Hospitality Lexis Aug 2021 by Hospitality Lexis

RNI-MPENG/2018/74957

August '21 Year 04 Vol 07 ₹ 100

Rise of

AI in Indian Hospitality Industry

A BIG HOPE Mice & Wedding

Hotels, Restaurants and FMCG players working regressively to ensure the guests' safety

The tourism and hospitality business faced the first storm of the pandemic as soon as it hit the world last year. In 2019, global travel and tourism generated $9,170 billion and in 2020, this sum was reduced to $4,671 billion. Travel and tourism is the leading service industry of India and as per WTTC, contributed 6.8% of the total economy amounting to INR. 16,681 billion. It generated 39,82,18,000 jobs which translate to 8.0% of the total employment of the Indian economy. For the Indian Hospitality and Tourism industry, it is time to pay greater attention to the domestic demand and utilize the opportunity to covert it as a self-dependent market. Especially Millenials always look for short getaways and to provide them with quality domestic spots would be beneficial for the industry. Many restaurants and hotels had to close their doors due to a shortage of resources. Tough times make you smarter and Wise, so this is the time to write a history of the revival of the industry where everyone is striving to come up with exceptional techniques and strategies to revive. Whenever there has been unrest in India, the People of India have written history.

Hospitality Lexis

Rekha Chhabra Hora Founder & Chairperson

KOMAL HORA, CEO & Editor After the relaxation in the guidelines and norms, the hospitality & tourism industry is gradually in the process of getting back on track. The hospitality and tourism industry has also innovated multiple new ways of delivering their services out of which various of them has proven to be a hit. The entire industry is looking forward to 'Weddings and MICE' as revenue aggregators and a torchbearer for the industry which was partially paused due to the lockdowns and the situations. Digitalisation has played a key role in keeping things moving. From weddings to exhibitions everything happened virtually during this pandemic. Guests are expecting to be able to use the digital medium to plan and manage their travel experience. The "new normal" will continue to exist. The strategy that worked earlier is no longer applied, so the industry must adapt to the new requirements of its guests.

OUR TEAM Mentor

Balbir Hora Chairperson

Rekha Chhabra Hora CEO & Editor

Komal Hora Legal & Marketing Head

Nikita Hora Editorial Strategy & Research

Siddharth Singh Content

S.Patwa Design

NIKITA HORA, CMO

N.Chouhan

According to the survey conducted by industryleading Hospitality Technology, it has been found that hotels want to invest in new technology, but not only to support hotel operations but also to generate recurring revenue. Top notches of the industry are also looking forward to reducing the touchpoints across their respective properties. The main challenge for the industry is to make more revenue with the lesser workforce, and this is possible with the adaptation of the technology in your workplace. Until now hotels were limited to sell their unique or additional services at the front desk but digitalisation can break this boundary and let you sell the personalised services anytime and anywhere.

Hospitality Lexis

Web Handle

Niranjan Deo

Distribution

Usha Salve

www.hospibuzbazar.com

Hospitality procurement at ease!

Year 04 Vol 07 AUG'21 what's inside this issue

UPFRONT 9 MICE 12 AI 51 TRAVEL AGENCIES 56 KITCHEN UNLOCKED 59 OUDH1590 65

On the coveR

M O N T H L Y

Big Players, Bidding for Big & Unique

R O U N D U P

CII ties up ITC Hotels to launch vocational education in hospitality sector Industry body CII said it has partnered with ITC Hotels to launch vocational education training by Switzerlandbased hotel school EHL in the hospitality sector. EHL Group will be rolling out the Swiss Diploma course in India.

Reliance in talks to takeover Subway India Reliance is in talks to buy Subway India for $200-250 million or Rs 1,488-1,860 crore.

KFC’s India Sahyog supports 100 small food businesses in Bangalore KFC India launched their India Sahyog program, in association with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). The brand announced the launch of the Bengaluru edition with a pledge to support 100 small restaurants and local eateries in the city. The program overall aims to support 500 restaurants across the country by 2022, starting with Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad.

TATA STARBUCKS ENTERS RAJASTHAN WITH TWO NEW STORES IN JAIPUR “Opening our doors in Rajasthan is a great moment of pride for us at Tata Starbucks. Rajasthan is known for its warmth and hospitality and our goal is to create a welcoming Third Place experience for Jaipur’s discerning customers and vibrant communities, providing them a signature Starbucks Experience”, said Sushant Dash, ceo, Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. “I would like to thank our partners (employees) for their passion, commitment and continued support.”

Hospitality Lexis

IBIS INDIA HOTELS TURN PET FRIENDLY ibis, recognized as one of the world’s most beloved smart economy hospitality brands, announced a new tail-wagging offering perfect for pet parents in need of a getaway. The latest petfriendly policy will help pet parents enjoy their next stay at ibis hotels, with their pawsome friends. To make these stays hasslefree and enjoyable, a number of welcome amenities such as food bowls, puppy pads, and plenty of treats are available on request. Adding to this, a pet-friendly in-room menu is also available, featuring snacks and ready-to-eat dishes such as boiled eggs, boneless chicken, herb chicken with pasta, lamb, chicken liver, cottage cheese, fish food, rice, pedigree.

Hospitality Lexis

Aviation Ministry issues clarification on Delhi-London trip fares "There are media reports claiming India-UK one-way economy class fares have touched ₹4 lakh. These reports have no proven basis. The veracity of Shri Sanjeev Gupta's claim has been thoroughly checked by DGCA," the ministry said on Twitter.

Tata, Singapore Airlines pump in Rs 750 crore into Vistara Tata Sons has invested Rs 382.5 crore and Singapore Airlines Rs 367.5 crore, according to the filing, by issuing 75 crore shares.

Target to reduce 50% road accident deaths by 2024: Nitin Gadkari 50% of road accidents occurred due to road engineering problems.

Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd reports 129% Y-O-Y growth in gross revenue One of the country’s leading leisure holiday and vacation ownership brands, Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd., reported a gross revenue of Rs 4,159 lakh for Q1 of FY22 recording an approximate growth of 129% against the gross revenue of Rs 1,813 lakh from the same quarter of last year.

Drunken Monkey Eyes New Delhi and Mumbai for Expansion in 2021-22 The brand cumulatively plans to open 50 stores in Delhi and Mumbai by the end of 2021-22. Founded by Samrat Reddy, it runs on a franchisee model of operation throughout the country and has clocked a turnover of 60 crores in 2020-2021.

Hospitality Lexis

MEN IN ACTION

Karma Group introduces a new addition in Vietnam

Pride Group of Hotels signs Pride Resort, in the Union Territory of Daman

IHCL announces debut of its first Vivanta hotel in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

"I am delighted to announce the acquisition of our latest property Karma Song Hoai,” he said, adding, “At the moment the resort is closed due to the pandemic, but we are very confident that we will be able to open in the near future and create another amazing experience for members and guests. I would like to thank all involved in this new resort, especially given the current complicated circumstances. Like many of you I am looking forward to visiting this beautiful country again when the world begins to re-open, and I have every confidence that in the years to come this property will be a shining star."

"It’s a pleasure to announce our footprints deeper on the western India turf. We’ve successfully added another new location in Pride Group Of Hotels bouquet, the PRIDE RESORT, DAMAN. Our luxurious resort is walking distance from the beach and ensures a safe and hygienic stay for all leisure travelers and younger audiences," said Atul Upadhyay, Vice President, Pride Group of Hotels."

"This opening is in line with IHCL’s vision to be present in all state capitals of India. We believe that the state of Odisha has tremendous business and tourism potential with its rich heritage and abundant natural beauty. We are delighted to launch Vivanta Bhubaneswar, making it a part of the city’s rapid evolution as a key business hub and a significant tourism destination"

John Spence Chairman and Founder Karma Group

Atul Upadhyay Vice President Pride Group of Hotels

Hospitality Lexis

Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL

LBA Hospitality Acquires Management For Two Hotels In Statesboro, Georgia "We are thrilled to take over the management of two more locations for BPR Properties," said Farrah Adams, Chief Operating Officer, LBA Hospitality. "BPR is a great partner, and these two hotels are in the heart of our portfolio. Statesboro is a thriving area: home to Georgia Southern University and centrally located for our extended stay, leisure and business travelers at the Hampton Inn & Suites and Home2 Suites."

Australia’s Lockdowns Set To Weaken Domestic Travel Recovery, Says GlobalData Gus Gardner, Associate Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, “Quick domestic recovery in Australia could be in jeopardy with the cases spiking, and border closures getting extended, despite strengthening the domestic demand in H1 2021. GlobalData’s latest forecast expects the domestic travel to rebound to 93.8 million trips in 2021, returning to 80.4% of pre-COVID trips (2019), but the delta variant could hinder this expected strong recovery. Australia has been a leader in keeping COVID-19 under control with extremely low infection rates and strict international travel restrictions, keeping cases at bay.

PM Hotel Group Celebrates 25 Years of Extraordinary Hospitality “As we kickoff our 25-year anniversary, it is a moment to reflect and celebrate the relationships we’ve built with our team, our guests, our partners, and the communities that we call home,” said Joseph Bojanowski, President of PM Hotel Group. “We are continuing to grow and innovate, and it’s important that our brand represents this evolution and the excitement we have for what lies ahead.”

IHG Hotels & Resorts,has opened Holiday Inn Dublin Airport, Ireland in partnership with JMK Group The hotel has 421 stylish, modern rooms showcasing Holiday Inn's newest room design which creates a 'Central Living' space for guests to relax and work in if needed.

Hospitality Lexis

while keeping the values of 'God is Our Guest' alive

In the present scenario, the foremost thing in the centre is to keep the guests safe from the corona spread. Hotels, Restaurants and FMCG players are regressively working to ensure the guests' safety and to keep them safe is the above all priority for them. Apart from the government guidelines, pioneers of the industries are offering a way more to keep their guests safe.

To ensure guest safety all the key players of the industry are equipping their properties with world-class technologies and adopting all the safety measures to showcase the core of hospitality.

Hospitality Lexis

RATTAN KESWANI Every hotel is now looking and focusing to tap the domestic market, which is expected to revive the industry. As a head start, the organized hotel chains, especially mid-market hotels already thrive on the buoyant domestic market and enjoy brand loyalty. Hygiene and safety are the utmost priority for every hotel chain and for the travellers. Hotels with visible hygiene and sanitization are sure to instil confidence in the minds of travellers. We have partnered with Diversey under our ‘Rest Assured’ initiative, showcasing our commitment to creating an environment focused on health, hygiene, safety and wellbeing as part of the new cleanliness and hygiene standards. Diversey provides the hotels with US EPA approved safe chemicals, operating checklists, training support, videos and support materials to add to their own repertoire of processes and procedures, and will be conducting regular reviews in all properties, as part of this association. As part of the Rest Assured initiative, we have executed a new set of house rules and preventive measures, to be followed by guests, visitors and team members within each property, to maximise safety and hygiene. In another initiative, Lemon Tree Hotels partnered with a number of hospitals under the programme called ‘Support By Lemon Tree’, where we offered our hotels to various hospitals across India who provided early care to mild/asymptomatic COVID patients only. For the employees, the hotel has introduced the ‘Lemon Tree Cares’ - Employee care programme where the company is providing cover for all vaccination expenses for employees and their families. We are also reimbursing all medical expenses (including oxygen, if required) for home quarantine cases and in case of severe hospitalisation cases, the company is paying for all additional expenses beyond the insured amount covered by the medical insurance policy/ESI. Under this programme, we also allow a core group of employees at each hotel to stay in the hotel and minimise exposure to the virus.

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR, LEMON TREE HOTELS DIRECTOR, CARNATION HOTELS

Hospitality Lexis

TEJAS CHAVAN What initiative has been taken by the brand for the customer/staff? (Apart from these two, any other type of initiatives will also work). At our resort, we have chosen to hire people from local rural areas. We then train them and give them the dignity of labor. In the last lockdown, when the resort had to be shut down, instead of laying off the employees, we managed to shift most of them to our agro-business and continued to pay them salaries. Recently we also undertook a free vaccination drive for all our employees. We have also provided free ration kits to a lot of employees and local people who were facing hardships in the lockdown period. We have also made donations to some NGO’s who were setting up free oxygen cylinders for the poor and needy. We also organized a farmers’ market, keeping all the covid safety protocols in place. We didn’t charge the farmers and small businesses for the stalls. We bore the cost of putting up their stalls and spent on advertising and publicity around it to ensure a good footfall. The farmers got a good platform to sell their goods and also were able to get good rates. We recently also felicitated the doctors who were working with Corona patients. To encourage their hard work and express our gratitude, we have gifted them a complimentary stay at our wellness retreat, Viveda, to relax and rejuvenate.

MD GREEN SPACES

Hospitality Lexis

ANAND SINGH SHEKHAWAT

Throughout the global pandemic, our teams have had more time and more energy than usual to care for our properties and their precious surroundings and to enhance our offerings. At Aman-i-Khas, efforts to protect the camp’s precious surroundings can be seen in the various on-going conservation efforts that are now carried out by the team. These include collecting seeds, with a focus on indigenous species, to plant over 1,000 trees around the camp to reduce deforestation and to provide a habitat for birds and wild animals. In addition, the team regularly trains local farmers in the correct handling of reptiles and their behaviour habits, and a collaborative effort is now in place with the local community to release wild species into suitable habitats away from nearby villages. The team also comes together monthly to clean sections of the Unesco fort of Ranthambore, supporting the archaeological monument both with regular maintenance and funding. At Amanbagh, we recently introduced an Ayurveda garden that is home to almost 100 different species of herbs. The on-property Ayurveda physician is now able to incorporate the herbs from the garden into treatments at the spa. For instance, herbal bundles comprising blue madar, tamarind and castor can be used to treat muscle pain and inflammation, improving blood circulation, whereas aloe vera leaves and hibiscus can be incorporated into oils for massages to combat dry skin.

GENERAL MANAGER AMAN-I-KHAS AND REGIONAL DIRECTOR AMAN IN INDIA

Hospitality Lexis

RUBIN CHERIAN Every brand has come up with unique initiatives to provide aid to the customers as well as staff, the story will be focusing on the initiatives started by the brand. The impact of the pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the hospitality industry and we all are reeling under its effect. Owing to these trying times Accor announced the creation of an ALL Heartist fund devoted to help employees who got impacted by Covid 19 crisis. This Fund assists the employees who might be in distress owing to the financial or health crisis owing to the pandemic Fully funded Vaccination drive for all our employees and their families was yet another initiative taken by our company in safeguarding not only our staff, but thereby our guests too. Accor as a brand has also initiated various campaigns to boost the confidence of travelers who are extremely specific about the cleanliness quotient, to address this we had launched our safety label called ALLSafe which represents our new cleanliness and prevention standards and has been developed and approved by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in hygiene and cleanliness inspection. We at Accor also gaged the sentiment of our guests who are ardent travelers and were on a constant look out for lucrative offers, to boost their confidence the brand launched various promotions and received a remarkable response from there offers. Some of the offers include LetUsTakeCareOfYou, YouAreInSafeHands, LetUsTravelOnceAgain

GENERAL MANAGER NOVOTEL HYDERABAD AIRPORT

Hospitality Lexis

SNEH JAIN During the second wave, we noticed that The Baker’s Dozen staff was initially hesitant coming to work. We spoke to them and realized that they were worried about getting infected, plus reluctant to take the vaccine due to various rumours about the vaccination drive. Hence, we decided to take the step of educating our staff and getting them vaccinated so that they can happily contribute to work. Determined to address their fears, we gradually educated and motivated them for around 3 months and it finally helped. We arranged 2 drives for the entire staff and got our entire manufacturing staff, including labour vaccinated. Inspired by our own endeavour, we also conceptualized ‘The Dose We Knead’ campaign to similarly motivate our fellow Indians for taking the jab regardless of the rumours, and spread some joy in this difficult time with our freshly baked cookies. Through this campaign, we sent a generous gift of freshly baked cookies specially curated to people who upload proof of their vaccination. With this campaign, we intended to spread a little hope, cheer, and joy amongst consumers. We had aimed for around 200-300 registrations but in only 15 days since our campaign started, we received more than 10,000 registrations to deliver doses of sweetness to brave hearts across India! Totally, we successfully delivered 1.6 Lakh cookies across India!!

CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR THE BAKER’S DOZEN

Hospitality Lexis

PUNIT AGARWAL The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about years of change in the way companies work in all sectors. According to Mr. Punit Agarwal, CEO, Nirvana Realty, they have accelerated the digitization of the work to make work flow more automated & ensured no salary cut to reduce the stress of covid-19 pandemic on the employees. Where WFH saved long travelling hours, it increased long working hours as well, which was fine initially but with extended lockdown it started to affect the physical as well as mental well being of the employees. Nirvana Realty offered regular health check ups & employee engagement activities over zoom to take away some toll. Besides free wifi & laptops, Nirvana Realty provided pick up & drop facilities whenever employees needed to step outside for work. Though Covid-19 pandemic hit hard on every individual, low waged employees were severely impacted by the effects of it. With no proper supply of food during the lockdown, Nirvana realty took care of the medical kit & food supply at construction sites. Real estate industry faced the brunt of the lockdown unlike any other sector. Though with construction relaxations, Nirvana tried to complete the construction within promised time & with digitization, we started virtual tours that bolstered the sales & we were able to sell 250 units in merely 100 days of lockdown, adds Mr. Agarwal. Besides, Nirvana Realty provided free pick up & drop off services to the customers ensuring Covid-19 sanitisation measures.

CEO NIRVANA REALTY

Hospitality Lexis

SATISH KUMAR Virtual webinars with focus towards knowledge sharing with employees where they also get an opportunity to interact with the leadership team. The program included Insurance, Teleconsultation,Hygiene practices, Covid Awareness and advantages of vaccination. The webinar also intended towards educating on support function such as ISOS, TMAP, TMAF etc. Free vaccination drive for employees and family members, successfully covering 95 percent of our employees. Free doctor consultations through M fine App. for employees and their family members. Covers team members and 5 dependents, Free Follow Up to 5 days at hospital or online and access to 30 Specialities. HR leaders are called ‘Domestic Managers’ by Intl ISOS where employees take Domestic Managers support rather than contact. SOS puts you in further dialogue with a Medical Director (a trained, licensed physician) to assess their medical condition and guide them to the right treatment. To support our team members and their families sail through this difficult period, we have activated the TEAM MEMBER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TMAP) designed to help you manage your well-being and navigate these difficult times. Hilton TEAM MEMBER ASSISTANCE FUND (TMAF) supports Team Members impacted by disaster and hardship. In response to the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has impacted numerous communities around the world, Hilton has activated our Assistance Fund to support Team Members or immediate family members who have been infected by the virus. Trust in Employees: Today’s employees are better informed than ever before. This raises the stakes for us embarking on co-creation exercises of trust, as tech-savvy employees we take technology support in creating collaboration in the form of seeking their feedback through Sildo App, where he/she can anonymously share their feedback with us in our webinars and Town halls.

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES HILTON

Hospitality Lexis

HARSH SHODHAN

Prior to the pandemic we were primarily into the Catering business and launched our retail vertical during the pandemic. For the Catering business, since every event has a different menu our perishable raw material purchases were done as per immediate requirement and as per need basis, as the pandemic hit & we were forced to shut down. There was limited or almost negligible perishable inventory in our kitchens, which we distributed amongst our staff members to avoid trashing it. Luckily kitchens were allowed to reopen within a month's time for deliveries as we were supplying food to the BMC for their covid patients & due to which our dry inventory like grains, spices also were getting consumed. Our inventory was always limited to cater to more individual needs. We ensure good planning to manage our inventory and ensure least to minimum wastage.

CHEF GOURMET ON THE GO AND HOLAHUMMM_US

Hospitality Lexis

RAGHAV GUPTA

Jiwa foods is a young & upcoming brand in the packaged health food space. We have launched a range of 'ready-to-make', cooked ingredient products for the end user consumer. The initiative aims to make health food convenient, accessible & available pan-Mumbai, within 30 minutes, through on-demand ordering apps such as Swiggy, Zomato & Thrive. The portfolio includes organic products such as Cooked Quinoa, Cooked Pearl Barley, Cooked Steel Cut Oats used in various gluten free, plant-based meals.

OWNER JIWA FOODS

Hospitality Lexis

MITESH SHAH WOMEN EMPOWERMENT is embedded in the culture of the company, 80% workforce we have is female led and incorporated. All under the age of 22 years, also the sole bread earners in the family. The unattainable growth rate of the business is largely due to passion brought in by the female team. We give our team complete freedom to make mistakes as long as they learn and make themselves better. Pandemic has forced the work force to think out of the box as the only way to survive now is to get creative and bring in reformed ideas. COVID -19 has largely affected our work pattern, we arranged free vaccination for all the employees and a covid awareness drive for upcoming challenges the company may have to face. The company culture itself is one of the biggest positives. All the staff members working here have freedom to fail, they also have freedom to express. They have all the possible resources they need to get the work done. There is nothing called failure in the company, it's only about learning. We also try to educate women on how to manage their finances well as financial literacy is also very important to have for young independent women. We make sure that they are aware about the taxation policies, savings, their provident fund and investments. Overall, this builds the confidence level and the way they stand up and build their lives. Happy and satisfied customer is the best referral a business can have. Consumer focus approach is the key to success. We at NIRVANAA CHOCOLATES aspire to be a companion in all the memorable moments and be a catalyst that enhances best chocolate experiences. Our unfailing focus on customer satisfaction is building an enviable reputation among discerning chocolate lovers. In our constant search for excellence, quality is the first requirement. This gives us an ability to work towards our mission of offering the highest quality Belgian chocolates at affordable prices. We are redefining conventional chocolates and the way they look, taste and feel. Exclusively made available and customised as per the needs and wants of the customer, melt free to the customers doorstep with express delivery makes us an EMERGENCY SOS. 6 hour to door services for our Mumbai based clientele and quick melt free chocolate deliveries in 24 hours across India allows us to deliver happiness at your doorstep just in no time.

OWNER NIRVANAA CHOCOLATES

Hospitality Lexis

SANTOSH PAPADE

We never compromise on quality.Our operations tailor towards delivering hygienic meals at economical prices. We often launch combos, offers and discounts that help customers avail quality food at pocket-friendly rates. Further, we have vaccinated every member of the Veg Sutra team, the staff are provided with a fresh set of uniforms which they are required to change into when they reach the kitchen. They are also given new masks and gloves that are used and disposed of every day.

MANAGING DIRECTOR VEG SUTRA

Hospitality Lexis

OVAIS PATRAWALA

Meraki provides quality and quantity at discounted rates. We want every Indian household to savour authentic oriental meals. We frequently launch offers that make our meals quite pocket-friendly. Further, we follow the highest standard of hygiene. We have vaccinated all our team members and provide them with fresh masks and gloves every day. Not to mention we have a kitchen that is spick and span with constant disinfection.

DIRECTOR MERAKI CHINESE

Hospitality Lexis

MICE & Wedding, playing as a skipper in the crucial time.

iewing our world through the prism of the Pandemic, it is strangely yet optimistically that the travel and tourism industry is in its crucial phase of recovering from the pandemic strom, but domestic MICE and weddings are expected to provide hope to the industry. Generations after generations have grown up in miserable times and, with many living through disasters but everytime the world has been resurrected and lives rebuilt.

With international travel being sluggish for a while, domestic tourism is expected to be the driver of recovery for the sector. Access to destinations through air is likely to be on hold due to restrictions so hopes are very high from domestic MICE and Weddings. With the approx value of 40-50 billion dollar Indian wedding industry is the second largest wedding industry after the USA. Hospitality Lexis had words with the prime personalities to know the insights about how MICE and WEDDING is going to be the Game Changer in the present scenario.

Hospitality Lexis

Sidharth Koul, Commercial Director, Conard Bengaluru

Weddings have been the mainstay of many hospitality brands in the last 18-24 months. In fact, even in business cities or hotels like Conrad Bengaluru where wedding’s used to contribute a small fraction of our total revenues, the dependence is considerable now & in the foreseeable future. In fact, hotels have adopted new service designs & concepts to cater to a wedding client given the complexities involved are very different vis a vis a business traveler. We certainly believe wedding revenues will be key drivers of any hotel’s revival process. As far as MICE is concerned, we witness a very minute revival from certain industry sectors like pharmaceuticals, banking, govt bodies to name a few. However, as we continue to speak with a lot of our corporate partners locally & across the globe, our understanding is this would be the last segment of our business to revive given the precautions most corporate houses are taking in avoiding any large-scale gatherings & also the reluctance of people to travel locally as well as international borders.

Hospitality Lexis

Anand Singh Shekhawat General Manager Aman-i-Khas Regional Director Aman India

Throughout the global pandemic, we have seen an increase in people travelling to celebrate a missed milestone or special occasion within the security of their friends and family. At Aman, we are very fortunate to be recognised as a pioneer in the creation of peaceful sanctuaries far removed from daily life, offering space and seclusion to guests and the ideal setting in which to mark a private occasion. With just 37 spacious pavilions and suites, Amanbagh is a secluded oasis of towering palm trees and eucalyptus trees. Meaning ‘peaceful garden’ in Sanskrit, the resort’s wilderness setting and expansive accommodation, several with private pools, provide the perfect haven for an intimate and relaxing getaway. The lush gardens offer over nine different private dining spots, each with panoramic views. The resort’s off-property Chhatri provides splendid isolation overlooking the Ajabgarh Valley. The perfect spot for a daytime picnic while reclining on cushions, it is also ideal for a romantic candlelit dinner of traditional Rajasthan thali with a private chef and musician beneath a canopy of stars. Whether hosting an intimate family occasion or a large wedding, Amanbagh’s palatial surrounds serve as an idyllic backdrop to showcase each guest’s vision, and make Aman their own. Similarly, at Aman-i-Khas, guests desiring an exclusive insight into the destination can now commandeer the camp as their own by booking the 10 tents on an exclusive basis via our A Camp of Your Own experience. Here, with nature serving as a base for finding balance and rekindling social bonds, guests are invited to enjoy undisturbed seclusion amongst loved ones. Explorers of any age will reconnect on daily safaris in search of tigers, leopards, sloth bears, hyenas, crocodiles and more, while bird-watching trips along the verdant Banas riverbed and camel rides through local villages provide cultural tales to share. Guests can further make memories by dining together in the remote hideaway, with a dedicated camp team catering to every whim.

Hospitality Lexis

Vineet Verma Executive Director & CEO Brigade Hospitality

MICE segment has always been a major revenue generator for the hotels, aimed at bringing together top experts from every sector, in an upgraded, tailor-made setting. Travel has steadily been an essential part of business life and significantly so in exhibitions where the organizer and their vendors, stakeholders and attendees assemble at a venue from varying geographical regions — often from overseas. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has been driving organizations to displace face-to-face meetings with virtual versions leading to the hybrid version uniting both, so that stakeholders and trade, do not suffer. Currently, the wedding segment is helping in driving the performance of the hotels with residential weddings giving in major business with room nights, but the requirement has reduced with the customer & destinations adhering the current government guidelines of reduced numbers. In the coming months, we are anticipating an increase in the business coming from MICE and expect that it will take 2-3 months to see strong movement. The proficiency required to excel in MICE is based on interpersonal, original, structural and technical skills. The resilient practical element must include applied know-how ranging from audio-visual dexterity to accessing fasttrack visa apps. Soft skills such as persistence, sympathy, collaboration and problem-solving are important if, for example, a large traveling party from a culturally-specific region are to be received with the fitting welcome drink. This niche market will see hotels having to create more jobs for innovative meeting planners and expert conference services staff, as well as develop industry-specific agendas to add new dimensions of personalization to their overall service substructure. The objective should be to flawlessly offer the range of logistic facilities in the individual destinations:, transfers & transportation, meet & greet, lodging, restaurants, activities, tours, conference venues, themed events and gala dinners. This often helps in being able to provide favored rates based on the buying power that they have with their preferred suppliers. A vital objective for the MICE industry is that it increases trade, innovation and revenue for indigenous economies directly and indirectly because tourists spend at hotels, while also buying locally produced goods and crafts. The key tools for recovery will truly have to be about technology and guest safety. The industry needs to leverage technology in inventive ways when aiding their customers and also needs to develop new policies and reboot their services to focus on wellbeing and sanitization. There’s time before it can be business-as-usual for the travel sector. However, technology can address critical needs such as contactless travel, immunity passports, airlines and hotels accepting new ways of operating, and communication with patrons about safety procedures. Of utmost help would be a strong vaccination program and enhanced health infrastructure. The faster we can have these elements underway, the easier we will be able to send out a more convincing message of our readiness to boost business.

Hospitality Lexis

Akhil Mohammed Director of Sales Novotel Vijayawada Varun

In the current situation, safety and hygiene standards play a major role. Whether it is accommodation, dining in the restaurants or catering, this is going to be the key driver for the coming months. We at Novotel Vijayawada Varun have implemented the most stringent hygiene and safety protocols and increased our cleaning standards even further in order to comply with the ‘ALL SAFE’ protocols. In these unprecedented times, to overcome the uncertainty of business levels & increase revenues, The Accor Group, has introduced Vivaah at Novotel. The campaign is launched to create a robust concept of virtual wedding by leveraging our network of 20+ Novotel Hotels across 15 cities. We help you bring your dear ones closer by hosting the web telecast of the wedding to your relatives and friends present in different cities, at the same time, also let your guests savour the same culinary experience served at the host hotel, delivered to their home, therefore sharing every moment of the wedding in real time. Hybrid meetings: Accor is helping meeting planners face the complexity of organising events with attendees in different parts of the world. A hybrid meeting involves different formats of meetings like video conferences, webinars, web casting and virtual conferences, happening in a meeting space with physical participants and with at least one remote participant connecting digitally. Hybrid meetings can also implicate multiple locations, including various meeting rooms and participants across the world. Workcation: In this pandemic era and offices being shut, we have introduced workcation packages where we provide the usage of workstation at designated place from 7am to 6pm, followed by Hi tea, Lunch, and 02 Mbps Internet. I, strongly believe the above 3 offers along with all safe protocols would be the game changer to drive rooms, MICE and wedding’s at Novotel Vijayawada Varun.

Hospitality Lexis

Ravi Rai Cluster General Manager Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach & The Bheemili Resort

As all of us continue to deal with the wrath of Covid-19 pandemic, hotels are evolving new concepts. The prime focus is shifted to safety, hygiene and sustainability practices. This also goes in hand with an effort to ensure and create out of the box experiences for all our guests. At a property level, we are adapting to the norms of social distancing by bringing in norms of contactless service and forcing ourselves to carve out spaces and experiences around this one reality. With regards to the celebrations, the emergence of intimate gatherings, weddings, conferences with certain restrictions on the banquet halls have pushed us to introduce short-term measures. Having said this, weddings are definitely going to be the key differentiator for elevating the revenue. While the demand for international destinations, within the Indian corporates have gone down, the demand for venues that are out of city is growing as this provides a one-stop solution for business and relaxation. Properties like Novotel Visakhapatnam, Novotel Vijayawada and The Bheemili Resort will be more beneficial as many wedding planners have shifted their focus from international venues to domestic cities. Visakhapatnam being the unexplored and a virgin destination will certainly gain its share by providing various options to the travellers who would have ideally gone to Goa, Rajasthan, Kerala and similar. Situated adjacent to the renowned RK beach overlooking Bay of Bengal, stands a model of architectural brilliance and an epitome of hospitality – Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach. A vast abode of 225 rooms, all with a breathtaking sea facing view, our banquet hall spread over 56000 sft. The meeting spaces are crafted beautifully to give you the best of facilities and ambience, with the delectable gastronomy, leaving the guests asking for more. We have found our way to live with this and bring in the newness of banqueting through our service. We are optimising space for hybrid events, such as a combination of a smaller physical meeting , we are developing our in house capabilities of any task for instance – AV, décor, special set ups etc. backed by technology such as video conferencing with another group of attendees participating from different locations. Right from designing special wedding packages being the one shop stop solutions to all our guests, family trips to showcase the new normalcy being adopted by all our hotels – namely Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach, The Bheemili Resort - Managed by Accor & Novotel Vijayawada Varun.

Hospitality Lexis

Nikita Gonsalves Director Sales and Marketing JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar

As living with COVID-19 becomes the new normal, hotels are evolving new concepts and the focus has shifted more towards safety, hygiene and sustainability. There is always a silver lining to any given scenario and we have seen the market responding to it. It is believed that 'MICE and Weddings' are the torchbearers/ silver lining which will help in the recovery of the hospitality sector. While corporate travel has been limited, MICE and Social events have gradually seen an upswing. The years 2020- 2021 have seen the introduction of new trends and creativity in event planning with micro events, intimate weddings and virtual audiences gaining popularity. We at JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar have started embracing innovative ideas to organize these events. With Marriott International's initiativesCommitment to Clean and Connect with Confidence, the hotel follows enhanced safety and hygiene protocols at every stage of a guest’s journey. Renewed dining experiences have been thoughtfully curated, keeping in mind a contactless experience. We give priority to the needs of each and every individual, so they don’t miss out on their experience. As the vaccination program in our country sees an upward tick, we witness that the MICE industry and wedding celebrations have also started gaining momentum. Weddings and Social business has been consistently performing, with the government regulations allowing smaller events with a capacity of 50 people. We foresee this segment to consistently perform in the coming months as well.

Hospitality Lexis

Siddharth S Giri Director of Sales Radisson Blu Resort Dharamshala

MICE and Weddings are key revenue segments for any hotel. However, with the ongoing pandemic corporate MICE continues to be disrupted and will take long time to recover. Wedding events, though scaled down, hold the potential to drive substantial revenue for hotels. Also, with the trend moving towards drivable destination weddings within India, hotels will continue to have the opportunity to earn handsome revenues by customising the offerings and delivering exceptional experiences. The newly launched Radisson Blu Resort Dharamshala is one such ideal destination wedding hotel with ample open and indoor spaces to organise lavish yet intimate weddings. Convenient connectivity from major cities like Punjab and Delhi is an additional advantage.

R Srijith Director of Sales and Marketing The Leela Goa

“MICE and Weddings have been a very critical business segment for The Leela Goa. Thanks to the mind-blowing location, picturesque backdrops and our award winning service, we have always been a much sought-after wedding destination in Goa. Since the beginning of the lockdown, a large chunk of high-end weddings that usually go overseas to competition destinations like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Maldives, etc are now conducted within India. This has increased the demand within India. We have seen a very early booking trend this year, assumably since hosts do not want to risk a situation of not having venues later. Thus, most of the auspicious weddings days until Feb 2022 are already booked out for the Leela Goa. Hopefully, the Covid situation improves. We are looking forward to a promising business season”.

Hospitality Lexis

Harleen Mehta Senior Vice President - Sales Lemon Tree Hotels Limited

The revival of corporate travel and MICE will take around 6 to 9 months, and it will be restricted to the absolutely necessary. MSME/SME travel may start earlier, in 3 to 4 months, and larger corporates by the mid or end of the third quarter, as large corporates have announced their intentions to open their office spaces by September or October, albeit in a phased manner and depending on the vaccination status of their employees. On the other hand, weddings in India have always been more resilient to their surroundings and we believe this time around too, it will bounce back quicker than other segments. It is already showing positive signs of recovery, considering the leads we are receiving for later this year itself.

Arun Singh Pundir Sales & Marketing Manager ITC Rajputana, Jaipur

Wedding and MICE are something on which the entire industry is looking at and weddings are always being a torchbearer even before the pandemic and used to be one of the revenue aggregators. Whereas MICE is something that happens as per the need, requirement, strategy, it is not something traditional. Whether it is a wedding or MICE, guests are now more concerned about the safety and the hygiene practice at the Hotel. ITC Hotels, too, have been hosting a fair number of weddings. These include virtual weddings. with the bride and groom’s families and friends at different locations. ITC's specially curated menus (“Gourmet Couch”) are planned around the preferences of the families and are delivered pan India in a synchronized manner so that they can all dine together,” For safety and hygiene guests are also comfortable in paying a little premium for it, which is again a positive for both sides.

Hospitality Lexis

Parul Sethi Director of Sales and Marketing Novotel Hyderabad Airport

The sentiment in the hospitality industry is slowly inching towards normalcy and MICE and weddings play a major role in the revival of the hospitality business. Corporates are slowly warming up to the idea of hosting smaller MICE events which majorly constitute strategy and leadership meets. They are on a constant hunt for venues that are safe and will abide by the sanitization and cleanliness standards. We at Accor follow all safety and hygiene protocols that are laid down under the label of All Safe ensuring our guests are in a revived and safe environment at all times. Also with the unlock in June 2021 and with the relaxation in restrictions our hotel hosted a good number of weddings and we continue to trot with a similar pace. Weddings have now become an intimate affair where the host wants to carve a niche experience for their family and loved ones and we are a perfect hotel for a destination wedding offering various indoor and outdoor venue options which are apt for sangeet, Haldi, Mehndi and other related events. We at Novotel Hotels have also launched a concept of Vivaah at Novotel, an initiative aimed at enhancing the contemporary virtual wedding/hybrid weddings experience in the new normal. The two key features of this initiative are Dawat by Novotel and Shagun by Novotel: We at the hotel are all set to ensure that all our guests booking us either for MICE or weddings have a memorable stay experience at the hotel.

Hospitality Lexis

DURING THE SECOND SURGE

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) is on the Rise in the Hospitality Industry

The travel & hospitality industry, one of the most adversely affected industries by the pandemic, is going through a tough phase as the second wave of COVID19 crashes down the leftover hopes of many businesses. The industry was gradually picking up pace post the first wave but again, the threat of business crash and loss looms across organisations.

result,

hoteliers

are

brainstorming

innovative ideas to survive and sail through the tough times. Technological up gradation is on the rise for financial, strategic and operational survival.

THE INCREASING RELIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY Technology is undoubtedly ruling over the world lately especially during the pandemic when businesses rely on advanced tech tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to sail through the tough times. In November 2020, McKinsey conducted a global survey on AI which suggests that organisations are using AI for generating value which is coming in the form of revenue. The respondents, coming from a variety of industries admitted that over 20% of their companies' earnings are because of AI and therefore, they plan to invest more in the technology in response to the pandemic and for digital acceleration. AI has created greater trust among organisations including the hospitality sector which has sophisticated its entire system with the adoption of advanced technologies to provide satisfying customer service. It is not only for surviving the uncertain times but also for maximizing their profit margins. Definitely! Technology will play a significant role in the recovery of the hospitality industry. Hotels will need to focus on automation, efficiency, and technology as core USPs and also, convert a lot of fixed costs into variable costs. All important aspects of running a hotel, including manpower, real estate, supplies, energy, need to be automated to ensure more can be achieved from less.

Hospitality Lexis

HERE IS HOW TECHNOLOGY PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN GETTING THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY ON TRACK:

GUEST EXPERIENCE With AI integration, hoteliers are providing personalised services to guests that ensure customer delight and a pleasant customer experience. To achieve this, data is decoded about customer behaviour, satisfaction levels and likes/dislikes from various sources. By gathering this predictive data, it is structured to create hyper-personalised campaigns and increase customer retention. Further, the AI concierge bots allow users to chat with a personal travel concierge at any time of the day and request different services or information. The aim is to minimise human interaction, create a consistent guest experience and ensure a pleasant as well as safe stay at the hotel. The concierges take care of everything from check-in and check out to room service and food delivery. Moreover, with an all-in-one connected system, augmented reality is being used inside rooms. It connects all touch-points including bathrooms, entertainment systems, lights, etc.

HOTEL STAFF Manpower or staff is one of the most critical inputs to hotels and it is important to maintain an optimum level of balance between

hotel

room

capacity

and

permanent staff to enhance efficiency. The staff to room ratio is even more critical during the pandemic as hotels focus more on sustaining operations and profitability. The

use

systems

track

staff

performance, multi-skilling of staff are some

the

popular

strategies

being

adopted by hotels to ensure that staff requirements are reduced.

Hospitality Lexis

AUTOMATED HOTELS

Today, an increasing number of hotels are entering into an automated future. In

future, we will see many of them being run by automated receptions where routine operations like check in, checkout and payments will be done automatically. The robotic experience is another big thing expected to disrupt the industry.

An AI model or AI-powered robot can also learn from guests and adapt to their behaviour over time while answering questions, making the experience smarter, easier and more enjoyable for guests. Surely! It can woo the guests in the most unpredictable ways.

BACK OFFICE AUTOMATION The repetitive tasks in the back-office including reservations

are being taken care of by automated All in One PMS systems. Further, many hotels are using chatbots to communicate with guests to minimise CRM activity. RPA, a key tool in back-office automation can take over mundane and repetitive tasks. This is because AI is capable of recognising demand patterns, forecasting prices and also plan human resource requirements. Further, ML can automate the categorisation of invoices, helping in revenue accounting. The potential of AI is huge and a lot of it still lies untapped. Organisations from across various sectors are moving away from traditional automated systems to intelligent cognitive agents that engage with customers in more human like interactions. By using a combination of AI and advanced analytics, the hospitality industry can generate better value in addition to providing a memorable experience to guests.

Authored by:

Karan Iyer, Revenue Manager AIOSELL Technologies

Hospitality Lexis

TRAVEL AGENCIES ARE BACK IN BUSINESS

fter a difficult 2020 and second wave, now vaccination drive has gathered momentum, and travel business is showing signs of a sustained resumption this time. In such a scenario, the survey throws up certain interesting insights on the future of travel industry. About 83% of the agents surveyed have catered to first-time customers (those who never used travel agents’ services before). This is a key indicator of how an increasing number of travelers are now turning towards travel agents and trip planners. Compared to large OTAs and marketplaces, travel agencies are being preferred as the need for personalization, and real-time connectivity has increased significantly in the post pandemic times.

For example, phrases like "Continued on page 3” redirect the reader to a page where the article is continued. While a good conclusion is an important ingredient for newspaper articles, the immediacy of a deadline environment means that copy editing often takes the form of deleting everything.

Hospitality Lexis

The survey also revealed the fact that, unlike the perception that the younger people travel more, the travel agents are anticipating over 75% of the holidaymakers in the near future to be in the 30 to 50 years of age group. This indicates more likelihood of couple and family travels’ share increasing in the market. There is also a greater rise in the segment of people willing to spend more to get better services and experiences compared to the budget conscious travelers.

The global tourism industry has endured a major existential challenge and is now confidently overcoming this on the basis of knowledge gained during the last year. The streamlining of processes and progress of vaccination programs is likely to result in a strong recovery in the market within the next 6 months or so. We have been able to generate a number of highly impactful insights into the travel industry’s operations.

Arun Bagaria, Co-founder, TravClan

Hospitality Lexis

The buoyancy about post-pandemic travel demand is making even those agents re-enter the world of tourism who had earlier shut shop fearing the collapse of the global travel business. In fact, the survey reveals that most of the travel agents believe that travel operations will resume faster than expected earlier and international travel is also expected to resume in several major markets by October 2021 with several countries like the Maldives, Thailand already announcing phased reopening. The survey also brings out the change in the approach towards travel and the reasons behind travelling. Leisure travel and shorter weekend trips have become more popular. Travel agents have also been servicing the demand for workcations and staycations that emerged during the pandemic.

A lot of uncertainty has gripped the travel sector during the pandemic due to the constantly changing operational scenario, restrictions on certain services, destinations and customer concerns. However, travel agents are now evolving into new agent travel entrepreneurs and rediscovering themselves to meet the demands of the traveller!

Repotrt Source:TravClan

Hospitality Lexis

KITCHEN UNLOCKED WASTAGE LOCKED

During the pandemic, kitchens were forced to shut down several times because of the guidelines and safety measures due to which food production and consumption systems have undergone significant changes. In the current scenario kitchen teams struggle to forecast daily consumer demand and changes in consumption patterns. Although the total amount of food waste has decreased due to closures and reduced demand, the relative level of food waste has increased after the reopening. Chefs of the Indian hospitality industry are working to cope up with the uncertainty with their unique techniques and strategies. According to Starfleet Research 79% of restaurant operators believe that technology will be key to addressing many of hospitality’s current challenges. Whereas, According to Booking.com’s sustainable travel report, 72% of tourists are determined to make more sustainable travel choices. Team hospitality lexis has interacted with the chefs across the industry to know their kitchen practices to reduce the wastage.

Hospitality Lexis

Ritesh Sen General Manager, Food & Beverage Fern Hotels & Resorts

FOOD USED FOR STAFF The entire inventory of raw materials are divided into sections and sub sections. Like Perishable (whose shelf life is 2-3 days) and non-perishable

RETURNED TO SUPPLIER

which can be stored under a controlled environment. Perishables were used for staff food. Those

CARE FOR SOCIETY

hotels which were running during the pandemic by means of VANDE BHARAT, there the spoilage was even lesser. Most of the non-perishable goods were accounted for and were used up for staff. Those which could not be used, were returned to the suppliers with a credit note. Most items which could be refrigerated and kept were held as long as possible. However when the lockdown went for more days than anticipated, it was again consumed for staff. Sealed Packaged frozen food was again returned to supplier with credit note In case we were not able to consume items before the expiry date, we used to auction the same among the staff and the amount was used for staff welfare like RTPCR test or for those who needed money for Covid treatment for their near and dear ones

Hospitality Lexis

Rajeev Janveja Corporate Chef Lemon Tree Hotels

MENU ENGINEERING RETURNED TO SUPPLIER

Many of our hotels had to shut their regular operations and were transformed to paid quarantine facilities. The main challenge was managing the stock of raw materials in the kitchen and in food stores. With an immediate lockdown, following steps were taken in order to manage the existing inventories. Vigorous menu engineering came into force and menus were created based on raw materials which were in stock. Hotels which were completely shut transferred their stock to other sister concern hotels within the city on credit basis. Inventories which had short shelf life were sent back to vendors or replaced, and for some credit notes were acquired for future use All orderings were on the basis of daily consumption and local procurement. Few items were also sold to team members on concessional rates. All these measures helped us in utilising and controlling our inventories.

Hospitality Lexis

PAID QUARANTINE FACILITIES

CARE FOR SOCIETY ZERO INVENTORY OF PERISHABLES

Chef Praveen Shetty Director of Culinary, Conard Bengaluru At Conrad Bengaluru, we maintain zero inventory of perishables. In Hilton hotels, we don’t have perishable inventory we follow the minimum ordering of dairy, meats, seafood and vegetables on daily basis. Once the product is received cost directly get posted to Kitchen. Utilisation of resources During lockdown we have designed menus using perishable, which is already available in the hotel, Dry ingredients have a shelf-life of 6 months same has been utilized eventually. Care for Society As a part of Hilton CSR activity, we have donated ration for 200 families in Ulsoor area (Near Conrad Bengaluru)

Sanjay Mamgain Corporate Chef, Lords Hotels and Resorts During the pandemic, we formed a corporate committee and made a policy note for immediate action. Accordingly, we asked all units to send the entire food store items inventory with an expiry date. Centralized lists of complete items were sent across all units and we managed to transfer food items internally to our group hotels as and when required. This helped us a lot in consuming most of the items internally on the First in First out policy. During the first wave of the pandemic, we distributed food packets in respective cities, either among police and corporation staff, sanitation workers or the homeless. Once the hotel opened up after the lockdown, we scaled down our menu, strict control was kept on volumes being cooked. We also introduced immunity booster drinks and main courses as per the changing needs of our guests.

Hospitality Lexis

CORPORATE COMMITTEE FIRST IN FIRST OUT POLICY. CENTRALIZED LISTS

T. Vinay Kumar Executive Chef Novotel Vijayawada Varun

HYGIENIC PROCESSING

STORAGE As the business top line levels were very low to medium, we have planned and controlled our orders to a very grated extent to minimise the wastage. Anticipating the upcoming market scenario, we bought good stocks of frozen products which can be stored under -18 degrees or below, Effective FIFO along with day-to-day monitoring of the stock levels. BENEFITS: Fruits and vegetables stay fresh for a longer period,.We never ran out of stock for any perishables and throughout this tenure we were always consistent with our food quality. MENU DESIGN As the guests’ preferences weighed majorly for more immune boosting dishes, we redesigned our menus with the same, as per the marked need. BENEFITS: This helped in keeping the wastage totally under control as the production was only based on the pre-ordering process. Overall food cost came down due to heavy control on the production and portion quantity. HYGIENIC PROCESSING We being an ALL SAFE certified property, our hygiene processes were very well controlled and monitored on a day to day basis. BENEFITS: Washing the perishables with the prescribed PPM of Chlorine has helped us in getting our perishables free from all the unwanted microbial actions on the received materials, thus, helping directly with better shelf life of the product and quality retention.

Hospitality Lexis

STORAGE MENU DESIGN

Chef Juliano Rodrigues Chef and General Manager, Out of The Blue

#SLO APPROACH Pandemic has been an eye opener in a way that people rather than depending on exotic and imported food have extended support towards local food producers (Vegetables / Grocery etc) advocating the #SLO approach (Sustainable Local Organic). We now order only what's required, and not to over order and have storage piled up. Another approach to reduce the menu by half has been a challenge. Keeping the most popular and moving dishes on the menu is what works best.

At Out of the Blue we have food decomposers as well to avoid wastage. Instead of throwing away food scraps, we compost them. This way we are giving nutrients back to the soil and thereby reducing our carbon footprint.

(SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ORGANIC)

OUDH 1590 & CHAPTER 2

EXPANDING THE AUTHENTICITY

Director's Speak

2 1.Oudh 1590 Southern Avenue 2.Chapter 2 southern avenue

Hospitality Lexis

Being located in the city of Joy, which itself has a long culinary history, why you opted to go for Awadhi cuisine?

Shiladitya & Debaditya ; Despite the popularity of the local Bengali cuisine in Kolkata, the citizens are devoted lovers of the Mughlai cuisine, with biryani being their all time favourite and the city shares a timeless history with this delicacy. However, we observed that despite their overwhelming love for biryani and chaap, the masses of Kolkata were hardly acquainted with the other varieties which the Awadhi cuisine had to offer like Rann Biryani, Moti Biryani, Galawati and Kakori Kababs etc. The only exposure to Awadhi cuisine was to be found at select five star restaurants, something which wasn't accessible to the larger masses. Thus, in order to familiarise the residents of Kolkata with the nuances of this much revered, royal cuisine, we bought Oudh 1590, India's first period dining restaurant to fruition with a delectable range of Awadhi delicacies encompassing both non vegetarian and vegetarian options.

1&2 :Oudh-1590 Jessore Road Outlet 3: Oudh 1590 - Salt Lake

Shiladitya ChaudhuryDebaditya Chaudhury(LtoR), Directors, Platter Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. What will be new for the diners at your newly open restaurants? Shiladitya & Debaditya ; We believe in not just providing a delicious and hearty meal to our patrons but providing a wholesome experience wherein they travel back in time and be one with history. Both Oudh 1590 and Chapter 2 have been created along such lines, to uphold the legacy of the royal cuisine and classic continental cuisine respectively while also recreating the appropriate ambiance for enjoying a meal. Oudh 1590 has been ornately and meticulously designed with every detail being paid heed to so as to provide a truly royal, period dining experience to our patrons.

Further, Chapter 2 aims to pay tribute to the bygone nostalgia ridden days of Park Street, when it was regarded as a world wide party destination, hugely famous for its classic continental cuisine and music scene. Both Oudh 1590 and Chapter 2 aim to recreate bygone eras, to the most authentic extent possible, taking our customers on a gastronomical joyride with the right ambiance. This perfect amalgamation of the wholesomeness of the meals coupled with that of the ambiance is a unique feather to our hats, something that we have all along our journey in so far.

Hospitality Lexis

BEST FROM MENU Oudh 1590 - Qalmi Kabab, Galawati Kabab with Lucknowi Parantha, Awadhi Handi Biryani, Raan Biryani, Murgh Irani, Murgh Bhuna, Nargisi Kofta, Sikandari Raan, Phirni and Shahi Tukda Chapter 2 - Seafood Chowder, Prawn Cocktail, Prawn on Toast, Chicken Roast, Jumbo Prawn Thermidor, Devilled Crab, Backti Newburg, Herby Chicken Finger, Poached Beckti, Fish & Chips and Caramel Custard