By BW HOTELIER JW Marriott made five key new appointments at its New Delhi, Aerocity property. Dilpreet Singh Bindra-(see photo left)-joins as Director of Operations. With 19 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Bindra started off as a management trainee at Taj Mahal Palace and Towers Mumbai, in 1996 before a two year stint as Assistant Manager F & B operations. Bindra then went on to join the pre-opening team for Taj Exotica Bentota, Sri Lanka and later Vivanta by Taj, New Delhi where he left his position of F & B Manager in March 2005. Before joining JW Marriott, Bindra was part of the opening team of The Gateway Resort, Damdama Lake in Feb 2014. Ashish Nehra (see photo right) joins as F & B Manager. Nehra, a products of the Centre of Learning and Development, has 11 years of experience mostly within the Oberoi group, including The Oberoi, Amarvilas, Agra, The Oberoi, New Delhi, Wildflower Hall, Charabra, Shimla -and The Oberoi, Udaivilas, Udaipur in August 2013. Kim Dae Hyeon (see photo centre) joins as Chef de Cuisineat Akira Back. Kim started his career as a senior staff at Kiyomizu Japanese Restaurant, Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel, Seoul and then joined Yellowtail at the Ballagio as the Sushi Chef under Chef Akira before moving back to Sheraton Walker hill Hotel. Yip Wai Leong joins Chef de Cuisine at K3, the all-day dining restaurant. He started his career as a Dim Sum Chef at Penang Mutiara Beach Resort and then worked as Dim Sum chef in hotels like Rasa Sayang Hotel, Penang and M/V Star Aquarius. Leong also worked with Burj Al Arab, UAE, Fairmont Hotel, Malaysia. Leong has been working in the NCR area first as Executive Chef at The Monk, Galaxy Hotel, Gurgaon and as Chinese Master Chef at Chi Lounge Modern Chinese Cuisine before joining JW Marriott. Pavan Kumar Chennam, joins as Executive Sous Chef. Chennam, who has over 9 years of experience, started his career at ITC Hotel, The Kakatiya, The Luxury Collection, Hyderabad before moving to The Grand Maratha, The Luxury Collection, Mumbai. He has heading a team of 25 under the guidance of Grand master Chef Imtiaz Qureshi.
Read More
By Shantanu Jain GURGAON SAW the launch of a brand new Le Meridien, albeit one which had started off life as a Pullman on March 11, 2015. And yes, we've reported the change awhile ago, but still, walking into the hotel was like seeing things in a new light. The first thing that strikes you as you enter the hotel is the sculpture of a face by Paresh Maity, which welcomes you into the lobby area which has become a little more interactive with new seating arrangements. The all-day dining, is now called ’The Latest Recipe’ and includes a PDR area as well. The hotel has added a new Japanese slant in the menu to meet guest demands, BW Hotelier was told. With 285 guestrooms, including 22 suites, a new Longitude bar the hotel currently operates on a 1.6: 1 staff to room ratio with a total of around 520 employees. David Hopcroft is the man at the helm of the property as its General Manager while Tanveer Kwatra is its Executive Chef. In terms of banqueting space the hotel offers numerous venues with the main hall being Phoenix which offers 1600 meters of space, the pool side which is open to accommodate 1500 people and a farmhouse closely related to the Hotel. ’As India’s important hospitality market with tremendous growth potential, Gurgaon has long been on our shortlist of dynamic Indian cities that share our brand passion. We are confident that Le M-ridien Gurgaon will provide a unique experience, unlocking the destination through locally influenced design, programming and cuisine.’ said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Le M-ridien and Westin. Shantanu Jain is Junior Correspondent, BW Hotelier.
Read More
By Shantanu Jain THE BIGGEST specialised B2B events of its kind in south Asia, the 30th edition of the international food and hospitality fair, Aahar 2015, was inaugurated by Union Minister for Food Processing and Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Aahar 2015, which is on till March 14-has over 807 leading Indian companies like Stefab, CMR, Rans, Springtek, FMCL, eff n’ bee and overseas brands from 22 countries like Ariane and Wilmax at the fair this year. A mobile application of Aahar has also been introduced for the convenience of visitors and participants. The first day of the fair registered a footfall of around 5000 people and is expected to grow. Apart from the display of international food and hospitality brands, a live competition of over 300 chefs, seminars on ’Challenges-Food Processing Industry,’ ’Organic Food Scenario & Obstacles’ and ’Agriculture Related Topics by the Government of Poland’ is also scheduled as side events of Aahar,2015. Speaking at the inauguration of the fair,-Harsimrat Kaur Badal-Badal said that Mega Food Park is the flagship programme for her Ministry and shall become a hub for food processing activities to provide a bridge from farm to fork.-Badal further stated that government is taking steps to establish one Mega Food Park in every state in the country. The display profile at Aahar 2015 is segregated into different sectors with Housekeeping stalls at Hall 6, 7 ABC & 7FGH, Machinery Equipments at Hall 7D, 7E, 8-12A & 14, and Food Ingredients & Additives being displayed in Hall 15 & 18. www.bwhotelier.com will be carrying extensive video interviews of participants. Shantanu Jain is Junior Correspondent, BW Hotelier.
Read More
By Shantanu Jain IN ITS first major launch in four years, Meiko, global leaders in dish and ware washing technology, launched M-iClean, for the foodservice industry in India, in New Delhi. The newly launched machine comes with features including LED illumination, one touch controls, sensor technology and a bluetooth interface. On the environmental front, M-iClean promises to have integrated an efficient energy management system which combines with a heat recovery to reduce the energy wastage and carbon footprints. Speaking to BW Hotelier in an exclusive conversation, Jestin Antony, MD & CEO, Meiko Asia Techcentre Pvt.Ltd said,’The response so far received about M-iClean has been really great and our main target is the premium five star hotel segment. We hope to have over 200 installations of the machine by 2016 as the market in India is currently upbeat and open for technology like these.’ Shantanu Jain is Junior Correspondent, BW Hotelier.
Read More
By BW Hotelier SVENSKA Design Hotels, announced the appointment of Kushal Sharma as the General Manager of their property in Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri West in Mumbai.- Kushal succeeds Rupa Aggarwal, who proceeded on maternity leave after leading Svenska Mumbai over the last 3 years on returning from London, where she was last working with W Hotels. Kushal, who has over 13 years of hospitality experience, started his career as part of the pre-opening team of JW Marriott Hotel in Mumbai, after which he worked with the Renaissance in Kuala Lumpur and Marriott in Philippines and Malaysia. Upon returning to India he worked with Marriott Goa, before moving on to Zuri Whitefield in Bangalore, Radisson Blu in Agra and finally Crowne Plaza in New Delhi, before joining Svenska.
Read More
By BW HOTELIER IN-an attempt to cater to a larger share of the Indian market, Lufthansa, which operates 67 frequencies in a week to and from India, has announced the global roll-out of its Premium Economy Class and Bangalore has become the first city in India to welcome its new Premium Economy offering. The new travel class is currently available on Bangalore-Frankfurt route on the B747-8 aircraft, and will be available from-November 22-on all routes flown by Boeing 747-8 including Bangalore, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Peking, Sao Paolo, Seoul, Tokyo-Haneda and Washington D.C. The new premium economy class includes 50 per cent extra legroom space both on-board as well as on-ground and offers double free baggage allowance to passengers. The special benefits on board include being greeted with a welcome drink, an amenity kit, water bottle and a power socket. The meals in this class, will be served on china tableware and a large monitor will be fitted on the backrest of the seat in front for entertainment. The passengers now, will also be able to access the Lufthansa Business Lounges prior to take-off against a nominal fee and the passengers booked in Economy class can upgrade to the Premium economy by calling the Lufthansa Service Center or at the Lufthansa travel agency partner. Also, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, the Austrian Airlines, that operates a fleet of 80 aircraft, including 11 long haul planes, has increased its offerings to meet the challenges posed by global competitors. The airlines which offers flights from New Delhi to Vienna is offering the passengers a choice of Austrian, International and Indian services. The passengers of the business class, can also choose among two international menus and two Indian main dishes while a ’flying chef’ on board creates a six-course gourmet menu on long-haul flights. The passengers will also be entitled to a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages like the Indian tea. The airlines will also offer a first of its kind ’Viennese coffee house’ which will serve Vienna’s 11 most popular coffees. Lufthansa which has previously launched its flagship carrier, A380 in India, on-November 8, in Delhi aims to continue its investment in new products and services in order to further increase their presence and offerings in India.
Read More
By BW Hotelier IN 2013 DELHI welcomed the most number of Chinese tourists followed by Bangalore and numbers are only going to get better and better.- As India moves towards extending its new visa-on-arrival programme to tourists from 180 countries, Chinese visitor arrivals into India is expected to increase more than 30 per cent by 2023. Cities such as New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai and Chennai are expected to be amongst the most popular destinations for Chinese travellers., according to a comprehensive study into the Chinese traveller market, commissioned by the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) and Oxford Economics, released recently. Titled-The Future of Chinese Travel,-the-report shows that favourable economic and demographic trends shaping the Chinese travel market are set to fuel huge increases in demand for international travel over the next decade. It reveals the opportunities this-growth-will present, as Chinese traveller preferences evolve towards long-haul, leisure-driven travel. ’More travellers mean more tourism spend and we can expect both from inbound Chinese travellers over the coming decade.-We know from the research that travel facilitation reforms can greatly impact the volume of travel into a country, and India's new-visa-on-arrival programme will be a key factor in encouraging more Chinese travel into this amazing country,’ commented Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia, IHG. ’The Indian government is placing more emphasis on enhancing its draw as a destination through infrastructure development, building up key tourist attractions and presenting a cleaner India through the national Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. We are also aligned with this goal through our-year-long pledge-to support the-Clean India campaign-and our continued growth which will bring even more high quality hotels to the country to help cater to the projected boom in Chinese travel,’-he added. According to the study, annual arrivals from China to countries across the world will total nearly 97 million by 2023 (an increase of five per cent per year). 88 million Chinese households will be able to travel overseas by 2023. The three key trends in Chinese travel which will emerge over the next decade, according to the study was a huge growth of long-haul travel’China will overtake the US, UK and Germany to become the largest source market for long-haul travellers by 2020; Chinese travellers will mix business with pleasure with nearly 62 per cent outbound travel being leisure-driven by 2023; Chinese travellers will spend more during overseas trips’growth is expected to be nearly 75 per cent in nominal terms by 2023. The study also stated that the primary destinations for Chinese outbound travellers would be cities’with over 85 per cent heading to major cities around the world. Access is key to attracting Chinese tourists’destinations with easier access, including simpler visa policies will gain most, which will mean more Chinese visitors to India in the decade from 2013.
Read More
