By BW Hotelier THE ACCOR Centre of Hope, hosted the graduation of its second batch of students at the ibis Delhi Airport Hotel recently.-Established in 2013 in-Mahipalpur, New Delhi, by Accor India with the support of ibis Delhi Airport, Solidarity Accor and the HOPE Foundation, the charity has successfully trained 103 students in the last-two years. This year, 49 students graduated in varying vocational disciplines such as Hospitality, Retail, Computers and English after a rigorous 6 month course. More than half of these students have already secured employment for themselves in the hospitality and retail sector through the organization’s placement programme. The charity, which has been set up in collaboration with the international NGO HOPE, aims to improve the service industry employability of young people from underprivileged sections of the Delhi National Capital Region by offering them access to short vocational training programmes. The Senior Vice President of Accor Hotels India, Jean-Michel Casse, in his speech at the event, reaffirmed his belief that the charity would help integrate these young people into the community through the creation of local economic opportunity by boosting their individual employability. He also claimed that the growing service industry in India was conducive to this and required ’a great talent pool of skilled workers’’ to support it, something that these people have the potential to provide. Along with Casse, P. Chandrasekaran, Senior Programme Director at the HOPE Foundation was felicitating the event.
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By BW Hotelier CARNATION HOTELS is geared to enter Tiruchirappalli with a-70-room Red Fox Hotel. This will be the group’s first managed hotel under the budget Red Fox-brand and will be operated by M/s N. Krishnasamy & Sons.-The hotel which is currently run by the owning company will be extensively refurbished and-renovated by Carnation’s joint venture partner, Lemon Tree, whose in-house project -management company, Grey Fox, has been assigned the task of overseeing the hotel-renovations. The management agreement between Carnation Hotels and M/s N. Krishnasamy & Sons was signed by Rattan Keswani, Co-Promoter and Chairman, Carnation Hotels & Dy. Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels and K. Madhu, Director of the owning company. This is Carnation Hotels’ second contract with K. Madhu, the first being Lemon Tree Hotel, Shimona in Chennai, which was signed last year. Speaking on the occasion, Rattan Keswani, Chairman, Carnation Hotels said, ’Trichy has always been a landmark city in the history of Tamil Nadu. Presently the fourth largest city located close to many tourist attractions like the Rockfort, the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam and the Jambukeswarar temple at Thiruvanaikaval, Trichy is also an important educational hub and the energy equipment and fabrication capital of India. It attracts a lot of leisure and business travellers. We are excited about including it in our portfolio and are delighted to partner with N. Krishnasamy & Sons for their second project with us.’ Lemon Tree Group operates three brands - Lemon Tree Premier, an upscale brand, Lemon Tree Hotels in the midscale range and Red Fox Hotels in the economy range. The Group currently owns and operates 26 hotels in 15 cities with about 3000 rooms. K. Madhu, Director, N. Kishnasamy & Sons stated, ’We are pleased to bring Red Fox Hotel to Trichy. Our past experience with Lemon Tree Hotels has been excellent and this encouraged us to once again partner with India’s fastest growing hotel chain and bring its world class management, in the city. With Lemon Tree’s expertise by our side, we are sure to delight the discerning business and leisure travelers visiting our city.’ The property is expected to open for business in October 2016.-Citing reasons for the acquisition, the Co-promoter and Chairman of Carnation Hotels, Rattan-Keswani said that Tiruchirappalli was an important city in Tamil Nadu, in terms of size,-history, education and business and ’located close to many tourist attractions like the-Rockfort, the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam and the Jambukeswarar temple at-Thiruvanaikaval’, attracting ’leisure and business travelers’.
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By BW Hotelier HOTELS IN the Asia Pacific region experienced negative year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during March 2015 when reported in U.S. dollars, according to data compiled by STR Global. The data showed that in comparison to March 2014, India had shown an increase in average occupancy of 1.4 per cent to 60.2 per cent. However, ADR had gone down by 2 per cent to INR 5,844.93 and RevPAR had decreased by 0.7 per cent to INR 3,518.83. The APAC region’s occupancy for March fell 0.3 per cent to 68.7 per cent. Affected by the continued devaluation of the Japanese yen, the region’s average daily rate dropped 5.9 per cent to US$111.16, and its revenue per available room decreased 6.2 per cent to US$76.34. Performance by country varied significantly on a local-currency basis: Thailand saw the largest increases in both occupancy (+23.4 per cent to 77.1 per cent) and RevPAR (+23.9 per cent to THB 2,862.64), while ADR (+0.4 per cent to THB3,712.70) remained almost flat. Thailand’s performance continues to improve in year-over-year comparisons as the country is further removed from last year’s coup d'-tat. New Zealand followed in RevPAR performance with a 23.0-percent increase to NZD143.41. New Zealand and Australia (+6.9 percent to AUD150.32) saw RevPAR growth associated with hosting the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup. New Zealand (+15.3 percent to NZD169.84) and French Polynesia (+12.4 per cent to XPF37,583.38) each recorded double-digit ADR increases. Myanmar experienced the largest decreases in RevPAR (-30.3 per cent to MMK96,842.23) and occupancy (-26.4 per cent to 52.9 per cent). A 17.8-percent increase in supply led to the decreases in Myanmar. The steepest decline in ADR occurred in South Korea, where ADR dropped 11.2 per cent to KRW169,622.25. China reported negative results in each of the three key performance measurements. Occupancy was down 1.0 per cent to 64.6 per cent; ADR fell 2.6 percent to CNY559.74; and RevPAR decreased 3.5 per cent to CNY361.80. Decreased government spending in Hong Kong, China, as opposed to the ’Occupy Central’ movement, figures to have had a larger impact on performance in the country. Highlights from key market performers for March 2015 in local currency (year-over-year comparisons): Bangkok, Thailand, experienced the largest occupancy increase, up 42.9 per cent to 78.6 per cent. Sanya, China (+10.2 per cent to 65.2 per cent) was the only other market to post a double-digit occupancy increase for the month. Jakarta, Indonesia (-12.4 per cent to 61.0 per cent) and Bali, Indonesia (-10.7 per cent to 52.7 per cent) reported the largest occupancy decreases. Osaka, Japan, reported the largest ADR increase, rising 23.5 per cent to JPY15,192.50. Auckland, New Zealand, followed with a 23.0-per cent increase in ADR to NZD189.36. Seoul, South Korea, experienced the largest ADR decrease, down 11.4 per cent to KRW183,997.94. Bangkok (+54.9 per cent to THB2,622.17) reported the largest increase in RevPAR, followed by Osaka (+30.4 per cent to JPY14,133.95). Seoul (-16.9 per cent to KRW130,686.34) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (-13.1 per cent to MYR272.45) experienced the largest RevPAR decreases.
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By BW Hotelier INDIANS MADE over 18 million outbound trips in 2014, an increase on the 16 million trips made in 2013. Barely 2 per cent of India’s population currently travel overseas but over the past five years the country’s middle classes have increased by over 10 per cent. This demographic is set to grow from 32 per cent at present to 50 per cent by 2030, making it a major source market with tourism boards vying to tap into this potential tourist goldmine, according to a report published by Travel and Tourism Intelligence Center (TTIC). The report said India is expected to increase its business travel and tourism following the election in May 2014. However, outbound tourism will be challenged by the domestic tourism industry. India’s economic rise will introduce a new generation of middle class tourists to overseas travel. The country’s GDP has grown to 5.4 per cent this year and is expected to reach 6.7 per cent by 2019. Total outbound spending has grown to over $13 billion US,-but domestic investment could threaten the dominance of international trips, the report stated. India is currently experiencing a domestic tourism boom. The number of domestic trips reached over 1.3 billion in 2014, representing a 14.1 per cent increase on 2013 figures. This accounts for more than three-quarters of India’s entire tourism market, more than double the growth rate of outbound departures during 2014. Part of the rise of domestic tourism can be attributed to growth of lower middle class incomes ’ the type of domestic consumer who cannot afford the flight prices to journey abroad, but who want to turn a religious pilgrimage into a family holiday. Since 2010, many Indians who once had intentions of traveling abroad had their plans curtailed because of the sharp fall in the rupee, which lost much of its value against the dollar, causing planned foreign holiday travel to become too expensive for many of the aspiring middle classes. Interestingly, this has increased domestic tourism throughout the country with international hotel groups reflecting this emerging market as Starwood French Group, Accor, and the Hilton Group all look set to benefit. According to a 2013 Ministry of Tourism report, Tamil Nadu ranks number one in drawing the maximum number of domestic tourists with a 20 per cent share, followed by Uttar Pradesh (17 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (16 per cent). Maharashtra comes fifth (6.4 per cent), while Gujarat and West Bengal rank eighth and ninth respectively. Indian travelers characteristically have been avid business travelers with 40 per cent of all departures accounted for by business trips. While most of this MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) tourism has been consistently to the Asia-Pacific region, TTIC expects that changing trends in India’s economy will spur a rise in leisure and VFR travel to the Middle East and Europe over the forecast period Key destinations include Thailand and UAE, as well as increasing visitors to the US. Although outbound tourism is growing, domestic investment could threaten the dominance of international trips. The average length of outbound trips (number of nights) stood at eight nights in 2013, with little change since 2012. However, TTIC expects Indian travellers to increase the length of their outbound trips over the forecast period in line with the potential economic growth currently taking place. Consequently, length of overnight stays is forecast to increase to nine nights by 2019.
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By Sourish Bhattacharyya THE U.S. financial media is agog with speculation that Starwood is up for either a merger or an acquisition. The buzz got louder and louder after the leading hospitality brand with significant Indian interests appointed the international banker, Lazard, to guide it through what the global travel intelligence website, Skift.com, describes as a process that will consider a gamut of options, from mergers and acquisitions to buyouts and other financial manoeuvres. On a day when Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced its first-quarter financial results, which showed a drop in both its revenues and earnings per share, its chairman, Bruce W. Duncan, announced unambiguously: ’No option is off the table, and we will take the time we need to thoroughly evaluate our opportunities and achieve the best result for our shareholders, business partners, and associates.’ Late Thursday night, the financial media was abuzz with speculation that Starwood may soon get an offer from Hilton Hotels or a sovereign welfare fund; a piecemeal sale of Starwood assets was also indicated as a possibility. Starwood, whose former chief executive, Frits van Paasschen, had quit in February reportedly after differences with the board, saw its shares climbing by 8 per cent after Duncan’s announcement on Wednesday (early Thursday IST). They were trading up to $87.53, boosting the company’s market capitalisation to nearly $13.9 billion. Duncan’s declaration at once brought back memories of the $26.7-billion acquisition of Hilton Hotels by the New York City-based Blackstone Group in 2007. Blackstone then went on to hive off Hilton into a separate company in 2013. Across the Atlantic, Starwood’s announcement buoyed the stock of InterContinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG), which owns the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands, which registered its highest intra-day spike (5.8 per cent) since the shares were first traded in 2003. Reporting this development, Bloomberg’s writer, Dalia Fahmy, noted the groundswell in favour of a merger between IHG and Starwood. ’The logic for a tie-up ’ is quite clear,’ Fahmy quoted Wyn Ellis, an analyst at Numis Securities, as saying. ’It would be a neat fit in terms of brand profile and geographic coverage.’ Starwood Hotels, Ellis said, owns high-end hotel chains such as W, St Regis and The Luxury Collection (the brand with which ITC’s luxury hotels are all tied up). InterContinental, which is focused on the mid-scale segment, would restore balance to the Starwood portfolio ’ if you recall, van Paasschen was reported to be under fire because Starwood, under his leadership, had failed to make much progress in the mid-market. A marriage with IHG would also help Starwood gain better access to China, where IHG has more than 240 hotels, Ellis said in comments reported by Bloomberg’s Fahmy. Starwood’s interim CEO, Adam Aron, has expressed his concern about the company’s three mid-scale brands ’ Aloft, Element and Four Points ’ saying they were ’significantly subscale to our competitors’. To address its below-par presence in the mid-market, Starwood has just fast-tracked the rollout of the Tribute Portfolio. ’Admittedly this is still a void for Starwood,’ Aron said, referring to the mid-market, according to Skift.com. ’The Tribute Portfolio,’ Aron continued, ’allows us to address the four-star upper upscale independent hotel markets and now gives Starwood a credible horse’ in the competition with Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The Starwood brand, Sheraton, also came under the scanner after Aron said it ’needs to be significantly reinvigorated with a boost that can only come from top-notch marketing.’ Skift.com reported that Aron emphasised Sheraton accounted for 40 per cent of Starwood’s global footprint. ’We have some terrific Sheraton properties around the world and we have some hotels that need more focus on the fundamentals of delivering service quality to our guests,’ Aron said, using diplomatic corporate-speak to indicate they were sub-standard. Starwood said it would announce the specifics of its plan for Sheraton in June-end, and would implement it during the second half of 2015. Sourish Bhattacharyya is Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier.
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By Raadesh R Shetty THE IMPORTANCE of light is accentuated when you imagine a space without one. When it comes to lighting in hospitality, it is all the more important. No one wants to walk into a poorly lit hotel. When you enter a hotel lobby undoubtedly the first thing you notice is that it is brightly lit even in the day. Undoubtedly, the place would lose most of its charm if the lights were switched off. Clearly, lighting plays an important part in not just being a practical necessity but also to create a unique ambience. Lighting in a hospitality space is complicated by the fact that different kinds of lights are needed in different areas. Hotel entrances today have adopted an LED walkway lighting system. Common areas like the entrance lobby, lift lobby and living rooms should be lit to provide a feeling of warmth. Today sensors are also installed in the lobby area leading to the rooms that automatically switch on when they detect motion. For ceiling chandeliers in guest rooms, hanging light, mirror optic light, compact fluorescent light (CFL), T5 slim tube light create the right impact. On the wall, picture lights can be used to highlight frames or artifacts. LED lights and slim tube lights in niches and alcoves provide a diffused look. Lighting in a hotel should also ensure that the guest feels at home. Hence, it is imperative for lighting to be intelligent and to create a relaxing environment. Lighting control systems can alter intensities, lamp combinations and colours instantly. With miniature and highly-efficient LED light sources, one can create the right ambience in both white and coloured light. Public spaces like conference and meeting rooms need different lighting too’ white light for discussion and dim light for presentations. Task lighting with the white or warm white gradients of light output, mostly using the ceiling mounted fixtures such that minimum shadows can be created. Care needs to be taken that the entire room is illuminated, including the walls and ceiling. In outdoors and swimming pool areas, white light works best whereas in the spa and wellness areas, yellow light brightens up the space for different activities. Bar lighting is mostly soft mood lighting to ensure that guests intending to relax are not bothered by the intensity of light, whether it is created by a crystal chandelier or tables, floor or wall lighting. As far as outdoor lighting for the facade of the building is concerned it is important that the lighting design needs to be adjusted to ensure the various styles of architecture are highlighted and prominent. Lighting is accountable for a significant percentage of energy consumption in hotels. As a result, the new trend is focused on taking responsible environmental decisions and working towards a LEED certification for the property. Most properties are making energy-saving changes and replacing LED lights with CFL lamps. Products in the lighting space are being launched with green features due to increasing customer preference. Sensor lighting in lounges and passages that turn on lights to the required level only if they sense a person’s presence, are a green option. Likewise in utility/washroom areas PIR sensor based relays save energy when the area is unoccupied. Automated control technologies combined with LED-based solid-state lighting (SSL) and efficient fluorescent lamps are the new trends and products that can reduce electricity usage by as much as 60 per cent, whereas lighting accounts for 20 per cent of total electricity usage in commercial buildings. LEDs are digital, highly versatile and provide many new avenues and options in terms of creativity and design across applications. Unlike traditional light sources, LEDs provide the option of intrinsic coloured lighting and directional lighting. According to a report by NPD DisplaySearch, the demand for LED lighting is expected to double from 16 million units in 2012 to 33 million in 2013 and is expected to triple by 2016. The next big trend is to keep things simple, elegant and clean. There has been a shift from more elaborate to more seemingly sophisticated designs that combine lighting and art. Avoid connecting multiple lights to a single switch, as it could lead to over lighting a room, as well as wasting light. Wireless lighting controls is a tool that integrates lighting controls for daylight harvesting in tandem with occupancy sensors. Lighting control systems that can instantly alter intensities, lamp combinations and colours are in. In fact you can change the mood of a general purpose room from ’party’ to ’conference’ at the flick of a switch. A multifunctional control unit which operates lights, blinds and the AC, allowing guests to individually adjust the lighting and therefore the entire room effect helps. Wireless sensors make it simple to install these technologies without the time and costs associated with running wires behind walls and ceilings, and it makes it simple to reconfigure spaces in the future. It's time hotels see light in a 'different light'! Raadesh R Shetty is Founder and Owner of The Purple Turtles Lighting Ideas Pvt Ltd.
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By Bikramjit Ray BW HOTELIER got the chance to catch up with Siddharth Savkur, (see photo) General Manager of Alila Diwa Goa, part of the Alila Hotels and Resorts chain headquartered in Singapore. The Alila Diwa, is a boutique South Goa property, Savkur told us, and like all Goa hotels, they feel the pinch while trying to compete with the local shacks and restaurants. ’The first thing you need is a Zen like calm to deal with the situation,’ Savkur told us. On a more serious note he added that like all hotels in Goa, Alila also sold the destination. ’If someone comes to Goa, we would not encourage guests to just dine in my hotel. Martin’s Corner for example, is just 150 metres from the hotel. If during a three night stay, the guest has three meals with me, I am happy,’ he added. Perhaps, it was because of this need that Savkur’s hotel introduced a new Food and Beverage concept (new for Goa at least), at their award winning Indian restaurant, Spice Studio. Called ’Dine in the Dark’, the concept is not as easy to carry out as you would think. ’Our restaurant is built around a banyan tree, it is partially open air with a show kitchen,’ says Savkur. All of which have to be masked so that diners get to eat in pitch darkness. ’We do this as a pop up concept once a week during winter and once a month during our traditional ’off-season’ which is summer and monsoon. All lights switched off, all ambient lights including those in the lobby, dimmed; the show kitchen is also masked. You have to be led by hand to your table. Your only choice is a vegetarian or non-vegetarian thali. The items change every meal and everything from the kebab to dessert to breads is places on the same plate (or thali),’ he explained. The concept was introduced as a one-off for Earth Hour in 2014, but it worked so well, that Alila decided -to do this more often. ’The thali is priced at Rs 900 plus taxes do that it does not seem too prohibitive for the non-five star crowd, who may want to try it out,’ Savkur concluded. Bikramjit Ray is Executive Editor, BW Hotelier.
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By BW Hotelier SEASONED HOTELIER Amitabh Devendra, has become the Secretary General of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). Devendra takes over his position from May 1, 2015 and will be in office for three years. We got in touch with Devendra, who is a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and industry consultant to ask about his appointment and he told us, ’Seriously, I have not given much thought to what I plan to do and the work that lies ahead. I can only tell you after I have assumed office.’ Devendra is a graduate of the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development (OCLD) and has completed the General Managers Programme from Cornell University. A published author with Oxford University Press and an academician associated with the FHRAI Hotel School in Greater Noida, Devendra’s career has spanned from hotel chains like the Oberoi, Hyatt, Le Meridien and Choice Hotels. Between 1999 and 2005, he was Vice President ’ Operations of Northern & Western Region of Choice Hospitality Group. He was also the President-Hospitality & Leisure, Jones Lang La Salle Meghraj, between 2005 and 2007, before joining Molinaro Koger as Strategic Advisor. In 2008, Devendra set up his own consultancy firm, Karma Hotels & Hospitality Consultants in 2008.
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