By BW Hotelier SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, Bengaluru will open on 24 September 2015 and its reservation lines are now open for guestroom and event enquiries.- Managed by Shangri-La, the hotel is offering a special introductory rate from INR 9,500 per room, per night that includes INR 3,000 credit, which can be applied to any service in the hotel.- The rate is based on two adults sharing and excludes taxes. The 19-storey hotel sits between the central business district and the blue-ribbon residential suburbs of Bengaluru with 397 rooms poised to take in views of the city’s low-lying cityscape and Bangalore Palace.- Abstract floral patterns alluding to Bengaluru’s beautiful gardens and moniker, the ’Garden City’, can be found throughout the property and complement design touches to reflect Shangri-La’s Asian heritage. ’Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru is a wonderful addition to our group’s portfolio in India and will certainly add to the State of Karnataka’s exciting and eclectic tourism scene,’ said Jens Corder, general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru (see photo). Presenting the city’s largest collection of food and beverage destinations, guests’ experiences will include all-day and interactive dining at b Cafe, Mediterranean flavours and fresh seafood at Caprese, the best of regional cuisines from the north and south of India at Ssaffron, while Shang Palace will serve up classic Chinese dishes.- Those in the mood for Japanese tastes will find Yataii, the Japanese restaurant, perfect for a culinary tour of Japan.- Guests can end evenings at Hype ’ an energetic bar set against the backdrop of Bengaluru’s skyline ’ with handcrafted cocktails and resident DJs to set the mood. The Lobby Lounge provides a place for socialising and business with fine tea and coffee, pastries and after-dinner drinks.- Destined to be difficult to resist, b Caf- Pastry will showcase sweets and savouries and seasonal hampers.
Read More
By BW Hotelier INDIA TOURISM Development Corporation (ITDC), the public sector undertaking under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, posted a stable performance for first quarter of the current financial year 2015-16. The total turnover in quarter ending June 2015 stood at Rs 105.96 crore as compared to Rs 103.63 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The company registered Net Profit Before Tax (PBT) at Rs 2.77 crore and Net Sales at Rs 96.95 crore as compared to Rs 0.30 crore and Rs 96.19 crore respectively in the corresponding quarter last year 2014-15. These details were announced in the Board of Directors’ meeting of the company today on 14th August, 2015 at the Group’s flagship hotel, The Ashok, New Delhi. In Q1, 2015-16 the momentum generated in the last financial year seem to have continued posting profit yet again. Also, The Ashok group of hotels has been in the forefront of innovative marketing initiatives ensuring consistency in sales and occupancy. The company has registered an occupancy rate of 47 per cent compared to 45 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.
Read More
By BW Hotelier SOURAV RAKSHIT has been appointed as the Assistant Director Food & Beverage at Hyatt Regency Chennai. In his new role at Hyatt Regency Chennai, he will be expected to encourage employees to be creative and innovative and challenge and recognize them for their contribution to the success of the operation. He will also be expected to keep himself abreast of the hotel guest feedback, views and ensure that each profit centre is operated in line with maximizing profit while delivering on the brand promise. Rakshit started his career with Hyatt Regency Kolkata in 2002 where he managed most of the outlets in the property. He holds a BSC degree from Calcutta University and a hotel management degree from IHMCT & AN and believes his strength are - team building, communication, inventory management, budgeting, business development, product enhancement, guest satisfaction to name a few. In 2011 he got transferred as an Outlet Manager to Hyatt Regency Mumbai, where he served for a year. In 2012, he joined Hyatt Raipur as the Food & Beverage Manager where he served his last before joining Hyatt Regency Chennai. His core responsibilities at Hyatt Raipur were, ensuring the F&B activities are aligned with the respective corporate strategies, ensuring all employees deliver the brand promise and provide exceptional guest service at all times, analyzing business performance strategically to facilitate, accurate and meaningful forecasting.
Read More
By BW Hotelier RAMENDRA PRATAP Singh has joined Park Plaza Noida as the new General Manager. With over 16 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Singh began his career with Corbett Riverside Resort and have worked with Chokhi Dhani followed by a stint with Leisure Hotels Limited. Prior to joining Park Plaza Noida, Singh worked with Radisson Blu Hotel Indore in the capacity of Director Sales & Marketing and Executive Assistant Manager. With an enriching experience as this Singh is confident of taking the success of Park Plaza Noida to greater heights.
Read More
By BW Hotelier CENTARA HOTELS & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel group, has announced the promotion of Chris Bailey to Chief Operating Officer from Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Since joining Centara Hotels & Resorts in 2004 as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Bailey has played a significant role in the formulation of the effective growth strategy that has propelled the company to the pre-eminent position in the industry it enjoys today. With only eight properties in 2004, Bailey will help to oversee a current portfolio of 70 properties and still growing. With a wealth of experience in travel and destination management, Bailey brings that knowledge and wider industry perspective to his new role. Bailey will oversee Centara operations, sales and marketing, and the organization’s various corporate entities, which are all vital components as the company continues to rapidly expand locally and internationally. ’Centara has provided me with opportunities to continually develop and in my new role, I look forward to new challenges,’ shares Chris Bailey, new COO of Centara Hotels & Resorts. ’I am excited to help lead Centara into a new phase where there are many possibilities to achieve our goals.’
Read More
By BW Hotelier ACCORDING TO data compiled by Ministry of Tourism, 6.33 lakh foreign tourists visited India last month as compared to 5.69 lakh in July 2014 and 5.06 lakh in July 2013. A growth of 11.3 per cent was registered in July 2015 over July 2014. The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during January-July 2015 were 44.78 lakh as compared 42.75 lakh during the same period in 2014. There has been a growth of 4.8 per cent during January-July 2015 over January-July 2014. The percentage share of FTAs in India during July 2015 among the top 15 source countries was highest from USA (16.51 per cent) followed by Bangladesh (16.44 per cent), UK (12.29 per cent), France (3.43 per cent), Sri Lanka (3.36 per cent), Malaysia (3.32 per cent), Canada (2.75 per cent), Germany (2.45 per cent), China (2.33 per cent), Japan (2.25 per cent), Australia (2.21 per cent), Nepal (2.16 per cent), Singapore (1.71 per cent), Oman (1.57 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (1.55 per cent). These top 15 countries account for 74.33 per cent of total FTAs during July 2015. The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during July 2015 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (27.04 per cent) followed by Mumbai Airport (17.48 per cent), Chennai Airport (10.66 per cent), Haridaspur Land check post (9.38 per cent), Bengaluru Airport (7.32 per cent), Cochin Airport (4.96 per cent), Hyderabad Airport (4.64 per cent), Kolkata Airport (3.88 per cent), Gede Rail (1.78 per cent), Trivandrum Airport (1.67 per cent), Tiruchirapalli Airport (1.40 per cent), Amritsar Airport (0.97 per cent), Ghojadanga Land check post (0.93 per cent) and Attari Wagha Land check post (0.78 per cent). These top 15 ports account for 94.74 per cent of total FTAs during July 2015. The Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) during July 2015 were Rs 11,452 crore as compared to Rs 10,336 crore in July 2014 and Rs 8,620 crore in July 2013. FEEs from tourism in January-July 2015 were Rs 71,754 crore as compared with Rs 67,096 crore during the same period last year. Photo caption: Delhi Airport saw 27.04 per cent of foreign tourist arrivals of total July 2015 inflows.
Read More
By Rashmi Pradhan REALISING THE dearth of branded hotels across the country in the mid-market segment, Keshav Baljee, Co-promoter of Royal Orchid Hotels; MD of Spree Hotels ventured into the business of hotel franchise under the brand ’ZiP Rooms’. Keshav Baljee, CEO, ZiP Rooms, in an interaction with BW Hotelier said, ’I realised that several hotels across the country were run by good entrepreneurs but needed some benefits of a chain to generate more profit. Especially since times are tough for most hoteliers, the fact that we could help provide 10-15 per cent extra revenues and save around 20-30 per cent of hoteliers’ costs made it a good win-win proposition for both the parties. This is why we launched ZiP Rooms recently and have grown quite well in the last few months.’ Currently, ZiP Rooms has signed up hotels in 24 cities with over 2000 keys. ’We expect to hit 10,000 rooms in 100 plus cities in the next one year. We are signing mid-market and budget hotels, serviced apartments and resorts. The primary focus is to cover most business and leisure markets as the focus is top 100 markets in India. We are looking for VC funding,’ Baljee informed. Speaking on the cutting edge that ZiP Rooms enjoy over other players in the segment, Baljee said, ’ZiP Rooms is built on the strong hospitality platform we have built in Spree Hospitality. We have built a strong technology platform which can empower independent hoteliers across the country to gain more revenues and save on costs.’ ’ZiP Rooms works on a co-branding and franchise model. We are a soft-brand and a promise of quality to our customers. Our hotels get the benefits of associating with a big chain ’ training and development, procurement assistance, standard operating procedures, recruitment assistance, and even management support if needed. Most importantly we provide a network of sales offices, a mobile app and booking engine which enables the hotel to increase its revenue drastically,’ he added explaining on how the ZiP room model worked. Baljee told us that they are targeting the discerning, value-conscious leisure and business traveler who is looking for good quality standard accommodation across India. The target age group is between 18-35. They aimed to be the most reliable budget hotel brand for frequent travelers in the country. ’We want our brand to be synonymous with rock-solid quality service delivery. We are possibly the only aggregator to be heavily focused on service,’ he said. ZiP Rooms is well connected to the industry and is reaching out to established entrepreneurs to work together. They are seeking long-term relationships with hotels to build a formidable network of hotels across India. According to him, the company audits all their hotels with their brand standards. As long as the hotel meets brand standards, the company then proceeds to the next step of product and service standardisation. ’We are not directly competing with OTAs as we provide a differentiated business model--we see ourselves as a brand that aggregates hotels. As such, our hotels can be listed on the OTA portals as well, as we will distribute the hotels as widely as possible,’ he explained. Compared to others, the advantage that ZiP Rooms has is that they are from within the hospitality industry and understand that rooms ins not the only business. ’We also focus on food and beverage and provide sales and operational assistance there as well. We believe that by partnering with the best hoteliers across India, we can put together the most impressive chain of budget and mid-market hotels across India. Quality is what will allow us to combat our competition!’ he remarked. Baljee sees great potential in his business model. ’The current market size of the digital hotel booking industry is at USD 1 billion, which will increase to around USD 8-10 billion in the next 3-4 years, according to our internal estimates. We believe that we can brand the unbranded hotels across India for mutual benefits, growing to around 10,000 keys across 100 cities in the next one year,’ he concludes. The author is Assistant Editor at BWHotelier.
Read More
By Bikramjit Ray TRIP FACTORY launched its BOGO card, a prepaid travel card aimed at the budget traveller in India. BW Hotelier spoke exclusively to Amit Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of TripFactory.com (see photo) about the card and what they were trying to achieve with the product offering. ’India is a very large holiday market and there is no platform which addresses all the consumers,’ he began. ’India has two types of holiday markets. There is the experiential, people who know exactly what they want and when they want it. They book holidays in advance on set dates. Then there is a huge population who are aspirational and budget driven,’ he said. The latter was the market, which the BOGO card primarily addresses. ’The BOGO card is meant for that aspirational market for those who do not have the luxury of holidaying when they want because of budgetary constraints,’ he explained. Launched across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, BOGO Cards are prepaid cards that are-cost effective, offer convenience-and provide a hassle free.- he card offers-flexibility to travel 200 days in a year at a fixed price. BOGO Cards can be redeemed for travel 14 days prior to the date of departure for a date that extends up to 12 months from the date of purchase. ’We have partnered with airlines like Jet Airways, Go Air and Tiger Air and locked inventory during the high season periods of July to September and then January to March. We have about 4,000,000 seats behind this products,’ Aggarwal told BW Hotelier. Somebody who is really aspirational. Can buy card and go on a holiday. Pricing begins at Rs 4,999 for a all inclusive airfare, 4 days 3 night stay with breakfast and taxes, for a Goa break for Mumbai to Rs 19,999 for a Dubai trip. ’For that audience who is only aspirational. We are really creating a new segment of holiday travellers,’ he said. The card can be purchased online and holidays can be booked online. It has participation of good branded hotels to ensure a great travel experience, Aggarwal said. ’Once people use our cards and figure out the quality, there will be a huge surge in demand for them,’ he added. Marketing is focussed on the Indian market, but everyone can buy in, even those visiting the country, he said. ’We want to make sure that in the next two or three years we can start to sell billions of dollars worth of holidays,’ he says. Currently the destinations covered are all airport cities in India and the most popular international destinations for Indian tourists in Asia & Middle East like Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Colombo and Kathmandu. The author is Executive Editor of BW Hotelier.
Read More
