RITESH CHOUDHARY has been appointed as the Director, Food and Beverage, at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. Choudhary has been associated with the Taj Group of Hotels for over a decade during which he has worked in various capacities from August 2004 to October 2013.
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INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Group (IHG) has launched IHG Foundation, alongside details of its first beneficiaries. The IHG Foundation will run as an independent charity, and focus its activities on four key areas ’ helping communities to develop skills in hospitality
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By Rashmi Pradhan CELEBRATING THEIR first anniversary with one of the longest cakes (12ft long weighing 25 kgs) in Agra, Courtyard by Marriott, Agra markets itself as a perfect new-age destination for business trips, conferences as well as leisure weekend getaways. The hotel, which is located minutes from the Taj Mahal and offers the largest inventory of suites (189 rooms including 18 suites) in the city, is headed by general manager Abhishek Sahai, (see photo) who spoke to BW Hotelier on the occasion of the anniversary. ’The (first) year has been extremely positive for the hotel on the ARR front as we were the leaders within our competition set. This is primarily because of the premium product and facilities that we offer along with our strong market position. 2015 was the first year of operations when the hotel has gone through the ramp up phase where occupancies have grown month-on-month, though clearly below what we expected. The hotel missed a good chunk of the structured business like series movements which is will kick in this year.’ Telling us about the guest composition and revenue contributors, Sahai said, ’Courtyard is a business hotel. Luckily for us (in Agra), we are a leisure plus a business hotel. We have seen a continuous growth with transients as well as groups for this market in the last one year. Agra as a market is a MICE destination which contributes approximately 40 per cent of the room revenue for the hotel. Stronger connectivity to Delhi-NCR along with rationalised ARRs are likely to impact the segment positively in 2016. F&B is a key revenue generation area for the hotel because of the lavish spreads we offer and strong goodwill in the market and this has contributed about 45 per cent to the overall business in 2015. While room revenue will increase, so will F&B revenue, the contribution in terms of percentage would remain the same.’ He further stated that the market has seen an increase of more than 55 per cent on room inventory in 2015 due to new supply and this certainly impacted the room rates that have been rationalised significantly. Source markets more or less remain the same, however, a lot of traction is seen from secondary and tertiary markets that have strong potential. Speaking about the various marketing campaigns, Sahai, added, ’We have been constantly working on various marketing campaigns across various areas ’ mice campaigns, leisure destination campaigns etc. We are also working on deals and promotions across various online travel sites. We have a destination wedding campaign and a wedding fair in the pipeline.’ Highlighting the hospitality trends, Sahai said, ’Over the years, we have observed that there has been a growth of young and much informed guest profile, which encourages hotel companies to constantly innovate new concepts to differentiate us from others. The advent of technology and social media platforms has completely taken over the buying behavior of the customers. Now, travelers are only partly concerned with their own requirements. Instead, they choose to depend more upon the stories shared by other travelers on social media sites and decide upon their choice of hotel accordingly.’ Focus on F&B is another trend, now there are great restaurant options not only in hotels but also as stand-alones. This has created unmatched choice available for patrons, he added. On trends that will rule the hospitality industry in the next couple of years, Sahai, said, ’Social media and its dominance on buying behavior is here to stay. There will be increased supply of hotel rooms across all segments which will lead to price rationalisation across the board. The main growth will be seen in the mid and upscale segment of hotels. Another trend that will catch customer fancy will be ’health and wellness vacations’. There will be increased demand for good quality wellness retreats that will offer holistic experiences for those seeking de-stress and disconnect from the world and focus on spiritual healing. There will also be an increased focus on young travelers and hotels will have to customize their programs for a younger and more energetic population.’ The author is Assistant Editor of BW Hotelier.
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CHEF MANAV Koul has been appointed Executive Chef of Sofitel Mumbai BKC. Koul brings over 15 years of experience to his role at Sofitel Luxury Hotels’ flagship property in India. With a passion for culinary arts, Koul pursued his dream and graduated with a three-year diploma in hotel management from IIHM - Ahmedabad.
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DHIREN SAVLA, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of VFS Global and SVP & Head of Global IT (Shared Service Centre) for Kuoni Group, has been appointed as Group CIO of Kuoni Group. In his role, he is responsible for providing strategic leadership to the IT function and strengthening the company’s global IT delivery model across geographies.
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VARUN SAHANI has joined Asia’s first five star ecotel hotel, The Orchid, Mumbai as the General Manager. Sahani was GM, Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort, Noida before joining The Orchid, Mumbai. Sahani has also worked as GM with the Lalit Group, at their hotels in Udaipur and Jaipur
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Vile Parle on Saturday morning. Staff members from various departments also performed a skit, which highlighted the dangers of celebrating Diwali with fire crackers which cause harm to the environment through noise and air pollution.
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By Rashmi Pradhan THERE ARE a fortunate few who get to turn their passion into their profession. Wine consultant and writer, Peter Csizmadia-Honigh (see photo) is one of them. Csizmadia-Honigh, a Hungarian based in London, recently launched his first book titled ’The Wines of India, a Concise Guide’ in association with All Things Nice in Mumbai. Priced at Rs 1495, the book will be available on www.thewinesofindia.com. The 452-page comprehensive guide took Csizmadia-Honigh, 15 months to research, compile and write. Csizmadia-Honigh, a recipient of the Geoffrey Roberts Award and a WSET Diploma holder, is the first international oenophile to have written such an authoritative companion to Indian wines. The inaugural edition of Wines of India, a Concise Guide, features all 50 producers and nearly 400 wines. The book contains the first authoritative classification of Indian wines, a list of wines recommended by Csizmadia-Honigh, with brief tasting notes, detailed producer profiles, 11 specially commissioned maps and a glossary of wine terms. Speaking about the conceptualization of the book, Csizmadia-Honigh said, ’During my travels across this beautiful country, I tried to look up information on Indian wines and surprisingly there was nothing. That gave me the inspiration to write a book on Indian wines that can be used as a guide by Indian and international travelers and wine lovers.’ According to Csizmadia-Honigh, tasting a wine sitting at a beach in Goa is totally different from tasting it in the vineyard it was produced. ’I have a huge passion for wines. It is a product that has a soul and a life,’ he said. Csizmadia-Honigh has been a frequent visitor to India for the past nine years and has visited wine producers across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. Talking about his tryst with Indian wines, Csizmadia-Honigh said, ’The fruit is quite rich and opulent in India. It is really amazing to see how wineries can influence the final outcome. The wine makers in India put a lot of effort while making a wine. The quality of Indian wines is increasing. It is at a stage where, if efforts are put on a right direction, it will go a long way. Indian wines are being recognized internationally and have started showing good results.’ Talking about Indian wine industry, Csizmadia-Honigh said, ’The Indian wine industry is growing at 30 per cent year-on-year. India is fairly a new entrant in the global wine market. Although the Indian wine industry is tiny compared to the spirits and beer sector, it is putting in a lot of effort and that needs to continue to connect with consumers. The Indian vineyards are 2.5 per cent of the area of those in Bordeaux.’ Csizmadia-Honigh, is a graduate from E-tv-s University and the Budapest Business School. He is a certified sherry educator who crafts Juhfark wines for Michelin-star restaurants. He is also the co-proprietor of Royal Soml- Vineyards in Hungary. Csizmadia-Honigh was also associated with the Institute of Masters of Wine's study and examination programmes in Europe, North America and Australasia between 2005 and 2014. Photo by Subhabrata Das. The author is Assistant Editor of BW Hotelier.
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