Hilton Garden Inn Hotel Opens in Bengaluru, India
Embassy Office Parks, India's first publicly listed real estate investment trust (REIT) and one of Asia's largest by area, has opened the first Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Bengaluru.
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Radisson Hotel Group adds nine new hotel signings across South Asia in 2021
Radisson Hotel Group further strengthened its portfolio in India with the signing of nine new hotels across five brands in 2021. Located in key gateway cities and emerging destinations, these new hotels will collectively add over 1,000 rooms to its domestic network in the next three to five years. In 2021, the Group grew its presence in India with the opening of 12 new hotels and introducing two new brands, including Radisson Individuals and Radisson RED.
HVS Monday Musings: Indian Hospitality Sector – Skill Shortage to Hinder Recovery and Growth
The Indian hospitality industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, employing 8.8% of the country’s workforce in 2019. However, the industry has long struggled with a shortage of trained workforce although several students emerge from hospitality colleges each year. The demand-supply equations are daunting even though the sector has tried to close the gap over the years. As per a Ministry of Tourism study, the manpower shortage in 2018 was 2.6 million, and the sector is staring at a deficit of 1.1 million in 2025, posing a significant threat to the sector's recovery post-COVID. Several factors have contributed to this, and the situation is expected to get worse post the pandemic.
By Mandeep Lamba and Dipti Mohan
Ginger Greater Noida Now Open
Ginger expands its footprint with the launch of a new hotel in Greater Noida, National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR). Designed on the lean luxe philosophy, the hotel offers a co-existence of contrasts through dynamic spaces, seamlessly blending the lines of work and play.
IHCL Expands Presence in Uttarakhand with the Signing of a New SeleQtions Resort
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) today announced the signing of a new SeleQtions resort in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The formerly operating resort will be rebranded as Anand Kashi, an IHCL SeleQtions resort post renovation.
HVS Monday Musings: Tourism Revival in Kashmir, the Paradise on Earth
Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), popularly known as the Paradise on Earth, is renowned for its breathtaking natural beauty and scenic splendor. From pristine valleys, beautiful lakes, gardens, snow-capped mountains, and glaciers to famous religious places, temples, and monasteries – the union territories have something to cater to every tourist. The region’s distinctiveness rests in the fact that each season has its own allure. It's no surprise, then, that since the region's lockdown was lifted, Jammu & Kashmir has seen a significant increase in tourist traffic and is slowly reclaiming its position as one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. Reports indicate that over 6 lakh tourists visited J&K in 2021, surpassing all previous records, with half of them arriving in October to December as early snowfall drew a huge number of visitors to the region. As a result, hotel occupancy has been at an all-time high, with certain resorts in Pahalgam and Gulmarg being sold out at the end of the year.
By Mandeep Lamba and Dipti Mohan
Saurabh Khanna has been appointed as General Manager at Courtyard By Marriott Agra
With over 15 years of innovative experience and expertise in a myriad of skills and hospitality brands, he has proven himself to be a consistent winner across various verticals. His inspirational journey comes with many milestones to be admired – from including an array of recognitions across leading hospitality brands like Marriott International, Taj Hotels and more. He has successfully been a pillar at changing the course of business functioning and sales outputs across organizations. These achievements, and his ingrained value towards result driven strategies, have helped shape his journey along the way.
HVS Monday Musings: Travel Rebounding Faster Post-Omicron
The emergence of a new COVID strain, Omicron, in late 2021, threw the global travel sector into upheaval once again, as several countries re-introduced travel restrictions to combat the spread of the highly transmissible virus. The crucial year-end holiday season was significantly disrupted with thousands of flight cancellations, cruises forced to dock, and fewer hotel bookings. As per media reports, over 4,500 flights were canceled worldwide over the Christmas weekend, and more than 3,000 flights, half of which were US flights, were canceled over the New Year. The impact was noticed in India as well, with 30-35% of travelers canceling or rescheduling their January 2022 travel plans as the reintroduction of travel restrictions severely impacted the impressive rebound in domestic travel.
By Mandeep Lamba and Dipti Mohan
Santanu Guha Roy has been appointed as General Manager at Radisson Blu Resort and Spa Karjat
Santanu Guha Roy has been appointed as the General Manager of Radisson Blu Resort and Spa Karjat, effective 10th January 2022.
Radisson Resort Pondicherry Bay arrives in the vibrant beach city of Pondicherry
Radisson Hotel Group has today announced the opening of Radisson Resort Pondicherry Bay in the coastal fishing village of Arikamedu in Pondicherry. Uniquely situated between a lagoon and the Bay of Bengal, the hotel looks to welcome business, leisure, and MICE travelers to enjoy safe and memorable stays. This opening makes Radisson the first international hotel brand to operate in the union territory of Pondicherry - which is increasingly becoming a staple on the list of Indian travelers.
Sharad K Upadhyay has been appointed as General Manager at Crowne Plaza Greater Noida
Crowne Plaza Greater Noida has appointed Sharad K Upadhyay as the new General Manager. With an illustrious experience of over 20 years across a broad spectrum of hospitality functions, Sharad K Upadhyay holds specialization in hotel operations with an avid interest in food and beverage as well as in sales and marketing. He has held various leadership positions and worked with renowned domestic and international hospitality brands across the country and beyond.
Apratim Gole has been appointed as Marketing & Communications Manager at The Westin Pune Koregaon Park
The Westin Pune Koregaon Park is pleased to announce the appointment of Apratim Gole as Marketing and Communications Manager, who shows promise to shoulder the responsibility of managing all marketing and PR activities, elevating and sustaining the hotel's brand positioning, driving engagement and additional revenue through invigorating Marketing and PR Campaigns.
Union Budget 2022: Hits and Misses for Indian Hospitality Sector
The Union Budget 2022 (Budget) can be summarized as a mix of hits and misses for the Indian hospitality sector, which after two years of bearing the brunt of the pandemic, was hoping for some much-needed reforms to help accelerate the sector’s recovery. However, even though the Economic Survey 2021-22 acknowledged that the ‘trajectory of tourism remains uncertain due to Omicron’, the Budget failed to give any direct and immediate measures to boost the sector’s revival. While few of the recommendations made by industry stakeholders to the government at various forums were incorporated into the Budget, most others were not.
By Mandeep Lamba and Dipti Mohan
Rajan Malhotra has been appointed as Commercial Director at Conrad Bengaluru
Rajan Malhotra joins Conrad Bengaluru as The Commercial Director in January 2022. With over 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry, prior to this he was leading the sales and marketing team and was part of the pre-opening leadership team at India's first iconic brand Raffles. Rajan's body of work also includes successful stints at Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Services India Pvt.Ltd., The Zuri Group of Hotels & Resorts, Le Méridien Jaipur Resort & Spa, Taj Palace, New Delhi and The Grand New Delhi.Having pursued his postgraduation diploma in Business Administration, Rajan comes with a wide gamut of knowledge pertaining to the industry. Thus, his new role at the property would entail focus on various arena's such as business development, budgeting, forecasting and achieving the hotel's commercial objectives.
Rishi Mehra has been appointed as Director of Food & Beverage at The Westin Pune Koregaon Park
The Westin Pune Koregaon Park is pleased to announce the appointment of Rishi Mehra as Director of Food & Beverage, who will be responsible for managing all aspects of food and beverage hereon, ensuring the food philosophy of Westin is reflected through the restaurants & banquets. He will be using his expertise to nurture a business environment, analyze and suggest trends within the hospitality industry that will consistently deliver positive results whilst improving guest satisfaction and profitability.
HVS Musings: Indian Hotel Sector – 2021 Performance Review
Following an abysmal performance in 2020, the Indian hotel sector found some much-needed hope in 2021, as it made steady headway on the road to recovery. The year began on a promising note with the commencement of the vaccination program, which, combined with a decrease in COVID cases, improved travel sentiment in the country. Domestic leisure travel drove the recovery throughout the year, with business travel also picking up as most businesses and organizations returned to a full or hybrid work-from-office model. Additionally, weddings and social events, as well as the resurgence of small-to-medium-sized domestic MICE events, helped to stimulate hotel demand in 2021.
By Mandeep Lamba and Dipti Mohan
India’s budget deficit to narrow down to 5.3% of GDP in FY22, forecasts GlobalData
The upcoming Union Budget of India (2022-23) is expected to focus on bringing in economic reforms to ease supply-side bottlenecks, provide production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes to domestic MSME’s* sector, asset monetization and privatization. Along with this, the government needs to strike a balance between fiscal expenditure and fiscal consolidation. Against this backdrop, GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, expects the budget deficit to narrow down to 5.3% of GDP in 2022 compared to 5.6% in 2021.
ITB India to be held as a virtual event on 5 – 7 April 2022
ITB India 2022 will be an all-virtual event with the physical show postponed to 2023. Scheduled on the same dates, ITB India 2022 Virtual will be held from 5 – 7 April 2022. After close observations of international developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the Omicron variant, and extensive conversations with local authorities and partners, the show organisers made the difficult decision to move the show completely virtual, which now gives exhibitors and trade visitors maximum planning security.
amã Stays & Trails Signs 13 New Bungalows Across India
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) today announced the signing of 13 new amã Stays & Trails bungalows. With this, the brand is stepping into four new destinations – Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Kanha and Kochi. It is also adding another bungalow in Lonavala.
HVS Monday Musings: Indian Hotel Sector’s Wish List for the Union Budget, 2022-23
COVID-19 and the ensuing travel restrictions have wreaked havoc on the travel and hospitality industries all over the world. To mitigate the impact, governments around the world have taken a variety of measures over the last two years, ranging from prioritizing vaccination for tourism employees to providing financial and liquidity support as well as making policy changes to aid the recovery of their respective travel and hospitality sectors. In fact, with low international travel demand, governments in some countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Thailand, have even introduced incentives and refunds to encourage citizens to travel within their own country.
By Mandeep Lamba and Dipti Mohan