Author: HBI Staff | Mumbai
In its bid to expand its presence in the global market, Indian Hotel Company Limited (IHCL) is entering into a lease agreement to operate a hotel in Frankfurt. The Tata Group company proposes to spend Euro 5 million on renovating this property that will be leased to them for 30 years (20 years with rights of two renewals of five years each). In addition to that, IHCL will buy 100 percent equity of Pamodzi Hotel PLC (a listed company in Zambia) from Tata International Singapore PTE Limited. Pamodzi Hotels has long-term leasehold rights for Taj Pamodzi, Zambia – a luxury…
Vishal Gupta has been recently appointed as the General Manager of Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach. Vishal, with 24 years of experience across four countries, comes with extensive knowledge of the hospitality industry and has got on board to oversee day-to-day operations and provide strategic guidance under his leadership. Having started his career as a Management Trainee with Marriott International by joining the pre-opening team of the 748-room Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in 2001, Vishal subsequently opened the 628-room St. Kitts Marriott and Resort on the island of St. Kitts & Nevis in 2003. He transitioned from Operations to Sales and from…
The Ascott Limited (Ascott), a lodging business unit wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) has a large portfolio of a mix of serviced apartment, co-living, senior-living and hotel brands including Ascott, Citadines, lyf, Oakwood, Quest, Somerset, The Crest Collection, The Unlimited Collection, Préférence, Fox, Harris, POP!, the Vertu and Yello. The global brand has recently reached its current target of 160,000 units. With this big achievement, the brand is now contemplating on a franchise base model as the company is mostly focused on being asset-light and usually prefers signing management agreements to grow faster and diversify its portfolio across…
On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) organised a panel discussion on ‘Rethinking Tourism’. At the discussion, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Minister for Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, assured complete support to the travel, tourism and hospitality industry stakeholders for positioning the state as a preferred choice for domestic and international tourists alike, by using newer techniques and changing methods for development. Sharing his views, he said, “The responsibility of the government is to create basic infrastructure whereas the job of tourism development lies with the industry stakeholders. The government will be the guiding light behind the…
Blisswater Industries Private Limited introduced Rahasya – a craft vodka inspired by the mysticism, heritage, and folklore of India. The product is currently available exclusively in Goa where it is produced and will soon be available in other parts of India as well. Rahasya is the brainchild of Varna Bhat, Founder and CEO, Blisswater Industries Private Limited, a first-generation entrepreneur who comes from a creative industry background of branding, events and experiential marketing. Talking about the product and its journey, Bhat said, “Rahasya’s journey started with the desire of creating a product that is premium and distinctly Indian. We’re seeing…
Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (Independent Charge), inaugurated the domestic tourism roadshow in Raipur under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat yesterday. On this occasion, he said that Chhattisgarh makes the experience of India unique. It has the country’s widest waterfalls, caves, lush green forests, ancient monuments, rare wild animals, exquisitely carved temples, Buddhist sites and hill plateaus. Chhattisgarh has more than 80 per cent biodiversity, which is not found anywhere else in the country. In this state, tribals are 44 per cent with 32 per cent forestry. Chhattisgarh has become a magnet for nature lovers…
With border and land restrictions in force due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world and businesses will have to make changes to their functioning. However, despite this, corporate travel will eventually resume and business representatives will have to travel to aid demand generation. Expressing his views at TAAI’s Road to Recovery e-panel discussion, Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions, Indian subsidiary of FCTG, Australia, said, “Corporate travel will have to be divided into the scenario this year and a year from now. This segment has been constrained right now with suspension of travel activities. However, to access new markets…
The Union Ministry of Tourism (MoT) will compile and create a check list of common parameters in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and in consultation with stakeholders of the industry, to be implemented across the country. “Post lifting of the lockdown in a staggered manner, we foresee travel to resume within the state and eventually move to interstate when adequate security measures are put in place. International rigidity is going to remain till protocols are implemented. Moreover, there is need for confidence-building measures for stakeholders,” said Meenakshi Sharma, Director General – Tourism, Government of India. Sharma said that MoT…
Diversey India, leaders in cleaning and hygiene solutions, has unveiled ‘SmartDose’ in India. SmartDose is a thoughtfully designed innovative dispensing platform for super concentrated daily cleaners and disinfectants; setting a new industry benchmark for accuracy, simplicity and safety. Gokul Venkataraman, Marketing Director – Diversey India, said, “SmartDose comes loaded with features that carefully understand the critical needs of the market. Features like Spill-TITE and smart pump leverages the power of super concentrated chemicals. It aids simplified usage with icon-based instructions making it quick and easy to dispense the exact amount for wither spray bottle or a bucket/scrubber driers. SmartDose comes…
Hospitality Purchasing Managers’ Forum (HPMF), an association of Materials and Procurement Managers of the hospitality industry, will have their 9th annual convention and awards at Kochi between October 10 to 13. According to Nitin Nagrale, Founder & General Secretary of HPMF around 250 delegates both from India and abroad will participate in the three-day event slated at the Grand Hyatt Kochi Hotel and Convention Centre. “We will have delegates from UAE, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal as well as from 40 cities from India,” he said. HPMF has chapters in UAE and Sri Lanka and will be opening new…
