Category Archives: Hotels

Accor has added India and Turkey to its Middle East & Africa region. Under the newly expanded region would come a portfolio of over 84,000 rooms across 400 hotels. This regional expansion brings an increased pipeline of over 112 properties, scheduled to open in the coming 24 months, bringing the overall number of keys close to 110,000 rooms. “The addition of Turkey and India to our already diverse region means that we will be able to consolidate the existing relationship and work that has been accomplished over the years and centralize it into a collective effort. It is in a strategic but natural move that we are integrating India and Turkey to our portfolio with long term plans in sight for the future of the region,” says Mark Willis, Chief Executive Officer, Turkey, India, Middle East & Africa for Accor.

Madan Prasad Bezbaruah, Secretary-General, Hotel Association of India (HAI), has said in a statement that Government should immediately open online applications for hotels to claim the benefits under SEIS for FY 2019-20. “We appeal to the Government of India to make the online application process available to hotels. These benefits are offered to hoteliers as a fixed percentage of their annual net foreign exchange earnings. The incentive enables hotels to subside input costs of imports and facilitates Indian hospitality to match global standards of hotels that a foreign tourist is accustomed to.  Given the hardship that hotels are going through since March, this delay may prove to be a crippling injury to an industry that is struggling with a force majeure scenario. The request to allow the hotels to avail the SEIS benefits that have already accrued to them for the year 2019-20 is fair and legitimate and should be acceded to. It is not a concession,” he said. HAI has urged the government to look into the matter urgently and has submitted a representation to Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to this effect. They claim that the process will go a long way in providing some relief to the hospitality sector which has been heavily burdened with high fixed costs of salaries, utilities, and licenses, etc.

The Goa government is drawing up a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for hotels amid the ongoing tourist season. “We are in the process of issuing guidelines for hotels, which will make it mandatory for them to reserve one room as an isolation room on their property,” said CM Pramod Sawat. Any guest who tests positive for COVID-19, but is asymptomatic, can be put up in the isolation room on hotel premises.  

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC), in an attempt to further enhance skilled youth in the hospitality sector, signed an MoU, on 12th November, 2020, for setting-up a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the state. The MOU was signed digitally by G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, C&MD, ITDC and Arja Srikanth, IRTS, Special Secretary to Govt. of AP, MD & CEO, APSSDC in the presence of other senior officials from ITDC & APSSDC.

According to the latest data from HVS ANAROCK on the Indian hotel industry, hotel occupancy improved from approx. 10% in April 2020 to almost 26% in September 2020 as the hotel industry currently cruising on domestic leisure travel & outbound Indian luxury travel. Corporate demand is still subdued and will remain constrained at least for the short term.

Hyatt Regency Delhi is currently not available for reservation on Hyatt.com, according to an official statement by the hotel. However, a Tweet by Hyatt Concierge (global) in response to the status of booking of the Delhi property on the parent website of the brand stated, ‘Hyatt Regency Delhi is no longer affiliated with Hyatt’. In fact, the search for Delhi properties on the Hyatt website only shows Andaz Delhi and the Piccadilly Hotel (to be converted to Hyatt) in Janakpuri as part of the portfolio.

In its hospitality & hotels overview for the Indian market, HVS Anarock highlighted that the hotel sector is showing early signs of recovery with occupancy improving M-o-M across most major markets driven by the gradual revival of domestic leisure travel in the country. Goa & Jaipur have been witnessing noticeable improvement in occupancy. Corporate travel continues to remain subdued.

Radisson Hotel Group has launched a new brand, Radisson Individuals, giving independent hotels and small chains the opportunity to become part of the global Radisson Hotel Group platform and benefit from international exposure, with the freedom to maintain their own unique style and identity.        

With the pandemic having had a substantial impact on in-person exhibitions and events, Ministry of Culture has issued guidelines for holding cultural events and activities in virtual or online mode under various scheme components of Central Sector Scheme ‘Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana’ (KSVY), ensuring continued financial assistance to tide over the present crisis.

A new entrant in cloud-based hotel management software domain StreetGooser is offering free tech support to help the industry recover from the pandemic. Shakthivelu M, its MD & Co-Founder, says, “Our focus is on small to mid-sized properties to provide them with technology that won’t break their banks. We tweak our technology based on the clients’ needs.”