By BW Hotelier MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL Inc. has appointed Neeraj Govil as Market Vice President for South Asia. Govil will be replacing Rajeev Menon, who has moved to a new role as Chief Operating Officer Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China). Prior to this, Govil was General Manager at the Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre, China. In his new capacity, and as part of the core Asia Pacific leadership team, Govil will be responsible for creating and executing a strategic road map that will focus on establishing brand positioning and effectively expanding market share of the Marriott portfolio in South Asia. He will be based out of the Marriott Area Office in Mumbai. With over 14 years in the hospitality sector, Govil brings a wealth of international experience and expertise to the table spanning across several disciplines including operations, marketing strategy and business development. Govil comes with a strong financial acumen, the ability to create innovative business models and consistently deliver outstanding results in operational excellence, service delivery and revenue growth. An alumni of IHMCT & AN, Goa; Govil graduated in Hotel Management and Catering Technology in 1997. In 2001, he joined the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Centre and Marriott Executive Apartments. From 2006 to 2011, Govil led Operations at the Brisbane Marriott Hotel in Australia, the Renaissance Riverside Saigon in Vietnam and the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel Hong Kong in China. From 2011 to 2015, he was General Manager at the Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast and then at the Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre.
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REVENUE MANAGEMENT has become a very important and talked about subject in the hotel industry today. To begin with, let’s first understand what it means in layman’s terms. Revenue Management essentially is the process of utilising the capacity of any available facility or infrastructure to the fullest and generate the maximum possible revenue out of it.
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By BW Hotelier ONLINE TRAVEL portal, Yatra.com has launched TG Rooms and TG Stays, thus further strengthening its position as the premier aggregator of domestic hotels and home stay accommodations in India. TG Rooms will exclusively cater to budget travellers providing hotel and guest house options that meet all the basic standards of hygiene and offer amenities like free WiFi and air conditioning. Keeping in mind the growing interest in home stays amongst Indian travelers, TG Stays will offer verified home stays across the major destinations in the country. Yatra.com, combined with TG Rooms and TG Stays, now has the largest inventory of hotels and other accommodations in India with over 40,000 stay options across 1100+cities. Commenting on this development, Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com, (see photo) said, ’Growing our hotel business is a key focus for us, and the launch of TG Rooms and TG Stays is another step in the same direction. With TG Rooms and TG Stays, we are looking to expand our inventory even further and offer travellers a diversified portfolio of budget accommodation options. TG Stays is targeting a new segment in the market by aggregating verified home stays, which are especially ideal for short vacations, weekend getaways and road trips that are gaining immense popularity amongst Indian travellers. Travellers need an assurance especially when it comes to budget accommodation and we are doing exactly that ’ curating the best budget options, standardising the experience and providing assurance by lending the Travelguru brand to them.’ Yatra.com acquired a 100 per cent stake in Travelguru in 2012 to become the largest provider of hotel bookings in the country. Launched with over 500 accommodations in over 60 cities, TG Rooms and TG Stays are available for booking on both Yatra.com and Travelguru.com, with a starting price of Rs. 499 for an A/C room, free Wi-Fi, breakfast, free cancellation and clean linen. Accommodation options under TG Rooms and TG Stays can also be included in any holiday package booked with Yatra.com.
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By BW Hotelier INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Group (IHG) to open its 10th Crowne Plaza property, Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road in India and will be operational from November 2015. Ideally located in close proximity to the airport, in the business hub of Sitapura, Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road will provide 218 rooms and 20 suites. The launch of this property will reflect a shared mission of IHG and DS Group to provide guests with premium accommodation, excellent business services and scrumptious meal options during one’s stay in Jaipur. Speaking on the launch, General Manager Ashwani Goela said, ’We are very happy and excited with the launch of Crowne Plaza in Jaipur. Our hotel will cater not only to business but even leisure travelers. Ideal for MICE, this property will provide ample of space for hosting meetings, events, conferences and weddings. We look forward to welcoming our guests for a great experience.’ Spread across 19,500 sq. ft, Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road will provide excellent venues for business meetings as well, we were told. The indoor and outdoor banquet venues will offer flexible meeting options that can accommodate up to 1,200 guests. The pillar less banquet spacess will present an array of flexible meeting spaces coupled with service excellence by the Crowne Meetings experts. The dining options include Sirocco (all-day dining restaurant providing buffet and a la carte options; House of Han (Chinese restaurant) and ConneXions Bar. For those looking for a touch of relaxation, the rejuvenating spa, well-equipped fitness centre and tranquil poolside will create enormous options to break away from a hectic routine. One may also choose to explore popular tourist attractions like Choki Dhani and more. Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road, a green building will incorporate several sustainable features. This Green Engage certified hotel will give the property the ability to track energy, carbon and water consumption as well as to assess how waste is managed. The double glass unit will ensure lower carbon footprints and allow maximum entry of natural light while minimizing heat transmission. It will be the only hotel fa-ade in India, to not have punch windows. The unique materials used in the building fa-ade like aluminum composite panels, double glass unit, sand stones and terracotta a fin will ensure the hotel remains cool throughout. Other sustainable solutions by the hotel are solar system for providing hot water, sewage treatment plant, energy saving times and sensors and hear recovery systems.
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By BW Hotelier FAIRMONT JAIPUR has appointed Varun Kumar Mehrotra as the new Director Sales & Marketing. Mehrotra has more than a decade of experience in sales and marketing in leading Indian hotel brands. He started his career with Oberoi Hotels and Resorts and moved to- sales in 2004 when he joined Uppal’s Orchid hotel, New Delhi as Sales Executive. In 2007, he moved to The Leela Kempinski Palaces, New Delhi as Sales Account Manager, then to Zuri Hotels & Resorts as Associate Director of Sales & Marketing in 2008. Later he joined Ista Hotel, Pune as Associate Director of Sales & Marketing in 2010 before moving to Hotel The Cladriges, Surajkund as Associate Head of Sales & Marketing in 2012. He was appointed Director of Sales for The Grand hotel, New Delhi in 2012 and his last assignment was as Director of Sales & Marketing at Novotel, Visakhapatnam.
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By BW Hotelier KB KACHRU, Chairman, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, (photo left) was conferred the prestigious Indian Federation of Culinary Association (IFCA) Award of Excellence by the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS) at the Global Culinary Exchange 2015 in New Delhi. The award recognizes individuals in the culinary and hospitality industries who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of the culinary profession and the promotion of culinary arts in India. Winners are selected by an exclusive award committee, constituted by the IFCA, in consultation with WACS. ’I am grateful for the honor. In our industry, it is imperative to constantly innovate. Today’s consumers are increasingly sophisticated and in order to consistently delight our diners and guests, we will continue to champion creativity and nurture passion for the culinary arts,’ said Kachru, who developed the successful ’The Great Kabab Factory’ (TGKF) Indian specialty restaurant concept and launched the first TGKF restaurant in Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi in 1998. There are now 15 TGKF restaurants in India and around the world, including nine that are located within Carlson Rezidor hotels such as Radisson Blu Hotel Chennai City Center, Radisson Hotel Pune Kharadi and Park Plaza Noida.
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By BW Hotelier RISHI NEOGE has been appointed as General Manager of Howard Johnson Bengaluru Hebbal. With over 19 years of experience and held several positions in- Food and Beverage within the leading luxury and business hotels across India like ITC, The Imperial, IHCL and IHG to name a few. Neoge looks forward to the opportunities and challenges that the new assignment brings his way.
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By BW Hotelier VISHAL ATREYA is the newly appointed Executive Chef at JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar. With over 16 years of experience in the industry, he brings to the table, his expertise in fast paced environment and high volume operations with multiple styles of service. Chef Atreya is an alumni from the Institute of Hotel management in Chandigarh. Chef Atreya started his culinary journey in the kitchens of Taj. He has explored various cuisines across the globe, enhancing his culinary repertoire and dwelling in search of the right ingredients and learning the rustic nuances of mastering a dish. He was responsible for several kitchen operations at many prestigious hotels like The Ritz Carlton LLC and The Imperial Hotel New Delhi. He gained thorough knowledge of different cuisines; learnt to cater to large banquets and also spear headed operations across bars, lounges and fine dining restaurants in his remarkable culinary journey. His passion, zeal and dedication towards food at every stage have helped him evolve into a versatile personality thus accepting various roles. Chef Atreya firmly believes that ingredients are the key elements of his food philosophy and ascertains in the usage of freshest, seasonal and local produce strictly sourced for their quality and provenance. When not cooking, he spends his time pursuing his hobbies ’ Photography and Music.
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