By BW Hotelier INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Group (IHG) announced the launch of its boutique hotel brand Hotel Indigo in the UAE with the signing of a management agreement with Sunflower FZE for a new, meticulously designed 285-room Hotel Indigo in Dubai. Hotel Indigo is IHG’s boutique brand and each Hotel Indigo property is designed to reflect the local neighbourhood it is located in. Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East & Africa, IHG, said: ’Hotel Indigo is one of the fastest growing boutique hotel brands in the world and we know our guests love the unique neighbourhood story each Hotel Indigo property is designed to reflect. As one of the fastest growing cosmopolitan cities in the world, it has always been our plan to bring Hotel Indigo to Dubai and we are honoured to have been selected to partner with Sunflower FZE to develop their first hospitality project ’ and under the Hotel Indigo brand." "When complete in 2017, we are confident Hotel Indigo Dubai Business Bay will be one of the preferred hotels amongst travellers to Dubai, whether they visit on business or leisure," he added. Jitendra Bhatia, Director, Sunflower FZE added: ’Dubai as an investment market has evolved tremendously over the four decades since we have been here. Travel and tourism has picked up pace and we are looking at a growing service economy which is in need of more hotel rooms to cater to a rising proportion of GCC and international travellers. This is our first foray into the hospitality space and IHG was a natural choice when we were looking for a reputable hotel company to partner with. We are very pleased to be developing the first Hotel Indigo in the UAE and look forward to developing a great and inspired hotel experience for our guests." There are currently 62 Hotel Indigo hotels around the world and 62 hotels in IHG's global pipeline due to open in the next three to five years.
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By BW Hotelier MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL has announced its Asia Pacific (APAC) operation has won a series of prestigious workplace awards within the first four months in 2015, including being named 2015 China Top Employer by Top Employers Institute, one of the Best Workplaces in Asia by Great Place to Work and the two Regional Best Employer Awards including one for India and by Aon Hewitt for Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific respectively. These four major accolades combined with 15 Aon Hewitt workplace excellence awards for Marriott International in nine Asia Pacific markets ’ China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, recognize the company’s efforts to encourage, train and retain its 46,700 strong workforce, known as ’associates’, across the region. Anand Shankar, Regional Leader for Performance, Rewards and Talent with Aon Hewitt in Asia Pacific, said, ’The Best Employers recognition means that the organization inspires strong commitment and superior performance from its people, and drives business results through effective people practices. He added: ’For Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts, to be recognized as Best Employers in so many countries across Asia Pacific this year is by no means an easy achievement given the caliber of organizations that participates. To sustain quality and high-standard practices of HR programs and initiatives, year after year, is a true reflection of the group’s commitment to long-term success and sustainability through its people.’ The company’s focus on hiring locally, developing local talent and providing career opportunities is reflected in the Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts 2014 employee satisfaction survey for the Asia Pacific region which showed a 93 and 95 percent approval rating, respectively. Associates each take part in average 34 hours of training and 78 hours of professional development for managers in 2014 and all associates in the APAC region attend a daily pre-shift meeting to discuss one aspect of the company or service values, followed by a brief 15 minute training session to reinforce a skill or area of knowledge. The meeting is also used for recognition of successful service or career stories. Hotels host a variety of town hall meetings, or ’rap’ sessions with the general managers and participate in community service activities to create a sense of pride and engagement with the company. Developing talent is crucial to present and future success as Marriott International expands across the region. Marriott International expects to create approximately 37,000 new jobs in Asia through its continued growth and development in the APAC region in the next three years and it plans to increase its workforce to more than 40,300 in China alone by 2017.
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By BW Hotelier ACCOR ANNOUNCED the take-over of Fastbooking, a digital services provider for the hotel industry. A French company founded in 2000, Fastbooking provides daily support to nearly 4,000 hotels worldwide. Its key areas of expertise are hotel website development, distribution channel management solutions, digital marketing campaign management, revenue management optimization tools and competitive intelligence. Its two main markets are Europe and Asia. Fastbooking will continue to deliver solutions designed to improve the performance and visibility of its clients, while operating independently within Accor. The confidentiality of data relating to Fastbooking's client hotels will be fully preserved. At the same time, the expertise of Fastbooking's teams will broaden the range of services that Accor can offer to its hotels. ’The take-over of Fastbooking-will help speed up the implementation of our digital strategy,’ said S-bastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Accor. ’Following the acquisition of Wipolo last October, this new transaction enables us to further expand our capabilities and strengthen our digital expertise for the benefit of our hotels. While maintaining its independence, Fastbooking-will now enjoy the support of a global leader capable of providing the resources it needs to make the most of its enormous potential, so that it can continue to innovate for an even larger client base.’ ’Accor's investment in Fastbooking-marks the beginning of a new phase in our development,’ said Fastbooking-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jean-G-rard Galvez. ’It is also a sign of recognition for the incredible work done by our teams, who have spent the past few months redesigning our solutions to make them even more innovative and efficient.’
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By Aditi Balbir INDIA’S BEAUTIFUL and often off the beaten track destinations have been the foundation for V Resorts. Our main aim has been to introduce unique vacations or experiences for the leisure traveller. We have been consistently-developing effective solutions and carefully designing processes that help maintain and monetize properties-with-5-25 rooms, across offbeat locations of India. V provides enriched vacations that imbibe the local flavour and activities prevalent around each property. It engages with experts for designing experiences around yoga, rafting, kayaking, angling, bird watching, trekking, cycling, national park safaris and village tours. I strongly believe that a-business flourishes if it reflects what you stand for, your beliefs and values. In my case V Resorts began because of my passion for travelling and discovering new places. Hence we decided to focus only on offbeat vacation places and developing new destinations for travel. However, it has become much bigger in scope than just pure travel. At V Resorts, we tie up with the local community to help run our resorts - from recruitment, to market development, arranging local activities and cultural excursions to tying up with farmers and local artisans for fresh produce & local products - all with the intention to help the customer experience the particular culture of that place. We strongly believe that developing new destinations is viable and feasible only if it is followed by development of the community that lives there. And this is further fuelled by tourism. As people dart to visit those offbeat villages and towns, they in turn start to flourish. I would like to give you a short anecdote of a boatman in Sattal.-A boat ride in Sattal usually costs Rs 300 but the irony lies in the fact that a local boatman who takes us for a joyous ride in the peaceful lake of Sattal earns only Rs 50 from the total amount. In the process the annual income of a local boatmen is Rs 50000 only. But since the time we have started patronizing the local boatmen and selling boating as a package their income have simply doubled. With more than 2000 guests visiting our resorts in a year and almost everyone going for a boat ride we contribute to a great extent in increasing the yearly income of a local boatman. We-began our journey in 2010 with a unique property in Corbet and within 5 years of inception,-V-Resorts-has under its mantle 11-resorts-in the most exquisite locations in and around Delhi- 1 in-Rajasthan, 5 in Uttrakhand, 1 in Uttar Pradesh, 2 in Himachal Prades and 2 more coming up in Rajasthan. We are now focusing on the wildlife belt in Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra (Pench, Panna, Kahna, Tadoba, Satpura) and another 5 destinations around Pune and Mumbai (Ganpatipue, Bhor, Nasik, etc). We've already started identifying a few places in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The idea is to have 10 places each around Mumbai and Bangalore in the next 3-4 months. We plan to have approximately 1500 rooms (expanding to 100 resorts) under our brand in the next 2 years and be a pan Indian presence. Aditi Balbir is Founder and Managing Director of V Resorts.
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By Manish Dayya GOA AS a destination has always been doing well. This is one state, which has always seen an upward trend. Initially this state always saw an upward trend in terms of occupancies, ARRS, RevPARS, year on year the growth was almost 8 to 10 per cent. The correction that happened really only balanced out the occupancies. In the last two or three years, if you see, the occupancies have really not shot up, but they have been stable. Hotels have done 74 per cent occupancies YTD. This is irrespective of switching from being a six month destination only managing charter clients to managing domestic segment to fill up in the off season and now it is a destination which not only caters to leisure travellers but its become a destination which is sought after by the MICE traveller and by wedding and events. To its advantage, Goa is also very well connected. Through airlines, railways and road transport, things have only been getting better. In the last 3-4 years, there has been a hike of 8 to 10 per cent in terms of actual numbers of visitors coming to Goa. So, technically it saw a growth in the last four years starting from 25 lakhs to 30 lakhs. Out of this 30 lakhs, about 5 lakhs is international’the largest number from Russia, UK and then Germany. The international travellers usually come on a small budget, there was a time when Goa was affordable for them, today it is getting a little expensive from the charters point of view, but this shortfall is being filled up really well by the domestic travellers. I think Goa has no competition as a leisure travel destination from within India, the competition is with other international destinations. The spending power is now with the domestic travellers. They are the ones who spend more. They may compromise on the stay aspect, since we like a bargain. You will not see them around in hotels, but moving around and spending on retail as well as most importantly in Goa, the casinos. Today, if you see the casinos, they are almost totally dependent on Indian travellers. If you ask me, last year things were very different because elements like the Russian charter tourists also contributed very well to Goa, this year hotels have seen a dip of almost 12 per cent in their occupancies in terms of the low charter movement, all put together. The rooms opened up for domestic travellers who are used to spending more. ARRs and revPARS did increase.- The average ARRS are much better than they were last year. While they have seen a drop in their occupancies, they have seen an increase in their ADRs of almost 20 per cent. Which means Goa does not really need to worry. Born and brought up in Goa, Manish Dayya, has recently been promoted from GM, Grand Mercure Goa Shrem Resort and Novotel Goa Shrem Resort to-Area General Manager, Accor Hotels Lavasa and General Manager of Novotel Lavasa.
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By BW Hotelier ACCOR ASIA Pacific has been appointed by Pristine Island Investments to manage Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort and Pullman Maldives Maamutaa Resort, two new resorts being built Maldives. The Mercure and Pullman are expected to open in 2016 and 2018 respectively, and will be located in the south of the Maldives in the Gaafu Alifu Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort aims to provide the best-value accommodation in Maldives, with 68 villas including 43 located over water and 25 scattered along the white sandy beach. The resort will be built using local materials, bright colours with the interiors reflecting the Maldivian culture and the spirit of travel. The resort is expected to be the only Maldivian beach resort directly accessible by domestic plane, without the need of an additional speedboat journey. Facilities will include an all-day restaurant, lobby lounge, pool and pool bar, sunset bar, spa and gym as well as a range of watersports including a dive centre. The 120-villa Pullman Maldives Maamutaa Resort, which is slated to open in 2018, will be a ’one-island, one-resort development’ located 10 minutes by speedboat from the new airport Maamutaa Island which spans 195,000 square metres. The property is expected to offer its guests five-star services and facilities including 80 overwater villas and 40 villas dotted around the pristine beach, two swimming pools, a lounge, an all-day dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a sunset bar perched over the lagoon, spa and fitness centre, organic gardens, tennis court, kids club, beach playground as well as a dive centre and watersports centre. The announcement comes at a time when the Maldives are enjoying record visitor numbers with 120,468 tourists arriving in February 2015, the highest number recorded in the history of Maldives tourism. Asia Pacific currently accounts for around 44 per cent of visitor arrivals (with China the number one source country) and Europe accounting for 49 per cent of visitor arrivals.
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By BW Hotelier THE PARK Hotel group launched their second ’Zone by The Park’ branded hotel in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Unveiled within three months of the first property launch in Coimbatore, the brand looks forward towards expanding to other cities such as Mahabalipuram, Chennai and Raipur in 2015 itself. Zone by The Park, Jaipur is a 47 room property centrally located at Madho Singh Road, Bani Park and according to promotional material, it ’aims to inculcate the best use of buzzing spaces, contemporary design, creative interiors, multifunctional spaces, restaurants, bars and vibrant nightlife’. The hotel offers an all-day dining restaurant, Bazaar--a world cuisine diner just off the lobby offering multi-pricing options. The property also offers Playa by Zone, a poolside play area for adults that serves cocktails and snacks. Zone by The Park, Jaipur has a 2500 sq. ft. banquet hall for weddings, conferences and events and a 500 sq. ft. business centre. Rooms come in four categories: Zone Room, Zone Trio, Zone Quad and Zone Suite and offers complimentary Wi-Fi in all its areas for all residents and non-resident guests. The hotel also features Vitalia, the gym and spa for wellness and fitness. Speaking at the launch, Vijay Dewan, Managing Director, Apeejay Surrendra Park hotels Ltd. said, ’Zone by The Park has been envisioned to cater to the needs of design conscious customers. With an aim to have a slice of The Park in every city people travel to, we are expanding ’Zone by The Park’ and are delighted to announce the launch of the second property in Jaipur.’ ARRs are aiming to be between Rs. 3000 and Rs. 5000, according to Santhosh Kutty, General Manager, Operations and Development, Zone by The Park Hotels. The core team of the new property is led by Director of Operations, Harish Kumar and includes Executive Sous Chef Harsh Rawat and Assistant Sales Manager Karandeep Singh.
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By BW Hotelier INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Group (IHG) recently announced new enhancements to its existing loyalty programme, IHG Rewards Club that focusses on building more personalised relationships with its 84 million members worldwide. Findings from IHG’s 2015 trends report suggested that consumers are looking for more than an effortless transaction with their chosen brands and want a rewarding relationship over a sustained period of time. Following the research,IHG Rewards Club will now introduce a new membership level, to better reward its most loyal members with the most relevant benefits. The research also revealed the importance of ’recognition’ to members who want to feel rewarded for loyalty. In response, IHG as part of the new reward program will enhance its ability to deliver a personalised experience for members, before, during and after their stay. IHG Rewards Club will evolve over 2015 and 2016 by introducing a new top membership level in July 2015 wherein travelers can reach the level by earning 75,000 qualifying points or staying at IHG hotels for 75 qualifying nights, over the course of a year. The club will also offer 100% extra bonus points on qualifying stays to its customers and will allow, members of this new level to choose between receiving 25,000 points or upgrading a friend or family member to Platinum. Club members will need to earn just 10,000 qualifying points or stay for 10 qualifying nights to be eligible for Gold membership. Gold members will need to earn 40,000 qualifying points or stay for 40 qualifying nights to reach Platinum membership. IHG is also enhancing its ability to learn about members and then utilise this information through a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This system will enable hotels to respond to members’ preferences at every stage of the guest journey and offer services and experiences that are personally relevant to them. To enable IHG to reward its guests starting from May 2016, IHG will expire all points for IHG Rewards Club Members if they have not earned or redeemed any points at all in the previous 12 months. IHG Rewards Club members will continue to maintain their point balances simply by completing a qualifying stay at one of IHG’s 4,800 hotels or redeeming some of their existing points during a membership year.
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