hotel scapes feb 2013

a l l a b o u t h o t e l s & h o s p i t a l i t y

Volume 2. Issue 1. February 2013. Rs 50H

yatt

Reg

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Brunches up the F&B quotient of hotels

Impact of the Kumbh Mela on Allahabad HotelsBestech & Carlson collaborate for 49 Park Inn Hotels The Suryaa Group plans their second property, this time in TajikistanExpectations from budget 2013-14

February 2013 hotelscapes

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New developments 2 Change of guard at The Oberoi and The Leela 4 Hiltonlaunchesitsfirstleisureproperty,inShillim 6 BengalurugetsitsfirstMarriottinWhitefield

Interview of the month 8 Bestech collaborates with Carlson for 49 Park

Inn Hotels

Events 14 HotelierAnilBhandarilauncheshisfirstbook 50 RoyalOrchidHotelscelebratesexpansion

One-on-one 16 TheSuryaaGrouptoopenapropertyin

Tajikistanbyyear-end

Destination report 20 ImpactoftheKumbhMelaonAllahabadhotels

Design 26 Designmakeoversimpacttheindustryina

positiveway

F&B trends 38 Brunches and the F&B sales

Industry report 44 NCRattractsmajorhospitalityplayers

Awards 48 Recognition to hoteliers

Domestic news 52 IndustrynewsfromIndia

International news 54 Newsfromacrosstheglobe

Products 56 New launches

People 60 Movementsintheindustry

Last page 64 DelayinapprovalofhotelsatAerocity

Guest columns 12 Expectationsfromthebudgetof2013-14 47 Artinstallationshelphotelstoturnguestsinto

art connoisseurs

Volume 2 Issue 1 febrUArY 2013

Editor: Navin S Berry Assistant Editor: Manisha Almadi MidhaAdvertising:Saurabh Shukla Design: Ashok Saxena, Neelam AswaniHotelscapes ispublishedandprintedbyNavinBerry,printedatAnupamArtPrintersB-52,Naraina, PhaseII,NewDelhiandpublishedfromIIIrdFloor,RajendraBhawan,210,DeenDayalUpadhyayMarg,NewDelhi-110002.Editor:NavinSBerry,Tel:91-11-43784444;Fax:91-11-41001627,41001628. E-mail:[email protected] issue of Hotelscapes contains 64 pages plus 4 pages cover

It was a treat to read about how interesting the architecture of a hotel can be in the last issue of Hotelscapes magazine. Getting some great tips from the leading designers and architectures was very insightful and helpful. The article was a great piece to read as it had about some of the best designed hotels in India and abroad.

Sumit Puri, MumbaiThe interview with Chander baljee, MD, royal Orchid Hotels was informative. It was quite interesting to read about the expansion plans of the royal Orchid group and their new venture regenta.

Akriti Madaan, New Delhi

r e a d e r s w r i t e i n

editor’S noteHotelscapes spoke to a few hoteliers in Allahabad to find out how the Kumbh Mela is impacting their business – ironically the tents put up by the administra-tion near the Mela are making a dent in the profits of hotels, as most of the tourists are stationed at these tents.

re-doing a hotel means more business for the brand, as it attracts guests, and there is also new business for the lighting and furniture industries. read about this in detail in our ‘Design’ pages.

Moving on to a different subject – f&b, we explore the contribution of brunches to the f&b division, and why it pays hotels to host these popular brunches. The feature is supported by pictures you’d want to check out...

Our interviews sections include Q&A’s with Dharmendra bhandari and Sunil Satija, joint promoters of the bestech Group, on collaborating with Carlson for 49 Park Inn Hotels. Greesh bindra, VP and GM of The Suryaa Hotel in his interview reveals the group’s plans to come up with a hotel in Tajikistan.

Industry reports include hospitality players bullish on NCr region. With this issue, we enter the second year of publication. We have moved

north, steadily and confidently. We are emboldened by the recent accolades that we are getting; your magazine is getting noticed, by the issue! We are committed to growing the brand in the months ahead and introducing many value additions to the print format, through events and seminars.

contents/editorial

A L L A B O U T H O T E L S & H O S P I T A L I T Y

Volume 2. Issue 1. February 2013. Rs 50

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Impact of the Kumbh Mela on Allahabad HotelsBestech & Carlson collaborate for 49 Park Inn Hotels The Suryaa Group plans their second property, this time in TajikistanExpectations from budget 2013-14

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| hotelscapes February 2013

new developments

prs oberoi captain nair


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PRS Oberoi and Captain Nair step down from day to

day management

new developments

two of india’s best known icons in the hospitality industry, by sheer coincidence, have decided to hang up their boots. Give way to younger family and professionals in their companies at Oberoi Hotels and Leela Hotels – Prs Oberoi stepped aside

for day to day management to give place to ss Mukherjee, who has been designated as the company’s vice chairman and chief executive officer. Prs would continue to guide his son Vikram Oberoi, nephew arjun Oberoi, chief planning officer, and the newly elevated president, Kapil Chopra. at Leela Hotels, Capt. nair stepped down to give place to his two sons – Vivek and dinesh who will now become CMd and co-CMd. the two brothers will have rajiv Kaul, president, assisting them.

Both veterans can be expected to remain in close touch with their businesses, both being passionate hoteliers and both having contributed so much to the hospitality industry in the country, in the luxury segment. Both have a keen sense of detail and finesse and could well be expected to continue taking interest in whatever their companies do.

this is a turning point in the history of these two companies – there are fresh challenges of supply, distribution of business among old companies and brands and new entrants, and the challenge of foreign names and expertise. Business in cities is also getting scattered geographically, with every city expanding into new directions, displacing traditional bastions of commercial activity. south Mumbai, for example, no longer enjoys the pride of place for commercial activity and is largely left to government and industry delegations – commercial activity has moved northwards. the same is the case in new delhi, with the expanding reach and relevance of the nCr region. such displacements have changed the profile of business for many hotels. Many properties that were once considered out of town, have now started enjoying the status of being in the heart of the city.

the moot point is that coupled with Hr issues, rising cost of inputs including electricity, business was never as tough. Competition from within, pressure on rates from the mid-market branded hotels was nev-er so intense. the struggling economy has made matters only worse.

staying afloat, and with elan is the challenge and at both these iconic brands, the new heads and captains have much responsibility on their shoulders. ■

by NaviN Berry

4


spread across 320 acres in the western Ghats and a short drive from mumbai and pune, Hilton shillim estate retreat & spa features among the largest and most comprehensive spa facilities in asia.

Hilton launches its first leisure property in Shillim, off Mumbai

Hilton Hotels & resorts, the flag-ship brand of Hilton worldwide, announced the opening of Hil-ton shillim estate retreat & spa,

its first leisure property in india. Oper-ated by Hilton worldwide and owned by writer Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd., the retreat is nestled in the serene and unspoiled land-scape of the sahyadri mountain range in the western Ghats. a two-and-half hour

MArtin rinckPresident, asia PaCifiC,

HiLtOn wOrLdwide

Hilton shillim estate retreat & spa is an exceptional

addition to our fast growing portfolio in india. Given

the facilities and services on offer, we expect the property to become the

favourite gateway for guests travelling on leisure in

the region.

ues primarily utilise organic and locally sourced ingredients providing guests the opportunity to enjoy fine dining whilst maintaining a regime of good nutri-tion. special dining experiences include the Chef’s table, a private dinner with the chef at a unique location on the banks of a seasonal waterfall overlooking the valley, dining by design, whereby guests can dine at a venue of their choice on the retreat’s extensive grounds, and din-

drive (100 km) and 30-minute helicopter ride from Mumbai and one-and-half hour drive (80 km) from Pune, the property is spread across 320 acres within the 3,500 acre private shillim estate.

the retreat features ecologically de-signed all-villa accommodation with butler service, extensive dining options, one of the largest wine cellars in india and among the largest and most com-prehensive spa facilities in asia that encompasses 70 acres and offers more than 150 treatments. with the opening of Hilton shillim estate retreat & spa, Hilton worldwide extends its Hilton resorts portfolio to 80 resorts across 29 countries.

“Hilton shillim estate retreat & spa is an exceptional addition to our fast growing portfolio in india. Given the fa-cilities and services on offer, we expect the property to become the favourite gateway for guests travelling on leisure in the region. we now operate 11 hotels in the country and, at the current pace of rapid growth, hope to increase our port-folio to 50 hotels in the next five years,” said Martin rinck, President, asia Pacific, Hilton worldwide.

the 99 villas at the retreat, set amidst rice fields, bamboo plantations and virgin forests, feature private decks or balconies, dedicated treatment areas and valley or forest views. the spa Pool villas and Presi-dential Pool villas additionally include private gardens and swimming pools.

the retreat offers extensive dining options that include the best of spa cui-sine in addition to Mediterranean, asian and local delicacies. the six exciting on-site restaurant, bar and lounge ven-

new developments


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ing Prive that allows guests to enjoy a set dinner menu specially crafted by the chef in an intimate setting. Hilton shillim estate retreat & spa also offers a unique culinary experience, wherein celebrity chefs from across the world are invited to present their culinary magic.

recreational opportunities include yoga, meditation, cooking, dance, mu-sic and pottery classes as well as treks, picnics, mountain-biking, horse-riding,

fishing and excursions to the nearby Mar-atha forts of tungi, tikona, Lohgad and Visapur and ancient Buddhist rock caves of Karla and Bhaja.

the retreat also presents an exclusive location for corporate meetings, busi-ness events, social gatherings and private receptions, with a provision to accommo-date up to 100 people.

“the opening of Hilton shillim estate retreat & spa is a significant milestone

in our expansion. not only is it our first leisure property in india, it is a very unique addition to the brand’s global portfolio. with this launch, we now oper-ate five hotels in india. the other brand hotels in the country include Hilton new delhi/Janakpuri, Hilton Mumbai interna-tional airport, Hilton Chennai, and Hilton new delhi-noida-Mayur Vihar,” said rob Palleschi, senior Vice President and Glob-al Head, Hilton Hotels & resorts. ■

new developments

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Bengaluru gets its first Marriott in WhitefieldBengaluru gets its first Marriott in Whitefield


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marriott international inc. makes a grand entry into Bengaluru with the launch of Bengaluru marriott Hotel whitefield.

Marriott international inc. an-nounced its entry into the Bengaluru market with the launch of its signature Mar-

riott Hotels & resorts brand. aptly called the Bengaluru Marriott Hotel whitefield, this first ever Marriott property in the city stands tall amidst the top fortune 500 companies in whitefield’s it hub. it is conveniently located 50 minutes from the Bengaluru international airport, and 30 minutes from the City Centre. designed as a premier up market hotel, Bengal-uru Marriott Hotel whitefield is truly a wonderful blend of contemporary style, warmth and sophistication.

Located in beautifully landscaped sur-roundings, the hotel offers its guests 324 spacious and elegantly designed rooms which include 16 junior suites and one plush presidential suite. Coupled with state-of-the-art facilities and services, these rooms provide an elevated stand-ard of design and décor that reflects real comfort and style.

speaking at the launch, rajeev Menon, area Vice President- indian subcontinent, Maldives & australia Marriott interna-tional inc. said, “Bengaluru Marriott Hotel whitefield is an exciting addition to the portfolio of Marriott Hotels & resorts, the iconic, flagship brand of Marriott international. as india’s fifth and Ben-galuru’s first, this property embodies the brand philosophy of inspiring and energising the performance of its patrons. the tremendous potential for business and hospitality growth in this city made it an obvious choice for us to introduce our signature brand. adding to this, a heritage of rich culture and tradition, well balanced with modernity blends with our brand vision. we foresee this property growing to be the next community center

guests with our warmth and hospitality, the ‘Marriott ’way.”

the hotel offers its guests a wide range of dining options, each one promising to be a unique and exotic experience. Bringing italian cuisine closer to the heart and palate of Bangaloreans is alto Vino, the exclusive italian dinner outlet at the hotel. wearing the chef’s hat here is an expat italian chef who will be dishing out authentic italian fare while in conversa-tion with guests over the kitchen counter. Planning a business lunch, a family dinner or catching up with a friend over a cup of coffee, MCafé with its warm and con-temporary ambience will suit your every need. if desserts are your ‘cup of tea,’ then whitefield Baking Company with its interesting array of delectable desserts is sure to satisfy your cravings. Choosing to unwind after a long day’s work? then M Bar, the cocktail bar with a sky atrium, will be your calling. ■

rAjeev Menonarea ViCe President- indian

suBCOntinent, MaLdiVes & austraLia MarriOtt

internatiOnaL inC.

as india’s fifth and Bengaluru’s first, this

property embodies the brand philosophy of

inspiring and energising the performance of its

patrons. the tremendous potential for business and hospitality growth in this city made it an obvious

choice for us to introduce our signature brand.

of whitefield.”He further added “we look forward to

the Bengaluru Marriott Hotel whitefield changing the way people perceive hospi-tality in Bengaluru, setting new standards and galvanising the industry.”

staying in tune with Marriott stand-ards, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel whitefield has been conceptualised to meet the varied tastes of travellers; business and leisure alike. with over 10,000 sq. ft. of ef-ficient meeting space, equipped with the latest technology and amenities, the hotel provides an ideal destination for business travellers. Guests can choose to use the efficiently designed executive lounge on the 14th floor for business purposes or relaxation.

the exquisitely designed, pillarless grand ballroom, with a ceiling height of 7.8 m, making it unique in the city, is a perfect choice for business and life-style events. for a city that sees grand weddings and social events, the hotel provides a venue different from all others.

Believing that staying fit is the key to health, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel white-field has set up a well-equipped fitness club in its premises. the jogging and bike track by the pool deck is sure to energise and inspire guests to sweat it out. Guests can rejuvenate by indulging in a soothing experience at the in-house spa or by tak-ing a refreshing dip in the pool.

Matthew Cooper, General Manager, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel whitefield add-ed, “this hotel is designed to provide the best services and facilities for business and leisure travellers looking to experi-ence a comfortable and stylish stay. it is indeed exciting for me and my team to be a part of this hotel as we make our entry into this fascinating city for the first time. we will strive to serve and delight our

Located in beautifully landscaped surroundings, the hotel offers its guests 324 spacious and elegantly designed rooms which include 16 junior suites and one plush presidential suite. Coupled with state-of-the-art facilities and services, these rooms provide an elevated standard of design and décor that reflects real comfort and style.

new developments

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interview of tHe montH

Dharmendra Bhandari and Sunil Satija, joint promoters, Bestech Group talk to Hotelscapes about the real estate group’s foray into hospitality with

the announcement of 49 new hotels with carlson, moving from mid market to niche and luxury segments and looking ahead

with big visions in the hospitality business.

Bestech bets big on hospitality ventures: signs with Carlson Hotels for 49 Park Inn Hotels


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interview of tHe montH

You made a big announcement recently of 49 new hotels with Carlson. What has made you venture into hospitality, in the first place, and then what is your way forward with the Park Inn brand?

we have gone into hospitality because of our presence in real estate. Primarily, we know land, and have expertise in building and designing. we are not buying into hotels, but building them. we are having a green field approach. there are two ingredients – land and building. we are into both. we can locate, identify and do conversion as far as land is concerned; we have the cutting edge understanding of construction whereby we can build at 10 to 20 percent cheaper than a regular hospitality company. we can do both at the best competitive cost. Please do not forget we are both an engineering background!

Are there any special reasons for getting into hospitality? What endears you to this industry?we have travelled around worldwide, and continue to do so. we

are avid travellers and keenly observe hotels wherever we go. we have an eight year old relationship with Carlson and we happily entrust the operations part to them.

Location will drive the business. if you have the right loca-tion, you will succeed.

what has struck us about hospitality is that you can drive your dream, build iconic, and yet keep it with us. not so in

park plaza noida

dharmendra Bhandari

sunil satija

10


Q: The collaboration between Bestech and Carlson has been one of the biggest announcements in the hospitality world. What does the collaboration bring together? What is their USP and what will be the target audience for the new 49 Park Inns that have been announced? A: Carlson is already managing our four hotels namely radisson Blu hotels in indore, Gurgaon and nagpur and a Park Plaza hotel in noida. Both Bestech and Carlson have their own strengths and we felt that combining these strengths will help us design, construct and operate hotels better than anyone else operating in this seg-ment. Carlson already operates more than a thousand hotels across the globe and has a very strong presence in india with more than

50 hotels already. Bestech is a real estate company and is known for quality construction within strict budgets. with Bestech being in the hospitality business since 2002, the partnership can achieve different dimensions.Q: What are the sort of local elements that the collaboration will adapt to in the new properties in terms of design, service and facilities?A: Park inns are being designed keeping india in mind and the needs of the indian traveller. designed with bold and colourful strokes, our hotels have a fresh, energetic and contemporary feel. Park inn by radisson hotels are smart, efficient and easy to build and manage. the potential of tier 2 and tier 3 cities has been kept in mind and the brand Park inn by radisson is a perfect fit.Q: What do you think are the challenges that Bestech will face in developing these properties and how does Bestech plan to t ackle them? A: as you are aware, it is a lengthy and cumbersome process to obtain various permissions and licenses to construct and operate a hotel. each state has different rules and regulations and the local laws vary, the challenge would be to understand these laws well in time and ensure compliance. with years of experience in construc-tion including hotels, Bestech has developed a team to handle these issues and i am confident that we will be able to seek the necessary approvals and clearances as soon as possible for all our hotels. Q: These will be mid market hotels, that would be different from the budget or economy hotels. Can you please explain it further how these are different? Who will be your direct competitors in this segment? A: Budget hotels are very basic in nature and do not offer certain ser-vices like porters, room-service or even f&B facilities. Park inn is a full service mid scale concept designed for Gen Y. the service philosophy of Park inn, ‘adding Colours to Life’ delivers a quality guest experience. each stay is uncomplicated, friendly and fun.

real estate and housing. after we have completed a building, we have already sold every part of it. But in hotels, we continue to nurture what we have built.

We gathered you sold your first hotel at some great price?Yes, we started with the Park Plaza and we sold it. the price we were getting for it, we could never have earned it in our lifetime. and with that price in our pocket, we could build another four hotels.

And what is your new agreement envisage?we have entered into a joint venture agreement with Carlson for setting up 49 properties. these would be the Park inn brand. we have created two joint ventures, one for management and the other for investment. the joint venture company has acquired the franchise for the brand. not all the 49 properties will be ours, they are not meant to be. third parties will fund these and this joint venture will manage them.

the first two hotels in this brand are coming up at sector 88 in Gurgaon (200 plus rooms) and another in Chandigarh (150 plus rooms). another two projects have been signed, with a third party, in Bhiwadi and Jammu. 49 hotels in 14 years is our agreement.

What is your understanding of design in hotels? what is the point of expensive artwork if it does not please the eye, or the customer? what is the point of artwork that 98 percent of the people do not even understand? i would not like to cater to the two percent.

You have some functional art at Park Plaza in Noida. That

Bringing synergy into action

radisson Gurgaon

(standing) l-r: Gordon mckinnon, chief Branding officer, carlson rezidor Hotel Group; simon Barlow, president, carlson rezidor Hotel Group, asia pacific and K.B. Kachru, executive vice president, carlson rezidor Hotel Group, south asia. (sitting) l-r: dharmendra Bhandari, md, Bestech Hospitalities; Hubert Jolly, president, ceo and director carlson rezidor Hotel Group and sunil satija, md, Bestech Hospitalities


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is what we consider a smart hotel, what has been your experience?at Park Plaza noida, we have now been operational for three years – we have been doing 75 percent occupancy and an arr of rs 7,500. we have a dedicated team working there and we are proud of them.

So far you have been working exclusively with Carlson. What has been your experience, and what are your plans going forward? Will you build only mid market and is the road going to be exclusively with Carlson?so far we have concentrated in the mid market segment – but we have also ventured into the luxury segment. in sector 88 Gurgaon, we have a new project where we are developing 350 serviced apartments and we also have 150 rooms in 5 star range. Here, we are looking at a suitable brand – we are very satisfied with our experience with Carlson – they are an excellent brand to work with. But we also get approached by people all the time, and sometimes we kind of open up our mind, and check what they are offering. it is not that we are looking around, but in the luxury space, we can always listen to some exciting offers, if they come forward.

What is your experience so far about business models and what do you feel about viability of hotels?in the present dispensation, the heat, or the cake, is both with the owner. Brands do not own responsibility. there must be some business model where the brand also pays. a fixed percentage on turnover leaves no financial burden upon the

brand. Big chains are not looking upon rOi – it is not their responsibility and it is the owners who have to be careful.

Any other venture in the offing?Yes, we also have a health spa coming up at dharuhera. the shell is ready and we should open in 2015. we have initiated talks with Carlson – this would be a mid-market property with high end values. it would also have a huge conference facility for 1000 plus.

You have now spent almost a decade in the industry. What is your understanding of the industry?the government has not yet given hospitality an industry status. Land should come at industry rates – the more the cost of land, the longer the gestation period. in many metro cities, the cost of land has made hotels prohibitive and unviable. so much so, we cannot even look at a break even in ten years – then, what is the point of building such assets.

What about rates?we are all aware that supply is getting added and not the de-mand. if you see the city of delhi and nCr, the aerocity projects cannot be deemed to be viable. they will let loose a blood bath – the new supply will choke the demand for existing hotels.

Given the situation, where do you intend taking your dream?Our final goal is to build a project like suncity in south africa. we hope we can achieve it, one day. ■

as told to NaviN Berry

lobby, radisson nagpurpresidential suite, radisson Blu indore

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ExpEctations of thE hospitality industry from

this yEar’s budgEt

“The multiple taxes which have been imposed by

the government have sometimes created misunderstandings

between tourists and hoteliers.”

the indian hospitality industry is an over taxed industry. the taxes are going up and are being passed on to the customers. the industry is

unhappy with the government policies, as the burden of taxation on the hospitality industry is very high. at present, customers have to pay service tax and luxury tax on room rent. they also have to pay service tax and Vat of over 17 percent on food and bev-erages, the multiple taxes which have been imposed by the government have sometimes created misunderstandings between tourists and hoteliers.

the high taxes are actually hampering the growth of the industry. if taxes are re-duced, there will be more consumption, your base will grow. there are no reasons when it comes to why the industry is over taxed. it’s the decision of the government. we were hoping that Goods and services tax (Gst) would come, taxes will be reduced.

the challenges right now are that we are expecting a lot more supply in the market, with demand not growing in the same ratio. further, due to the slowdown, companies

are cutting back on travel. However i am optimistic, since i recently read that the Min-istry of tourism is adding visa on arrival for some countries and is looking out to more aggressively promote tourism again. How-ever, we need to improve infrastructure to attract more MiCe business into the country. development of infrastructure plays a very important role in attracting tourists to our country. Better connectivity, development of airports, railways, roads and other facilities and upkeep of places of tourist interest are of vital importance.

expectations from budget 2013-2014 are:• I hope budget would accord infrastruc-ture status for all hotels, irrespective of the location. this would benefit the hotel indus-try since the loans taken for hotel projects would be of longer tenor and the interest rates would also come down.

• Different taxes in different states should be rationalised as these are very confusing to the tourist.

• Development of infrastructure would be good for the economy and tourism.

• Tax benefits – hotel companies want tax benefit to be given to the newly constructed 5 star properties. also 100 percent tax holi-day benefit should be extended for 10 years instead of five years.

• Ease in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules and attracting foreign investments in key sectors like aviation, so that we attract more business and leisure clients.

• Issue of visas and efficiency of our overseas consulates need to be improved. ■

The writer is Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels

Guest column

anil madhok brings forth the concerns of the industry and expresses his hopes from budget 2013-2014.

optus sarovar premiere Gurgaon

14


events

a veteran in the field of travel, tourism and hotel industry, anil K. Bhandari has penned down his experiences and learning

about the hospitality and tourism indus-try in india. this is his first project as an author and, as he believes, is not the last one. the book talks about the new devel-oping face of tourism in india and so, is perfectly titled as, ‘tourism in india – an economic activity.’

everybody knows anil Bhandari, who has had a notable career in the Hospi-tality industry. He has served as the Chairman & Managing director of india tourism development Corporation. He has also very effectively handled the position of the Managing director JHM interstate Hotels, international travel

Hotelier Anil Bhandari turns author, pens his first book‘tourism in india – an economic activity’ by Anil K. Bhandari talks about the

different phases of tourism industry in india.

House and Hotel Corporation of india.the book extensively covers all the

major aspects of tourism in india. talking about the book, Bhandari says, “i have an interesting career, wide exposure and great experiences in the hotels, travel and tourism industry. My book is based on the hands-on knowledge and experience that i gained during my various assign-ments. My objective of writing this book was to share the knowledge and experi-ence which i gained in the last 47 years while working in the Hospitality industry in various capacities.”

the book has been published by Har-anand Publications, pioneered by none other than narendra Kumar who was also the instigator for Bhandari to do the book, in the first place. the book was launched

by the Chief Guest, s.K. Misra, a former secretary in the Ministry of tourism, and former chairman, intaCH. Misra has been a mentor to many in the industry, and this list included Bhandari prominently. On the occasion of the launch, attended by the cream of the tourism industry, both from the past and the present, the ef-forts and personality of the author were applauded by secretary tourism, Parvez dewan, and also the present Vice Chair-man and Managing director, Lalit Panwar. the latter’s brief speech in chaste Hindi was the highlight of the evening. sales of the book were brisk, indicating a keen interest in the contents of the book, and also the integrity of the author.

the book covers the extensive history of tourism in india. also, it talks about

launching the book: narendra Kumar, the publisher; pervez dewan, secretary tourism; s.K. misra, former secretary tourism and aviation; anil Bhandari and lalit panwar


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events

the colourful heritage of our country, pal-aces, temples, etc…indian cuisine, forests and festivals of india also have a special mention in the book.

in his tenure of about 47 years, he has put in great efforts for different kinds of developments in the industry in the coun-try. He has described these moments, his struggles and his achievements very poignantly in the book.

the main driving force of the book is to say that tourism plays a key role as an im-portant economic activity and generates a great amount of employment opportuni-ties. talking about this, Bhandari covers the significance of itdC as a catalytic force in the indian tourism industry and also talks about the milestones in the journey of tourism in india’s development.

explaining the importance of tour-ism as an economic activity globally, Bhandari has noticed and commented, “world travel & tourism’s direct contri-bution to GdP in 2011 was us $ 2 trillion and taking into account its direct, in-direct and induced impacts, was us $ 6.3 trillion, representing 9 percent of GdP. the impact in job creation directly was 98 million while the direct, indirect and induced combination was 255 mil-

lion jobs. in india direct contribution to GdP was rs 1,689.8 billion while to-tal contribution was rs 5,651.0 billion. this contributed 6.4 percent to the GdP. tourism directly supported 25 million jobs and, including indirectly, was 40 million jobs.”

a very significant part of the book is where he has described how he had put in hard efforts for a long time for creation of special tourism Zones. also, after his

proposal, the Ministry of tourism has sought allocation of funds for 35 tourism parks in the 12th five-year Plan.

in a specific chapter titled as tourism Management, he has made some sugges-tions which could aid in the Planning Process and Promotional aspects, which would further help in development of ad-ditional employment opportunities and planning of more tourism products. ■

by NaviN Berry

a bouquet from lalit panwar for the author a bouquet from the author for s.K. misra

a view of the packed Banquet Hall, the ashok

16


The Suryaa Group plans their second property, this time in Tajikistan

one-on-one


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greesh bindra, Vice President

and General Manager, The Suryaa, New Delhi talks to hotelscapes

about last year’s business, the expectations

from 2013, and the Group’s

expansion plans.

one-on-one

When was The Suryaa, New Delhi launched? the hotel opened its doors in October 1982 with the ninth asian Games being hosted in the capital. it has previously been as-sociated with several international hotel groups – accor, Best western international and interContinental Hotels.

What led to the rechristening of The Suryaa? the hotel was previously associated with Crowne Plaza. since the contract ended, the hotel was re-launched as the suryaa, new delhi.

What are the USP’s of the hotel? the suryaa, new delhi with its host of facilities and services is designed to meet your every business need and is now a part of summit Hotels & resorts, a division of the Preferred Hotel Group, a global leader in the hospitality industry. l Lying in the heart of new delhi, the suryaa is a mere 40-min-utes drive from the international airport and is adjacent to delhi’s business districts – nehru Place, Pragati Maidan and Okhla and noida Promotion Zones. l the hotel is in close proximity to apollo Hospital and the escorts Heart institute. shopping arcade and other recreation facilities are within walking distance from the hotel.l technologically advanced conferencing facilities, customised meetings services and in-room business amenities create an ideal setting for the quintessential business traveller. l the hotel has recently received isO 22000: 2005 certification from sGs – societe Generale de surveillance, switzerland for the food safety Management system on the premises.l the 242 well appointed guestrooms and suites are elegantly designed and the delectable dining options, technologically ad-vanced conferencing features, exquisite recreation facilities as well as warm and attentive service are just some of the things

18


one-on-one

that make the suryaa a preferred destination.

The rooftop restaurant Sampan was renovated recently, tell us about that. sampan is the only authentic rooftop Pan asian restaurant capturing the panoramic view of delhi. with its beautiful and luxurious ambience with both indoor and outdoor setting, it is a perfect destination for social and private parties.

How is the room occupancy? the room occupancy is approximately 70 percent around the year.

Who is your clientele?Our target audience is:l 30-35 percent – foreign leisure l 55 percent – business travellerl 15 percent – MiCe segmentOur internet bookings have also been fairly well.

How was the business last year and, what are your expectations this year? the suryaa did fairly well with 67 percent occupancy. we are looking at 5-10 percent growth this year.

What are your future/expansion plans?we are looking at opening our second property by year-end, this time in tajikistan.

How is the industry faring? the hospitality industry is not fairing too well. new hotels are coming up and competition is growing. these hotels are picking up mid-level people from other hotels at senior level positions. this is affecting the service standards of the hospitality sector, as these people do not have enough experience and expertise to run the hotel.

Many international hotel brands are entering India. How are you keeping up with the competition?Many brands are coming up and the competition is growing immensely. Hotels need constant up gradations. we are very strong with our service standards. ■

as told to MaNisha alMadi Midha

the recently renovated rooftop restaurant sampan

deluxe room

G E R M A N Y

20


destination report

Impact of the Kumbh Mela on Allahabad Hotels

leading players in allahabad provide their take on how the ongoing Kumbh mela is impacting their business. for many it is an exciting time with occupancy and sales looking up, while for few others it has been a poor-show of sorts. Here’s a low-down

on a few star luxury hotels and their business from the fair.

mu

Kes

H a

GG

ar

wa

l

the tents at the Kumbh mela are eating into the business of hotels


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destination report

UP Tourism, AllahabadKP Singh, Assistant Managerwe have set up our own huge camp, its almost like a colony. we have 10 maharaja tents, deluxe suite cottage nicely made. we are very happy with the response from Kumbh Mela this year. a lot of hard work has gone into making it a success. we are seeing almost 90-100 percent occupancy this february which has been a huge sense of inspi-ration for all of us. we have arranged transport, units to relax and excellent arrangements for the guests, who have come from across the globe.

foreign tourists at the mela

religious tourists take a dip in the river at Kumbh

22


destination report

dhAnAnjAy PAndeyGeneraL ManaGer,

HOteL raVisHa COntinentaL

Mostly the religious crowd is centered in tents around

the river where the mela is taking place, so people are hardly staying in Civil Lines, the city area. the administration has made arrangements in such a way that no guest has

come to our side.

Hotel Ravisha ContinentalDhananjay Pandey, General ManagerKumbh Mela has in many ways than one destroyed our business. the corporate crowd, the business crowd is missing this time of the year. Media has certainly over-hyped the mela, they have mentioned that the hotel rates or tariffs have gone up and it would be over-crowded so we are seeing less occupancy or crowd dipping now. we were positive that the occupan-cy would be bright, however it was only 30 percent in January and february has not been so good and is seeing 50 per-cent only. we are not seeing much of the foreign tourists which is highly disap-pointing for us. the figures have dipped big time. Mostly the religious crowd is centered in tents around the river where the mela is taking place, so people are hardly staying in Civil Lines, the city area. the administration has made arrange-ments in such a way that no guest has come to our side.

People are somehow keeping away from this part of the town and the turnout

of crowd from all stratas is low consid-ering a mela of this magnitude. we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping things would look up, but the way the oc-cupancy rates have dipped we have very less hope. we wish media does not hype it any further and make it difficult for us. all our expectations have fallen flat, we can just be hopeful for things to look up.

Hotel Milan PalaceHarjinder Singh, Managing Directorfirstly, i would like to bring to your notice that in comparison to the occupancy sta-tistics of the previous year, Kumbh Mela’s total occupancy has been down and no major hotel had good occupancy this year. about 40 percent of the revenue was at par with last year’s January figures.

the low or decline in the occupancy level was due to administration’s deci-sion or rather of the local authorities doing which affected the incoming traffic to allahabad at large.

Moreover the hype was much of the Kumbh but the enquiry was maximum only from 8th to 15th feb which are con-

hArjinder SinghManaGinG direCtOr, HOteL MiLan PaLaCe

as far as the hoteliers are concerned, some

seem satisfied and many are unhappy with the overall turnout. the

people we have in town are a fine mix from across the world.


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destination report

sidered the most important dates of the big fair. the auspicious dates for bathing did not pull up the crowd somehow, in comparison to the Kumbh Mela of 2001 as i have witnessed both the Kumbh Melas. i am trying to compare and figure out the differences and reasons quite well having experienced the Kumbh Melas. the ar-rangements made this time are seemingly much better in many ways than one, but all in vein as it did not attract or up the expected crowd for the hospitality sector.

However, as far as the hoteliers are concerned, some seem satisfied and many are unhappy with the overall turnout. On the brighter side this is also a good expe-rience for us, as we are welcoming people from around the world with different cul-tures coming to experience the world’s largest religious fair. the people we have in town are a fine mix from across the world, plenty of indians are coming but we have mostly got crowd pouring in from abroad. also we have a huge turnout of people from the Maharishi Group from europe coming to pay tribute to this place in allahabad from 13th to 17th feb during this Kumbh so its going to be quite excit-ing an experience. it’s a mixed feeling for

us this time around and things should look up going ahead.

Grand Continental Hotel Nilesh Kumar Mishra, Assistant Managerwe are enjoying 95 percent occupancy this year. for the main days during the Kumbh Mela we are completely sold out. Our partners have made camps near the sangam area, which are also packed to the brim. we have doubled our tariff rates, our monthly sales have increased a great deal. there is a good inflow of indian and foreign tourists for the festi-val. the feel of the city is exuberant with plenty of foreign tourists coming in the city to experience the Kumbh Mela, while the indians from across the globe are here for religious purpose.

the tourism in this part of the country has boosted tremendously and we are elated with our sales. we have modified our services, re-done our rooms and the rates of the rooms have gone a notch up higher. we generally have 70 percent oc-cupancy this time of the year, this year it has increased to 95 percent which makes

24


destination report

us absolutely content and positive. we had not thought that the response of the Kumbh Mela would be so good. the busi-ness for the year has started on a very impressive note and we couldn’t have asked for more. all i can say is we are elated as there has been a good 25-30 percent increase from normal occupancy rates. we have no complaints and are looking to welcoming more tourists in this auspicious season.

Allahabad Regency Hotel Vibgor Rastogi, General ManagerKumbh Mela has upped the business, in terms of room rents and total revenue. However, the overall business in alla-habad has not been up to expectation. Most hotels have hiked up the room rents which is not good for the hospitality busi-ness. Beyond that the hotels in Banaras are doing really well, because of their proximity to allahabad, they are pro-viding taxi services and moderate room rents. therefore the hotels in Banaras have seen a good inflow of religious tour-ists and have taken over the tourists at

vibgor rAStogiGeneraL ManaGer,

aLLaHaBad reGenCY HOteL

the hotels in Banaras are doing really well, because of their proximity to allahabad,

they are providing taxi services and moderate room rents. therefore the hotels in

Banaras have taken over the tourists at allahabad

and Banaras.

nileSh kuMAr MiShrAassistant ManaGer,

Grand COntinentaL HOteL

we are enjoying 95 percent occupancy this year. for the main days during the Kumbh

Mela we are completely sold out. there has been

a good 25-30 percent increase from normal

occupancy rates.


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destination report

allahabad and Banaras. allahabad hotels have hardly seen any form of additional revenue.

Besides this, a number of tents have been stationed at the ghat area or the sangam area. if we are charging ten thou-sand rupees as room rent in the hotel, then the tents by the ghat area are also providing the same facilities at the same prices. People prefer to stay near the river instead of travelling up to the luxury hotels in town. Our business is getting af-fected and taken up by the Kumbh tents. Currently in our hotel we are seeing a mix of foreigners and religious visitors. January and March bookings are low, while february bookings are packed so it’s looking up this month for now. we are trying our best to make our guests feel at home by providing them guides to per-sonally help them reach or direct them right into the ghat, else they get confused on reaching the sangam area. that is our way of reaching out to our esteemed guests. we are trying our best to help out the guests staying with us and trying to be hopeful with more visitors and to get better revenues in the days to come. ■

as told to Kavita shyaM

26


architects and designers analyse how the change in design of hotels impacts the business of hoteliers, the lighting and furniture industries, and the future lying ahead.

the burgeoning economy, in-creasing globalisation, changes in work norms and lifestyle and simultaneously huge increase

in consumption expenditure have cre-ated an enormous market evolved around those who no longer wish to eat all their meals at home. Market watchers say that the degree of globalisation has created a breed of restaurants that cater to the most discerning client. the client who always looks for a fine dining experience along with his family, concentrates on focused cuisine and ambiance package that is a cut above the standard indian, italian or Chinese on offer at most outlets. while the changes are visible, restaurant architecture, both interior and exterior is

still seen as a subset of general hospital-ity architecture, a segment that several service providers are now looking at with increasing interest.

eating out has been transformed into an activity of celebration. Leisure, recrea-tion and the character of interiors of the eating places has undergone a makeover from merely functional to the more luxu-rious. Besides pushing restaurateurs to rethink what they have to offer, this trans-formation has also pressed the design

Design makeovers impact industry in a positive way

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Jp agrawal’s works


| 27

are least bothered about saving money. rather, they want to spend and enjoy.” the client mix has also changed. “now the restaurant no more addresses to a local customer living in some local area. it’s addressed to everybody – travellers, foreigners and indians. the whole vo-cabulary has changed.” the well-travelled indian customer now knows and relish-es the dining experience overseas, and demands this at home. the advent of a va-riety of cuisines: thai, Mexican, Chinese,

jP AgrAwAldireCtOr,

aGrawaL & aGrawaL

due to the diversity of cuisines, the décor needs to get far more eclectic, far funkier and far more

fun, representing the burst of energy that is happening worldwide.

community to experiment and explore the frontiers of possibility in restaurant interiors. the visual element and overall ambiance have assumed paramount im-portance in the success and popularity of a restaurant, almost at par with the cuisine itself.

a lot more people have a lot more money to spend. architect JP agrawal, director, agrawal & agrawal says, “ear-lier, luxury was limited to a particular class. now a time has come when people

spanish, italian, arabic and Moroccan has pushed the restaurant industry to offer not merely the food but an overall experience with a theme, ambiance and décor to match. frankly speaking, people want a break from the routine. unless the ambiance is appealing, people are not going to enter.

speciality restaurants are a big draw, with more multi-cultural blending, di-versity of food and the kind of food that was unheard of. “due to the diversity of cuisines, the décor needs to get far more eclectic, far funkier and far more fun, representing the burst of energy that is happening worldwide,” feels agrawal. Basically it is the globalisation that is well reflected in hospitality industry, es-pecially in restaurants. we have gone beyond the boundaries. the old definition of creating a dimly lit restaurant with a regular door that you open and enter into a typical environment is gone. now, there is more freedom of expression for an interior designer, how he wants to ex-press on the brief by the owner and the kind of cuisine.

designing a luxury restaurant in a five star hotel differs from designing a stan-

desiGn

28


dalone restaurant or a fast food chain in terms of treatment as the per table turnover and other considerations are different, so also food court traffic differs from that of a fine dining, casual dining or fast food restaurant. Most of the de-signers and architects feel that design starts with the pricing and number of seats. though there is a tendency to ape the west with a cliché minimalist look, aesthetics have gained prominence and a degree of experimentation is quite vis-ible. illumination, texturisation, furniture and interior elements are the main areas to change.

Allocation of project space and requirements of a restaurant projectOpinions differ on whether a rule of thumb exists in terms of the division of space in a restaurant facility. while some say it does not, others put forward vary-ing theories of proportion. founder & Md, MiCd associates, Channa daswatte, the man with a myriad of experience in restaurant and hotel architecture in in-dia and overseas says that there is no hard and fast rule as far as division of spaces is concerned. But designer ajit Jain, founder & Md, studio w.B. feels, “a restaurant with a seating capacity of 100 should have a 600 square feet kitchen to accommodate the various stages of prep-aration. architects generally leave the design of the kitchen itself to a specialist. Various stages of execution follow, once

the overall theme and design is agreed upon.” this has been reinforced once again when agrawal comments, “there are three steps involved in the whole process: identifying a theme, selecting the material and finally working on the 3d visuals of the restaurants.”

the group of service providers in-volved in a project always looks for an architect’s drawings and a shopping list of products and specifications that they should procure or create. in india, the ul-

desiGn

ancasa Hotel, Kuala lumpur


| 29

timate decisions are taken by the owners. the chief architect and designers create the blueprints of what the interiors of the hotel or restaurant will look like. thereaf-ter, it becomes the job of the contractor to realise the vision.

The entire process runs like the fol-lowing…

Client à architect à creation of draw-ings àfloating of tenders à selection of contractors à negotiations à allocation of tasks to sub contractors

• Plumbing • Masonry • Electrical• HVAC • Woodwork • Painting

Pricing and the growth of businessrestaurants, both general and special-ity are doing extremely well in the main metros according to the suppliers who help create them. they feel that the core markets lie in cities like delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurgaon and noida. these cit-ies being cosmopolitan in nature with

chAnnA dASwAttefOunder & Md,

MiCd assOCiates

the average size of a restaurant would be

between 120 and 160 covers spread over about 4500 to 5500 square feet. the

furniture component of the entire contract would be

about 25-30 percent.

overseas travel create a conducive atmosphere for the hotel owners. estima-tion of the size of the market is difficult according to the industry members. spe-ciality restaurants make up only a small fraction but are an integral part of the entertainment business.

daswatte, who has developed a num-ber of boutique and lifestyle restaurants in Kolkata says, “the average size of a restaurant would be between 120 and 160 covers spread over about 4500 to 5500 square feet. the furniture component of the entire contract would be about 25-30 percent.” a veteran of 20 plus years in the contract sector says it’s a very big market when you think of the thousands of hotels in india. each hotel spends rs 120 to 150 million or more for the entire project. Of this, 35 to 40 percent goes to our kind of work, which includes civil, services, POP, carpentry etc. the proportion of furniture only is 10 to 12 percent.

agrawal sincerely believes that there is a big revolution coming up in the hos-pitality industry. it is growing at the rate of 30 to 40 percent each year at this point of time, which is remarkable. the growth

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Galle fort Hotel, sri lanka

30


of business comes not only from new construction, but from the refurbishment of existing enterprises, with the average of hotels being about 10 years and res-taurants being in between three to four years. this makes hospitality and restau-rants a lucrative prospect.

since the interiors of a restaurant keep on changing these days, it is really dif-ficult to calculate the cost involved in it. But veteran service providers feel that it should be around rs 5,000 per square feet. “in the hotel industry we calculate in keys. the pricing per key varies be-tween rs four million to twelve million. for instance, in a 100 room hotel, one key costs between rs four to twelve mil-lion which includes banquets, lobby and restaurants. as far as the furniture is concerned, sofas, chairs and tables are the three major items required in a hotel. a chair would cost between rs 5,500 and 8000. a four seater table would cost be-tween rs 8,000 and 10,000, while a sofa would cost around rs 6000 to 7,000 per seat,” says agrawal.

Jain says, in india we can expect a lot more growth in this sector though the growth has not been very satisfactory over the last four years as one would have expected. “if you look at the fact that we have only 1 lakh hotel rooms in india which is less than Beijing and sin-gapore, we know we have a lot to catch up with.” He also sees a huge potential in the three and four star hotel segment catering to the business traveller. “in this

segment, we have to have at least 40 to 60 rooms per hotel. then only we can expect growth and think of launching another hotel utilising the profits which in turn, will help the industry to grow.”

He emphasises to bring in the family people in order to widen the business domain. “while travelling, families feel scared to put up in a hotel which is small with less than 30 rooms. if we can bring them in by increasing the number of rooms in a hotel, the business will cer-

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ajit Jain’s designs


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Ajit jAinfOunder & Md,

studiO w.B.

if you look at the fact that we have only 1 lakh hotel

rooms in india which is less than Beijing and

singapore, we know we have a lot

to catch up with.

tainly grow.” not just a statement, to give this thought a reality, Jain moves ahead to open up six to seven hotels in different parts of eastern region like Guwahati, shillong, ranchi, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. and most interestingly, they all will have an average of 40 rooms each catering to the middle class guests. Organisations mention growth figures varying between 20 and 50 percent per annum. Others have mentioned a dou-bling of turnover.

Impact on the lighting industryLighting is not a part, rather it’s the soul of interior designing in the hospitality industry. a veteran supplier in this field rightly puts it. “if a restaurant has right lighting, it’s like winning half the battle.” so when it comes to the designing of en-vironment, things like the position of the light, the emphasis and the impact cre-ated by the light should be taken into consideration.

Lighting in restaurant has under-

gone a major change and taken a big leap forward. earlier restaurants used to be completely lit, while today, lights are directed towards the walls or ceiling providing indirect lighting and thereby creating an ambiance while giving an identity to space. Lighting can create, enhance or destroy a visual environment and ultimately influences the complete dining experience. Light can also af-fect a customer’s appearance as strong overhead lights at sharp angles can ac-centuate skin wrinkles and deep shadows around the eyes while a light source at or slightly eye level is most complimentary to the face.

restaurant lighting varies with the particular niche. fast food outlets invaria-bly use bright lights to attract customers. fine dining restaurants require a low in-tensity of light to create an intimate and leisurely atmosphere. theme restaurants use decorative lighting to create and build a theme and evoke the right mood through ambient lighting.

though improved a lot, restaurant lighting is still a very nascent industry in india. so the major suppliers of this in-dustry come from foreign soil. Large hotel

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32


chains like the Oberoi or itC sheraton have in house project management teams which source most of the project materi-als including lighting accessories. But others depend on their hired architect or designer. agrawal prefers to buy lighting products from dubai, Kuala Lumpur or singapore. Off late, he is bringing it from Germany as well. all the lighting acces-sories used in the Mainland China chain of restaurants across india are imported. the lighting of a star category restaurant would cost around rs 1,300 to 1,500 per square foot. while for a normal, standard restaurant, the cost will come down to rs 600 to 700 per square foot. One fancy light fitting could cost between rs 2000 to 20,000.

However, this is an upbeat market that does not have a local answer to the needs of the hospitality industry. this is clearly seen from the vast quantum of imported products that service the market.

What is in store for future non availability of land in the prime loca-tion is somewhat restricting the expected growth in this sector compared to other asian or european countries. though, the architect and design community are confident that the best is still to come in terms of design of restaurant spaces in india. One section of architects feels there is much scope for more special-ity restaurants outside hotels and for

desiGn

interesting lounge spaces while others be-lieve that the volumes generated through standalone multi-cuisine restaurants es-tablishing their own brands are much higher. some still feel that clients are not adventurous enough to try out something different. But everyone agrees that the markets are booming and that there is a lot of business for anyone who is in-terested.

in this connection agrawal says, “the future is extremely bright. i’m ob-serving a steady 25 percent growth in this sector every year and i’m sure in coming four years, the number of res-taurants would certainly be double. when it comes to numbers, along with new business, the renovation of existing restaurants too is a big business. ear-lier a restaurant used to last for years, now the trend is to change the décor frequently and so the turnover is that much more for the furniture people.” architect samiran Banik, director, in-decorus Consultant shares his views from his own experience. “a surge in the restaurant industry has given a boost to both small time people who make chairs as well as to the big players who make modular furniture and can make 500 to 1000 chairs at a time for chains like Barista or Café Coffee day. Both sectors have benefited from it.” He fur-ther feels that restaurant projects have been able to generate a demand of 25

samiran Banik’s designssamiran Banik’s designs


| 33

to 35 percent in the country’s furniture and accessories market. not only that, demand for interior products like paint-ings, furniture, furnishing and flooring is rapidly rising.

if the furious growth in the business of the suppliers of services and products to the industry is an indicator to the growth of the industry itself, it looks like an explosion is right around the corner. in addition, a look at the factors that have caused the boom: increased consumer expenditure, fierce growth in construction and industries like it/BPO, travel and telecommunication show no possibility of slowdown in the future. what would make the enormous surge in the market even more worthwhile would be a visible shift in the business practices of companies, moving them from being in the grey area of the unorganised sector to the organised sector. ■

by suBhasis Chatterjee

SAMirAn bAnikdireCtOr,

indeCOrus COnsuLtant

a surge in the restaurant industry has given a boost to both small

time people who make chairs as well as to the big players who make modular furniture and can make 500 to 1000

chairs at a time for chains like Barista or

Café Coffee day.

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36



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38


f&B trends


outdoor brunch setting at courtyard by marriott Gurgaon


| 39

f&B trends

in the wake of the growing popularity of brunches, Hotelscapes spoke to a few hoteliers, and unearthed that brunches work in more ways than one for them. while

some players maintain that brunches up the f&B revenue, others suggest that brunches build an impressive corporate client list for the hotel as well

as win affluent guests who come back for more.

Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon Ashis Rout, Executive Chef sunday brunch is more like family and friends get together, its for busy business-men who don’t get time through the week and of course for families with kids. sun-day brunches are priced from rs 1,200 and go up to rs 3,500, depending upon the spreads offered, type of restaurant and the concept of brunch.

the market has become really com-petitive. the prices of raw ingredients are going up, selling prices aren’t moving up, lot of other restaurants with better quality and lesser price have come up. they have become everyday affair in an hotelier’s life. Competition keeps us alive, gives us the opportunity to think out of the box and innovate. People don’t mind paying for a good product (quality) so it is very important to innovate but more important to maintain standards.

any number of foods can be served at brunch, ranging from traditional break-fast foods like pancakes and sausages to lunch items, like seafood cocktails. up-scale brunch is often accompanied with cocktails like Mimosa or Bloody Mary and sometimes champagne is served as well.

Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch. to make it more interesting we add egg stations, bakeries, waffles, grilled meats, exotic dumdums, and up to a great extent lot of interesting indian breakfasts also.

Brunch is a meal that is eaten in late morning or early afternoon, generally be-tween 10 am and 2 pm. a typical brunch combines elements of breakfast and lunch, reflecting the fact that it is sup-posed to serve both meals. Many people associate it with weekends, particular-ly sundays, perhaps because they are able to sleep on weekends, making a late breakfast and early lunch combination more appealing. technically, like break-fast, brunch can be served on any day

of the week but generally it happens on weekend like sunday.

InterContinental Marine Drive, MumbaiSandeep Radhakrishnan, F&B ManagerBrunches do attract a lot of family crowd and youngsters in the age group of 25-40 years who don’t have a particular rea-son but just want to catch up on food and drinks. there have been concepts evolved around brunches, which is like...i

AShiS routexeCutiVe CHef,

COurtYard BY MarriOtt GurGaOn

sunday brunch is more like family and friends

get together, its for busy businessmen who don’t

get time through the week and of course for

families with kids. sunday brunches are priced from

rs 1,200 and go up to rs 3,500, depending upon the spreads offered, type

of restaurant and the concept of brunch.

40


f&B trends

love Balagan. in short it’s a brunch which will give you a reason to celebrate with some nice food, sangrias and beer and great themes which are created with live music and amazing vibes.

the contribution of brunches to the total f&B is between one to two percent over a year, keeping in mind the festivals and ups and downs in the economy. since it’s a sunday brunch, getting people out of their bed is what we look at and giv-ing them value for money. after partying on saturday, most people laze around on sunday – that is where brunches are planned to help them come late and still pick up their favourite food and drink. Good food and music, a well-stocked bar and good pricing are the keys to a suc-cessful brunch. Our brunches are priced from rs 1,900 to rs 2,300 between noon and 4 pm.

Most hotels serve world cuisine for brunches where you get something or the other from all parts of the world. this ac-tually helps if you are not a pasta person, you can pick some sushi or wraps such as falafel or shawarma. usually the spread is huge and the chefs put up a great show in terms of salads and cold cuts to indi-vidual portioned appetisers, choices of mains with live stations rendering hot

food and servers constantly bringing food to your tables.

Brunches usually do well when they have a pool package aligned to the same, but it’s now seen that brunches are start up for a sundowner so by the time you finish the brunch its time to start the sun-downer and the young crowd loves it. at the interContinental Marine drive we do get to see this with beautiful people com-ing for brunch at the first floor Corleone restaurant, do their brunch and by 4-4:30 pm they are at the dome witnessing an amazing sunset with soulful music and some great cocktails.

Hyatt Regency Chennai Kumar Shobhan, F&B Director Our sunday brunches have attracted a lot of family crowd. we are busy through the week and get to spend quality time with our family and kids only on sunday. Brunches are popular because the of-ferings are international and take care of every taste – if my mom wants to eat indian, i am happy having the grills. there are kids activity corner for the kids to be occupied while the parents can enjoy the afternoon. this is clubbed with an attractive beverage deal like champagne, bubbles, beer, long drinks, fresh fruit mar-

SAndeeP rAdhAkriShnAn

f&B ManaGer, interCOntinentaL Marine

driVe, MuMBai

Brunches usually do well when they have a pool package aligned to the same, but it’s now seen that brunches are start

up for a sundowner so by the time you finish the brunch its time to start the sundowner and the young crowd loves it.

the buffet spread at intercontinental marine drive


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f&B trends

kuMAr ShobhAnf&B direCtOr,

HYatt reGenCY CHennai

the footfalls during brunch lead to

incremental sale in the hotel confectionary shop

and the contemporary lounge bar as well.

approximately six to seven percent of the

overall revenue is contributed by sunday

brunches.

tinis and daiquiris which compliments the brunch concept.

Our clientele are family and friends on weekends and business colleagues and ladies on weekdays. the in-house guests make good use of the brunches too. Our weekday business brunches are equally popular now because of the international ventures in our city. there are young cor-porate and singles who look forward to a perfectly portioned food and great value for money. they do not bring in their lunch box and have cold food. they prefer to go out on team lunches as it also helps in team building. On the other hand this is very popular with ladies on their kitty party get-togethers. these ladies are free during the afternoon from housework and they spend quality time with their friends over lunch and if they get a great deal from the menu, they will frequent the place.

these brunches generate good rev-enue while keeping the buzz in the city. they bring in repeat business for din-ner. However the cost is very high for the brunches on sunday because of the beverage component in it. However it is a win-win situation for both the hotels and the guests.

the advertisements for brunches are really expensive and if you advertise

once the effect will last for at least three months. it is more word of mouth public-ity. and if your product is right, then you will have repeat guests. Our brunches are priced from rs 1499 to rs 1799 plus taxes.

You need to have your product right. if you have identified your target market, it will be easy. You need to know what your guest would like and then package it attractively. in today’s world, everyone is paid well and can afford at least one brunch in a month. Having said that, we have to have value add-ons with the total pricing. small touch points like kids cor-ner, giveaways, beverage brands, amazing cocktails, chefs going on table etc make a difference. Value for money is what eve-ryone looks for. surviving is no more an option, we have to lead and that’s what we do, keep changing.

the brunch menu is basically small food but more food, considered to be more on lighter side so the guests can enjoy more varieties than getting stuffed by one. People like grills, sandwiches, burgers, chaat counter, oriental section, italian section, dimsums, sushi etc. this caters to all clientele and plus of course our kebabs and curries with biryani and some live station with a huge spread of live desserts and the ice cream corner is

chef thomas angerer in action at Hyatt regency chennai

42


AMit verMAf&B direCtOr,

ParK HYatt CHennai

Brunches in my opinion are more of a marketing exercise to let our guest

know we’re here. we want our guest to come down

to us and truly experience the uniqueness of our

product. we do try and achieve at least 30

percent profit during such kind of a set-up.

always a hit. Popcorns are liked by kids. Brunches are planned between 12 noon

to 3:30 pm on lazy sundays. the brunch-es contribute in a big way to the hotel in terms of revenue although it is mostly incremental revenue that they generate. they do add to the revenue of the hotel as the brunch is relatively priced higher than normal lunch days and is a great value for money. Brunch is also more of a family and friends event and thus it proves to be a great opportunity to cater to the differ-ent target audiences under one roof and make them our goodwill ambassadors for the long run. the footfalls during brunch lead to incremental sale in the hotel con-fectionary shop and the contemporary lounge bar as well. approximately six to seven percent of the overall revenue is contributed by sunday brunches.

Park Hyatt ChennaiAmit Verma, F&B Directorthe weekend brunch is a growing trend all over the world. God created this world in six days and he rested on the seventh day. we say he went for brunch! Chennai is no different. the brunch has a targeted market and audience and is on its way up.

Our clientele are the expats and local

Chennai families. the foodies in Chennai are growing and there are new members to this group with every passing sun-day. Brunches are priced from rs 1300 and go up to rs 2500. it really depends on what you offer and how you can dis-tinguish yourself – we keep it simple. we often try and over think and in turn overcomplicate things. we keep our fo-cus on providing really good food on the table and not try to be gimmicky. i think it’s a wide market out there. the brunch concept is not limited by cuisine or pre-conceived notions. Brunch timings can be anywhere from 12 pm to 3 pm.

Brunches are very seldom money makers especially when you do not com-promise on quality. i hate going to those endless buffets where i do not even want to touch anything. Brunches in my opin-ion are more of a marketing exercise to let our guest know we’re here. we want our guest to come down to us and truly ex-perience the uniqueness of our product. we do try and achieve at least 30 percent profit during such kind of a set-up. also the other aspect of it is the incremental revenue that brunches bring in owing to the overall experience that we deliver to guests. ■

as told to MaNisha alMadi Midha

f&B trends

park Hyatt chennai restaurant that hosts many brunches

44


industry report

NCR attracts major hospitality players: Cushman & Wakefield

prominent new entrants in Gurgaon: the oberoi and country inn & suites (below)


| 45

industry report

Hospitality players are now exploring ncr cities like Gurgaon, noida, Greater noida, and even manesar due to limited availability of land in the metropolis delhi. room occupancies in the

ncr region are further likely to go up since the opening of the yamuna expressway has reduced travel time to agra, forecasts this report.

Economythe national Capital region (nCr) of india is an urban agglomeration encom-passing the national Capital territory (delhi), as well as the adjoining key ur-ban areas of Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, noida, Greater noida, faridabad and Manesar. nCr’s GdP increased by 19 percent over 2010 to 2011 to us $ 56.51 billion. the per capita income is us $ 3,165, up by 17 percent over 2010 to 2011. the national Capital territory’s economy is mostly driven by the tertiary sector, with over 80 percent contribution from this segment alone. the Hotels & restaurants, as a sub-sector, is the second highest contributor in the region’s economy and contributes about one-fifth of the total annually.

Tourism arrivals in terms of tourist arrivals, there has been an upward trend since the drop seen in 2008. domestic visitors increased by 14 percent over 2010 to 15.4 million in 2011, while foreign tourist arrivals increased by 14 percent to 2.1 million, against a decline of three percent in 2010. as reported by the airport authority of india, delhi airport registered a 16 percent increase in domestic arrivals while foreign arrivals increased by 12 percent, taking total arrivals up by 15 percent to 29 million in 2011. the domestic to foreign ratio of arrivals is 69:31.

Hotel performancenCr has various attractive destinations of historical significance. delhi, together with Mumbai, has historically been india’s prime business center. However, today other nCr cities such as Gurgaon and noida are emerging as strong business destinations in their own rights. Occu-pancy increased to 68 percent in 2010 but decreased to 64 percent in 2011. also, adr witnessed a drop of 19 percent to us $ 152 and revPar declined to us $ 97 in 2011 compared to 2010. this is primarily due to a correction in pricing and adr, rather than the result of additional room stock entering the market. However, the first half of 2012 showed better results,

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industry report

opment of the hospitality district near the international airport. notable hotels in the pipeline are dusit devrana by dusit international, MGM Grand by MGM resorts international and Moevenpick Hotels & resorts. Of the total room stock in the pipeline, Gurgaon and noida have about a 19 percent share each.

Outlookthe number of hotels currently under various stages of development shows that major hospitality players are bullish on the nCr market. Given the limited avail-ability of land within the city, hotels are expanding towards other areas within the capital such as rohini, Paschim Vi-har, Mayur Vihar and Janakpuri that are primarily residential areas. the launch

The economy, midscale and upscale hotels are performing better than the upper upscale and luxury hotels in NCR.

with adr increasing to us $ 156 and oc-cupancy to 66 percent.

Hotel supplynCr has a total inventory of approximate-ly 22,000 units in the branded and the unbranded segments, with 73 percent being in the organised sector. 2011 wit-nessed an increase in the inventory by 14 percent, representing an additional 1,900 keys. Prominent new entrants were radisson Blu in Greater noida, double-tree by Hilton and Crowne Plaza in delhi, the Oberoi, Lemon tree and Country inn & suites in Gurgaon. in the organised inventory, segment-wise, nCr has the highest inventory of luxury hotels, which constitute about 36 percent of total sup-ply, followed by midscale hotels with 29 percent of the total. the budget segment has the least contribution, equaling eight percent of total inventory. nCr has a ro-bust pipeline of upcoming hotels with approximately 17,000 keys.

the majority of this supply is expected in delhi (32 percent), given the devel-

of the formula 1 event in nCr in 2011 is likely to attract increased visitation dur-ing the racing season.

infrastructure development initiatives like the opening of taj-Yamuna express-way have made nCr even closer to the renowned taj Mahal in agra. this would further augment room demand in nCr as there has been a considerable reduction in travel time to and from agra. Manesar, an emerging business and industrial center near Gurgaon, is being explored for hotels and other extended stay developments. adr and occupancy are likely to see more corrections in the next year in order to adjust to the new additions to supply albeit the inflows of domestic and foreign arriv-als remain robust. the economy, midscale and upscale hotels are performing better than the upper upscale and luxury hotels in nCr, as fits and business travellers have become more price-sensitive after the economic slowdown and prefer to seek more affordable options. ■

Source: Cushman & Wakefield Research & Hospitality Publication


| 47

art installations hElp turn guEsts into art connoissEurs

“The changing trend of installing

innovative art by hotels

complimented with the savvy guests who are fast adapting to becoming art

connoisseurs shall go a long way in

redefining the way art and architecture meet in future.”

art is at its best when it transcends form, lends itself to a story or a cause and evokes an emotion to add that sublime element of passion.

this truly applies for the emerging expression of art as seen in hotels today.

now hoteliers are thinking even farther outside the frame, installing art in the most unexpected of ways and challenging guests to think more deeply about their experience. art has transitioned to become a fundamental element from being an ornamental element of hotel design. art installations have been ingrained into the positioning and ambience of the hotels rather than merely being objects of admiration.

it’s a delightful sight to see how theme based art installations are being integrat-ed into the structure as not just decorative pieces for the aesthetic palette, but as cre-ating a strategic dissonance that compels the guest to directly confront the social and environmental concerns that are at hand. they regard the hotel itself as a complex giant lens that forces the public to discover multiple perspectives on environmental har-mony and threats seen through the eyes of various artists. the art in hotels is all set to communicate and convey the concept of art for a cause that directly contributes to the society as a whole.

a living example of this new ideology are the art installations at Hyatt regency Chennai as when the owners first walked into a con-crete shell with just bricks, mortar and colonies of bee hives that visual started what would become a chronicle of the pollinators, their life, their history, their influence and impact. Prominent and upcoming national and interna-tional artists were commissioned to create their artistic interpretation of this concept.

today Hyatt regency Chennai houses be-spoke art by over 55 local and international artists creating one of the largest collections

of publicly displayed art installation in the country. from one of the largest ceramic sculpture in asia to an atrium filled with de-piction of this beautiful equation and the 22 feet tall bee catcher which is probably the largest in the country, here art transcends barriers to lend itself to a story one should aspire to emulate and provokes an emotion to evoke awareness about this fast becoming extinct breed.

art in hotels is also a great platform for hotels to fulfill and does justice to their social responsibility initiatives as myriad matters of public concern including environment, society, and culture find voice through art in various forms. the role of art in creating awareness for social and environmental causes is not new but the expression and exposure that the art forms gain when integrated into the hotel structures and architecture is a new dimen-sion to the social responsibility aspect.

it would be also imperative to take note of the contribution that this philosophy of art for a cause makes to the economy as a whole. Owing to the transition in the perception of art installations – there are multiple avenues created for local and upcoming artisans to di-rect their creative expertise towards the need and gain financially in the bargain. it has not only infused a renewed motivation for the art ambassadors but has also significantly helped position themselves in a new direction.

art in its various forms has come a long way from being an individual’s expression to now being the common language that connects the society in a network benefitting the stakehold-ers in a much more comprehensive manner.

to sum up it would be apt to mention that the changing trend of installing innovative art by hotels complimented with the savvy guests who are fast adapting to becoming art connoisseurs shall go a long way in redefining the way art and architecture meet in future. ■The writer is General Manager, Hyatt Regency Chennai

Guest column

Art is no more an add-on feature for hotels but has become an integral part of the overall personality, concept, ambience and

décor of the hotel as well as a platform to fulfill their social responsibility, says sunjae sharma.

48


Aishwarya Nair honoured for her contribution towards promoting Champagne in India

aishwarya nair, Corporate food and wine Consultant of the Leela Palaces, Hotels & resorts was conferred with a

diplôme d’ Honneur by the Corporation des Vignerons de Champagne and Comite inter-professionel du Vin de Champagne (CiVC). the award was felicitated by rajiv singhal, the ambassador of Champagne to india and director, Bureau du Champagne india, at an intimate gathering at Le Cirque, the Leela Palace new delhi.

nair is the first indian woman to receive this honour for her exceptional contribu-tion towards promoting champagne in india and for proposing the finest cham-pagne list at the group’s flagship property, the Leela Palace new delhi. the cham-pagne list at the hotel currently features 86 champagne references.

this is only for the second time since it was established in 2008 that the Bureau du Champagne in india has presented

this award. the first award was conferred to raymond n Bickson and satish Jayaram of the

taj Palaces, Hotels and resorts in 2011.a bon vivant, wine connoisseur, an epicurean are all synonymous with

this third generation hotelier of the Leela Group. nair is involved with menu building, corporate wine acquisition and has introduced new culinary methods to all the Leela properties. she personally reviews and provides recommendations for menu engineering and cuisine development.

Commenting on the recognition nair said, “i am thankful to CiVC for presenting me with diplôme d’ Honneur and recognising the finest cham-pagne list at the Leela Palace new delhi. Being a wine aficionado, it’s my endeavour to bring new and various unexplored tastes for my guests to provide them with an ultimate experience which is in tandem with the group’s vision to provide the finest food & Beverage at all our properties.”

speaking at the occasion singhal said, “Comite Champagne is delighted to confer the diplôme d’ Honneur of the Corporation des Vignerons de Champagne on nair for her contribution to champagne. i am honoured to present this award to nair, who i recognise as a quintessential wine woman. nair’s ability to see her passion through very difficult controls and systems is exemplary. the champagne landscape in india is still very much in its nascent stage, and the champagne list at the Leela Palace new delhi is worthy of mention not only in the indian context where it is the best list, but would stand tall among illustrious contenders around the world.”

in January every year, the region of Champagne celebrates the fête of saint Vincent, the patron saint of winemakers. On this occasion, the cor-poration has been empowered by the Champenois community to honour people worldwide in recognition of their contribution towards increasing the awareness of champagne in their respective fields and countries. ■

rajiv singhal, ambassador of champagne to india and director, Bureau du champagne india with

aishwarya nair, corporate food & wine consultant of the leela palaces, Hotels & resorts

awards


| 49

Lemon Tree Hotels receive the Best Mid-Range Hotel Award at Outlook Traveller Readers Choice Awards 2012

tripadvisor announced the traveller’s Choice awards 2013 at a recent event in new delhi. two sarovar Ho-

tels – Optus sarovar Premiere, Gurgaon and Vasundhara sarovar Premiere, Vayalar-Kerala are ranked amongst tripadvisor traveller’s Choice ‘top 25 Hotels in india.’

Vasundhara sarovar Premiere, Vayalar is rated as the ninth best hotel in india while Optus sarovar Premiere, Gurgaon is ranked at 24th on the list of ‘top 25 Hotels in india.’ these awards are based on the millions of travel-ler reviews and opinions collected in a single year from travellers around the world, covering more than 650,000 hotels. Less than one percent of the hotels featured on tripadvisor are traveller’s Choice award winners.

Commenting on the award, anil Madhok, Md, sarovar Hotels said, “this is the second award for Vasundhara sarovar Premiere within its first year of operation. Optus sarovar Premiere has also been receiving a lot of accolades from satisfied guests. we thank tripadvi-sor and travellers for recognising our efforts to offer our guests a premium hospitality experience. these awards are even more special as they are based on feedback and reviews of those who matter the most i.e. our guests.” ■

Lemon tree Hotels have been awarded the Best Mid-range Hotel in india at the

Outlook traveller awards 2012. the awards are based on a yearly survey conducted by Outlook Traveller magazine. as part of this survey, readers share their experiences of travel and stay and indicate their preferenc-es which form the basis of the selection.

speaking on the occasion, rahul Pandit, President, Lemon tree Hotels said, “it is an honour to be declared the best mid-range hotel in india. it is particularly gratifying that our selection as number one in the cat-egory came through a customer preference model and that is a tribute to the values, ethics and the work culture at Lemon tree Hotels. i am happy for the entire team at LtH and i am grateful to thousands of our customers who have voted for us.” the mid-market segment is growing exponen-tially as customer preferences and travel appetite is changing in india. ■

Sarovar Hotels win TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2013

rahul pandit receives the award

awards

vasundhara sarovar premiere, vayalar-Kerala

50


Royal Orchid Hotels celebrates 24 hotels across 16 destinations in India

Chender Baljee, Md, royal Orchid Hotels hosted an evening celebrating the

group’s growth to 24 hotels across 16 cities. the who’s who of Bengaluru turned up to ac-knowledge one of Bengaluru’s very own success stories. Guests were seen enjoying over drinks and food especially planned for the evening. Bengaluru based group the Polished Bottoms with Praveen Kumar, sanjay Manaktala and sundeep rao made sure the audiences were thoroughly enter-tained. singer Zayesha who flew in from delhi for the occasion kept the audiences enthralled with commercial and Bollywood hits.

the group currently oper-ates hotels in a hmedabad, Bengaluru, Baroda, Chandigarh, delhi, Goa, Hospet, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mahabaleshwar, Mumbai, Mysore, Mussoorie, Pune, shi-moga and Vadodara.

royal Orchid Hotels made its beginning when Chender Baljee, founder & Promoter established Hotel royal Orchid, his first 5-star flagship hotel in 2001. in 2003, the hotel industry witnessed a tremendous boom and for roy-al Orchid Hotels, there was no looking back. By 2004 Baljee succeeded in adding four hotels including royal Orchid Central,

and Hotel Metropole under his company’s wing and constantly contemplated making the compa-ny’s presence felt nationally. soon he embarked on new projects in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Pune. in order to raise funds for his ambi-tious endeavours, royal Orchid Hotels went public in 2006 and raised rs 130 crore in the iPO.

the next step was to launch re:gen:ta an upscale business brand extension of royal Or-chid Hotels with re:gen:ta One Hyderabad – a five star contem-porary hotel in the City of Pearls. amidst the commercial hub of Hyderabad, re:gen:ta One stands as an exquisite display of splen-dour and comfort. the group now operates four hotels under this brand including re:gen:ta Cen-tral ashok Chandigarh, Central Blue stone Gurgaon and re:gen:ta MPG Club Mahabaleshwar.

the group has bagged many awards which include the na-tional tourism award 2008-09 organised by the Ministry of tour-ism, Hotel of the Year in the first Class Business Hotel category at the Golden star awards 2010 and Pegasus awards for excellence amongst others. Having forayed in most major tier i & tier ii cit-ies, the group has strategic plans to expand into international mar-kets in the future. ■

chender & pinky Baljee

sundeep rao

prakash & ujjala padukone

Zayesha

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52


ellBee Hospitality worldwide Pvt. Ltd. is launching its brand ellBee Hotels

along with the opening of ellBee Ho-tel Ganga View in rishikesh in March 2013. ellBee Hospitality worldwide Pvt. Ltd. has been supervising the renovation of the property and would be taking over the operations of the newly renovated hotel. in the next five years, ellBee Hotels plan to come up with four to five proper-ties in the state of uttarakhand.

ellBee Hospitality worldwide Pvt. Ltd. has taken over the possession of the following mentioned properties for its operation, management and development: ellBee Hotel Ganga View, rishikesh (soft opening in March 2013); Hotel ashoka

ELLBEE HOTEL GANGA VIEW, RISHIKESH TO LAUNCH IN MARCH ’13

domestic news

FAIRMONT JAIPUR OFFERS TRIPLE JPMILES FOR JETPRIVILEGE MEMBERS

enjoy added privilege while travelling with Jet airways and staying at fairmont Jaipur. the members of JetPrivilege can

avail triple JPMiles for their stay at fairmont Hotel from 1st feb-ruary to end March 2013. this strategic allowance between the two will bring regular indian travellers to the recently opened luxurious fairmont Jaipur.

this tie-up will benefit both international as well as do-mestic travellers. this offer also includes a well spread complimentary breakfast for two per room. You can also easily get upgraded to a higher category of rooms on basis of availability at the time of your check in.

the hotel gives a very prominent impression of the rich her-itage of Jaipur with a modern touch of luxury. the architecture and interior of the hotel is inspired from the royal Mughal and rajput era. with 255 spacious guestrooms and suites, the hotel serves a very comfortable and relaxing stay to its guests. the Gold rooms at fairmont are the most spacious and extensive of all the rooms and suites. ■

SAROVAR HOTELS SIGNS SAROVAR PORTICO IN SRINAGARsarovar Hotels announced

the signing of a 55 room sa-rovar Portico in srinagar. this will be the group’s first hotel in J&K. Owned by royal Khazir Hotels & resorts Pvt. Ltd. this hotel will be refurbished and launched by May 2013.

the hotel is located in the heart of srinagar, in the posh area of sonwar/Gupkar road standing adjacent to the

shankaracharya forest re-serve. srinagar airport is 12 km from the hotel.

Commenting on the sign-ing, anil Madhok, Md, sarovar Hotels & resorts said, “this is our first hotel in srinagar which will cater to the growing number of tourists who are now again visiting this pictur-esque valley. we believe that brands like sarovar Portico

have maximum potential to grow in this market as it is an ideal combination of quality and hospitality.”

sarovar Portico, srinagar will offer all modern facilities including restaurants, lounge, meeting rooms, swimming pool, shops and other facilities required for a four star hotel of international standard.

sarovar Portico was concep-

tualised with a view to provide today’s well-informed traveller with all modern facilities and comforts at value-for-money pricing. the hotels under this brand bring fresh design, con-cept and ideas that are vibrant and colourful, providing guests a refreshing stay experience. these hotels target the budget conscious traveller who refus-es to compromise on quality. ■

Continental, Mussoorie (to be renovated); Vatika Boutique Villa, rishikesh (to be renovated) and tree House resort, Harid-war (to be developed).

with a panoramic view of the serene hills and a two- minute walk to the holy river Ganga, the location of the hotel cap-tures the true essence of rishikesh. the hotel is 16 km from Jolly Grant airport, 24 km from Haridwar railway station and 220 km from delhi. One can see triveni Ghat (where morning and evening aarti prayers are performed daily), Manikut Parvat, Ganga Barrage (from where Ganga is converted into a canal for producing electricity at Chilla Plant), rajaji national Park, tera Manzil temple, Kunjapuri tem-

ple, narender nagar, and the entire city of rishikesh from the hotel terrace.

this 32-room boutique hotel blends heritage with technology. the hotel has incorporated latest technologies in all the rooms, such as Kaba locks which enables the guests to use their mobile phones as smart cards to use the services of hotel like check-in, check-out etc. the hotel has two restaurants, banqueting facilities and a spa.

as part of Go Green initiative the hotel has installed solar water heaters for the entire hotel, energy saver units in each room, Led based lighting and Led tVs, VrV air conditioner system etc. addi-tional facilities/attractions include white water rafting and biking. ■

54


international news

starwood Hotels & resorts worldwide, inc. announced that its westin brand expects to open its 200th hotel in 2013, driven

by robust international demand and the phenomenal success of the brand’s distinct wellbeing positioning. westin will open 11 new hotels this year, the vast majority outside the united states in fast-growing markets including China, india, singapore and Panama.

in line with global growth trends, the westin brand is experi-encing a surge in new hotel openings across asia Pacific. seven new westin hotels will open in asia Pacific in 2013, increasing the brand’s portfolio to nearly 50 hotels in the region by year end. fueling the brand’s growth in the region is the rapid economic growth in China’s second and third-tier cities. new westin hotel openings in China this year include the westin Haikou, the wes-tin sanya Haitang Bay resort, the westin Chongqing Liberation square and the westin Qingdao.

westin will also make its return to singapore with the opening of the westin singapore in late 2013. in india, the westin brand will add one hotel to its portfolio this year – the westin Chennai Velachery.

demand for new westin hotels in Latin america is also heating up. in the past 18 months, westin has grown its footprint in Latin america by nearly 50 percent as part of the brand’s strategic expansion in the region’s fastest growing markets. this year’s opening of the westin Panama will increase the westin portfolio in Latin america to 11 hotels, spanning five countries including Panama, Mexico, Peru, Costa rica and Guatemala.

“a long-time developer favourite in the u.s., westin has emerged as a global market leader as witnessed by our surge of new hotel development in asia Pacific, as well as continued momentum in Latin america,” said simon turner, President of Global develop-ment for starwood.

in north america, the westin brand will add four new hotels to its portfolio this year, including the westin Birmingham – a new-build property located within the city’s sleek, new mixed-use development. westin is also attracting a growing share of conversion opportunities in cities across the united states with the westin Houston downtown, the westin sacramento and the westin san Jose all opening in 2013, following renovations. ■

european Cities Marketing released findings from its

latest ‘european destinations Observatory’ produced by MKG Hospitality which indi-cate a strong performance from key German city hotels in 2012 compared to other key european cities.

the results in selected German city revPar growth in 2012 compared to 2011 are highlighted in the following table:

Munich +11 %nuremberg +10.5 %Leipzig +8.8 %Berlin +7.7 %stuttgart +7.4%dusseldorf +5.2 %Hamburg +2.3 %Hanover +1.4 %

t he se re su l t s c a n b e compared to a very mixed performance in the rest of eu-rope. Generally, the picture remains more difficult in the south. in italy the revPars of

all the sampled cities (rome, Bologne, florence, Milan and Venice) registered negative results. spanish cities such as Madrid, seville and Zaragoza are also experiencing losses in year to year performance. However, all is not negative on the spanish market since north-ern cities are still resisting well, with Bilbao up by 4.2 percent and Barcelona by 3.8 percent.

Garry white, CeO of euro-pean Cities Marketing said,

“the picture changed quite dramatically in the last half of 2012. august was a good month across european cities and there was an after-glow from a series of international sports (includ-ing the London Olympics), big professional fairs and events. now we are in a much tougher trading environment. daily rates however appear to be steady in the global gateways of Paris, London and rome and Copenha-gen, Helsinki and turin.” ■

WESTIN TO OPEN ITS 200th HOTEL IN 2013

HOTELS IN GERMAN CITIES OUTPERFORM IN A TOUGH EUROPEAN TRADING ENVIRONMENT

the westin singaporethe westin singapore


| 55

international news

sofitel Luxury Hotels announced the opening of its first address in Casa-

blanca, sofitel Casablanca tour Blanche, in the centre of the business district, in the shade of the magnificent Hassan ii Mosque.

according to the brand’s new position-ning, sofitel Casablanca tour Blanche is a perfect illustration of its strategy to expand in major cities worldwide.

“sofitel Luxury Hotels has the finest collection of luxury hotels in Morocco with now eight exceptional addresses in the most beautiful destinations of the Kingdom. sofitel Casablanca tour Blanche enjoys a strategic position and its charis-matic architecture already set the hotel as an iconic address in this vibrant busi-ness city,” said robert Gaymer-Jones, CeO, sofitel worldwide.

fascinated by the huge variety of ar-chitectural styles it contains, the Belgian architect Patrick Génard was keen to produce a worthy tribute to the white City. decorated with stylised zellij, the hotel’s distinctive glass facades surround an establishment which is transparent yet protective, fluid and intimate, warm and luxurious, whose interior decor was carefully planned by Marc Hertrich and nicolas adnet. displaying a high degree of ingenuity, they successfully combined pure styling and Moorish ornamentation.

sofitel Casablanca tour Blanche sug-gests three culinary experiences. the

restaurant L’arabesque is based on the wish to combine the sheer generosity of Moroccan flavours with the skill of french cuisine. L’atelier d’Orient is a table d’hôtes, like an invitation to discover the most authentic and refined Moroccan traditions. the bar Casart is a night and day lounge dedicated to art, in which the paintings and sculpture blend in perfectly with the decor, including the huge fresco of rené Caussanel’s piece ‘Jaune soleil.’

the penthouse helps the sofitel Casablanca tour Blanche blend into Casa-blanca’s night-time landscape. Located on the roof of the hotel, the penthouse is a villa with private, protected access. a teak terrace, a huge outdoor Jacuzzi, a private dining room, an enormous carved

wooden table near the fireplace, a butler and private chef are all guarantees of great evenings admiring the incredible view.

a trendy spa club, the so sPa, offers outstanding experiences combining all the refinement of french cosmetics with state-of-the-art beauty treatment tech-niques from Morocco and elsewhere in the world.

Galerie 01 combines art and business for a touch of added flair. working with the town’s two best galleries, Galerie 01 features artists from Casablanca who can give your meetings, coffee breaks or events a very special atmosphere. Galerie 01 includes an open, semi-circular ball-room and three cosy private rooms which can welcome up to 20 people. ■

Le Méridien Hotels & resorts announced a significant growth pipeline with nine new hotels expected to open within the

next 12 months, including Le Méridien Mahabaleshwar resort & spa (india) in October, Le Méridien Bali Jimbaran on January 31, Le Méridien atlanta Perimeter on february 21, Le Méridien Zhengzhou (China) in May, Le Méridien saigon (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) in June, Le Méridien dhaka (Bangladesh) in July, Le Méridien Cairo airport in september, Le Méridien Jiaonan resort (Qingdao, China) in October and Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center in January 2014.

since its 2005 acquisition by starwood Hotels & resorts, both starwood and its hotel ownership groups have transformed Le Mé-ridien into a contemporary, design-led lifestyle brand. Le Méridien, which at the time of its purchase offered a strong international compliment to starwood’s then primarily north american holdings, continues to provide opportunities for new deal signings and con-versions in both emerging and established markets, respectively.

NINE LE MERIDIEN HOTELS SLATED TO OPEN ACROSS THE GLOBE

“starwood is seeing increased interest in Le Méridien among owners, especially around conversions,” said simon turner, President of Global development, starwood Hotels & resorts. “Le Méridien is benefiting from growing brand recognition and deal signing momentum around the world, and the brand’s long-established global presence remains a competitive advantage.”

Over the past seven years, Le Méridien has undergone a full transformation, including a comprehensive portfolio review as well as a re-development of its brand strategy, marketing ap-proach and service culture training. with the strongest portfolio and performance levels in the brand’s history, Le Méridien has had more new hotel deals signed in the past year than in the previous four years combined.

“Le Méridien has soared under starwood, with a new design perspective and truly unique positioning that helps guests un-lock their destination through culture and cuisine,” said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Le Méridien and westin Hotels. ■

SOFITEL, NOW IN CASABLANCA

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Luigi Bormioli: The paramount of glassware


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Products...sparkling, transparent glasses lined

perfectly on the tables of a hotel give a polished impression to the onlook-

er. the cutlery and the glassware used at a hotel depict the standard and quality of service and the efforts put in by the management to serve their guests with the best service. the quality of a glass is perfectly judged by the raw materials and the technology used in its making, which eventually gives the glass a fine and superior look.

the glasses produced by Luigi Bormioli are made using the purest raw materials, and with advanced technology, to add on they are lead free and do not contain any heavy metals. this is the reason why the glass produced presents a high level of transparency and brilliance. Luigi Bormioli is a modern foundation which was estab-lished in the year 1946, and produces high quality sophisticated perfume bottles.

the rims of the fine glasses have been cut using laser technology which gives them a very fine finish and the mechanical resistance is also increased using thermal treatments. also, the quality of the glasses

incredible glasses being used in some of the best known hotels worldwide, which include, armani Hotels, sheraton Hotels & resorts, Marriott Hotels, taj Hotels resorts & Palaces, Le Meridien, sofitel Luxury Hotels, fairmont Hotels & resorts, the Leela, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, st. regis Hotels & resorts, ista amritsar, interContinental and six senses Hideaway to name a few...

People at Luigi Bormioli are dedicated to their service and put in their best ef-forts to produce the finest product. along with high quality glasses, they have also been masters in the production of sophis-ticated perfume bottles for brands like, elizabeth arden, Hermes, dior, salvatore ferragamo, Versace, Chanel, etc.

Luigi Bormioli is marketed exclusively in india for the Horeca sector by Oscar Hospi-tality Concepts. HO: navelim-Margao Goa.For more information, log onto www.luigibormioli.com ■

is kept under control by using automated quality control systems. another reason, why the glasses produced by Luigi Bor-mioli are considered to be the best of all, is that the stemware production is governed by an interesting theme which allows them to mould together bowl and stem from the same gob of molten glass which makes it seamless and sturdier in all respects.

the glasses produced are much bet-ter than others present in the industry as they have the best of all qualities, like great transparency, high resistance to breakage, sound amplified and a lot more...also, the shapes of the glasses designed are such that they enhance the aroma of the content in it and gives a pleasant feel to the drink.

these sparkling and transparent glass-es are ultra clear, and easy to handle, you can wash them in the dishwasher without bothering as these are highly dishwasher safe. to produce these high quality glasses, high-class technology is used but keeping in mind the preserva-tion of our environment they use electric furnaces to prevent any gas and dust emission issues, also, non polluting metal oxides are used in the production. so, with Luigi Bormioli you can get the high quality glasses in a variety of designs and on competitive price and still be eco friendly. inert material being used in the production of the glass makes it friendly to all kinds of material, like drinks, food, perfume, and even medicines.

Producing glasses from their own de-sign studio, they deliver to you glasses with exclusive design, elegance and style. the designs are so interesting that you have a special kind of glass for each pur-pose, talking about coffee, they provide more than six type of glasses for vari-ous uses like, drinking espresso coffee, Cappuccino, Latte, to name a few. each individual piece produced speaks itself of the high expertise involved in its design and production.

Glasses by Luigi Bormioli have been appreciated worldwide for its exclusiv-ity, and have won a number of awards in their field of expertise. You can find these

oScAr b FernAndeSManaGinG direCtOr,

OsCar HOsPitaLitY COnCePts

at Luigi Bormioli glass manufacturing plant in italy, a state of the art technology is used to produce a slender yet extremely strong stem, titanium reinforced, that

achieves the perfect balance between elegance and

functionality.

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Products...

rosenthal and sambonet again come up with an amazing design to add

on to your tableware collection. Greet your guests with an exquisite table laid up with the latest collection ‘Malia’ by rosenthal Hotel & restaurant service. it is a complete range of porcelain table-ware in stunning designs. these designs can be perfectly combined with the

Nendoo Collection by Rosenthal Hotel & Restaurant Servicetabletops of your hotel will look glamorous with this new

launched nendoo Collection by rosenthal Hotel & res-taurant service. this is an all in all collection which has great functionality and is exclusive in its own way. each product of the whole collection is very strong in its looks and features. this new collection is very contemporary in nature but holds together the traditional features and has beautiful decoration added to it.

the serenity and elegance that the nendoo Collection has in each of its piece gives it a very sophisticated look. this adds on to its viability for any high end hotel. these products have been developed using a new kind of architecture, with the help of which the products produced are eco friendly, tactile and stylish.

the different dimensions of the elements combined to make the products give the respective member of the nendoo family

an interesting character and charm. the collection becomes commendable when matched with stainless steel products by sambonet. Please your guests with the service of your hotel and with the nendoo Collection.For more information visit www.hotel.rosenthal.de

Malia tableware range

stainless steel collection of sambonet by the same name.

the rim of the plates and the handles of the cups under this collection are lined up with harlequin diamond shapes. the display of this design is such that it plays with the different elements of light. the high quality porcelain used in the making of the products makes it

long lasting. the special design of the diamond-shaped décor lends the surface a refined, sophisticated appearance. the exciting effect of light and shade occurs with the combination of polished and satin areas which is created with the help of a special technique used by sambonet.For more information visit www.hotel.rosenthal.de


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the shining taps, artistically crafted basins give a glamorous look to

the bathrooms. a customer staying at a hotel looks for a home like feel and a comfortable stay along with hygienic environment. the bathroom space of a hotel should be equipped with attractive bath assets and other sani-tary accessories which would make an urbane impact in the eyes of the guest.

Prayag Polymers has recently launched their latest rocio Collection from H2O series. this new collection is a perfect blend of elegance and style which can perfectly match with the

mood and choice of the people stay-ing at the hotel. this newly launched collection is strong and sturdy in its looks and elements too, it is made up of brass metal, chrome plating and premium glossy finish. these products are very easy to use and have great features and functions. the brass is used on the products to protect it from any kind of rust or accumulation.

Having a zero defect policy, Prayag Polymers strive for perfection in each product they produce. the rocio Col-

lection consists of almost 10 models with an incredible feature of adjust-able heights which you can adjust as per your interiors. this new range of products offers great convenience to your guests and users through its easy to use features. the products come in with a warranty of seven years and are priced from rs 425. the H2O series is available in all the leading retail hard-ware or bath ware stores across india.For more information visit www.prayagindia.in

Products...

spring time by @home

this spring season add a touch of freshness and colours to the rooms in your

hotel with the newly launched range of products by @home under their spring Collection. Change

the usual single coloured rugs with the bright floral rugs to add life to your rooms.

every wall adds to the beauty of your hotel. enhance the look of the walls with the elegant wall stickers. @home has

also come up with interesting wall stickers to cheer up the walls and give the room a different look and feel. the wall stickers include interesting shapes and colours like pink coloured butterflies, flowers and a lot more. a floral wall clock hung on the wall can make a plain coloured wall look attractive and give your rooms a home like feeling. this new spring collection can add a touch of freshness to your hotel and make your guests feel relaxed. the products by @home are of su-perior quality and are available at great price. these products can liven up the mood of your guests and treat them with a happy day ahead.

the wide range of @home is available at almost 20 stores across india.For more information visit www.at-home.co.in

Prayag Polymers launches Rocio Collection from H2O Series

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IHGsimon scoot has been appointed as Vice President of Global Brand Marketing in Bangkok, thailand. with his relocation, he would now be working very closely on the brand’s growth. He has been as-sociated with the brand since the year 1992 and has had a varied experience in almost all segments of the brand’s operations. in this capacity, scoot will be focusing on the global strategy of the brand in

the resort segment. at the same time he would also be taking forward the interContinental brand globally out of asia. from his current position, he would be reporting directly to the region’s Chief executive Officer, Jan smits, who leads the wider asia, Middle east and africa (aMea) region from singapore.

Phil Broad has been appointed as Vice President, food & Beverage (aMea). He has been positioned in one of the most revenue generating areas. in his current capacity, he would be responsible to develop the organisation’s existing f&B op-erators and leaders. He specialises in the area of concept designing and development. Broad has been associated with some of the best brands across the world, like star-

bucks, tGi fridays, Pizza Hut, to name a few. Before this, he was associated with Jumeirah restaurants as the Managing director.

Sofitel dominique Colliat has been ap-pointed as the in-charge for the american region. she will be tak-ing care of her responsibilities from new York. Colliat began her career at the accor Group by managing a chain of hotels in the Caribbean, mainland france and the uK. Last, she was appointed as senior Vice President of Op-erations for sofitel europe, Middle

east and africa. in this capacity she was responsible to coordi-nate the cultural strand of the french elegance campaign. Before accor Group, she had joined Club Med in the year 1998. Here, she started as the Operations director in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, and moved on to become the Vice President of Club Med, north america.

emmanuel Caux has been appoint-ed as the in-charge of the europe region. a very well-experienced person in the field of hospitality, since 2009, Caux has been work-ing as the Managing director of the Hotel Majestic in Cannes for the Lucien Barrière Group. Caux has worked with some of the best brands worldwide out of which he was working as director Op-erations for Le Meridien Group. in 2003, he was appointed at star-wood Hotels as Vice President-Operations, northern france and in this capacity he directed the repositioning of a number of starwood brands.

sami nasser has been appointed as the in-charge of the Middle east and africa region. He has been as-sociated with accor Group since around two decades and has been working in various countries. He is both french and Lebanese and is a passionate man towards his brand and emphasises on the luxury aspect of the brand. since 2009, he was appointed as Vice President and General Manager of Operations for sofitel Middle east, egypt and indian Ocean. Before sofitel, nasser was associated with accor and was in the distribution division in Paris; here he was working as senior Vice President for Business development.

Premier Inn rajeev Babbar has been appointed as Vice President-finance & Plan-ning, south asia (india, sri Lanka and Maldives). in this capacity, he is a key member of the team and will lead some of the fundamental sectors like, corporate financial planning and analysis, purchase and legal and secretarial func-tions, to name a few. a recognised Chartered accountant; he is well versed with finance and strategic planning and has a great record in this sector. He has also been a part of some of the leading organisations of the hospitality industry like Marriott, Oberoi and dLf. Before joining at Premier inn he was engaged as assistant Vice President finance–Hospitality and treasury at emaar MGf Land Limited.

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Karma Hospitalityricha Khurana singh has been appointed as executive Vice President–Business development. in her current role she would be working on to expand the brand treehouse, and is also leading the group’s current initiative-treehouse Blue. an economics graduate from delhi university, she started her career with taj Group of Hotels in the year 1995.

singh brings with her a rich experience in the hospitality industry. she ventured into sales and marketing with interContinental Hotels Group in 2002 and from there moved on to Oberoi Hotels & resorts.

Accor ravi Khubchandani has been ap-pointed as General Manager at ibis, Gurgaon. He has been associ-ated with this group since a long time. Before being appointed at the current position, he was as-sociated with ibis hotel, Pune as the Hotel Manager since May 2011. Prior to this, Khubchandani was located in new Zealand. at ibis Pune, he has played a very key role and has been influentially in-

volved in bringing together a brilliant dedicated management team. this team has been successfully managing the operations in challenging business environment.

M a t t h ie u f i r m i n h a s b e e n appointed as General Manager of ibis, delhi airport. He has had a vast experience in various sectors of the hospitality industry. f irmin has been associated with other brands of the accor Group too. Before this position, he was working as the General Manager at the novotel survilliers saint witz, france. He has been co n ne c te d w i t h t he acco r Group since the last 12 years.

His previous assignments with the same group have been remarkable. He has also served as the deputy General Manager at the ibis Charles de Gaulle airport.

rohan sable has been appoint-ed as General Manager of ibis, Mumbai airport. He has a rich experience of 13 years in the field of hospitality with various brands from singapore, india etc. He was associated with the ascott Hotel, singapore as the General Manager for hotels which were operated or owned by the group. He has served remarkably in all the po-sitions he has held till now and strives for perfection in all his tasks. talking about his experience in india, he has been work-ing with well known chains like the royal Orchid Hotels, and also the sarovar Hotels.

Jean-Philippe Lagarde has been appointed as General Manager of ibis, navi Mumbai. He has been associated with the accor Group since a long tenure spanning around 20 years. His association with this group has been out-standing and very promising. with accor Group he has been associ-ated in a number of countries and various brands. Before his current position, he was working with the novotel Madrid Campo de Las na-ciones, spain for an impactful period of six years. in his last position, he was working as the General Manager of the hotel. He is thrilled to come to india after working in various countries around the world.

Pramod dashora has been ap-pointed as General Manager at Mercure Hyderabad abids. Mer-cure is one of the mid-scale hotels of this group. a man with great expertise in this field, dashora has had a very interesting career. in his current capacity, he is at an upheld position and responsible to take the standards of the hotel to the next level. He brings with him an experience of more than 19 years in the hospitality indus-try. with this good amount of experience, he brings with him great expertise in this field and an intellectual mind. His strong operational and administrative background makes him versatile and capable of handling all kinds of situations.

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The Lalit Ashok Bengalururajat singh rawat has been ap-pointed as f&B Manager. His responsibilities at this position include maintaining the food qual-ity at the restaurants and ensuring customer satisfaction. He has served for around 13 years in vari-ous management positions under well-known brands like Oberoi Ho-tels, Grand Hyatt, Leela Kempinski

to name a few. in present capacity, he is also responsible to bring out innovative dinning concepts at all the three restaurants of the hotels to give unique experiences to his customers. He holds a diploma in Hotel Management & Catering technology from aiCte.

Goa Marriot Resort & Sparakshit talwar has been appoint-ed as director of sales. talwar brings with him over 10 years of experience in sales and marketing. He has expertise in development and implementation of sales strat-egies. He is a passionate traveller and loves exploring new destina-tions and has diverse interests.

His biggest strengths are customer engagement and community outreach. in his tenure of 10 years, talwar has worked with sev-eral brands like taj, Hyatt and was last appointed as director of sales at the Courtyard by Marriott, Pune Hinjewadi since 2010.

Hyatt Regency Chennaiayan Karmakar has been ap-pointed as restaurant Manager at spice Market. at this position he is responsible to take care of all operations at the outlet. a friend-ly and dynamic team player, he conquers all hurdles with a posi-tive attitude and determination. His keenness for the fast track life of hospitality world brought

him to the hotel service industry. He started his career with Leela Kempinski, Mumbai as a trainee and then moved on as an executive. He has a wide ranging pre-opening experience with various hospitality brands. Here also, he initially joined as assistant Manager in the pre-opening team.

Lee wun has been appointed as assistant Outlet Manager at stix restaurant. He will be supervising the operations at the restaurant, from guests, equipments, menus to a lot more…He is essentially responsible for ensuring that the guests stay happy and leave with a smile. Hailing from Kolkata, he brings a rich and varied experience of over nine years along with him. He started his career in dubai as a waiter and then rising on to becom-ing the assistant Catering supervisor. Last he was appointed with Kong Ming, Harbour View Marina, tortola in Virgin island.

Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel and Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartmentstan aik Lang has been appointed as Chinese specialty Chef. He is a master in creating authentic and innovative asian delicacies. in his current capacity, he will be look-ing after the culinary operations at emperor’s Court, the Chinese restaurant of the hotel. He started his career at the age of 16 and has a rich experience of 21 years. He is a chef who has travelled all over the world and gets the best of all at the table. Before joining here, he was appointed with the Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon.

Lemon Tree Hotelsrajiv srivastava has been ap-pointed as Corporate Chef. in this capacity, he is responsible for 19 hotels under the Lemon tree Pre-mier, Lemon tree Hotels and red fox Hotels brands. His responsibil-ities are to design food concepts that would please the mid-market business traveller who is looking for different experiences. He grad-uated in 1995 from the institute of Hotel Management, Lucknow and started his career at an entry level at Hyatt regency, new delhi where he was later promoted as the Banquet Chef. He has had a very interesting career from preparing meals for various Head of states to being the brain behind few new launched restaurants.

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last paGe

newspaper reports have been mentioning how the dozen ho-tels being built at iGia in new delhi have got stuck, given ap-

prehensions on security at the airport by the concerned authorities. this develop-ment has been in the news ever since its formulation. it is the single largest devel-opment in hospitality ever since the asian Games in 1982. Over 5,000 rooms are in various stages of construction. the devel-opment is most visible, in the full glare of public eye, most prominent as hundreds of commuters traverse the highway between Gurgaon and new delhi on a daily basis. if there was any gen-uine concerns on safety, their construction ought to have been halted much earlier. Given the nature of approvals, it could well be said that it has been a case of wishful hopes – in the fi-nal moments, the wheel has come stuck!

Vivek nair, President of the federation of Hotel & restaurant associations of india (fHrai), has in a recent meeting with the Hon’ble union Minister of Civil aviation, ajit singh, sought his urgent intervention in the serious matter of an undue delay in is-sue of completion certificates and other clearances to Hotels in the upcoming hos-pitality district of delhi’s indira Gandhi international airport, ‘aerocity’.

as many as 13 hotels are being built in the aerocity, at a combined project cost of approximately rs 10,000 crores. the hotels, which include marquee names such as the Jw Marriott, will together contribute 5,500 much-needed additional rooms to the capital city’s limited inven-tory of 11,000 rooms in the branded segment and generate direct employment for thousands of people. the construction of some of these hotels is either already complete or in advanced stages.

Delhi Airport’s Aerocity stuck in approvals, hotels suffer losses

an inordinate delay in their commis-sioning would not only cause colossal financial losses to the individual de-velopers but also put in peril, the vision of establishing a vibrant world-class hospitality hub, which was conceived as an integral component of the ambitious modernisation programme of the delhi international airport.

it is pertinent to note that all these hotels are being developed in accordance with the duly approved master plan and requisite statutory clearances had been

obtained, including nOC on height clear-ance from the airports authority of india, prior to commencement of construction four years ago. to impose structural mod-ifications or alteration of building plans at this late stage, ostensibly to allay security concerns, would be unreasonable and impractical.

Moreover, it has already been clari-fied that all buildings in the area will incorporate state-of-the-art security and surveillance infrastructure.

nair has highlighted to the Hon’ble Minister that in order to achieve the target of doubling our foreign tourist ar-rivals from six to twelve million within the 12th Plan Period (2012-17), the Ministry of tourism and the Planning Commission

have estimated that 1,80,000 additional hotel rooms would be required across the country, entailing a massive capital investment of over rs 1,25,000 crores. any prolonged and unwarranted uncer-tainty on receiving the final regulatory clearances can potentially undermine the viability of a landmark and prestigious project such as the aerocity.

the fHrai President has expressed his concern that this would in turn, deal a severe setback to the hospitality sector’s ability to attract the significant domes-

tic and foreign investment (fdi) which is impera-tive to fuel its envisioned growth and expansion.

this is not the first in-stance where hotels have got stuck last minute. Only recently, two major hotels in Chennai were stuck for last minute approvals. ear-lier, some leading hotels under major international brand names, were stuck in the capital. some local reports suggested that these had over built, much beyond what had been ap-proved. whatever be the truth, the fact is that any hotelier is, first and fore-

most, a businessman and does not want to be on the wrong side of the govern-ment. He therefore, has to bide his time, and wait for a second consideration.

what can be a possible solution? a single window clearance for all aspects of the hotel industry, whereby the hotelier does not need to go from one government department to another. another, could be a mechanism that brings total trans-parency into the system. this should be able to highlight who has gone wrong, how and what is the corrective action that can be taken. after all, there must be a redressal mode also in the system. in the meanwhile, one can only hope for a speedy solution to aerocity. ■

by NaviN Berry

one of the marquee hotels awaiting clearance at new delhi’s aerocity

Date of Publication: 19/2/2013

Reg. No. DL(C) 01/1353/12-14Posting Dt. 22-27/2/2013

RNI No. DeLeNg/2012/47318

hotel scapes feb 2013

Documents

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i t yvolume

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royal orchid hotels

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