Category Archives: Hotels

Compared to May 2021, India’s bookings have grown by 178 per cent even though the country witnesses high cost of travel, revealed RateGain Travel Technologies in their monthly PULSE survey of May 2022, which show Travel Demand has no impact of global inflation.

Choice Hotels International is closing down its operations of its wholly owned subsidiary, Choice Hotels India, which is now being taken over as master franchise by Suba Group of Hotels, based out of Mumbai. Suba Group of Hotels has properties across the country and also includes brands like Click and 1589.

Spree Hospitality launches its bold and unconventional brand with the opening of Zip by Spree Hotels Mangala Towers in Thrissur, Kerala. This 4-star property is located near Thrissur business centers and is one of the top business hotels, fully equipped to meet corporate and business needs.

Reaffirming its credo of ‘Responsible Luxury’ with a comprehensive focus on sustainability, health and hygiene, ITC Hotels is proud to announce that 3 of its properties in India have been ranked as the world’s top 3 LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Zero Carbon certified hotels, a first-of-its-kind achievement globally. ITC Windsor, Bengaluru, became the 1st hotel in the world while ITC Grand Chola is one of the largest hotels in the world to have received the prestigious LEED Zero Carbon Certification. ITC Gardenia has become the third hotel in the world to receive the certification.  LEED Zero Carbon recognizes buildings operating with net-zero carbon emission and LEED® Platinum is the highest rating awarded by U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). ITC Hotels is the world’s largest chain with the maximum number of LEED Platinum Certified Properties as per USGBC. From using renewable energy and recycling solid waste to conserving water, actively mitigating single-use plastic, and reducing the carbon footprint at every step, ITC Hotels have been delivering luxury experiences with planet positive offerings embedded in product, processes, people & progress. Over 40% of consumable food materials used at ITC Hotels is sourced locally and the properties have adopted infra–red based efficient cooking in kitchen leading to near 20% energy savings.  Living upto its promise of ‘Responsible Luxury’, ITC Hotels launched a path–breaking“WeAssure” programme, adopting highest standards and protocols in health, hygiene, safety and infection control management. For this initiative, ITC Hotels became the first hotel chain in the world to receive Platinum level certification under DNV’s My Care Infection risk management programme. In addition, the hotel group introduced waste segregation methods to achieve more than 99% waste recycling and also pioneered mitigation of single use …

Nandivardhan Jain, CEO, NOESIS, has said, “If 80 new airports by 2025 come, then this will give a massive boost to the hospitality sector as there will be demand for 25,000 more hotel rooms in these markets. Subject to concerned authorities successfully managing to plan & build hospitality districts around these airports, the effective implementation of local tourism programs at these destinations will lead to an opportunity to create millions of job opportunities.”

Arif Patel, Regional Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Hyatt India, has said, “With over 24 executed deals for hotels, we plan to expand our brand footprint in India by eyeing more than 70 per cent growth, adding over 3,800 keys with more than 50 hotels in our portfolio in India by 2023.”

Spree Hospitality, boutique and mid-market hospitality operator, has added one more feather to its wings with the opening of Sparsh Hotel and Resort in Uttar Pradesh, in Bareilly. This 4-star property is just 7 km away from Airport and 8.5 Km from railway station. It is also in proximity to some popular tourist attractions and other places of interest in Bareilly. Some of the tourist attractions include Bareilly Sports Stadium, Jagannath Temple, Phoenix Mall and Fun City situated nearby to the property. The property rooms are comfortable and spacious with luxury amenities to make guest feel satisfied. When looking to satiate one’s cravings, the in-house restaurant in the property offering multi – cuisine food to satisfy the tastebuds. At Spree Hospitality the safety of the guest is the top priority and so Sparsh Hotel and Resort by Spree committed to deliver clean and safe environment through health and safety protocols. The property boasts of green lawn, massive outdoor pool and banquet hall.

Adding another hotel to its portfolio, Ananta Hotels & Resorts has launched 52-key Jagira Ananta Elite Gir Hotel in Gujarat. Gagan Katyal, says, “We have launched Ananta Gir, our latest resort outside Rajasthan. It will have four types of residential options and will be located right at the doorstep of this sole home to the Asiatic lions in Gir.”

Zahoor Qari, CEO, Airlinks Tour & Travels, Kashmir, has said that many hotels, owing to increase in tourist footfall in Kashmir, have hiked their rates extraordinarily, despite not offering services and value for that kind of money. Hence, this puts the tour operators and travel agents in question and jeopardizes their image in front of the clients.

The Hotel Association of India (HAI) has submitted a recommendation to the Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Santosh Kumar Sarangi urging the Directorate to review the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG) and provide relief to the struggling industry. The association has highlighted that, at the time of availing the duty benefits under the Scheme, no one could have envisaged the impact of Covid and the resulting dip in the foreign currency earnings.  In light of the changed economic and geo-political scenario, HAI has said that it is imperative to review the EPCG policy and provide relief for the industry to survive and be able to fulfil its obligations under the scheme. Hotels are facing huge challenges of liquidity, revenue losses, negligible foreign exchange earnings, high costs that are mostly fixed in nature and several other operational difficulties. Hotels require more time to fulfil obligations under the scheme. The industry body also requested the government to not issue notices to hotels, propose punitive action against them for non-fulfillment of obligations and not encash hotels’ bank guarantees. HAI pointed out that the hospitality sector is one of the most impacted industries due to the pandemic. Hotels were closed for almost 6-8 months during 2020-21 and re-opened in phased manner. The aftermath of the second and third wave has left a dent on the sector’s road to recovery. It added that the hospitality industry is expected to be back to pre-covid levels only by FY24-25.   RECOMMENDATIONS SUBMITTED BY HAI ·    5 Years Extensions: In addition to the currently available extensions as          per the EPCG guidelines, it is requested to provide additional 4 years extension for all …