Category Archives: Hotels

Ranjith Krishnan will be heading the Sales Department of Imperience Hotels & Resort as their new Director of Sales. Ranjith moved from Accor Group, where he was the Director of Sales at Novotel Kochi Info Park. Ranjith comes with twenty years of experience in hospitality industry that too in Sales and Marketing with leading international brands like Le Meridien, Starwood, Marriott and Accor Group. Ranjit started his career with Le Meridien Kochi in Reservations and while leaving them he was the head of room sales division as Associate Director of Sales. Imperience Hotels & Resorts currently handles the Sales & Marketing of six boutique resorts located in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Their product portfolio includes Chandy’s Windy Woods Munnar , Chandy’s Drizzle Drops Munnar Top Station, Reen Resort, Anavilasam, Thekkady and their associates Vythiri Resort, Wayanad, Vayal Veedu, Muthanga and Kaav Safari Lodge, Kabini. ‘Since Ranjith has got the opportunity to handle all major segments of Hotels Sales like Travel Trade, Corporate, MICE, Retail and Airlines, his joining will further strengthen the Salesforce of Imperience Hotels & Resorts and will benefit its member hotels in channelising business from all these major segments’ says Dileep Kumar P I, CoFounder & CEO of Imperience Hotels & Resorts.

IHCL further strengthens their footprint in Bhutan with the signing of an 83-key hotel in Thimphu. This hotel will be rebranded to an IHCL – SeleQtions. Speaking on the occasion, Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President, Real Estate & Development, IHCL said, “We are delighted to expand our presence in Bhutan. The country’s growing popularity as a short-haul international getaway, particularly amongst Indian travellers, presents a significant opportunity for us. Thimphu’s strategic location makes it a natural inclusion in the popular Paro – Thimphu – Phobjikha itinerary, allowing us to create a seamless circuit for those seeking to explore this Himalayan kingdom.”

The Hotel And Restaurant Association (Western India) – HRAWI is slated to host a conclave titled ‘Empowering Hospitality’ at The Grand Bhagwati in Ahmedabad on Friday, June 21, 2024. The conclave will have Nalinkumar Chaudhary, Director, Gujarat State Fire Prevention Services, Gandhinagar and Sukanya Pondugala, Assistant Director (Technical), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), GoI as the Chief Guests for the day. The event will feature speakers – Dr V. Pasupathy, Food Safety Expert & Founder of Parikshan FSS ; M Arunkumar, Managing Director of Envu India and Mr Hemant Khadse, CEO, East Corp Group who will share expertise in their respective domains and address critical hospitality matters including the opportunities and challenges in FSSAI compliance, pest management in the food industry and, fire and safety at hotel and restaurant establishments.

Royal Orchid Hotels (ROHL) announced the inauguration of its fourth hotel in the National Capital Region and the second in Gurugram – Regenta Inn, Gurugram – thereby asserting its presence in key gateways of the country, this time around, the national capital. Conveniently located near Medanta – The Medicity in Gurugram, this hotel makes it a convenient option for people from across the country traveling for medical tourism, assuring them of convenience and peace of mind as they attend to the health of their dear ones. Chander K. Baljee, Chairman and Managing Director, ROHL said, “We’re thrilled to announce the opening of our new hotel in Gurugram. With 106 hotels under our management, the opening of Regenta Inn, Gurugram is in sync with our strategy to cater to diverse travellers, cutting across segments of business and leisure. Our new hotel changes the perception of what a budget hotel should be – with extremely well appointed rooms and facilities that mimic a larger hotel. We cater to those traveling to the satellite city for medical tourism and to avail healthcare facilities.” The property boasts about 50 smart and spacious rooms. The hotel features “PINXX”, ROHL’s signature all day neighbourhood diner serving a familiar menu of Pan-Indian and International cuisines. Offering a spacious banquet hall and a conference room, the property’s meeting space of approximately 800 square meters will also be able to accommodate a both business and leisure events.

Sharing latest insights on domestic tourism, Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) said, “Domestic tourism has been powering our growth trajectory this summer. We have achieved both our top-line and passenger numbers of 12 months of 2023, within the first six months of 2024.Indians are displaying keen appetite to explore their own country and we are witnessing exponential demand for multiple domestic trips – Young India’s working professionals and DINKs are opting for multiple mini-cations, combining public holidays with weekends for short getaways, in addition to longer domestic vacations lasting 15 days.”

Speaking at the 17th Outlook & Update Meeting by PATA India Chapter in New Delhi, Manisha Saxena, DG, Tourism, has said that it is important to segment the offerings across India. “We cannot offer everything to everyone. We need to work with state governments to create more accommodation as this is a big bottleneck, especially for MICE,” she said.

Leading online travel service provider Trip.com has released its 2024 Trip.Best Global and Asia 100 list, where Cross Chiang Mai Riverside has become a top choice for Instagrammers in Chiang Mai in the category of 100 Instagrammable Hotels due to its stunning design and visually appealing aesthetics. The desire to capture beautiful images for Instagram has led everyone to constantly search for picturesque backgrounds at the hotel. The hotel provides roomy suites with a blend of classic and mid-modern styles. Each room features expansive balconies with picturesque river views. Guests can enjoy panoramic riverside scenes from the rooftop pool and gym. The tastefully decorated interiors and unique furnishings are perfect for Instagram-worthy photos.

Pushing the agenda for the hospitality sector, Pradeep Shetty, President, HRAWI, says, “Apart from our longest standing demands for Industry and Infrastructure statuses, we urge the Government to streamline regulatory processes to facilitate Ease of Doing business. Simplifying license procurement, reducing bureaucracy and clarifying regulations will promote growth and innovation within the sector.”

Mckinsey report revealed, home-sharing continues to position itself as better than traditional hotels, segment has grown from 10-14% of booking value between 2017 and 2023. Home-sharing companies have also become a key distribution channel for smaller hotels, as they can offer more control over inventory and lower fees than other channels.

According to data from Adara, a RateGain Company, an impressive 62% of all hotel searches from India in the last two months have been for France. The allure of witnessing the Olympics, combined with the romantic and cultural magnetism of Paris, has captured the imagination of many. Contrary to the search data, Germany has outpaced France in actual hotel bookings, receiving 19% of all bookings from India, compared to France’s 16%. Several factors contribute to this trend, reflecting practical considerations over aspirational searches.