Category Archives: Hotels

Preferred Hotels & Resorts recently kicked off the Asia Pacific series of its 50th anniversary celebrations at The Leela Palace New Delhi with a specially curated luncheon presentation at Le Cirque, hosted by the group’s CEO Lindsey Ueberroth and Executive Vice President Saurabh Rai. “As we commemorate the Preferred brand’s 50-year legacy of inspiring travel, we are more committed than ever to providing travellers with even more opportunities to embrace the spirit of independence and to making our pineapple logo synonymous with the ultimate hallmark in world-class hospitality,” said Ueberroth. “It is so exciting and humbling to see how far we have come as a company, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate this major milestone with our associates, partners and friends from around the world. “As the region’s largest independent hotel brand, Preferred Hotels & Resorts is entering its 16th year in India, and we are focused on continuing to build on the foundation of our company’s 50-year legacy of championing the independent hotel space. We are committed to forging ahead with more innovative and strategic consumer-focused initiatives to foster greater engagement in this market,” added Rai.

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has added another hotel to its portfolio with the launch of KK Beacon Hotel in Rajkot. This is the eighth hotel which is managed by the company under the Beacon Hotels brand. Suhail Kannampilly, COO, The Fern Hotels & Resorts, said, “The 34-key hotel is the second property which the group is managing in Rajkot. We already have The Fern Residency. With this launch, we have further consolidated our position in Gujarat.” The other Beacon properties are located in Ajmer, Amritsar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Udaipur. Beacon Hotels (brand owned by The Fern Hotels and Resorts) is positioned as ‘smart and efficient’ hotels in the economy segment. The new hotel comprises 34 air-conditioned rooms with amenities like internet facility, cable television, direct-dial telephone, multiple computer/mobile phone charging points, mini bar, hairdryer and multiple dining options. The hotel is located 3 km from the airport and in close proximity to the railway station and bus stand.

Airbnb has signed MoUs with the North Eastern Council (NEC), North East Tourism Development Council (NETDC) along with two key livelihood initiatives, North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) and North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Society (NERCRMS), with the aim of creating hospitality micro-entrepreneurs across key destinations in North East India. Under the MoU, the NEC, NETDC and Airbnb agreed to expand tourism in the North East, improve the quality of home stay facilities and properties in the region, provide and promote tourism resources in the area and cooperate to improve the regulatory environment for home sharing. Airbnb also announced MoUs for strategic partnerships with the NERLP and NERCRMS to generate technology-enabled livelihood opportunities in tourism for micro-entrepreneurs in the North East. “This MoU with Airbnb is a step towards achieving our aim of doubling tourist growth rate in the next three years, by creating more sustainable accommodation options and enhancing the hospitality service standards in the region,” said Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region. “Last year, during Brian Chesky’s meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Airbnb had committed to develop a home stay ecosystem through adequate skills training and development and promote India’s high potential tourism offerings to the world; and the North East was an inevitable choice. We look forward to supporting the economic growth of the North East by drawing more tourists to the region,” added Kum Hong Siew, Regional Director, Airbnb—APAC. Source: ANI

Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty will be opening on April 28 with 264 rooms. Guests can start staying at the hotel from April 29. All rooms and public spaces feature dramatic views of serene backwaters, the city skylines or lush, landscaped gardens. With its bold and compelling works of art and architecture, dramatic landscapes, opulent guestrooms and suites, exquisite dining destinations, and one of the largest event spaces in South India, the hotel is set to redefine living grandly in the city. Grand Hyatt Kochi offers 3,106 sq m of event space. Adjacent to the hotel, Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre offers 10,464 sq m of space, ideal for large conventions and weddings. Offering three destination dining options, Colony Clubhouse and Grill, a re-imagined old world grill and rooftop bar; Malabar Cafe, where the cuisine redefines the regions age old, treasured recipes in a cafe spirit and Thai Soul, a casual vibrant poolside restaurant with cuisine inspired from the streets of Bangkok.

Hilton has announced the signing of management agreements with Embassy Group to develop two hotels in Bengaluru. Construction of the new hospitality project is among the largest in India which is expected to begin this year and the hotels will be operational by end 2021 or early 2022. The 500 room dual-branded hotel that features a Hilton Hotels & Resorts and a Hilton Garden Inn hotel in the same complex will be located within the 100-acre Embassy TechVillage Business Park near Marathalli on ORR South Bengaluru. “We are delighted to sign our third hotel project with Hilton, reflecting the powerful synergies and collaboration between both Groups. Using Embassy’s proven expertise in project development, we are focused on delivering landmark hotels that will provide an elevated service for our corporate occupiers within their work environment. As in the past five years, the mainstay of our Hospitality foray will be to build hotels and mixed-use developments as part of our business parks.”, said Jitu Virwani, Chairman & Managing Director, Embassy Group. “Hilton is committed to grow its operations in India. We are delighted to reinforce our partnership with Embassy Group and we strongly believe that this dual branded concept will immensely benefit our guests.” said Navjit Ahluwalia, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Hilton India.

Andaz Delhi has been awarded the ISO 22000:2005 certification, a food safety management system, which can be applied to any business in the food chain from farm to fork. Andaz Delhi ensures that they follow the established code of food hygiene practices that are applicable nationally as well as internationally. The hotel follows food safety and hygiene regulations through close monitoring, verifications and training of employees, involvement of people and delegation of authorities. “Achieving the ISO 22000:2005 is a testament to the Andaz Delhi’s commitment to excellence. This indeed a matter of pride and the credit for this this outstanding accreditation goes to our entire team and I am grateful to them for all their efforts,”said Madhav Sehgal, General Manager, Andaz Delhi. ISO 22000:2005 also requires a business to have created a fully documented system in place and implemented which includes: programmes to ensure a clean sanitary environment, hazard analysis and critical control plan to prevent food safety hazards, and established food safety standards throughout the organisation at all levels.

Marriott International has announced the opening of its 200-key JW Marriott Jaipur Resort & Spa, marking the debut of the global luxury brand in Rajasthan. The resort features 200 guest rooms, villas and suites, including Royal Terrace Rooms, Royal Courtyard Rooms and Royal Pool Villas with private plunge pools, as well as two-bedroom Palace and Presidential Suites. It has a Kids’ Club and a full schedule of family-friendly programming – from sessions with a local magician to creative culinary workshops with friendly hotel chefs. “This beautiful city is a serene modern oasis steeped in ancient traditions and culture and is the perfect setting for the newest JW Marriott in Asia-Pacific,” said Bruce Ryde, Asia-Pacific Vice-President for Luxury Brands and Brand Marketing, Marriott International. The resort has indoor and outdoor banqueting venues of over 52,000 square feet, featuring multi-functional event spaces equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual systems, including a 11,000-square-feet pillar-less Ballroom, making this the great venue for weddings and events. “We welcome our guests with modern, contemporary hospitality that is steeped in the warmth and beauty of Rajasthani tradition,” said Chandrashekar Joshi, General Manager, JW Marriott Jaipur Resort and Spa. “We offer our guests unforgettable experiences, whether it is through our impeccable service, culinary memories that honor the region’s flavours brought to life by our master chefs, or exciting experiences for guests of all ages to discover Jaipur’s rich history and culture.”

WelcomHeritage is looking for expansion towards South and Northeast India with new properties. Sunil Gupta, CEO, WelcomHeritage shared, “There is a lot of potential in South and North East. WelcomHeritage is known for its best heritage properties and by further expanding to these regions, we will be bringing the values and rich hospitality of these regions on a global platform. We have already identified properties and are in discussion with the properties owners.” The next property, immediately, to be flagged will be WelcomHeritage Ashdale in Nainital, which is an old manor from the British era, owned by the Royalty of Sahaspur.  Thereafter, WelcomHeritage will be flagging two nature resorts, one in Tadoba, Maharashtra, and the other in Coorg, Karnataka. Both these properties are in the advance stages of the project, and will be launched within this financial year.

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has launched its newly redesigned website. Guests can now explore the website which has been designed to offer a more user-friendly experience and is mobile and e-commerce optimised. The initiative further signifies the group’s effort in enabling guests a superlative experience and its strong expansion plans. The website is now live at www.sarovarhotels.com. The new website offer add-on benefits to customers booking rooms from the brand website directly with services such as customized meal by the Chef, takeaway breakfast on early check out, check-in/check-out at your convenience and free high speed internet browsing. Ample usage of imagery showcases the brand and its properties in the finest form. Sarovar Hotels is targeting to have 100 hotels under its portfolio by 2020. Expected openings in 2018 include hotels in Jaisalmer, Jhansi, Jaipur, Somnath, Dibrugarh, Junagadh, Gorakhpur and Lusaka, Zambia.

The 2018 AccorHotels Showcase in Mumbai and New Delhi will be held on March 21 at Sofitel Mumbai BKC and March 23 at Pullman New Delhi Aerocity respectively. The event is expected to have representatives from 15 countries representing more than 35 hotels and resorts worldwide, offering travel agents, wholesalers, corporate clients, tourism partners and MICE organisers’ an insight into the group’s new developments, products and services. Entering its 15th year, the event will provide an opportunity to discover AccorHotels’ accommodation trends, news and stunning hotels and resorts from around the world. Exhibitors from destinations such as France, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Thailand, UAE,South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, China and Singapore, representing celebrated hotels like Raffles Dubai and Saudi Arabia, RIXOS Turkey, Fairmont Ajman, SO Sofitel Bangkok Singapore, Novotel Amsterdam City and Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, and more are set to attend the event in each city. “The signature event serves as a great platform for us to interact and share knowledge with our clients and industry partners. With increased international and domestic travel, we expect this year to be the bigger and more exciting than last year, with interesting insights given our enhanced network and leadership position in the Asia Pacific region,” said Arif Patel, Vice President—Sales, Marketing, Distribution & Loyalty, AccorHotels India.