Emerging cities across Asia and the Middle East are fast becoming the new lands of opportunity for investors and developers within the hotel industry. Their hotel markets are experiencing rapid expansion amid surging numbers of tourists and corporate travelers from around the world and strong economic growth.
The origins of online travel in India can be traced back to 2005. Access to the Internet was scarce, and electronic payments and online travel penetration levels were abysmally low. Twelve years later, the landscape is unrecognizable. The proliferation of affordable Android-powered smartphones, cheap 4G data services and mobile payments have sparked an online revolution. Sensing the tipping point of digital services, investors are aggressively backing digital companies across travel, online retail, payments, food deliveries, logistics, taxi bookings, education and more.
With a hospitality career spanning more than 17 years, Mr Baijal is respected for his expansive knowledge of the hotel industry, and brings with him to Chandigarh a broad experience of working with a number of Hyatt brands. In his last position at Doha, Qatar, Mr Baijal planned and executed, large scale restaurants, high-profile awards event for a global magazine brand and in earlier assignment was part of a select task force dispatched to Grand Hyatt Berlin to oversee event operations for Incredible India and catering for Fraport airport services. Before joining Hyatt, Mr Baijal worked in India with both Taj & Leela, two of the country’s most prestigious hotel chains. Born and raised in Gwalior, Mr Baijal graduated in hotel management at IHM Hyderabad. He holds a master’s degree in hotel sales ,marketing and finance, is an accredited wine specialist from Italy, and a certified social media and hospitality management professional courtesy of eCornell. Despite rising through the hospitality ranks relatively swiftly, Mr Baijal has always focused on guest satisfaction and the betterment of his team. His continuous drive to improve and personalize the guest experience has resulted in improved customer engagement, increased conversion and greater loyalty to the Hyatt brand. An inspirational leader who pays great attention to detail, Mr Baijal works closely with his colleagues to motivate them to reach greater heights of performance and professional success, and constantly in stills in them a belief and commitment towards Hyatt’s core principles. Passionate about designing slick events and creating inspired new F&B concepts, Mr Baijal envisages delivering a new type of hospitality to the city’s residents via Hyatt Regency Chandigarh. Mr Baijal strives to make guests feel relaxed and contented, and dispel the myths about traditional five-star hotel stuffiness.
As the 6AM alarm blares at dawn, who doesn't find delight in pressing the snooze button ever so often? After all, sleep is silver. However, brushing aside the slumber, the active mind sketches tasks ahead and one leaps into the daily bustle. Crafting ideas, plotting schedules and planning conquests, the business of life and livelihood comes into play. While catching forty winks every now and then may be acceptable, one usually wouldn't trade the job of making money with the liberty to indulge in daily afternoon siestas. After all, money is gold!
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced today the opening of Hyatt Regency Lucknow, the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Lucknow, capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Hyatt Regency Lucknow is the 27th Hyatt-branded hotel in India and further expands the company"s brand presence in South Asia by offering enriching, authentic and diversified brand experiences for guests.
Ms Bhagat brings with her rich experience working with hospitality companies in India and France, and has solid connections with the travel trade fraternity in India. She spent three years as project manager of Promosalons: The Global Partner Network of French Trade Shows, almost six years as Promotions Manager at Atout France: France Tourism Development Agency, and prior to joining Dusit International was Director of Sales & Marketing – India for the Akaryn Hotel Group.
Dusit International, one of Thailand's foremost hotel and property development companies, has opened a new Global Sales Office (GSO) in Mumbai, India, to promote Dusit Hotels & Resorts to the country's vast and fast-growing outbound travel market.
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas is delighted to announce plans to open Six Senses Fort Barwarafeaturing 48 suites in Rajasthan, India. Situated 68 miles (110 kilometers) southeast of Jaipur, the property is located in the village of Chauth ka Barwara on the site of a 700-year-old fort which was owned by the Rajasthani Royal Family and sits directly opposite the temple, Chauth ka Barwara Mandir.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)—the voice of the global business travel industry, kicked off GBTA Conference 2017 New Delhi today as part of its India Conference Series 2017. The annual flagship education and networking event for GBTA India, the conference will deliver a knowledge forum on best practices across the business travel lifecycle through a mix of panel discussions and presentations.
Le Meridien has announced hiring of Norton Pereira as the General Manager for its Goa's Calangute property.
IBC (InnDependent Boutique Collection), a leading provider of hospitality technologies for independent hotels and alternative lodging, is working with Wealthy Walker Technologies to provide channel management services to IBC member hotels in India. Through this integration partnership, independent hotels and soft brands using the IBC hotel management platform can also use the Wealthy Walker channel manager to push daily rate and inventory updates to the various OTAs.
Radisson Blu, the iconic hotel brand driven by innovation and design, launches 'The Art of Weddings', a campaign created exclusively for the India market. Building on the brand's global 'Something Blu, A Wedding of a Kind' concept, the initiative will run across all of India's 34 Radisson Blu hotels. Aimed at establishing the upper-upscale brand as the venue of choice for weddings and bridal related events, 'The Art of Weddings' is targeted at new age Indian couples and brings together the finest names in wedding services for a truly elegant, stylish and sophisticated wedding experience. Special privileges such as food and beverage discounts and a bonus of 25,000 Club CarlsonSM Gold Points, will be extended to all wedding bookings made at Radisson Blu hotels across India during the campaign period.
Roseate Hotels and Resorts, a part of Bird Hospitality, has announced the appointment of Namit Agnihotri as the new Hotel Manager at The Roseate, New Delhi, India.
Antony Page joins the country’s first and only Ritz-Carlton, in Bangalore where he will be leading an engaged team of refined ladies and gentlemen in further strengthening the brand positioning. At the helm of this 277 key luxury hotel in Bangalore, his focus will be to ensure that guests depart with memories of a truly exceptional hotel experience, reflective of the brand’s iconic legacy worldwide. Antony Page joins The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore from New Delhi, where he was the General Manager of the 523-room JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity. In his role there, he positioned not just the hotel but Aerocity as a prime MICE destination, associating closely with volume based inbound groups. Antony is a seasoned global hospitality professional, having worked in several global destinations. His association with Marriott started in 2005 where he was the Hotel Manager at Sydney Harbour Marriott. In September 2006, Antony became the General Manager of Melbourne Marriott Hotel and then moved to Singapore Marriott in November, 2009 as the General Manager. Antony completed his graduation in February 1984 while working for the Sheraton Hotel Group and holds a degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia. With a consistently ascending career graph, Antony served as the opening Director of Food & Beverage for Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center. In October 1997 Antony went back to Starwood Hotel group for a period of eight years post which his journey with Marriott commenced.
Le Meridien Gurgaon Delhi NCR appointed Sanjay Gupta as the General Manager of the hotel. Mr. Gupta joins this property after a successful stint at Le Meridien Jaipur for four years. Under his tutelage, LM Jaipur significantly grew its topline along with guest satisfaction scores.
The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), in partnership with the Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) is now accepting nominations for the Rising Star Award South Asia to be presented at HIFI 20-21 November 2017 at the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar.
By the year 2020, the overall travel market in India is projected to reach $48 billion, according to a recent report by Google India-BCG. This marks an unexpected increase, after the same number was pegged at $40 billion in May 2016.
Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal has signed an agreement to expand its business to India with the opening of a luxurious hotel in New Delhi in 2019.
ivanta by Taj – Gurgaon is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Anuj Soin as its Food & Beverage Manager. Mr. Soin comes with over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry and will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the F&B unit, achieving revenue targets and driving unique guest experiences at the hotel. Mr. Soin started his career with the Rambagh Palace, Jaipur in 2007. He has worked across leading hospitality brands in India including the Leela Gurugram. His last assignment was at the Courtyard by Marriott Gurugram as Food & Beverage Manager. His in-depth knowledge of the overall F&B industry and diverse experience in managing fine dining restaurants has contributed to his professional success. Mr. Soin also comes with great understanding of dining trends and innovative F&B concepts which can enhance guest experiences and give a fillip to large scale events.
The winter capital city of J&K, Jammu is a window to the beautiful state which gets thousands of tourists every year for various reasons. Be it for a cultural expedition to "Vaishno Devi,' for the heavenly view of Aru Valley, for the rich flavours of Kashmiri cuisine, or even for its relaxing ride in the "Shikaras"! The city now has one more reason to celebrate!