By Hita Gupta ITC HOTELS-walked away with top honours at the first Indian Digital Hospitality Awards 2015. In addition to the coveted Marketer of the Year award, they won awards in two other categories, the silver for the Best Integrated Marketing Campaign and the bronze for the Best Use of Social Media. Speaking on the overall awards, Chairperson of the Jury, Vir Sanghvi said, ’Digital is an exciting area but it is also a new area, it is an area unfortunately many people in the hospitality industry don’t fully understand in India. More people should focus on digital because that is where the future also is.’ In all, there were four gold awards given away at the IDHA 2015. In the category Best Use of Technology, iProspect Communicate2 won the Gold for Cleartrip, for its entry Dynamic Landing Pages. Neemrana Hotels grabbed a gold in the category Best Use of Search. In the category Best Use of Social Media, the gold went to Courtyard by Marriott for 28 Wedding Leads Campaign. Ibis Delhi Airport won a gold for Best Integrated Marketing Campaign. The category Best Use of Search also saw a silver award going to Omnicom Media Group for Hyatt India Flash Sale Offer. In the Best Use of Technology, the silver went to Interactive Avenues for Trident website. The silver in the Best Use of Social Media was awarded to Tonic Media for McDonald’s #UnshareMyFries and the bronze to ITC Hotels. ITC Hotels also won silver for its entry ’35 years of Bukhara’ in the category Best Integrated Marketing Campaign, while the bronze went to Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park. The jury members at the event include Ambrish Gupta, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Knowlarity Communication; Samrat Kakkar, Digital Business Head of Reprise Media; Sandeep Amar, Chief Operating Officer of India.com; Sourish Bhattacharya Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier and Bikramjit Ray, Executive Editor, BW Hotelier. ’Reach of digital is very wide. While some hotels get and other are still struggling, digital can help to get a huge number of customers from a totally different part of the population,’ commented Ray. ’People will be encouraged and enthused by the awards and produce better marketing content in the years to come and awards like this should give an incentive to the hospitality industry to treat digital marketing with more seriousness,’ said Bhattacharya. The hospitality industry has played a significant role in driving the services sector in India, and the advent of digital media has transformed various aspects of the same. Indian Digital Hospitality Conclave will discuss issues and subjects that impact the future of hospitality and related sectors in India. Hita Gupta is Senior Correspondent, Digital Market Asia
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By BW Hotelier SANDEEP VERMA has become the Director of Operations of The Claridges, New Delhi. Verma, has over 18 years of hospitality experience has previously worked with Taj Hotels, Jet Airways (I) Ltd, IndiGo and The Park Hotels. Before joining The Claridges, he was Senior General Manager In-flight Services at SpiceJet Ltd. An alumni of Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Verma in his current role will be assisting the leadership team and ensuring brand standards are maintained thanks to his expertise in the fields of training, process management, financial planning, strategy and operations excellence. He will also be responsible for identifying key drivers in achieving business success.
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Shantanu Jain BW HOTELIER spoke exclusively to Abhishek Azad, Executive Vice President,-Middleby Celfrost Innovation,-who develop, manufacture, market and service equipment for commercial and residential kitchens about-their new products launched in India, this is what he had to tell us. This year the company have launched four new products: The Turbochef 2620, a first vent-less conveyor oven of its kind, which does not need an exhaust and goes into a sleep mode when not cooking. The Houno Combi oven, with android-based controls. A Cold room which can run on invertor and offers savings on utility compared to traditional units. Lastly the Perfect fry ventless fryer that allows users to fry anywhere without leaving any smoke and saving 30 per cent energy. When asked about the latest market trends in the food service industry, Azad said, ’The current trend is towards getting a complete solution under one roof that can optimise capital as well as operating expenses.-The service is clearly a non-negotiable aspect here.’ Speaking on his plans for the year ahead Azad told BW Hotelier that he aims to automate restaurant kitchens in India and establish a full-fledged national network that offers service and culinary support to the industry. ’Our action plan is to automate restaurant kitchens in India using our equipment and live every word of our theme ’one partner many solutions ’.-We want our customers to not only have a quick ROI but also ensure that because of the average life of our equipment-(at least 25 years) they continue to remain profitable for a real long time,’ Azad concluded. Shantanu Jain is Junior Correspondent, BW Hotelier.
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By BW Hotelier THE LEELA Ambience Gurgaon announced details about the second Fiesta Latina--its Latin American cuisines festival to be held from-April 6-19, 2015. The festival offers guests a taste of Latin American cuisine and features Chef Gerardo Vazquez Lugo from Mexico, Chef Juan Pablo De la Torre-of Peru and Chef Carlos Alberto Mardones from Chile. It will also feature the Leela’s own chefs’Ramon Salto, Pablo Moralis and Christian Caberra. The highlights of Fiesta Latina 2015 also include Latin dance performances and live cooking demonstrations by the chefs at the Fisher & Paykel social kitchen in Ambience Mall on April 11th-& 12th, 2015. Speaking on the festival,-Michel Koopman, General Manager, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon-said, ’We are extremely happy to have this festival again in our hotel. It is an opportunity for our guests experience the cuisine, culture and heritage of Latin American countries. We look forward to such opportunities in the future to provide world class experiences to our patrons.’ The festival will also bring together other events, like the Mexican tequila dinner on April 10, Peruvian cooking classes with the celebrity chefs at Zanotta, the hotel’s Italian specialty restaurant, on April 11, Rums paired with authentic Guatemala cuisine on April 16, and a signature Chilean wine dinner on April 17.
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VEMENTS WITHIN the Taj Group continues unabated. We got to hear that Chef Amit Chowdhury has shifted base to Mumbai. Come April 1, 2015, Chowdhury takes over as Executive Chef of Taj Mahal Palace, at Apollo Bunder in Mumbai, according to a source who wished to remain unnamed.
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By Bikramjit Ray THE PREFERRED Hotels & Resorts Group, announced its rebranding at a press meet held in New Delhi. The group has 650 hotels on its portfolio around the world, 30 of which are in India. Lindsey Ueberroth, (see photo left) President and CEO of the company is in town to expand on the groups plans for the subcontinent. Ueberroth spoke to a select group of media persons at the launch of the move from a multi-branded business model to one master brand, Preferred Hotels & Resorts. ’In a time when seemingly every hotel company is introducing new brands that target specific demographics, we are doing the opposite by transitioning from a house of brands to a branded house,’ said Ueberroth, at the media launch. Effective immediately, all of the company’s 650 member hotels and resorts are represented by the Preferred Hotels & Resorts brand. Understanding that travelers have different objectives for each individual trip, each property has been aligned with one of five new collections’ Legend, LVX, Lifestyle, Connect, and Preferred Residences ’ which provide a more intuitive way for consumers to search, consider, and book their lodging based on the type of luxury experience they are seeking. ’We are delighted to announce this important milestone for Preferred Hotels &Resorts in India. As we commence a significant phase in the brand’s journey to better create outstanding luxury travel experiences across the world, we are confident that our new collections shall be welcomed by both our member hotels and discerning Indian clientele,’ added Saurabh Rai, (see photo right) Area Managing Director of South Asia and Middle East for Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Preferred Hotels & Resorts began its operations in India in 2002, with the signing of its first member hotel in the country, The Imperial, New Delhi. Today, the brand has a strong presence in the market, featuring strategic relationships with prominent brands such as The Leela Group, ITC Hotels, and Dusit Bird Hotels and a diverse portfolio of 30 member hotels across significant destinations such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa,Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaisalmer, Kerala, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, and Udaipur. Ueberroth told us, that the plan was to increase their present strength in India of 30 hotels to 45 by the end of 2018. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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By Bikramjit Ray BILLIONAIRE BINOD Chaudhury (see picture) in an exclusive interview with BW Hotelier discussed his venture into Hospitality with the launch of CG Hotels & Resorts, spread over eight brands with 88 hotels in 63 destinations spread in 11 countries. Chaudhury also told us about his strategic partnership with Fern Hotels and Resorts. CG Hotels and Resorts has taken a strategic investment in Concept Hospitality which owns the Fern Brand in India (Fern Hotels and Resorts, the Fern Residency and the Beacon).- As part of the alliance, the group will be investing approximately Rs 50 crore in promoting the venture. Apart from this, CG Hotels and Resorts will actively invest in assets giving Fern a much broader National and International reach. The group’s vision is to grow to 200 hotels by 2020 and play a dominant role in the hospitality space globally. All this will be achieved through acquisition, last mile funding and management of new assets, Chaudhury told BW Hotelier. Speaking about the merger, Chaudhury, who is Chairman of CG Corp Global said, ’We are glad to announce the strategic alliance with the Concept Hospitality. The Fern Hotels & Resorts is amongst one of the fastest growing hotel brands in India with 1200 rooms and suites under management and another 1500 rooms expected shortly. We also believe in their ’environmentally sensitive hotels’ philosophy and hope to take the brand to lot a number of destinations--in India and abroad.’ CG hotels has several international sales offices which will help promote all hotels (both under its in-house brand Zinc Hospitality and Concept Hospitality) by offering a broader platform and international reach. CG-Corp Global has-a portfolio of complementary businesses comprising over 90 companies and 60 brands that cover over 5 continents and employs more than 6000 employees in around 30 countries. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.-
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By BW Hotelier IN ITS bid to get a more local flavour and in tune with its ’Say Hello Around the World’ campaign, Lufthansa named one of its MD-11 freighters’part of the Lufthansa Cargo fleet’’Namaste India’. The campaign selected names from over 40,000 potential entries received by the jury. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Dr Alexis von Hoensbroech, Board Member, Products and Sales of Lufthansa Cargo, did the honours at the ceremony to name the aircraft at the Indira Gandhi Airport New Delhi, recently. The freighter was named ’Namaste India’ to symbolise the significance of India as one of the key markets for the Lufthansa group. Hoensbroech told BW Hotelier, ’The ’Namaste India’ greeting also illustrates the special bond between Lufthansa Cargo and India. We are proud to be the leading European Cargo Carrier from India to Europe.’ Lufthansa Cargo is currently offering 59 weekly flights between India and Europe including the services of Lufthansa Passenger Airlines and the Austrian Airlines. With this, ’Namaste India’ has now become the eighth Lufthansa Cargo aircraft to be renamed in the last few months. The new names of the aircrafts are based on the winning ideas of a creative competition organised by the company to rename their entire fleet in 2013.
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