By BW Hotelier AFTER Rakesh Sarna, it seems that Ratnesh Verma, Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development for Asia Pacific excluding China, Taiwan and Mongolia, at Hyatt is on the move. Industry sources, who wished to remain anonymous, have told BW Hotelier that Verma is moving to a senior position with Whitbread hotels based out of Dubai, UAE. After graduating from Delhi University, Verma completed his chartered accountancy and company secretariat degree. He joined Hyatt Regency New Delhi as assistant director of finance. In 2003, Verma took over as Area Vice President Operations South Asia and became Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development for Asia Pacific in 2008. The UK-based Whitbread group, owns the Premier Inn chain of hotels, in the mid to budget segment of the trade, as well as Costa and is looking to expand in Asia aggressively. When contacted by BW Hotelier, Verma refused to make any comments on whether he was actually moving or the veracity of our source. We did not get any response from Whitbread UAE either.
Read More
By Sumeet Taneja In an era where consumers are the focus, the hospitality sector has evolved from being a mere product design to an avenue offering experiential elements. Traditionally directed at the ’physical’ aspect of the product, the industry is now geared to face new-age consumers; who not only demand consistent delivery of the brand promise, but are also more aware. Additionally, conventional marketing is less effective with each new generation that comes along; hence ’all-about-me’ marketing has now moved to ’guest-centric’ marketing. For the ’Global Trotter’ and business traveler, who seeks a central location and proximity to business hubs, a hotel’s strategic position plays a prime role. Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon, for instance, is-strategically situated within 20 minutes drive from the IGI Airport with proximity to malls, Cyber City, golf courses makes it an ideal hotel for those constantly on the move. Technology is imperative and in an internet age, free Wi-Fi connectivity is a must. Every hotel today is Wi-Fi enabled, whether complimentary with rooms or at an additional charge. We offer free internet services to guests with an option to premium upgrade at a charge. Upgrading of IT systems regularly and ensuring data security that provides for guests’ privacy are other aspects to be considered. Developing a multi-channel approach with increasing use of mobile and smart phone technology gives way to Hotel or brand specific software applications. Keeping this need of global travelers in mind, Vivanta Hotels and Resorts have successfully launched a mobile application, where booking online and browsing hotels under the flagship brand has become easy. Updating content online on company website and leading travel portals are other key drivers, while embracing the influence of social media by active participation has also aided in buzz creation and captivating potential tech savvy guests. The current genres of travelers are cosmopolitan and think beyond hitting the sack when in an upscale hotel; hence experiential elements need to be infused with their stays. For instance Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon offers such guests options such as a weekend wellness getaway, JIVA spa ’Jagr’ treatment for jet alleviation ideal, going organic with the ’Buddhist Peace’ menu or Yoga for tranquility. For those who have been bitten by the wanderlust bug, experientials have to be designed beyond the hotel’s four walls and can range from cultural expeditions to those with a gourmet touch or even adventure escapades.- Witnessing the rise of female travelers, hotels have now moved to gender-based needs of guests. For the urbane female guest who forms a key client segment, Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon appeals to their ’forever Fun and young’ attitude with the ’21st-Century Princess’ concept, where they are received with a quirky welcome drink and get personalised check-in service by a female guest executive. They have a choice to stay on lower floors and offered female friendly products in their rooms. Finally with rise in climatic changes, guests today are more environmentally aware; ’Going Green’ has become a consumer mantra, where in each hotel is doing their bit for climate conservation. As an environmentally responsible brand, we use eco-friendly laundry products, our garden waste is utilised to create manure and waste is responsibly disposed. Sumeet Taneja is General Manager, Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon
Read More
By BW Hotelier Four Indian cities, led by Jaipur, are in the Top 100 of the annual Reputation Ranking of a leading online hotel search site,-Trivago.co.uk. Jaipur ranks 29th in the global list led by Sanya,China. The other Indian cities in the Top 100 are-Bengaluru at No. 75, Mumbai at No. 85 and Delhi at No. 94. Singapore features lower than Delhi at No. 99 and London fails to make the cut. Clearly, tourism numbers are not in sync with this ranking of reputations because Delhi's popularity as a travel hub is way below London's or Singapore's. The list of 100 cities, which is published at the beginning of each year, ranks global destinations according to the reputation of their hotels. Each destination is given an index, which is based on over 140 million hotel reviews and ratings aggregated from over 200 booking sites worldwide. In order to make the comparison fair, only hotels with at least 60 reviews and cities with at least 130 hotels are included. Topping the list is Sanya, China has the most highly rated hotels in the world, with an index of 86.94 per cent. The city on Hainan Island has become a popular tourist destination in recent years, due to its tropical climate. The destination contains a large number of high rise resort hotels, which are typically praised for their value for money, excellent facilities, friendly service and beautiful location. Value for money seems to unite these destinations, with eight of the top ten boasting an average price per night of less than -100 during 2014. Hanoi, in second place, has an average price per night of just -39. This suggests good value plays a key role in determining hotel popularity, with guests more likely to rate a hotel favourably if they feel like a good deal has been achieved. Trivago.co.uk, compares rates from over 700,000 hotels on over 200 booking sites worldwide and claims to be the world’s largest online hotel search site.
Read More
By BW Hotelier ’2014 was a great year for travel; with uniform growth across destinations and all category of hotels,’ according to Amit Taneja, Chief Revenue Officer of Cleartrip (see photo). A phenomenal 165 per cent growth in traffic and 100 per cent growth in transaction volume was witnessed-(YoY, Q3’14 vs Q3'13), he added. According to the recently released Cleartrip Quarterly Accommodation Insight--hotel room rates in this quarter (Q3’14) went up on an average by 5 per cent in non-metro destinations and the average room rate in metros witnessed a 10 per cent growth, as a result of higher business and leisure traffic. The two long weekends--Gandhi Jayanti and Christmas resulted in a 500 per cent growth in check-ins with destinations like Goa, Mysore and Jaipur leading the pack. To help customers plan their breaks, on the go, Cleartrip recently launched an added feature of weekend getaways on its iOS and Android apps. Early data from it suggests that though Mumbai has a higher proportion of destinations in the city’s vicinity, destinations around Delhi and Bangalore have contributed to more than double of the transactions. Mobile bookings, usually a last minute resort, were being used for Advance reservations as well. The stats reflected that almost a third of hotel booked on the app were made 15-days in advance. It also saw a higher preference for book 4 and 5 star hotels for mobile users, in comparison to those who booked on desktops. With the travel market expected to pick up further in the coming quarter along with better-than-ever consumer sentiment, Taneja fervently believed that the growth in the accommodations segment is likely to sustain further in the coming year. ’The channel shift of consumers from booking accommodation, from traditional offline channels to online and mobile channels, will accelerate further in the coming quarters,’ he hoped.
Read More
By Sourish Bhattacharyya AFTER HIS successful debut at the JW Marriott, New Delhi Aerocity, Korean-born American celebrity restaurateur Akira Back-(see photo)-is planning his next foray in India, this time in Mumbai, at the MGM Grand’s Bellagio Hotel coming up at upscale Maker Maxity in the Bandra Kurla Complex. Akira’s signature contemporary Japanese restaurant, Yellowtail, is one of the star attractions at the Bellagio Las Vegas, that hotel famous for its dancing fountains and cameo appearances in innumerable Hollywood films. The chef-entrepreneur, who’s famous for his tuna pizza on a tortilla base drizzled with truffle oil, now owns and operates five restaurants, including his newest in Jakarta, and he says his next destinations are definitely Dubai and Bangkok. ’When I first came here, I had one restaurant; now, I have five. We are underdogs no more,’ he says. Akira is back on a whistlestop visit, which will culminate in an evening of cocktails and snacks on February 7 (after Delhi has voted and it’s no longer dry). A new order, meanwhile, is taking charge of the JW Marriott Akira Back. Jason Oh, the ever-smiling Korean American who seemed to have settled down very well in his Vasant Kunj digs, has gone back home and been replaced by Dae Hyeon (’Danny’) Kim, who, apart from being a master of sushi and sashimi, is Delhi-NCR’s first chef certified to handle the potentially poisonous fugu. Kim was a chef at Akira Back’s Kumiat the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas and then returned to his mother country, South Korea, to work at top-notch restaurants. ’His resume is really, really impressive,’ Akira assured me. Next to leave will be the very competent Kurt Nyren, who will join his wife, who’s due to deliver their child in May, back home in America. Nyren will be replaced by Corey Asato, a chef from Waipahu, Hawaii, who also has a Las Vegas connection ’ he’s a hotel management graduate of the University of Nevada ’ and Back insists that he ’really wanted’ Asato to stay back because he’s so good at his job. ’The next time I come, my pastry chef will be with me,’ Akira says, clearly indicating what his next big priority is. Well, if the new dessert on the Akira Back menu, Coconut Panna Cotta on a thick pool of berry compote, is anything to go by, then we are in for good times. ’Our food is getting better, our service is getting better,’ Akira adds with a touch of well-deserved pride. His mini chicken tacos drizzled with a finger-licking good tomato ponzu sauce make you want to keep digging them. The tuna pizza drizzled with truffle oil definitely tastes better each time I have it. You can make a meal out of the Red Dragon Rolls, which come packed with crispy shrimp tempura, kanikama (crab stick) and spicy tuna, drizzled with kabayaki (sweet soy) sauce and tempura crispies. And the miso-marinated black cod with pickled parikko (cucumber) providing a sort of a textural counterpoint? What can one say about it except exclaim, ’I bow to you, master!’ Is Akira planning to roll out a new menu? ’You can expect tweaks, but I won’t do crazy things. Now that we are known, people are copying us, so we have keep going up a little notch,’ he says. My next two questions make him break into a smile. Has seen India beyond the perimeter of the hotel? Does he propose to include Indian spices in his culinary repertoire? ’The next time I plan I come and visit India, I plan to stay here for 14 days ’ seven days to work, seven days to explore India,’ he says, and then: ’Indian spices? We are working on them!’ His hopeful smile makes one make a mental note of what to look out for. I can see that Akira loves his association with India. ’The energy here is great,’ he says, as we look around to see a restaurant buzzing with activity on a dry day. Ankur Chawla, the hotel’s bright-eyed beverage manager, informs me that the Congress chief ministerial hopeful, Ajay Maken, was at the restaurant with his friends on the previous night (he may not win the election, and I feel bad for that, but he certainly has good taste!). As I turn back to Akira, he completes his train of thought. ’We haven’t had much of a turnover,’ he says pointing to the busy kitchen. ’I haven’t lost any staff because they believe in our concept.’ That’s good for them, I thought. It won’t be long before they shine in kitchens around the world. Sourish Bhattacharyya is Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier
Read More
By BW Hotelier NEW Delhi begins the new year by tasting two entirely new menus at two of the city’s most iconic Italian restaurants. Le Cirque, at The Leela Palace, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi and The Travertino at The Oberoi, New Delhi both have new men at the helm of affairs. At Le Cirque, Chef Diego Martinelli, takes charge as Chef de Cuisine. His new menu, which will be introduced in a couple of weeks, according to hotel sources draws from Diego’s 16 years of culinary expertise in Europe, Middle East and Asia. ’The menu has undergone a complete makeover with absolutely fresh line of creativity straight from the kitchen. The objective is to bring our guests the best and freshest produce farmed locally and flown in especially with the colours of the season. For now, the soon to be launched menu relives the nostalgia of winters and with an emphasis of locally farmed fresh herbs,’ Diego told BW Hotelier. Diego has worked with Bulgari Hotels and Resorts and The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore before coming to Le Cirque. He is an alumnus of IAL Institute of Culinary Arts in Modena, Italy. Chef Vincenzo Di Tuoro whose arrival as Head Chef, Travertino, The Oberoi, New Delhi was announced, has launched his new menu as well. ’I feel that a plate must be colourful, and it must evoke a sense of amazement when guests see their dish in front of them. Pleasing the eyes, is half the job done, and the other half is done by, well, using the best ingredients. My new menu at Travertino shows commitment to authentic recipes and ingredients. I invite you to come and experience Travertino with me’, he told BW Hotelier. In the last two decades, Vincenzo has worked in kitchens around the world. His previous assignments include Chef de cuisine at Il Palazzetto at the Hassler Hotel in Rome, Italy and Tintoretto Italian restaurant at the Buergenstock Hotel in Luzern, Switzerland. Vincenzo studies at the Culinary College in Naples and trained under the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Maurizio Morelli. Madaan leaves Kempinski Madhur Madaan, Marketing and Communications Manager, Kempinski Ambience Hotel, Delhi is moving out of the hospitality industry, for a job in the corporate world, according to herself. Madaan had worked in Crowne Plaza Delhi and Old World Hospitality before joining the Kempinski in 2012. Madaan has 11 years of experience in marketing hospitality brands. Her replacement is yet to be announced.
Read More
By Sourish Bhattacharyya THE Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under attack from many quarters for messing up the implementation of the already flawed Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, has given an additional six months to Food Business Operators (FBOs), an umbrella term covering 24 disparate categories, from hotels and restaurants to dairy units and slaughter houses, to apply for and obtain the mandatory licence without which they cannot operate. FBOs now have time till August 4, 2015, to complete their licensing formalities even as the government mulls over an overhaul of the Act. Section 31(1) of the 2006 Act lays down that no person can commence or carry on any food business except under a valid licence. The licence, issued under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011, is a requirement even for operators who were in the food business before the notification of the 2006 Act. This is the third extension of the deadline in the past one year ’ the previous extensions were announced on February 4 and August 4, 2014, whereas the original FBO licensing and registration deadline was August 4, 2012. The latest extension is mainly the result of the efforts of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which had pointed out to the under-staffed and over-stretched authority that the FBOs were not getting their licences within a stipulated time frame, leading to a panic in the industry. Vendors were concerned that even if they applied before the deadline, without an FBO license, they may be forced to shut shop. Others noted that the process was too confusing and there were no clear instructions for filing applications. The FSSAI had plans to streamline the process, but it moved to an online application process only in January 2014, approximately 18 months after the original FBO licensing and registration deadline of August 4, 2012. The Himalayan enormity of the task is evident from figures uploaded by the FSSAI in 2014. As of February 4, 2014, the authority had issued 481,964 FBO licenses and recorded 1,910,160 FBO registrations. The FSSAI, which has been functioning without a chairman since January 23, 2015 (the day the previous incumbent, K. Chandramouli, retired), seems to have reconciled to the reality that it will take a long time for it to clear the lakhs of licence applications that have piled up in its Inbox. The Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary at present also holds the FSSAI chairmanship as an additional charge. Ironically, even as the government is in the thick of consultations over the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, the ministry has seen a secretary-level reshuffle. Lov Verma, who was spearheading the review of the Act, has just been replaced by Bhanu Pratap Sharma, who was the Special Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Verma has been moved to the Ministry of Social Justice. An order issued by the DoPT on January 31, 2015, noted that the Cabinet Committee on Appointments had approved the elevation of Sharma, an IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, 1981 batch, as Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Sourish Bhattacharyya is the Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier
Read More
By Sourish Bhattacharyya THE WORLD 1,000th Courtyard by Marriott has opened in Agra, just five minutes away from the Taj Mahal, and to kick-off the global celebration of this milestone, the businessman’s hotel is throwing a bash presided over by Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President (South Asia), Mariott International, on February 19. Located at Taj Nagri, Phase-II, Fatehabad Road, the minimally designed four-storey hotel has 189 rooms, including 18 suites. The newbie hotel’s website, www.courtyardagra.com, positions it as a property with facilities for both corporate and leisure travellers. It offers complimentary high-speed internet connections (wired and wireless) in every room and public areas and a well-equipped business centre for travelling executives and entrepreneurs. For the leisure traveller, the hotel has a spa and it offers access to the Agra Golf Club greens, 24-hour room service and a coffee-maker in each room. It also has 9,000 square feet of indoor banqueting space plus lawns stretching up to 25,000 square feet as well as dedicated support teams for weddings and corporate events. Its food and beverage offerings include its international restaurant brand, MoMo Caf- (MoMo stands for ’modern living, modern dining’), and MoMo To Go; Anise, the barbecue restaurant; and the Onyx Bar. To hook potential guests, especially domestic weekend travellers, in a city where competition is intense and where international tourists are loath to stay overnight, the hotel has announced a slew of deals, including one where children get to have three meals a day in the hotel for free. Courtyard by Marriott is one of seven brands of the US-based Marriott International present in India. Last year, in an interview with the Economic Times, Marriott International’s Menon had said: ’We see opportunity for our two brands ’ Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield ’ to grow aggressively in the country. They have locational advantage as they can be opened in Tier II and III cities.’ He has also added that the country will have 60-70 operating hotels under the Marriott banner by 2017-18.
Read More
