch out for. The wine industry is again a great story. In fact, I heard that there are around 80 vineyards in Nashik, and the quality of Indian wines is rising. The growth of business and budget hotels are another big aspect. Hospitality brands like ibis, Lemon Tree and Ginger have changed the dynamics of the hospitality sector. Not only is the luxury market rapidly growing, but growth can be witnessed across various hotel segments. In 2013, India crossed the threshold of 1 lakh branded hotel rooms, much behind China at 30 lakh and the US with 50 lakh, so there is still a long way to go. Social media is enormously importance. We have largely diverted our advertising efforts from the so called ’traditional’ media like print and billboards to the online space. We do a lot of work on social media and find it an effective and engaging way to connect with our guests. This hotel has been recognized as having the highest engagement on Facebook in terms of JW Marriott hotels across the globe. Any new concept at the hotel this year? We keep doing something new at the hotel. We brought the concept where diners in India can experience signature menus by Michelin Star Chefs. Culinary innovation is our main focus at this hotel and the above concept marked the beginning of a gastronomic revolution in the city. This year, we set a new benchmark in the field of culinary innovation by curating the ultimate Michelin dining experience in partnership with 4XFOUR Singapore, an expert in pop up dining experiences with handpicked Michelin star chefs from across the globe. This unique concept comes to India for the first time and will be part of a two-part series, bringing the world's best Michelin Star Chefs to the city, through a customised experiences curated by the hotel. In April 2015, we had 2 Michelin Star Chefs and next month (November 2015), we will be getting a 3 Michelin Stars Chef for a week. The author is Assistant Editor of BW Hotelier.
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