Express Food and Hospitality (Vol.1 No.10) January, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE

Change is the only constant

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n his book The Spirit to Serve, Marriott's Way, JW Marriott, Jr. wrote, “The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.” In that sense India's hospitality industry has made huge progress in the past ten years.

We have seen it grow, evolve and consolidate. We have seen changes in hotel ownership and management, emergence of branded budget and economy hotels, growth and development of online reservation systems, an educated and well travelled Indian customer and the proliferation of lodging alternatives like Airbnb, Oyo, Zostels which have altered the hospitality landscape, bringing new complexity to the industry. Even in the restaurant space, Swiggy and Zomato served up success stories flying high on cloud kitchens. Wifi became a necessity as Millennials carried their own devices when they checked into their hotel rooms. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), Social Media, Big Data and Blockchain became the buzzwords coupled with Sustainability and Farm to Fork in hospitality's new dictionary. But even as the changes moulded the industry, India's homegrown brands created their own niche by offering their guests immersive experiences like heritage palaces, culinary trails and community connects.

As we move into the next decade, this ability to think differently, being alert and open-minded enough to adapt, addressing challenges and/or seizing opportunities, will determine which brands will become history and which ones will thrive. An example of differential strategy is

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY NATIONALFOOD,HOSPITALITY& BEVERAGE SALES WEST Datta K +91 9821580849 | datta.kandalkar@indianexpress.com

NORTH Prabhas Jha +91 9899707440 | prabhas.jha@expressindia.com

SOUTH Sreejith Radhakrishnan +91 88675 74257 | sreejith.radhakrishnan@expressindia.com

Sanjay Kumar +91 9711099079 | sanjay.kumar@expressindia.com

OPERATION AND SALES Satish Dange +91 9821876620 | satish.dange@indianexpress.com

Satish Dange +91 9821876620 | satish.dange@indianexpress.com

EAST Debnarayan Dutta +919051150480 | debnarayan.dutta@expressindia.com

Ziyad Tungekar +91 9820512718 | ziyad.tungekar@expressindia.com

Ajanta Sen Gupta +919831182580 | Email: ajanta.sengupta@expressindia.com

Venkatesh Subramaniam +91 9892512644 | venkatesh.subramaniam@expressindia.com

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“As we move into the next decade,the ability to think differently,being alert and open-minded enough to adapt, will determine which brands will become history and which ones will thrive”

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

January 2020

Odisha which has just launched its Glamping initiative, the Marine Drive Eco Retreat. In his exclusive interview with us, Vishal Dev, commissioner-cum-secretary, Odisha Tourism, says that the concept of Glamping i.e. Glamorous Camping has caught on with not only the current generation, but also people of different age groups. Adapting to change has also been the differentiator for Express Food & Hospitality - we recently debuted our new initiatives - the Atithi Devo Bhava Confex Series and the GICC Live Series. We all need to move out of our comfort zones to grab market opportunities.

In our Cover Story, we asked industry leaders from GMs to VPs of leading hotel barnds and association heads to share their insights on the coming year. One of the observations was that highly customisable options such as the hyper-personalised room could be one of the big changes on the hospitality horizon. Another view was that we could also see a surge in the bookings from our guests residing in Tier 2 and 3 markets - with digitisation on the rise, guests are looking out for Insta-worthy experiences, something that they can brag about to their peers. The emergence of secondary and tertiary cities and the growth of micromarkets will add to India's one billion opportunity appeal.

FOR PARTNERSHIPS,TIE-UPS,SPECIAL EVENTS Anishi Khetan +91 9930915221 | anishi.khetan@indianexpress.com

STEENA JOY Editor Express Food & Hospitality editor.efh@gmail.com

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CONTENTS IN FOCUS Chairman of the Board Viveck Goenka Sr. Vice President Neil Viegas Asst. Vice President Harit Mohanty Editor Steena Joy*

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Correspondent Akshay Nayak DESIGN Assistant Art Director

FAUCET NOZZLES

BY ALTERED HELP SAVE 90 PER CENT OF WATER CONSUMPTION: MIKAEL ABBHAGEN

CAMPUS NOTES

Pravin Temble Chief Designer Prasad Tate Senior Designer Rekha Bisht Graphics Designer Gauri Deorukhkar Senior Artist Ratilal Ladani

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Photo Editor Sandeep Patil DIGITAL TEAM

(30-47)

Head of Internet

NIPS GROUP AIMS TO BE INDIA'S LARGEST HOSPITALITY CONGLOMERATE IN NEXT FIVE YEARS: VIVEK PATHAK

Viraj Mehta SCHEDULING & COORDINATION Arvind Mane

P26: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

MARKETING / SALES

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts

Ziyad Tungekar Dattaram Kandalkar

P24: PRODUCT TRACKER

Satish Dange

Avaya Vantage

MARKETS

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OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE IS TO CONSOLIDATE ALLOTTABLE LAND BANK OF 2000 ACRES FOR TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT: IAS VISHAL K DEV

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ITDC IS REPOSITIONING ITSELF AS A ONE STOP SOLUTION FOR HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL AND TOURISM RELATED NEEDS: PIYUSH TIWARI

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EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY’S ATITHI DEVO BHAVA CONFEX SERIES DEBUTS IN PUNE

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RATIONAL COMPLETES 10 YEARS IN INDIA; REGISTERS 30 PER CENT Y-O-Y GROWTH

Venkatesh Subramaniam Sanjay Kumar Sreejith Radhakrishnan

P51: MOVEMENTS MBD Group

PARTNERSHIPS, TIE-UPS Anishi Khetan CIRCULATION Mohan Varadakar PRODUCTION General Manager B R Tipnis

P57: WEEKEND Scene and heard by Marcellus Baptista

Express Food & Hospitality® REGD.WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2019/78000, Printed and Published by Vaidehi Thakar on behalf of Global Fairs & Media Pvt Ltd and Printed at The Indian Express Press, Plot No.EL-208, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai-400710 and Published at Express Towers, 1st floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021.

Editor: Steena Joy* (Editorial & Administrative Offices: Express Towers, 1st floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021)

Production Co-ordinator Dhananjay Nidre

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EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

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January 2020

MARKET

Lulu Group International’s Twenty14 Holdings to invest close to Rs 2000 cr across India Steena Joy Mumbai TWENTY14 Holdings, the investment portfolio arm of Lulu Group International, plans to invest close to Rs 2000 crore across India by 2025. The company already has a Tribute hotel, Port Muziris in Kochi, two properties are under construction in Bengaluru and four more will be finalised soon. It is looking at the North East region and Hyderabad for future footprint.

Speaking exclusively to Express Food & Hospitality, Adeeb Ahamed, managing director, Twenty14 Holdings, informed, “We operate hotels across Europe, the Middle East and India. Apart from Port Muziris, we have two hotels in the pipeline in Bengaluru, one next to the airport and the second in Electronic City. The airport one will be a Marriott property with 200 keys and a large conferencing facility and is expected to open in the third quar-

ter of this year. The hotel in Electronic City will be a Hyatt Centric with 125 keys and is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2021. They are all entry level five-star properties.”

The key growth pillars for India are hotels in the key cities, hotels near connecting channels (airports and railway stations) or connecting hubs and thirdly, hotels near religious tourism sites. The company is also looking at destination properties like beach resorts or hill station resorts.

He added, “The main vision of creating Twenty14 Holdings is to become a billion dollar investment firm by 2025. We have currently invested close to US$ 650,000 million on assets. We have two assets in UK - one is the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian in Scotland and the Great Scotland Yard in London which opened recently.

We have other two properties under construction in Zurich airport and in Amsterdam. We

Adeeb Ahamed

also have the Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay in Dubai and the Sheraton in Muscat.”

He mentioned that the Marriott in Kochi, Courtyard by Marriott Kochi airport and Grand Hyatt Bolgatty were all part of the Lulu Hypermarket division. The division's two more properties - a Hyatt in Thrissur and Taj Trivandrum will be operational soon.

Elucidating on the slowdown and market sentiments, Ahamed opined, “There are still a lot of properties in the pipeline across India but they are all scheduled to open in the next five years or so. We have a very bullish feeling of India's tourism sector in the next 5 to 10 years.

Many people would be interested in investing in hotels with a construction period of next three to four years, so a lot of properties are going to go live.”

He agreed that there has been a strain as rates have not grown as expected. “Being a capital intensive sector, a lot of people expected growth to happen faster but that's not happening. On a global tourism index we are not very high on the charts, many of our smaller competitor countries are receiving more tourists on a yearly basis. That means we have lots to do to up our ante in terms of making India more tourist friendly and bringing in lot more interesting properties in the market so that

people find it an attractive destination to travel to. We still have pockets like Kerala, Rajasthan, Goa doing their side of the story but we want more states to do their bit,” he said.

Ahamed feels that a lot of brownfield projects are available in the market because of the banking sector's NPA issues.

“Brownfields reduce the time for entry into the market. However they come with their own challenges - not built to the quality or the layout does not fit into the operator's criteria, etc. We have to do a lot of breakdowns on those projects. So every brownfield is not up for the grab but strong evaluation is being done by different investment houses to see which are the best ones and how they can be converted into good properties. While we are also evaluating greenfield projects, both the Bengaluru properties were brownfield projects for us. Port Muziris, a 52key hotel was a buy out and conversion deal,” he stated.

Accor Plus records 14-16% annual growth in India Akshay Nayak Mumbai ACCOR PLUS, one of the globally leading expansive travel, dining and lifestyle programme in Asia Pacific, has recently completed 25 years. Paul Stevens, CEO, Accor Plus in his recent visit to India, informed that, now the programme has over 392,000 guest members from France and Sri Lanka to China, and Japan. “India for long has been close to Accor for the programme, where, yearly Accor Plus has been growing at 14-16 per cent in member base. In India, we have had over four hotels with over 2500-3000 Accor Plus members. It shows that mem-

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bership in India is particularly valued, mostly within the country for domestic use,” he added.

About the unique offerings at Accor Plus, Stevens said that the programme has been running events for over 10 years now, and is looking at buying some of those activities to offer patron members with 'moneycan't-buy' experiences. “This was done paying heed to our patrons' feedback who really appreciated our hotel offerings, but wanted more experiential elements to their Accor Plus membership. We started by offering small experiences that could be anything like meeting the national cricket team or having dinner with a Michelin

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

January 2020

Paul Stevens

Star chef. There have also been a lot of corporate activities like

wine tasting, scotch tasting, etc.

We expanded it out for them to enjoy the overnight experiences. Another good opportunity, wherein we had members from India, was at Bangkok for solemnising ships. During the five-day trip, 10 Michelin Star chefs were cooking every night and engaging with our guests in enthralling activities. The guests also enjoyed having wine and visiting local markets. The final night was a cook off between the chefs and the patrons. We also have a lot of sporting events. We focus on giving experience that is not too mainstream,” he expressed.

India's outbound travel market prefers Thailand and Viet-

nam for Accor Plus. “Vietnam is a warm, interesting place which has a fantastic history and scrumptious cuisine. We will focus on developments, as our relationship with different developers is pretty strong in South Asia. We also see India as a potential market for cruise as a product and moving forward, we will unveil something here soon,” hinted Stevens.

“India is number four in terms of our membership base and number one in terms of growth in adding more members among the 20 countries, and I expect it to continue. India's growth has been in double digit as compare to other markets,” concluded Stevens.

MARKET

'OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE IS TO CONSOLIDATE ALLOTTABLE LAND BANK OF2000 ACRES FOR TOURISM AND HOSPITALITYDEVELOPMENT' Scheduled from December 14, 2019 to January 31, 2020, Odisha Tourism's Marine Drive Eco Retreat, Eastern India's first Glamping festival is giving tourists a unique experience of Glamourous Camping on Ramchandi beach. In an exclusive interview, Steena Joy spoke to Vishal K Dev, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Odisha Tourism to get his insights on the unique initiative and the hotel investment pipeline in the state What is the USP of the Marine Drive Eco Resort?

What has been the response?

The Marine Drive Eco Retreat is situated by the pristine Ramchandi beach with backwaters behind. There is a sanctuary across the road and Konark Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site just a mile away. Odisha has been lesser known for tourism when compared with other states but this has changed over last two years. We have received record footfalls in both national and international visitors. We need more per-capita expenditure from tourists for the sector to grow exponentially. Activations such as the Marine Drive Eco Retreat would give a huge facelift to Odisha.

We realised early last year that Puri Konark Marine Drive, despite housing a beautiful synthesis of heritage, nature, artistic finesse and food, was largely a day tourism destination. Its potential as a premium beach destination was underexplored.

Given the grave impact of cyclone Fani, we had fortified our vision with the principle of sustainability. But our quest to develop the destination as an experience rich beach tourism hub of global standards was undaunted.

Initial brainstorming sessions on beach camping, and comparative studies on emerging segments such as glamping made us home in on this concept, which has worked wonders in destinations such as

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Kutch in Gujarat. Hence we resolved to undertake this project. The concept of Glamping i.e. Glamorous Camping has caught on with not only the current generation but also people of different age groups.

Right from articulating the vision down to its specifics, to bringing about interdepartmental and multi-stakeholder consensus on the vision, to procuring the services of an experienced event curator, to planning the project development including resource mobilisation and infrastructure works, a lot of intellectual, human and technological dedication has gone into it. The response so far has been overwhelming with packed bookings till the first week of January 2020. The Eco Retreat offers 50 luxurious Swiss Cottages offering rich thematic ambience, a dedicated dining area and facilities like air-conditioner, television, sofa sets, etc and adventure activities like jet-ski, Speed boating, parasailing, ATV, archery, rifle shooting, etc as well as cultural events.

The Marine Drive Eco Retreat has been developed as an environmentally sustainable model incorporating best practices in material utilisation, zero liquid and sewerage discharge and holistic waste management.

What was the project cost?

The total investment in the project is just over Rs 6 crore.

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

January 2020

Vishal K Dev

After Ramchandi Beach, which are the other glamping sites which the tourism department has marked out for Eco Retreats?

We are intent on replicating this glamping model along the 482 km coastline of Odisha, at different and compatible times of the year, like Talsari and Gopalpur. We are also working seamlessly with Departments such as the Dept. of Forest and Environment, and District Administrations, to activate niche glamping events such as the Bhitarkanika Mahotsav coming up later in January 2020, organised by the Kendrapada District Administration in collaboration with the Departments of Tourism and Forest & Environment. 50 tents will be available for those who wish to camp, coupled with adventure activities. Cultural recreation and entertainment will also be hosted.

What subsidies/tax holidays/land banks is the Odisha government offering to attract hotel investment into the state? ● Capital Investment Subsidy @ 20 per cent for eligible projects, with an additional five per cent for investments in new tourism projects around Chilika Lake, in Koraput – Bolangir – Kalahandi (KBK), Kandhamal and Gajapati ● Interest subsidy @ five per cent per annum subject to maximum of Rs 1 crore for five years ● 100 per cent Stamp Duty exemption on land purchase ● 100 per cent reimbursement of land conversion charges ● Exemption from electricity duty up to contract demand of 5 MVA for five years of consumption ● Reimbursement of 75 per cent (male worker) to 100 per cent (female worker) of employer’s ESI/EPF contribution for five years ● Training cost reimbursement at @ Rs 2000/- per employee trained within three operating years ● In terms of landbank, the department has identified new land parcels at KonarkPuri Marine Drive area, Dhauli, Khurda, Ganjam totalling to approx. 430 acres.

Our strategic objective is to consolidate allottable land bank of 2000 acres for tourism and hospitality development.

What accommodation infrastructure is in the pipeline?

At present, most of the new investments in the hotel sector are coming up in and around the golden triangle.

The department has also begun implementing its Development Masterplan for TalsariUdaypur Beach which includes both luxury and budget hotels in its plan.

Among key investments coming up are Mayfair Hotels’ five-star deluxe resort including a golf course at Satapada, besides a complex with a world class Convention Centre and 250 rooms in Bhubaneswar.

The Swosti Group will be launching the Palm Beach Resort at Gopalpur by 2023.

Real Estate major DN Homes will be setting up two luxury properties at Gopalpur and Tampara respectively and are looking to begin operations in FY23.

Vivanta by Taj Hotels should be operational in Bhubaneswar by mid 2020 while ITC's investment in Bhubaneswar under its chain of WelcomHotels will also begin operations this year.

Accor Group will also be setting up its maiden hotel under the Novotel brand in Bhubaneswar in the next 2.5 years.

The department is also in contact with prominent hotel brands for setting up 4-star plus luxury hotels and resorts across the state.

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'ITDC IS REPOSITIONING ITSELFAS AONE STOP SOLUTION FOR HOSPITALITY,TRAVELAND TOURISM RELATED NEEDS' Celebrating a legacy of more than 50 years in the tourism and hospitality industry, Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has come a long way. In conversation with Akshay Nayak, Piyush Tiwari, director – Commercial & Marketing, ITDC highlights how ITDC is adapting to the modern business scenario in the country How has ITDC been a game changer in providing topnotch hospitality to international and domestic patrons?

ITDC has a legacy of more than 50 years in the tourism and hospitality industry and has literally set standards for same in India. ITDC has been consistently evolving and working towards maintaining and enhancing its presence, turnover and profitability by strengthening other verticals like Ashok Tourism & Travels (ATT), Ashok International Trade Division (AITD), Ashok Institute of Hospitality & Tourism Management (AIH&TM), Ashok Events Division and Ashok Consultancy & Engineering Division to keep pace with the time. Our prime vision is to provide top-notch hospitality, travel and tourism related services, and to achieve that ITDC has been putting its best efforts to meet industry norms and practices.

One fine example is the Hotel Ashok, New Delhi. Build in 1956 and located in the prestigious Diplomatic Enclave of New Delhi, the flagship of The Ashok Group truly lives up to its claim, “They do not build hotels on such grand lines any more.” The Ashok has been setting standards, not only in conference handling but also as a fantastic host for state guests and VVIPs. Services and amenities offered by the hotel pamper almost every section of guests from home and abroad, with traditional Indian hospitality. Ever responsive to the need of times, the hotel offers an ar-

ray of international cuisine experiences, apart from its regular culinary offerings.

What do the current trends in hospitality industry suggest?

How is ITDC adopting the same?

One of the key trends which has surged beyond expectations in hospitality industry is ‘sustainability in business.’ The brands are striving to be meaningful towards the environment. Hotels are investing in steps to do one more thing towards keeping a healthy environment and giving back to the society.

The hospitality sector has drastically altered ways to consume energy and water, consumable and durable goods, and disposal of solid and hazardous waste created in the processes. Hotels have also started educating and sensitising guests about preserving resources like water and electricity by promoting reuse of linen during short stays.

Our flagship property Hotel The Ashok, New Delhi was accredited LEED GOLD certification under US Green Building Council in 2017 and is in process of getting Platinum LEED certification soon. Hotel Samrat, another hotel under the brand is also in process of getting Gold LEED certification along with energy audit for both the hotels.

We believe technology is shaping the future of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Technological advancement like Artificial Intelligence, Voice Technology, Automation,

10 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY January 2020

etc. is going to play an important role in near future.

How is ITDC catering to the modern-day traveller?

Over the years, The Ashok has been refined, perfected and made more comfortable. There has been a constant updating of facilities to suit the needs of today and adapting them to the requirement of the future. For hospitality here has become “an appreciative art”.

With an inventory of 550 rooms The Ashok serves as preferred destination for almost every class of traveller starting from student to luxury traveller. The Ashok, New Delhi, a flagship property of ITDC, was awarded the National Tourism Award for ‘Hotel providing best facilities for differently-abled guest’ & 'Best Hotel Based Meeting Venue' Award for the third consecutive year. Since inception, The Ashok has been serving guest with care, providing the best facilities for differently-abled guests. Indeed, two per cent of the hotel inventory is dedicated for differently-abled guests, with 11 rooms including three suites furnished with special fittings, that is the largest in the entire hospitality industry.

The Ashok has been recognised to adapt sustainable excellence in design, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources and indoor environmental quality.

How are you keeping students updated about current industry trends at The Ashok

tute have an opportunity to witness the real time experience of their learning through the curriculum and practising it in the hotel trades. The students are also given opportunity to gain experience in VVIP caterings of head of states, food festivals, government tourism events, etc. Industry experts are invited to conduct special lectures which in turn help the students to develop a holistic approach towards their professional and personal lives.

Piyush Tiwari

Institute of Hospitality & Tourism Management?

Ashok Institute of Hospitality & Tourism Management (AIH&TM) is conducting three-year degree course in Hospitality & Hotel Administration (H&HA) since 2015 from Hotel Samrat. This course is affiliated to National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMT). The institute has achieved placement of 100 per cent and 92 per cent students respectively during 2018 & 2019.

AIH&TM is operating from two campuses at New Delhi, namely Qutab Campus and Hotel Samrat Campus, offering an array of services in hospitality education and training through short term and long term courses. Both the campuses have adequate infrastructure providing the opportunity to the students and trainees to practice and perform during the practical sessions. The students studying in these insti-

What is the future roadmap for ITDC? With the changing economic and business scenario ITDC is in the process of repositioning itself as “One Stop Solution for all Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Related Needs” by leveraging its brand strength and experience of more than 50 years. ITDC has now widened its outlook towards the hospitality and tourism industry.

The Ashok continues to host important events, conventions as well as special short term festivals and fashion exhibitions. The major focus will be on capturing MICE segment as The Ashok, New Delhi has been privileged to host numerous influential international conferences and delegations in past years. To enhance the experience, apart from regular upgradations, The Ashok and Hotel Samrat will undergo revamping to cope up with technological advancements and changing interior trends, but the ambience of a heritage property will be kept intact.

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Express Food & Hospitality’s Atithi Devo Bhava Confex Series debuts in Pune

Akshay Nayak Pune INDIA’S FOREMOST hospitality trade publication by The Indian Express Group, Express Food & Hospitality’s new initiative, The Atithi Devo Bhava Confex Series, debuted in Pune recently. The event witnessed the presence of the who’s who of the hospitality industry discussing and brainstorming about the scenario of the hospitality market in the cultural capital of Maharashtra.

The event was graced by

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keynote speaker Vikram Kamat, founder chairman, VITS Kamats Group during which he shared valuable insights on ‘Hotel Financing in India’s New Economy’.

In his keynote speech, Kamat said that unlike traditional ways of hotel financing, today there are new avenues that can be tapped by hoteliers. Giving a detailed note about three new avenues that the modern-day hotelier must focus on, he said, “REIT – Real Estate Investment Trust; Condominiums and Other People’s Resources will

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

January 2020

MARKET guarantee strategic funding for hotel projects that will only go north.”

Speaking on Indianising The Hospitality Sector, Arun Nayar, executive director, Pride Hotels, said, “The country is getting more and more westernised. We need to present the real India to every traveller, whether Indian or international.

All the European countries could be one India by size, but still, we Indians go to countries abroad to experience their culture, their uniqueness. All the hospitality professionals need to say that India is the only country to offer diverse locations and experiences in one country. The mountains, i.e. the Himalayas, world heritage monuments, spiritualism, beaches, wellness, etc. I think we need to bring the Indianness back into the core hospitality experience. If we can provide the unique Indian culture to anyone visiting a particular region, there would be no question of ARRs or the rooms remaining vacant, but to build more hotels to accommodate all the travellers.”

Making a presenttaion on The India Hotel Development Pipeline to 2022, Nandivardhan Jain, founder CEO, Noesis Capital Advisors, observed, “Profitable hotels are the requirement to build a robust hospitality ecosystem. With the notion of strong demand hovering in the market, in turn, it will require the existing hoteliers and newcomers to build more hotels.” He went on to say that there is a balance of 50 per cent each in terms of supply of international and domestic hotel brands in India currently.

He added, “From 2000 to 2018, around US$ 12 bn has been pumped into this industry. However, India still lacks in providing quality hospitality as compared to countries like the US and China, with only 130,000 room inventory in the organised hospitality sector. The government is taking a lot of initiatives i.e. any new development in infrastructure is welcomed.

For example, Statue of Unity,

GM’s Conclave: Emerging Dynamics of Hospitality in Pune

Chef’s Knowledge Exchange: Sustainable Kitchens

which came up six months back, Vadodara market didn’t see any weekend travellers earlier, but rebounded suddenly to witness an increase in occupancy by 13 per cent.

Another key area to boost the hospitality business is connectivity. We need to have a micro to macro approach to see this industry growing further.”

Rahul Pabalkar, chief trustee, Academic With Excellence – Spectrum of Maintenance Engineers (AWESOME) and Akshay Pahade, consultant - Energy & Sustainability, ECBC expert professional, underscored a detailed study on various applications that a hotel can invest in, and also spoke on the in-depth technicalities that a hotelier should keep a track of, while trying to make their hotel sustainable, given that the industry is an energyguzzling one.

The event also garnered the presence of general managers of leading hotels in Pune including Himanshu Sachdev, area GM – Pune, Lemon Tree Hotels; Amit Kumar Sharma, GM, Amanora The Fern Hotels and Club; Girish Sehgal, GM, JW Marriott Hotel Pune; Pankaj Saxena, GM, Radisson Blu Pune Hinjawadi; Aditya Malla, GM, DoubleTree by Hilton Pune – Chinchwad; Shobhit Sawhney, GM, Hyatt Regency Hotel & Residences Pune; Biswajit Biswas, GM, Fort Jadhavgadh, Pune and Advait Kurlekar of Upohan Management Consultants, voicing their views at the panel discussion on topic – Emerging Dynamics of Hospitality in Pune.

Le Cordon Bleu Chef Michael Swamy moderated another panel discussion on Sustainable Kitchens which saw the presence of Chef Sachin Joshi, executive chef, Blue Diamond, Pune – IHCL SeleQtions; Atul Gokhale, director, Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts and Chef Anil Chabukswar, executive chef, Novotel Pune.

The partners for the event were RMS Hospitality Cloud, Elanpro and Wyntronix.

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Vikram Kamat

Arun Nayar

Nandivardhan Jain

Rahul Pabalkar

Akshay Pahade

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The Great Indian Culinary Challenge (GICC) tastes Puneri Tadka

EF&H Staff Pune THE GREAT INDIAN Culinary Challenge (GICC) was held at Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts (SSCA) recently. The daylong competition witnessed participation from over 70 culinary enthusiasts who presented their culinary talent.

The competition was declared open for professionals as well as hospitality management college students who undertook live cooking in International and Regional cuisine categories. The competition witnessed participation from well-known institutions and hotels in Pune.

Some of the participants represented reputed hotel and food-

service brands including White Copper Gastronomy, Novotel Imagica Khopoli, JW Marriott Hotel Pune, Flying Duck Co, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park, Sayaji Pune, Lemon Tree Premier Pune, Oakwood Residence Naylor Road Pune, Radisson Blu Pune Hinjawadi, and Mineority by Saby, etc.

The students represented many institutions of repute such as SSCA, the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), AISSMS College of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (CHMCT) among others.

The Great Indian Culinary Challenge is an initiative by Express Food and Hospitality to showcase Indian culinary talent.

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MARKET The platform has been curated

by Le Cordon Bleu Chef Michael Swamy and entrepreneur Chef Gautam Chaudhary. For the Pune edition of GICC, apart from Chef Swamy, the eminent jury included Chef Nilesh Limaye, Chef Vijayendra Pawaskar, Chef Sahil Arora and Chef Niket Drego.

On the sidelines of the live competition, Masterclasses on topics of key importance were disseminated to the participating chefs. Dr Priyadarshini Karve of Samuchit Enviro Tech addressed the need of sustainability in kitchens; Chef Arora of 266 – The Wine Room & Bar presented a live demonstration session on pasta techniques.

Chef Swamy spoke about why and how a chef’s dish should tell its tale to the patron for the experiential element. He also shared about the skills one should don to be a food photographer. Chef Karan Umrani from SSCA presented a live session on designer breads.

The winners across the four categories included - Live Cooking (International Cuisine) for professionals – Siddhesh Kore from JW Marriott Hotel Pune who bagged Gold, Gaurav Singh and Chandra Bhatt both from Novotel Imagica Khopoli who won Silver and Bronze respectively. The second category was Live Cooking (Regional Cuisine) for professionals in which Pawan Kumar from White Copper Gastronomy won Gold; Joseph Raj from JW Marriott Hotel Pune won Silver and Manoranjan Bag of White Copper Hospitality bagged Bronze. In the third category – Live Cooking (International Cuisine) for students, Joshua Devarajan from SSCA won Gold while Soham Bharambe from IIHM and Kshitiz Sehgal from SSCA won Silver and Bronze respectively.

In the fourth category – Live Cooking (Regional Cuisine) for students Aniket Nagawade from AISSMS bagged Gold, and Swarali Dhumal and Kushal Gupta both of SSCA won Silver and Bronze accordingly.

Avon Appliances was the Cookware Partner for the Pune edition of the GICC Live Series while SSCA was the Venue Partner.

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Rational completes 10 years in India; registers 30 per cent Y-o-Y growth Akshay Nayak Mumbai RATIONAL, globally leading commercial combi-oven producing major from Germany, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in the India market in 2020.

Speaking on the timeline of Rational’s presence in India, Vikram Goel, managing director, Rational International India, remarked that India was a new market about a decade ago and barely anybody knew of a combi-steamer technology when Rational paved its way in India. However, the time has passed; people here now are much aware of the contemporary global hospitality trends.

In line with the company’s core philosophy of customer benefit to develop the market, Goel said that Rational, for the past 10 years, has made people in the India market aware of the benefits of using combi-steamer technology through Rational CookingLive (RCL) – a 2-hour event conducted regularly at multiple locations. “Every kitchen in the world has some or

the other kind of problem, from space constraint to labour to consistency. We at Rational try and identify the biggest problem in our customer's kitchen and offer them a solution to it in our RCL event. We do this worldwide and have a presence in around 120 countries. This process has been successfully transplanted in India too,” he said.

Being the first employee at Rational India, Goel, joined the company as a sales manager. He reminisced that, over the years, while he witnessed the growth of the company in India registering 30 per cent growth year on year, the key challenges that the company faced were, making the customers aware about this new technology and also the adaptability of the equipment to produce Indian delicacies.

When asked about the technological innovation that Rational has introduced in the India market to add to the chef’s convenience here, Goel said, “Our product has evolved a lot from the one first developed in 1976, although it was not so advanced

Vikram Goel

as the existing one, but it was the first time that with our initial product, the industry had seen a combination of steam and dry heat being used together. We regularly keep adding innovations into the product and make it better for the customers. We have over 1000 chefs working with us worldwide to try and understand each region’s requirements and address the same. In

2004, we were the first to introduce touch panels with SelfCookingCenter. Then in 2008, we introduced automatic cleaning technology in our combiovens, which was again a first in the industry. Later in 2014, we had the SelfCookingCenter 5 Senses. This unit senses, recognises, learns, thinks ahead and communicates with its user. In 2016, we launched our smallest unit XS. The last innovation that happened was ‘ConnectedCooking’, in which the chefs can virtually access and monitor their unit right from their smartphones and laptops without being physically present near the unit. The innovation keeps continuing at Rational, so that we make our products better with each generation that we introduce.”

Noting the key clientele for Rational’s products, Goel noted, “Our business is primarily, over 60 per cent, in restaurant space i.e. casual dining, cafes. 10 per cent of our business is in hotels.

Catering too is a big segment for us. Almost over 20 per cent of our business share is in the

catering segment which also includes dark/cloud kitchens now.

The trend in the market also is slowly changing with a lot of restaurants popping up across the country which wasn’t the case a couple of years ago.”

He added that Rational products are ideal for the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) segment as they address various parameters like standardisation of food; efficient space management; high efficiency and idiot-proof units to avoid employing a lot of skilled human labour, hence keeping the opex efficient.

In India, Rational primarily focuses on the metro cities, informed Goel. “We have our HQ based in Gurgaon and satellite presence in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.

About the future roadmap, we would continue to go deeper into the existing markets that we are present in. If you look at our market capitalisation it is only 15 per cent and there is a huge scope for us to get a lot of business from our core markets.”

Primus provides premium restaurants as co-work spaces in Mumbai & Pune Akshay Nayak Mumbai CO-WORKING as a concept created a stir in India with the boom of start-ups hatching in corners of the metros and TierII and III cities in the country for quite some time now. Not just being restricted to startups but a lot of individuals like to hire a seat at a co-work space, given the amenities like free wifi, energetic ambience, etc, that it provides.

Though the concept has, by and large, left a greater lot of people in awe, the time spent in travelling through the busy streets just to the put up at cowork place for hours can be equally troublesome. Addressing this woe, the newly launched Primus Co-work founded by Shardul Singh Bayas and Abhinay Deo, and supported by The Mesh Cowork – one of the leading coworking spaces in Mumbai and Pune, has tied up with pre-

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mium restaurants and cafes in both the cities. With 32 restaurants already on board, Primus Co-work will be providing its patrons with amenities like repro services, concierge services, executive assistance, valet parking, complimentary beverages and discounted menus.

The idea behind the conception of the product was that it creates a win-win situation for all the stakeholders, informed Bayas. “A restaurant will be in use and monetising during its

non-peak and non-operational hours hence reducing the overheads, etc. Also, the patron gets to work in a dynamic workplace in their neighbourhood,” he explained.

“Currently, we are looking at a lot of chain of restaurants to partner with. We are in advance talks with over 2000 restaurants and cafes pan India. The concept is increasingly receiving acclaim from our patrons and stakeholders already,” said a confident Bayas

at the launch event of Primus Co-work.

Deo said, “Although our key focus initially is about the metro cities, Tier-II and other emerging markets are also on our radar.” It is an “aspirational” product and with the rightful sense of demand from the newer markets, we will be increasing our bandwidth in unison, he further added.

Primus also has an ‘easy pay’ option for a 3-month, 6-month or annual package.

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'We receive commendable number of Indian MICE travellers' Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, the largest Sheraton property in the world with 4001 keys, along with The St Regis Macao, Cotai Central offer state-of-the-art facilities for MICE travellers. Daniella Tonetto, GM - Sales & Marketing and Saurabh Bakshi, GM - Operations, for both the hotels, speak to Akshay Nayak about the importance of Indian MICE in the Macao market LOCATED amidst a large integrated resort which has seven hotels, over 350 duty free shops, restaurants, retail, etc, called Cotai Central, Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central and The St Regis Macao, Cotai Central, since their opening in 2012 and 2015 respectively, have jointly recorded YTD occupancy of not less than 95 per cent.

It is the largest Sheraton in the world with 4001 guest rooms. The St Regis offers you a more boutique experience with 400 rooms. Both sit in the same complex offering amenities and experiences ideal for both Bleisure and luxury stay. “We specialise in a lot of MICE groups particularly from India and of course the leisure travellers because Macao being a resort destination - meetings, events and incentives keep happening round the year,” said Daniella Tonetto, GM - Sales & Marketing, Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central and The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Central.

A good base of MICE from India likes travelling to Hong

Daniella Tonetto

Saurabh Bakshi

Kong and Macao. “Also, with the new development happening in the Greater Bay area with the opening of the new bridge from the airport which connects Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai, there is a lot more options available for the Indian groups, but Macao is an easy choice, as the destination is visa-free, and then you have all under one roof once you get into the resort. At Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, we have around seven

chefs who hail from different regions in India. We have a huge amount of Indian food available, be it a whole-day dining feast or across the banquet floor. We do see majority of groups coming from industries in India,” she added.

Also MICE from India is getting very prominent for both the hotels as all the major cities are now well connected to Macao, informed Saurabh Bakshi, GM – Operations, Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central and

The St Regis Macao, Cotai Central. “Greater China which includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea is number one market for us, and India would sit within the top ten markets. Macao in the recent past has been a hotbed for MICE activities by global tech and consulting companies for which a lot of Indian contingents visit the destination and our hotels frequently,” he added.

Speaking about the destination and its attractions, Bakshi said, “Macao has been listed as the UNESCO rated City of Gastronomy, so the food offerings is the whole heritage of the destination. For us, we have a variety of restaurants that cater to all taste buds. Our all-day dining in Sheraton is called The Feast and it caters to all taste palettes.

Everyday, we have a section for Indian food. There are also Chinese, Italian specialty restaurants. At The St Regis we have the legendary St Regis Bar, and a nice residential restaurant called The Manor. Every restaurant has a local element that's enhanced. So if Macao is known

for its seafood ricepots, they will be placed in all the restaurants. You will also find the tarts that are popular in the streets of Macao, at all our restaurants.”

Giving details about the MICE amenities, Tonetto informed, “We have beautiful outdoor meeting spaces. Four pool decks for both the hotels. Three of them overlook the Cotai strip, offering a picturesque view, ideal for outdoor cocktail parties, dinners. Internally, the largest space can accommodate up to 5000 pax. With multiple halls on offer, we can accommodate from 10 to 5000 people.”

“The whole market runs on high occupancy, sitting at 90 per cent. Also, after the meetings, guests can go for local gastronomic tours, visit shows, etc. When Marriott Bonvoy came to fruition, Macao was the second stop for the music tour by Maroon 5 at Marriott hotels in Asia Pacific.

So, Macao does attract a lot of international events, and I am sure there is going to be more,” concluded Bakshi.

Avon Appliances introduces new professional frypan with features to increase efficiency EF&H Staff Pune ESTABLISHED in 1984, Avon Appliances is a leading manufacturer and supplier of professional cookware and kitchenware. With the aid of

well-resourced infrastructure and accomplished professionals, the company extends and devises innovative products that redefine the stainless steel quality standards in the industry.

“We recently launched our new products range for both

professionals and household.

Part of the products range, our newly launched frypan excludes the braised bottom. Instead, it comes equipped with the 430 Stainless Steel cladding material on the outside to ensure uniform heating of food unlike just from

the bottom which is the case in most of the other frypans. This, in turn, ensures reduced energy consumption while cooking. The frypan is induction cooktop compliant,” informed Dhawal Vora, director, Avon Appliances, at the Great Indian Culinary Challenge

- GICC Live Series in Pune.

Avon Appliances was the Cookware Partner at the Pune edition of Express Food & Hospitality's GICC Live Series which concluded in December, 2019 at Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts (SSCA).

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Avaya Vantage THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY is always on its toes to provide guests with a unique experience in amenities, services and comfort for which most guests don’t want technology to be intrusive, but will appreciate the conveniences it can deliver.

Avaya’s Vantage device allows hospitality businesses to step up their game, providing guests with the ‘wow factor’ that helps ensure repeat bookings. Avaya Vantage is the all-new dedicated desktop device that provides simple, instant, seamless & natural engagement. Users can fire up voice, chat, collaboration instantly through one touch connections with no unnatural breaks or pauses – eliminating the need to manage multiple devices in order to engage. The device features hotel’s many services and conveniences, and allows simple click to book and click to call.

Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin

by Radico Khaitan RADICO KHAITAN has launched Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin to the Indian market recently after launching it successfully in over 16 countries and select duty free outlets worldwide. With the launch of Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin, Radico Khaitan not only taps into a new segment but also forays into a new and emerging category of craft gin in the Indian domestic market. Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin is a triple-distilled spirit, handcrafted in a traditional copper pot still in small batches at Rampur distillery, located in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Moët Impérial by Moët & Chandon

Allta by Glenmorangie

MOËT & CHANDON has unveiled its holiday-season collection designed to mark the 150th anniversary of Moët Impérial, the French House’s flagship champagne. An elegantly festive bottle and an exclusive limited edition coffret – aptly titled “Imperial Dome” – offer champagne lovers a glimpse into the lifestyle of the sophisticated elites of 19th century, an era of unique elegance when Moët Impérial began its extraordinary journey to become a global icon of celebration. Moët Impérial, born as Brut Impérial in 1869, was the name given to the House’s brut champagne to pay tribute to the relationship established since 1801 with Napoléon Bonaparte and JeanRemy Moët, grandson of the Maison’s founder.

THE FIRST WHISKY created from yeast growing wild on Glenmorangie’s own barley, marks the tenth anniversary of the Highland Distillery’s pioneering Private Edition series. For a decade, Glenmorangie has invited whisky aficionados to explore its passion for innovation through this acclaimed series of rare and intriguing limited-edition single malts. Now, in the collection’s rich, fruity tenth release Glenmorangie Allta (Scots Gaelic for ‘wild’ and pronounced ‘al-ta’), the Distillery reveals the importance of yeast to Scotch whisky’s myriad flavours.

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PRODUCT TRACKER

Super variants of organic herbal tea range by Typhoo TYPHOO, the iconic British tea brand known for its specialty teas has expanded its organic herbal teas portfolio and added three new variants: Purifying Super Greens, Digestive Power Seeds and immunity boosting Three Tulsi to it. The organic ingredients are picked from the finest farms and estates and are crafted by renowned herb and fruit master blenders with purest ingredients. Typhoo’s Organic Herbal Tea range has eight variants in total. The focus is to provide holistic wellness benefits for both mind and body.

Four premium spirits by Beam Suntory BEAM SUNTORY, the global premium spirits company, has launched a range of four premium spirits in India, signaling its commitment and strategy to grow in India in line with its ambition to reach US$ 1 billion in revenue by 2030. The highlight of the launch is the introduction of Oaksmith Indian whisky – created by world-renowned blender Shinji Fukuyo, chief blender, Suntory – using traditional Japanese craftsmanship, blended with the finest Scotch Malt whiskies and American Bourbons to make a whisky unique and authentic to Indian taste. In addition, the iconic Japanese whiskies Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve and Hibiki Japanese Harmony, along with Roku Japanese Craft gin have also been launched from The House of Suntory portfolio.

Low-calorie, high-protein ice creams by NOTO

New range of mayonnaise by Cremica

NOTO, a healthy, low-calorie ice cream for the millennial Indian was recently launched. It is introduced in a selection of six flavours — Dark Chocolate, Caramel Sea Salt, Spicy Guava, Vanilla, Mangoes & Cream and Mocha Choco Chip. These six flavours are each available in a 125ml tub. With each tub including only 75-95 calories, three gms of fat, 75 per cent less sugar than regular ice creams, twice as much protein than regular ice creams, and a healthy helping of prebiotic fibres that are good for your gut; this sweet really is every kind of treat. The company claims that it doesn’t include preservatives, artificial sweeteners, flavours or colours.

CREMICA the food product conglomerate unveiled new flavours of Mayonnaise recently. Cremica, known for its innovative offerings and commitment to quality unveiled an array of products, the company has come up with seven new flavours of Mayonnaise in the food service category; Mount Fuji Japanese Mayo, Wild Spice, Mushroom Willow, Tomakhan Mayo, Creamy Basil Pesto, Pickle Tickle & Frontier Josh Mayo which are a perfect combination of both classic Indian and International flavors to meet the evolving taste of Indian customers.

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts

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arovar Hotels & Resorts recently launched Royal Hometel Suites in Dahisar, Mumbai. This contemporary hotel is aesthetically designed with tasteful interiors and elegantly appointed rooms. The hotel has all modern-day comforts, amenities and facilities complemented by ‘Signature Sarovar Hospitality’. The hotel features 112 well-appointed guest rooms and suites which overlook a beautiful landscape. The superior rooms are adorned with warm colour tones, plush fabrics, and polished floors creating a cosy ambience, perfect for business & Leisure travellers.

Deluxe rooms offer a distinct vintage vibe. The elegant design is complemented with best-in-class furniture giving travellers the joy of a comfortable stay. The hotel also offers ‘Royal Hometel Suites’ which are an epitome of luxury.

S

arovar Hotels and Resorts recently lauched Shravanthi Sarovar Portico in South Bengaluru. This is Sarovar’s sixth hotel in the city after Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites, La Marvella Sarovar Premiere, Radha Hometel, Radisson Blu and RBD Sarovar Portico. Shravanthi Sarovar Portico is a midscale hotel located in JP Nagar, one of Bengaluru’s oldest

S

arovar Hotels has opened second hotel in Jammu & Kashmir – Viraj Sarovar Portico. Viraj Sarovar Portico will complement Sarovar’s existing hotel RK Sarovar Portico, Srinagar. Viraj Sarovar Portico is an upscale contemporary hotel strategically located in Bari Brahmana which is one of the biggest industrial hubs of Jammu. Designed to welcome the modern and savvy traveller, Viraj Sarovar Portico offers rooms and suites with modern amenities, a well- appointed retreat for corporate and leisure travellers.

planned suburbs. The hotel offers easy access to the Central Business District and electronic city and is in close proximity to major tech parks and entertainment hubs. It offers 80 newly renovated guest rooms, an allday dining restaurant, club bar, fitness center and conferencing facilities. The redecorated lobby is spacious and comprises of a coffee lounge.

S

arovar Hotels and Resorts has just opened RVR Sarovar Portico, Dindi in Andhra Pradesh. Dindi is in the intersection where the Godavari joins the Bay of Bengal. A destination known for its coconut plantations, serene backwaters, vast lakes and palm-fringed canals making it the ultimate location for a perfect riverside holiday. RVR Sarovar Portico, Dindi has aesthetically designed rooms and suites, with a view of beautiful lilies and lotus plants. With its gorgeous interiors, The Godavari Banquet hall offers an ideal venue for events of any sort, from weddings to private parties, leisure events to corporate retreats for up to 150 guests. Flavours is RVR Sarovar Portico’s multi-cuisine restaurant which serves popular dishes from around the world along with authentic local delicacies of Dindi.

In addition, the hotel has well-equipped fitness center, lake view and complimentary wi-fi.

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Accor

i

bis, the modern-day millennial friendly hospitality brand, has been evolving and enhancing its guest experience. On its journey to reinvent a hotel experience, ibis continues to fascinate the guests for its stay, food, entertainment and the community. Flexible and accommodating, ibis properties reflect the culture of every city it is established in through design, food, and hospitality.

Continuing its voyage, ibis Jaipur Civil Lines has reimagined itself its unique design concept, interiors and dining for the new-age traveller in line with the global ibis rebrand. Located in close proximity to the Jaipur railway station and Civil Lines metro station, ibis Jaipur Civil Lines features a vibrant and colourful lobby with traditional Pichwai artwork that connects to the ethnic charm of the Pink city. The lobby also showcases a visual abstract of the Jaipur city designed by renowned architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya in 1727.

G

IFT City developed with India’s first ‘Intelligent and Green Infrastructure’ welcomes its first international hotel with Grand Mercure Gandhinagar GIFT City. Located on the bank of the Sabarmati River, GIFT City connects the business capital (Ahmedabad) and political capital (Gandhinagar) of Gujarat State. Grand Mercure Gandhinagar GIFT City features 151 well-equipped guestrooms. The nine-floor hotel, amidst GIFT City, is built to cater to the demands of seasoned frequent travellers looking for quality accommodation and admirers of inventive homegrown interior. Keeping the state’s rich cultural, historical, culinary and geographical dimensions a topmost priority, the hotel incorporates local touch points to all its premium services, food, accommodation and healthy lifestyle options.

Ginger Wakad, Pune

G

inger recently opened the renovated and re-imagined hotel in Wakad, Pune. The new look is in line with the refreshed identity of the brand reflecting a completely fresh and contemporary take on design. The re-imagined Ginger Wakad presents a co-existence of contrasts through dynamic spaces, seamlessly blending the lines of work and play. The design creates experiences that are vibrant, quirky, intuitive and smart. Café Et Cetera, the signature all-day diner, offers a variety of global and local selections of comfort food. It also doubles up as a personal workstation. Additional facilities such as the fitness center and the meeting room have also been redesigned.

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Marriott International

M

arriott International recently opened Fairfield by Marriott Kolkata, making this the latest addition to the more than 1,000 Fairfield by Marriott hotels across the globe. Located across the Biswa Bangla gate in New Town, and at the heart of Kolkata’s emerging IT hub, Fairfield by Marriott Kolkata houses 182 well-appointed guest rooms and suites.

Flooded with natural sunlight, each room is designed to be smart and flexible, and is equipped with LED TVs, high speed Wi-Fi and comfortable furniture to propel productivity.

Great Scotland Yard Hotel

H

yatt Hotels Corporation recently opened the 152-room Great Scotland Yard hotel as part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. On the site of the former headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the luxury hotel and adjacent five-story townhouse is the first by The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand in the UK and the sixth to open in Europe. The open-

ing follows a major restoration and full-scale renovation that breathed new life into one of London’s famous landmarks as it opens to the public for the first time in nearly two hundred years. As part of a collection of unique hotels each with their own distinct story, Great Scotland Yard is an iconic property steeped in history that asks guests to expect the unexpected.

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C

ourtyard by Marriott recently opened the Courtyard by Marriott Amritsar, marking the brand’s 18th property to open in India. Situated in the spiritually revered city of the Golden Temple, Courtyard by Marriott Amritsar aims to deliver a comfortable and relaxing stay experience. Equipped with contemporary rooms, plush bedding, fascinating artwork, thoughtful amenities, ergonomic work areas and smart technology, the property makes for an ideal choice when travelling for business or leisure. The hotel features 104 beautifully appointed and immaculately designed guestrooms complete with rich textures, vibrant hues and rich city views. The rooms are ingeniously designed to be flexible yet relaxed, allowing business travellers, families and tourists to soak in the environment and enjoy the city.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

The Fern Hotels & Resorts

T

he Fern Hotels & Resorts has opened The Fern Residency, Morbi in Gujarat. This is the 16th hotel which the company has opened in Gujarat. The Fern Residency, Morbi is a 51-room hotel offering contemporary accommodations.

The hotel offers four different categories of room viz. Winter Green, Winter Green Premium, Fern Club and Hazel Suite. Some of the amenities in the rooms include packaged water, eco-friendly light arrangement and bathroom amenities, tea maker and satellite TV connections. The other offerings in the property include a gym and a spa.

T

he Fern Hotels & Resorts has opened The Fern Residency Bhopal, the first Fern hotel to open in Madhya Pradesh. The Fern Residency, Bhopal is a 58-room hotel offering contemporary accommodations.

The hotel offers three different categories of room viz. Winter Green, Winter Green Premium and Hazel Suite. Some of the amenities in the rooms include packaged water, eco-friendly light arrangement and bathroom conveniences, tea maker, satellite TV connections and Bedside Bluetooth connection.

Anantara Tozeur Resort

A

nantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas made its debut this month in North Africa with the opening of Anantara Tozeur Resort in the southwest of Tunisia. Offering a luxury gateway to ancient cultural and desert wonders, the new-build resort showcases exquisite Arabian and North African design, surrounded by the majestic desert, towering palms and endless salt lake views. Worldclass facilities include 93 luxurious accommodation options, five dining outlets including an Arabian Cultural Village, an Anantara Spa, a Kids Club, floodlit tennis courts and a fitness club with yoga studio.

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COVER STORY

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the main focus

Vineet Mishra GM, The Ritz-Carlton, Pune The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Almost everyone today wants intense experiences and rank travel high on their lists. According to research, highly customisable options such as the hyperpersonalised room could be one of the big changes out on the hospitality horizon, and in tune with the new demands for more authentic, personalised space, especially for longer stays.

One hot new trend worth noting is the concept of ‘conscious travel’, which revolves around the idea of compassion and social consciousness being part of the travel experience. Many see this as a natural extension of ‘transformative travel’, which empowers the traveler to make meaningful changes to their lives. Technology. Love it or hate it, the hospitality business will need to serve guests in a significantly more connected way, striking the right balance between automated solutions and human interaction.”

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Pune is a top choice for affluent travellers and international tourists seeking enriching experiences, and this opening reflects our continued commitment to provide those travellers with opportunities to explore destinations like Pune. Pune city ranked second in ADR growth in 2018 and 2017, and topped the list in 2016 with a growth of 6.5 per cent.

Growth continues in 2019 with positive entry of The Ritz-Carlton, Pune.

Pune has seen a worthy year, crossing over seven per cent ADR growth to post 11 per cent RevPAR increase (2018 data) which accounts for a solid tier one business city performance. This is a business travel and MICE market, with 2/3rd inventory in the UpscaleUp/Mid and M-E segments. An annual occupancy growth trend, which started in 2012, continues. The city had a good summer – over 70 per cent occupancy for each month from April through July. Upscale-Up/Mid ADR gained in 2018 and catching up fast with a positive entry of The Ritz-Carlton, Pune. This will also help pull up the entire city rates towards an aspirational ADR.

Your management mantra My personal mantra revolves around something I’ve learned well over my experience years - Lead by example and with a clear purpose. I believe that you have to clearly articulate the values and pillars of a company which therefore requires having an aligned strategic route along which you perpetually have to drive without losing focus. So, when disruption comes in or there is a change in direction, you are responsive enough that the operation can be adjusted as you go along. I am a firm believer that successful companies today are very purposefully lead.

Ravi Rai GM, Hilton Mumbai International Airport The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Hospitality is big business and the dynamics are ever evolving. In today's rapidly evolving marketplace environment, the most important factor is to provide unmatched service, rooting the hotel in its local climate while also giving experiences beyond the conventional hotel space.

I believe few dynamics of hospitality in 2020 will be sustainability, technology that can enhance guest experience and reduction in overall operational costs. Hospitality providers will need to serve guests in a significantly more connected way, striking the right balance between automated solutions and human interaction.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city The Indian hospitality industry, has emerged as one of the primary sectors which

are driving the economic growth of the country. Hotels are adopting the latest marketing practices through social media, which prove to be effective in generating exposure and higher volume of bookings. There is huge scope for us to drive ARR, while North Mumbai did grew by six per cent Oct YTD vs last year, I do see an upward trend to continue in 2020.

Your management mantra Leadership is as much about creating an enabling environment and engaging with employees on a personal level as it is about driving success and productivity. I stay connected with individuals, I do regular one-on-one sessions to understand challenges and aspirations better. I also do recognise that people work best when given independence. More empowerment enables team to do their best.

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Shubham Chandra GM, Conrad Pune

The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 I do believe that the year 2020 looks promising for the Indian hospitality industry. This industry has evolved rapidly over the last couple of years. With unique, immersive experiences gaining popularity, travel has picked up signifi-

cantly. While the increasingly affluent middle class have greatly contributed to bookings we received in the last year, we also see a surge in the bookings from our guests residing in Tier 2 and 3 markets. With digitisation on the rise, guests are looking out for Insta-worthy experiences, something that they can

brag about to their peers. With emerging technologies and rising expectations, it is imperative that we keep up with the latest trends by offering unique guest experiences. This era of digitalisation is redefining the perception of travel. Internet of Things (IoT), the use of big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to personalise and elevate guest experience is reshaping the hospitality industry.

Additionally, Virtual Reality (VR) is another tool used by many hoteliers to create an immersive world of experience for their guests.

As seen in the last year, our guests have become experimental while choosing a holiday destination.

Corporates too are looking beyond just bed and breakfast when travelling on business. We see a shift in their interest from luxury and amenities to interesting experiences. With the growing concern of global issues, we see sustainability being the key focus for hotel brands in 2020.

Ranju Singh GM, Novotel Hotels & Resorts Goa The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Goa as a destination has been popular among the Indians and will remain to do so.

With millennials willing to try new things from food to Local experiences, the Goa market is expected to be more than just a holiday destination. The Goa market has been cre-

ative so far and will continue to do so through local experiences and adventure experience.

Further the international footfalls may not be the same as in the previous years. But with the Tourism Ministry supporting the creative ideas the domestic footfalls will remain.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city

The objective is to create sustainable growth for all the stakeholders

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For last five years, constantly every year Goa has witnessed an addition in room supply.

As supply continues to grow, the competition is expected to revise the market prices downwards. The value addition to price will be key to success.

Your management mantra The objective is to create sustainable growth for all the stakeholders. The core management values are humility, simplicity and synergies that will lead to sustainable growth.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city In 2019, the ARR of luxury hotels in Pune has shown a healthy growth of about 4.5-5 per cent. The upper upscale and luxury hotels combined have grown by over 5.5 per cent.

Since all the upper upscale and luxury hotels in the city feel the need to correct/increase average rates, we are optimistic of further growth in 2020.

Your management mantra A good management is defined by creating a nurturing environment that enables growth and engaging with the team on a personal level. It is a known fact that people work best with a sense of empowerment. I strongly believe that a good leader provides employees the opportunity to be leaders themselves, thus driving success and productivity for the brand.

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Sachin Malhotra GM, Novotel Imagica Khopoli The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Every year we see increased number of millennials getting added into the hospitality industry, both as guest and as team members. This brings a constant change of trends which is very exciting. The hospitality industry is evolving like never before where each day introduces you to something new. With the ongoing advancements, the year 2020 is expected to witness similar momentum of change towards upswing in technology, entertainment, energy and innovation in service which will vastly enhance the hotel experiences for travellers of all nature. F&B arm of hotels are experiencing a great transformation as preferences are changing, hence we need to remain agile and guest centric in our approach. Focus on employee wellbeing, work life balance and retention of talents are peaking in the right direction.

Hence, placing your customer’s expectations at the heart of your operations with an objective to deliver innovative, experiential and healthy hospitality for all stakeholders is the way forward and the industry is all set to reshape the future.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Imagica is a popular destination and probably the only integrated holiday and entertainment destination in close proximity to Mumbai and Pune. This sets us up for a unique competition free environment. Having the Novotel so close or in fact inside

such a big entertainment getaway where there is something for each age group and interest groups is definitely a big advantage. The hotel added 165 new rooms and six suites via its new wing in September 2018 and now operates with 287 rooms and suites. 2019 has seen a steady increase in both the room nights and average rates due to this addition of fresh inventory. In 2020, the hotel is expected to continue to get benefited both in terms of occupancies and ADR with this additional capacity.

Your management mantra We are a family entertainment destination and hence we attract all age groups. Having a personal connect with all our guest and ensuring they have a delightful stay is a simple recipe of good & consistent business. Personally, I believe in giving an open playground to my team to go out and express themselves. This freedom allows the team to customise their interaction based on each guest’s personal preferences. This has reflected well in the high satisfaction and repeat clientele numbers. Leading from behind has been my mantra as it ensures that the team uses their skills and creativity to create meaning full and unique experiences and does not follow or imitate your actions as benchmarks. This ensures that each guest gets a non-stereotype and fresh experience and this way we also make the journey more rewarding the enriching for our team members as well.

GoravArora GM, Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The Indian hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key industries driving the growth of the service sector and, thereby, the Indian economy. We believe this strong growth will continue in the hospitality sector in 2020, but not without some necessary changes in order to keep up with changing trends. Digitalisation plays a big role in today’s world. It helps in timely and effective engagement with guests and establishing a stronger recall for a brand. With higher aspirations and changing lifestyle, travellers today are continuously looking at digital content to help them find newer places to explore.

At Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach, we are working towards increasing our online and social media presence in 2020, in order to reach out to the right audience.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Being the commercial capital and Bollywood hub of India, Mumbai is a significant destination for travellers. It is popularly known as the “City that never sleeps” and is frequented by a large number of tourists looking for both business and leisure opportunities. With the large number of people visiting Mumbai on a regular basis, we can expect an increase in ARRs in the city in 2020 due to high demand.

Your management mantra It is important to have an innovative approach and keep engaging with new trends in order to capture the attention of the audience. I believe it is passion and enthusiasm for work, and diligence and honesty that will help any individual to succeed.

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Sameer Sud GM, The Leela Mumbai The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The year 2019 was tough for business, as far as occupancies are concerned. Around September is when the momentum got back, however from the average rate point of view, we have seen marginal increase of three per cent compared to last year. The Government of India announced the corporate tax relief in midAugust/September which helped the industry to post some gains in occupancies. In my opinion, the demand will continue in 2020, however the average rates will more or less be flat. The demand for hotel rooms and banquet spaces from the corporate segment looks promising. Socials and weddings will see an upswing as the revised GST levels (18 per cent from 28 per cent) will give them a reason to relook at the home city to host these big ticket activities. All and all, I feel it will be an exciting year for hotel occupancies.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Mumbai has been one market where we do not get a great push as far as ARRs are concerned.

Though the city has added additional inventories in last three years, every hotel has managed to keep their occupancy levels intact with a marginal increase of two to three per cent. Every pocket in the city has it’s own average rate story – I feel hotels in

Anmol Ahluwalia GM, Taj, North Goa The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 2020 will be all about superlative service. We believe that the main differentiator between hotels is the service provided to the customer and for us at the Taj this plays the most important role in the expe-

rience we offer to our patrons. In 2020, we will be focusing on an intuitive understanding of guests needs so that we can offer them an experience that leaves a lasting and positive impact on them. We will also be focusing on creating magical memories by orchestrating moments that are personalised to their passions and preferences.

Your management mantra

In 2020, we will be focusing on an intuitive understanding of guests needs

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Our mantra is Athithi Devo Bhava, the sanskrit saying meaning - The Guest is God. At the Taj, we welcome our guests into the hotel as we would if god himself were to visit our home. We make sure we do everything in our means to make sure that our guests have an enjoyable experience that exceeds their expectations. I follow this same principle in my management style too. Our teams are equally important stakeholders as they are responsible for the brand image. A happy team makes sure to do their best to keeps guests happy too.

our radius will push the average rates up to five to seven per cent in the coming year.

Your management mantra To create a work environment where everyone has the necessary tools and are encouraged to “service from the heart” – something that we are known for. I constantly work towards creating a sense of belongingness among co-workers. I always tell my team that you need to treat your colleagues or guests the way you like to be treated. It is hence important to put yourself in their shoes and act/ react accordingly. I also believe that being in the service industry it is imperative for one to Be intuitive – identify the needs of the guests and proactively offer them the suitable solutions in an attempt to enhance their guest experience; Focus on Innovation – I firmly believe that it is imperative for us to move away from the one-size-fits-all approach and offer quality experiences to our patrons on a consistent basis. It is also essential for us to keep up with the evolving tastes and preferences of the consumers. As more people travel and explore new places, it is extremely essential to keep one’s finger on the pulse of the market; Listen – The best way to learn and improve is by understanding the feedback of guests/ co- workers and offerings suitable solutions.

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Biswajit Chakraborty GM Delegate, Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Nowadays, Consumers are becoming tech-savvy. Regardless of their generation, sophisticated technology is at their disposal, so travellers have enhanced expectations from their travel & stay experience. This will also enable hoteliers to discover everything they need to know about their customers. In 2020, hotels will work to create experiences that are both, highly personalised and flexible.

Change is never easy, but we are at the point where hoteliers need to go beyond their comfort zone. 2020 will be an exciting year for change, hoteliers should embrace this and explore the opportunities that the New Year brings.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city In Delhi & NCR, there are a host of offerings across restaurants and hotels this festive season. Guests can relish the finest Christmas and New Year celebrations. Infact a range of special dining offers along with staycation packages are available across the city and NCR region. Pullman New

Delhi Aerocity is performing well in terms of ARRs. Potential guests and those who are our loyal customers are already booking for our special offers set for Christmas and New Year. The Indian customer is a “last minute� buyer usually. This year however we are seeing a high number of advance queries. Picking up on this, we have curated a few early bird offers, which have received good response across our luxe portfolio. We have observed, that for high-quality memorable experiences, the customer is willing to pay and participate; thus creating a natural demand for products and experience that a group such as Accor offers.

Your management mantra With an intricate understanding of the luxe segment, I trust in bringing impetus to my team, by further creaing finer experiences for the luxury and upscale travel market. Business development is my key forte, combined with leadership and a multi-functional approach. I believe in blending quality operations with astute marketing with humane and effective style. Having spent five years at the Sofitel Mumbai BKC, I look forward to this new era of Pullman & Novotel in the capital city.

Sanjeev Shekhar GM, Hotel Marine Plaza & Regional Director - West, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 As I see it, the hospitality industry is steady.

There will be a significant rise in the occupancy and ARRs in the six metro pockets is something that I envision.

Likewise, the Tier-II and III cities too will exhibit great potential. With the rationalisation of GST slab across room categories recently, the ARRs have gone up by at least 10-15 per cent in the country. In the South Mumbai region there isn't too much of upcoming inventory and also the Nariman Point area

With Reliance's convention centre coming up in BKC in mid-2020, it will further increase the occupancy of the Mumbai market

being a pool for many offices, both the factors will have the hospitality market in South Mumbai region being impacted positively. Also, with Reliance's convention centre coming up in BKC in mid-2020, it will further increase the occupancy of the overall Mumbai market with a lot of MICE traveller movement.

We at Hotel Marine Plaza are going to renovate our F&B outlets so we can offer a fresher product to our patrons in 2020.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city ARRs in Mumbai in the short term, till March 2020, will be steady. It went up during the season time, i.e. November to December, 2019, recording an increase of 15-20 per cent in the city. We see the same trend continuing till March 2020. The marginal de-growth is a yearly phenomenon which starts in the middle of the year, but the market will pick up again from early October, 2020.

Your management mantra My management mantra as the GM is basically hands on, being there and supporting people and also looking at the minute operational issues and trying to solve them.

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Himanshu Sachdev Area GM – Pune, Lemon Tree Hotels The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Historically, the hospitality industry has always treated leisure and business travellers as two different entities. However, millennials who are anticipated to account for almost all business travel spending by the year 2020 are expected to extend business trips into leisure.

We as hotel operators need to target the millennials, this can be achieved by providing off-thebeaten-path opportunities and activities. This generation favour’s local produce, organic produce and use of sustainability. They prefer locally sourced menus compared to fancy ones. Also, they are consistently connected to technology, which influences how they pay and shop for travel. This means that conveniences like chat bots and mobile check-ins that offer instant replies to questions are increasingly crucial.

I think as hotel operator and as a tourism industry, we have to get out in front about sustainability. That’s single-use plastics, reducing our carbon footprint; it’s all about building with more sustainable materials and understanding your ongoing impact on the environment. I think government will legislate, but in fact businesses have to get out in front of it now.

Another Major aspect to keep in mind is we as hoteliers cannot ignore Facebook posts, Instagram

Salil Fadnis Hotel Manager, Sahara Star The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The year 2020 is where hospitality industry will see major trend setting systems which will be mostly operated digitally to make the guest’s experience a memorable one. Moving towards systems that are driven by mobile, wherein guests can book rooms in real time, ordering in room services, express checkout, etc, via one mobile application.

Hospitality industry is always on a look to customise and enhance the guest experience. Athiti Devo Bhavo, the line truly defines hospitality at its best. Personalisation of experiences and reduction in delivery times will be the key to success in 2020.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city The Average Room Revenue may or may not fluctuate upwards, in the coming year. The avail-

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able room inventory has always been increasing in all segments in spite of that hotels are expected to see a spike during the festive and wedding season.

The wedding season starts the year; we can expect the ARR to boost the sales in the third & fourth quarter of FY 20-21. Since Mumbai is a city filled with business centres, conferences and events give us a chance to get more guests and better utilisation of inventory.

Your management mantra At Hotel Sahara Star we always want to give our guests the best experience, we are levitating more towards a personalised experience so that we can combine luxury living with memorable experience. We look at the small key points to have larger picture in place. First and foremost, our priority is that each guest is well looked after.

pictures, Google reviews and tweets. Today’s traveller is more and more dependent on the Online reviews and do not go by any personal recommendations.

In the coming year holding a social media account and upholding the reputation online is going to be very crucial for our industry.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city In the last three years, the city has seen a three per cent growth in ARRs year on year.

The ARR’s in the city definitely to move north wards with the occupancy levels in the city stabilising all the hotel operators need move hand in hand and push the ARRs upwards.

Pune as a city has seen Uber Luxury brands opening up in the city and the occupancy levels went up by four per cent over 2018 which is a very promising trend for the city.

Your management mantra My management mantra is very simple: Happy Employees=Happy Guests=Happy Management=Happy Share Holders.

I work on the above mantra to keep my employees and team members happy such that the end result is always a win win situation for the company.

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Indrani Gupta GM, President, Mumbai - IHCL SeleQtions The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 On one hand, the international hotel chains have significantly increased their footmark in India and will account for 47 per cent share in the tourism and hospitality sector of India by 2020, moving to 50 per cent by 2022. Definitely, some tough international competition is in sight in the times to come for the home-grown chains. On the other hand, a report by Boston Consulting Group and Google India titled ‘Demystifying the Indian Online Traveller’ has predicted the Indian passenger travel market to grow at 11-11.5 per cent to US$ 48 billion by 2020. The report also projects the hotel industry growth at 13 per cent to US$ 13 billion by 2020. The future shows good weather sign for the industry.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city As per STR reports, the ADRs were under stress up until YTD October in Mumbai, however there are early signs of strong recovery from November onwards and the right pricing at the right time will be the key to yield better ADRs. We need to be courageous enough to take bullish steps in increasing ADRs.

We need to be courageous enough to take bullish steps in increasing ADRs

Your management mantra My management mantra focuses on people and it’s important to know who you lead. In regards to President hotel, I was fortunate to have a fantastic predecessor - Ashrafi Matcheswala who set an excellent people-oriented culture.

My mantra is similar and is to not only lead by example but also creating leaders for tomorrow. I truly believe people need challenges and to achieve the organisation’s goals we need to be collaborative so that as a team everyone achieves more.

Aditya Shamsher Malla GM, DoubleTree by Hilton Pune-Chinchwad The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The year is going to see some clear challenges. The current state of the economy with slowdown in demand and the given political scenario, there may be an impact on the industry at all levels. However, by Q2, things should be clearer and economic interests should take precedence putting the economy and demand cycle back on track. The Budget should carry some strong confidence building measures stimulating investment. All this will show a revival of the growth story well into 2020 with both occupancy and ADR moving north.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Pune has shown a robust growth of ADRs YoY and the coming year should be no different. With the addition in inventory the ADR may grow at a slower pace in comparison to occupancy. However, the outlook is positive on both fronts.

Your management mantra Keep it simple and focus on quality. We continue our endeavor towards providing our guests with consistently warm hospitality and ensuring we add value to them, just as we add value back to our team members as they contribute to the guest experience.

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Kush Kapoor CEO , Roseate Hotels & Resorts The dynamics of hospitality industry in 2020 We have been creating milestones in the hospitality industry all these years through our approach and the esteemed customer service. In the coming year also, we plan to have a robust strategy to implement a dynamic plan, introduce various marketing tools that would help the customers to relish their experience with us.

The coming year, we plan to be more dynamic in our approach. We plan to expand our venture and bring new opportunities for many.

At this juncture we plan to have one hotel. Moreover, keeping the need of the travellers, we also plan to increase opportunities for hoteliers and the quality of manpower also needs to be polished.

In the following years, we propose to develop the existing manpower and train the existing team to retrain, re-educate them so that the guests get a real feel of their stay and enjoy their stay.

We feel that the guests are impressed by the service that the hotels provide and if we retrain our current employees, we can make the stay of guest very valuable.

Your insights on the ARRs There has been a substantial change in the trend in the hospitality sector over the years. Some of the factors which have attributed to the alteration is the increasing middle class, rising disposable income,

Prantik Ray Area GM, Sayaji Hotels The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Considering Pune is a hub of the auto industry, hotel business here depends on this industry’s performance.

In 2019, the auto industry did not do well hence effecting the business of Pune hotels overall.

But we predict the situation will get better.

Also, we are seeing all the big brands opening their units in Pune which means there is a great demand for the hospitality sector.

So the driving force to 2020 is services which is the value of the price.

Another important factor is

how flexible we are to guest demands.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Current ARR of the city is 5200 approx. In 2020 we can predict six per cent growth in ARR of the overall industry. The corporate movement in the auto industry will increase as new plants and units are likely to come for BS6 and Electrical divisions which will also increase the investment and demand for the hospitality sector.

Your management mantra Be flexible with guest demands and your services.

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growing air connectivity and improving road infrastructure, rapid growth in domestic tourism and favourable policy initiatives. In fact, it is perceived that all these factors would contribute towards the rise in the ARR for the industry this year.

Not only in the areas where we operate, we can foresee that the markets like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai will show increase in ARR. Hence there will be a gradual increase in ARR, thereby giving the industry an uplift.

The increase in ARR driven RevPARs are more obvious in certain submarkets like Bengaluru and Hyderabad (Hitec City area).

Hence in the coming year also we foresee that there will be a considerable growth in the ARRs.

Your management mantra One of the major concerns for running efficient hotel operations is improving profitability which is often an ongoing challenge for all hotel owners and requires the complete alignment of strategies with execution, both at management and frontline level.

Transparency, innovation and the relentless passion towards our work are the key mantras for our success. Our motto is to give the best to customers and to provide them the thrilling experience during their stay with us. What makes our brand so niche is the fact that we focus on innovation and transparent approach.

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Punish B Sharma VP - Operations, The Fern Hotels & Resorts

The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The industry is continuously evolving and each year sees enhanced expectations, as well as new and, often exploding, trends. 2020 will be no different and among some of the key dynamics for the year to come, I see even higher disposable income, people searching for a better work-life balance, more female workers, green or conscious travels, all of which are contributing to the overall growth of the tourism industry.

As an Ecotel hotel, we at Meluha The Fern already embody many environmental initiatives throughout the daily operations of the hotel and we

are looking at new plans for next year without diluting the guest experience. Guests will still enjoy personal interactions, but will also revel in automated solutions and ideas offered by hotels. High-tech hotel room features will be highly attractive, particularly for the millennial mindset. The constant demand for good Wi-Fi and bandwith will only increase – many travellers carry more than one device, which need to be connected at all times. They also like to bring their own entertainment options with them while travelling, so stable connectivity is key in order to allow streaming of digital libraries and make guests feel they have some comforts of home with them.

We see many hotels worldwide with robots as automated concierges and this aspect of technology will evolve into AI, AR and VR experiences. Remote check-in, reservations and mobile room keys are just a few of the existing mobile features guests can take advantage of at some hotels and this will develop into more personal guest experiences during their stay from controlling room lighting, elevator floor selection, ordering drinks by the pool or room service, to changing the TV channels. We can see these technologies being implemented more and more in 2020.

Millenials are looking for lifestyle experiences during a hotel stay, something different than perhaps their friends have done before, pioneering dining choices, that ultimate Instagrammable moment.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city We have seen some of the highest ARRs to date

this year at Meluha The Fern, which indicates an increasingly encouraging business outlook for 2020.

Mumbai will continue to be India’s major hotel market, with an average rate of Rs 7,600 plus.

Branded hotels in Andheri Kurla Road, BKC, Powai and Goregaon, the major commercial hub of North Mumbai, are all witnessing occupancy levels in the mid-60s to early 70s. 90 per cent of the new GradeA office inventory in the city is being added in these areas and hoteliers are optimistic about improving performance further and driving average rates up as a result. In addition, the opening of the new convention centre in BKC will help Mumbai to position itself as a premier destination for both national and international conclaves.

Navi Mumbai is also maturing into a tech and commercial hub with the addition of new tech-parks and commercial spaces in CBD Belapur, Airoli, Rabale and Mahape. These new projects have also fuelled the Long Stay demand in the city. Mumbai will surely take the crown as India’s RevPAR leader for the foreseeable future.

Your management mantra I strive to drive and deliver high quality standards every day for my guests and ensure the ultimate comfort of their entire experience. Value additions for guests also form part of my daily mantra and I am constantly looking for new ways in which we can provide guests with additions and experiences that bring extra value to their stay.

Chris Franzen Area VP - West India and GM - Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020

would be a higher demand in the industry.

The hospitality sector in India is witnessing an upswing backed by an increase in domestic travel and tourism. Hotels in India are thriving in this scenario, performing strongly across a number of indicators.

The year 2020 looks promising for the travel and tourism industry. The hospitality industry is expected to witness a great transition with the latest developments and trends in the country. The revision of tax reforms and GST are going to create a huge impact. Government boosting travel and tourism industry specifically through E-visa would add to a significant business volume. We believe that with the improved infrastructure, new airport, city would gain traction and with new technologies and digitisation coming in, there

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Since the city's luxury segment has stabilised the occupancy at 76-77 per cent, the growth will be stimulated in the average rates. We assume Mumbai would not witness any new inventory in 2020 but we are confident that the ARR in the market will certainly grow. With the focus on the infrastructure and tourism industry, with no new supply, we foresee a great demand.

Your management mantra Our management mantra is to have a straight forward approach, operate and execute with a calculative risks. To serve the guests and lead the team with emotions and empathy so as to create moments of more.

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Satyajeet Krishnan Area Director - North and GM - Taj Mahal, New Delhi The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 For hospitality brands to attract and retain customers, offering different experiences to meet the different needs and expectations of guests will be of primary importance, and this requires innovation. The different needs of the hospitality industry may include time-saving technology for business travellers, human personalisation and bespoke service for luxury guests, or social experiences and new concepts for an upcoming generation of Millennials. According to World Data Lab, by 2020, global Millennial spending power will overtake Gen X, becoming greater than that of any other generation. Connectivity, both social and technological, is also key to catering to younger travellers, for whom online sharing is often a natural extension of offline experiences. Sustainable practices in the hospitality industry will continue to be in focus with the increased use of local & chemical-free produce for guests, gradually eliminating single use plastic & enhanced design and technology for increased sustainable efficiency.

In the luxury industry, this human service is vital for brands to deliver a bespoke experience, in which guests can feel both at ease and pleasantly surprised by service that surpasses expectations. With experiences and authenticity becoming increasingly important to travellers, these shared moments of personal

Zubin Songadwala Area Manager (West) & GM - ITC Maratha The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Sustainability will be the new mantra in luxury travel and guests are increasingly becoming more demanding and environmentally sensitive. Thus, it is important to ensure customisation of premium aspects of luxury without compromising on sustainable practices. At ITC Hotels, we are looking at successfully tapping into the growing segment of environmentally sensitive travellers by focusing on new business dynamics and converging it with our endeavour to create planet positive experiences under our guiding principle of ‘Responsible Luxury’. Guided tours with food connoisseurs, visiting local markets and exploring regional cuisines are some of the emerging luxury trends that are attracting today’s gourmet travellers.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Over the past few years, the hospitality industry in the region has witnessed a massive change. With

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the sudden growth in room inventory in the city, there has also been an equal increase in demand for rooms.

Basis the current trends that are shaping the hotel industry in Mumbai, it can be said that the room rates would only increase in the coming years. Inspite of the growing competition in the luxury hotels segment, both the ITC Hotels properties in Mumbai have been consistently growing. In case of north Mumbai, inspite of additional supply of rooms, there has neither been a decline in occupancy levels, nor have yields dipped.

Your management mantra Basic principle to sustain a competitive advantage is to ensure that basic services are effectively carried out in a prompt manner. Streamlining the basic services and delivering it in a prompt fashion forms a natural extension to creating 'Remarkable Experiences'. For me, it is a two–fold strategy; anticipate and surpass guests’ expectations and retain high level of employee commitment and passion.

service may turn out to be the real luxury that guests most value. At Taj Mahal, New Delhi, the warmth of service, guest recognition and attention to details have always been the differentiating factors.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city We have witnessed an encouraging growth in the second half of the year. Given the unmatched location, warm service and strong goodwill for the brand, Taj Mahal, New Delhi is deeply privileged by the support and patronage of our guests. As we commence our journey of transformation in a phase-wise manner, our enhanced offerings in terms luxurious spaces, culinary offerings, design & technology and bespoke spaces, we look forward to a positive trend with the continued support from our stakeholders and a stable overall environment.

Your management mantra Our collective capabilities and insight help us craft unique experiences for our guests. My management mantra revolves around empowerment, passion, teamwork and communication. I believe that each associate who operates as a business manager greatly contributes to the achievement of organisational goals & aspirations. Collaboration, commitment and communication (3Cs) are key to ensuring a well-managed work environment.

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Sunil Narang GM, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Technology and integration of digital applications will play a large role in offering an enhanced guest experience in 2020. A lot has been spoken recently about technology bringing forth growth and productivity.

There’s always so much discussion around what’s next in hotel service and technology.

In the hospitality industry, we are in the business of providing exemplary guest experiences with a human touch. Today the focus on guest experience has intensified in line with the rising expectations of discerning travellers – with new technology being introduced to rise up to the challenge.

For instance, the Four Seasons chat app is an ideal example of technological integration to deliver seamless experiences to our guests. Not only can a guest chat through various channels such as the Four Seasons App, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat, the app allows for guests to communicate in real-time with actual Four Seasons employees and not a chatbot – thus providing distinguished customer service with a human touch, backed by technology.

Social Media will continue to be crucial as a channel of communication and to engage with our guests. How we engage with guests, what nature of content appeals to them and improving guest engagement through campaigns will be a major focus for the industry in 2020.

Leaders in the hotel industry understand how imperative social media is to the business and hence utilising the various platforms to increase the experience for guests

continues to be a priority.

Lastly, employee retention will continue to be a huge focus for the industry in 2020. Creating a millennial-friendly work environment and offering employees a career path that fosters growth are some of the key factors to retain employees.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city In a global destination like Mumbai, I foresee the ARRs to move up at a steady pace supported by economic growth. It is a dynamic city with a solid base of domestic and international travellers and given the influx of travel the city receives for business and leisure coupled with the fact that there isn’t a lot of new inventory coming into the city in the luxury segment, ARRs in the city are projected to be optimistic.

Your management mantra At Four Seasons, we believe in the Golden Rule: To treat others as we’d wish to be treated ourselves. One of the tenets of my management mantra is based on this belief – to create a hospitable work environment for employees that enable them to speak their mind.

Employees should feel empowered to take risks and feel comfortable making decisions that help deliver an optimal guest experience. Secondly, I believe that to grow in our industry it is important to innovate, challenge ourselves and push the envelope. Innovation is key to further progress.

TJ Joulak GM - Special Projects, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Middle East, India and Indian Ocean The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 2019 has been an exciting year for hospitality industry both in terms of policy developments and prioritising travel as the number one aspiration by Indians.

Slashing of the goods and services tax (GST) rates for luxury hotels and the Government of India's push to endorse tourism has spurred the demand among travellers.

The industry will see greater momentum in 2020.

The business opportunity, growing number of startups, an increase in the millennial workforce will also fuel more business traveller arrivals and the demand for conferences.

In fact, during 2019 we have also witnessed an increase in the number of people opting for staycations. This trend is mainly driven by millennial who want a quick-fix from their busy lifestyle. Bleisure

travel and Staycation trends continue to be popular this year. Food & Beverage consumption in the luxury segment shall grow exponentially with discerning diners focusing on experiential dining and bespoke experiences.

The concept of ‘Conscious travel’ is primarily budding and is expected to grow further in 2020. With Responsible and Sustainable Tourism becoming a hot new trend, travellers are expected to connect their travel choices with carbon footprint and environment care.

At Shangri-La, we operate our business responsibly with the aim of improving people’s lives while caring for the environment. Environmental considerations have been fully integrated into the daily operations of our hotels. We aim to achieve a 15 per cent reduction in the energy, GHG and water footprints of our properties by 2020.

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Vikas Kapai GM, Sofitel Mumbai BKC The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Rising consumer purchasing power and digital innovation have fuelled a growth in the travel and hospitality industry. India’s travel and tourism sector has huge growth potential and the industry is looking forward to the expansion of the E-Visa scheme, which is expected to double the tourist inflow to India.

As more commercial real estate is opening up in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), and in the absence of any additional supply in this financial hub of the city, one can envisage a surge in the demand for hotel rooms. With the upcoming convention centre in the city, there will be more demand in the near future and drive customer expectations upwards in the hospitality segment. This will provide a significant boom to the hotels in the city.

In the F&B segment, as the needs and wants of consumers keep changing, hospitality brands across the country will constantly strive to innovate new and trendy experiences for the luxury and corporate clientele.

Nicholas Dumbell GM, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The hospitality industry is an extremely competitive industry and it is important for businesses functioning within it to keep up with the latest trends, in order to avoid being left behind.

In the upcoming year dynamics of the hospitality industry will definitely change by a notch. Hotels will be going for a greener and sustainable approach. Hotels will go paperless or use natural materials, such as timber from sustainable forests that are a good “green” option and consume low amounts of energy in their production. We will also see the growth in Millennials as they travel a lot and are the early embracers of the new technology. With that I also believe that Artificial Intelligence will play a number of different roles within the hospitality industry, but the main goal for all will still be to improve customer service.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city The Indian hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key industries driving the growth of the service sector and, therefore, the Indian

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economy. Mumbai currently has the highest Average Room rate across all major cities in India.

Having said that the demand for 5 star hotels continue to grow and supply is not keeping pace with this rising demand. Room rates would continue growing in the city in the foreseeable future.

Your management mantra My management mantra also happens to be one of the core values of my company, Marriott International – Put people first. I strongly believe that if we "Take care of our associates, they will take care of the customers, and the customers will come back." as said by the founder Bill Marriott.

As each individual in a successful and productive team work together to achieve the same long term goal. According to me a people centric hotel will significantly deliver a more productive result than an organisation centric firm. You can best see that in Marriott International’s success, as its peoplecentric approach is in the daily commitment of its leaders ensuring that the organisation lives up to its original values.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city As demand continues to increase, the ARR in the city ideally too should be growing, however we have not seen any big growths in the ADR for the city and the average room rates seem to remain consistent for all hotels. There is no significant volatility in the ADR as one would expect with the increase in demand that we have seen in the last one year. With inventory being added to try and meet the demand, we anticipate the ARR of hotels in the city to go up, as there is still a vast difference between the demand and supply.

As there are only two hotels currently present in the central business district of the city, and with the growing number of organisations setting up their base within the BKC area, we at Sofitel Mumbai BKC are forecasting a growth not only for demand in rooms, but in the food and beverage and wellbeing segments as well.

Your management mantra I believe ‘Delegation and Accountability’ is the key to achieving success within the team.

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Akarsh Mathur GM, The Deltin Daman The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The hospitality industry is trending and evolving at the same time. Changing as per the lifestyle and needs of people, adapting the new innovations and providing the best is what helps you sustain in the long run. I think as a hotel company, and as a tourism industry, we have to get out in front about sustainability. That’s single-use plastics, reducing our carbon footprint; it’s about building with more sustainable materials and understanding your on going impact on the environment. The government will legislate, but in fact businesses have to get out in front of it now.

Hospitality providers will need to serve guests in a significantly more connected way, striking the right balance between automated solutions and human interaction. The human element to all this is paramount – the report going on to say that the majority (67 per cent) of guests surveyed said they preferred engaging with a person. Examples of technology supporting human interaction could include the deployment of real-time translation earphones and smart glasses, which would allow hotel staff to converse with guests in their native tongue.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Hotel industry in the current decade has started to follow a more advanced revenue management process by adopting a competitive ARR based rate rather than deciding the rate basis on RevPAR. Offering competitive ARR by keeping a watch on the market demand and the

tariff offered by others competitor hotels helps to boost the occupancy of the hotel.

Daman has more to offer to tourists as it is a getaway destination for both crowds travelling from Gujarat and Maharashtra. The average rate the hotels have to offer to its guest is from around Rs 2500 to Rs 7000 per night with bed & breakfast. Deltin Daman located in the heart of Daman city, the only five-star hotel, offers lucrative and dynamic pricing from tariff starting at Rs 5999 (plus taxes) to its guests who prefer to travel on weekdays.

Other named hotels in the city who used to offer ARR of about Rs 5000 to Rs 7000 have also started to follow dynamic pricing looking at the tariff available from hotels not just in Daman but other competitor getaway hotels in Lonavala and Alibaug.

Your management mantra Training and grooming the staff and taking care of them as we take care of our business is the basic idea.

We ensure our team members are exposed to the latest global trends that give them the confidence and skills required to meet expectations of each guest.

Also we empower our staff to try new things and take decisions on the shop floor to improve customer experiences and provide unique dining options. ‘Customisation’ is the key differentiator between an average and great restaurant. So these small things altogether help in smooth functioning of the system and hence, is the management mantra for us at The Deltin, Daman.

Ameya Karnad GM, Royal Orchid Central Grazia Navi Mumbai The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 In 2019, the overall market saw a drastic change with respect to mid segment hotel chain, wherein, be it business hotels or leisure destinations, their average occupancies took a hit as well as their demographics saw a change in client mix. This year 2020, it would be similar to 2019, where the industry would be more occupancy driven than ADR driven. City hotels may want to hit better numbers considering an extra day this year, plus given the fact that there are more competitions, more international brands as well as domestic brands making way in tier A-B-C cities.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city The entire country saw extended monsoons. Even October as

an auspicious banqueting month was badly hit since venues weren’t entirely available. Due to the fact that all hotels had to achieve their topline, most of the hotels within the city had to compromise on their premium ARRs and concentrate on the occupancies. Hopefully this should not be a trend to be set for the coming years. Vis-à-vis last year data, this year the city ARRs saw a dip of seven per cent and the statistics also derive that the occupancies were same. A core insight is required to ensure that in coming years, not only is the occupancy increased, but also the ADR is bettered.

Your management mantra By all means, be needy and not greedy, everyone works for their topline, but with an ethical approach each player would get their fair market share.

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Prashanth Rao Aroor CEO, Intellistay Hotels The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 We are coming to the end of a year with a lot of positives. The industry is getting more organised. Many independent and family operated hotels have recognised the value and role that brands deliver and have looked at branding, conversions and re-flagging of their hotels with due seriousness. A consolidation is happening with five domestic players and similar number of international players segmenting the market and pushing their brands to deeper India.

The GST regime corrections and travel infra will keep pushing demand.

Consumer behaviour is the biggest change. Travel is now the new luxury for the top 20 per cent of the current consumer base. It's what people spend on and only 25 per cent of India have ever stayed in a hotel so the market is deep. Credit shortage means that new supply will be slow to come and demand is growing in double digits.

We will see a long and sustained up-cycle for the industry with 10 or so formal traditional players and several new alternative accommodation players emerging to fill the supply gap and ride the pricing upswings.

Your insights on the ARRs The shortage of credit for new supply will ensure that demand outpaces supply for the considerable future. Even with brands using conversion strategy like us to convert traditional hotels and brown fields to

Sandeep Basu Area GM - Kolkata, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 The Indian hospitality sector is expected to witness high growth in 2020. The next year may be a phase of building an international market. Domestic travel is expected to be the primary driver of the sector’s growth.

High disposable income and the advent of better locations are driving this growth. Here in West Bengal Domestic market is contributing around 85 per cent of business and International markets is contributing around 15 per cent.

I think the following dynamics would enhance the hospitality industry in 2020: ● Mobile Technology- It is now one of the most important hospitality trends. It will continue to evolve in the hotel and hospitality industry, such as remote check-in, mobile room keys, room reservations and more to come. ● A connected Guest Experience- This will enhance more in the coming years. In some instances it begins with facial recognition, enabling hotel staff to greet guests by name and be aware of their preferences. ● Dynamic Customer Data- With every aspect of the guest’s hotel experiences collected, analysed and parsed

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for future use, data is essential. Customer data from loyalty programs, price comparisons, location, and booking data are all being used to develop valuable insights.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city The hospitality industry in the city has grown significantly over the past few years as new hotels have opened like Westin, JW Marriott, ibis, ITC Royal Bengal, Lemon Tree, Fairfield by Marriott and a few more are in the pipeline. The city hotels witnessed a muted 2-3 per cent growth in average room rates (ARR) at Rs 5,000 during Q3 FY2019 on improved occupancies at 63 per cent (a three per cent growth).

Your management mantra “Make your people (employee) happy who will keep your guests happy”. Successful businesses have three things in common: an excellent leader, satisfied customers and happy employees. A positive work environment with attractive perks and benefits to supplement their salary can make happy employees stay for longer.

proper hotels with minimal investments, and despite alternative accommodation like serviced residences, villas, camps and hostels emerging, the rates will go up.

India is hungry for quality and anyone who provides it with standards consistently will get a premium. Indian consumers don't buy cheap. They buy value and they demand and pay for quality. This does not apply to urban luxury hotels where there was an oversupply but they may start seeing better ARRs as oversupply gets corrected by rising demand.

Your management mantra It's a time for discipline and for focusing on the basics. In Mar '19 we have hit operating breakeven at a company level and are mostly asset light and debt free. We were the third highest hotel opening company in '18 and likely to be a top performer in '19 as well. We will now focus on basics. Standards, tools for scale, fiscal discipline, strong culture, better hotels in quality and larger size assets under management. We will look at partnering with capital to create a hotel buying owning programme in the sub luxury space. The first formal one of its kind in India. This proposed asset owning entity will partner with IntelliStay hotels to look at opportunities that IntelliStay will originate as value buys and be able to ride the upside from the asset corrections and get dependable yields from IntelliStay Hotels brands. It's time to look at size and scale in earnest. The ecosystem is ready for it.

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Jameson Solomon GM, Swissotel Kolkata The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Going into the new year 2020, what we see is there will be further inventory increase which is in the pipeline and going to open up soon. In 2019, we closed at an occupancy of 64.5 per cent, in 2020, we see a drop to 58 per cent based on an increase in 1700 keys being added to the Kolkata market. Major demand influences for the city hotels that we are looking at in 2020 is financial services, stock exchange, PSEs, etc. With Swissotel Kolkata being strategically located, we are high on demand from clientele in the profile of IT, financial services, pharma companies and telecom industry. Our proximity to these companies gives us good business in terms of inhouse utilisation. The trend looks competitive. Fairfield from the globally known Marriott brand which just opened has approximately 198 keys. There are also two ITC hotels which have competitive MICE spaces, so the business will be further distributed. MICE business segment is one of the biggest that we would see in the Eastern periphery. The Biswa Bangla Convention Centre is a huge facility and is utilised by many pharma companies and corporates. All the hotels in the vicin-

ity get a share of the pie depending on the internal dynamics of the hotel's structure. If it is a hotel of 148 keys capacity like what we are, we have an advantage here being close to the convention centre. A lot of FITs and transit movement too happens near the Kolkata Airport. We have got a few extended stays too which bring commercials worth Rs 32 lakh. We also receive leisure travellers who bring commercials close to Rs 1.39 cr.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city It is going to be a little bit of concern in the sense that there could be a slight drop in the ARRs compared to 2019. ADRs which hovered at Rs 6066 in 2019, could drop to Rs 5950, keeping in mind the massive inventory coming in. But at the same time, we have to maintain it at a bare minimum as Swissotel is a luxury hotel.

Your management mantra Management mantra is quite a thing that I keep working on. I certainly believe that good leaders need to lead with a positive agenda and not just with an agenda of dealing with the prices.

Sharad Upadhyay GM, Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 We are expecting a growth in demand by four to five per cent in 2020. This is a similar growth structure that we saw in 2019 as well. There will be a pressure to maintain the pricing but hotels will have to concentrate on the positioning and service standards of the hotel.

There will be a rise in demand for better talent to work in the hotel space.

With the disruption caused by online and home delivery segment, the hotels will have a dual effect. If the hotel copes up with the same than there will be a crunch of talent in the Food and Beverage space and the hotels need to leverage on this opportunity.

We shall be facing value conscious consumers on the service, technology and product front.

Your insights on the ARRs in the city Year 2020 will see an increase in the ARR by two to three per cent for the city hotels.

Online travel is price sensitive and the lead time is short. Hence hotels don't have an advantage of taking rates as a primary strategy.

The hotels needs to look at the demand and supply and observe how occupancy performs with the rates. We shall need to drive the RevPAR and focus on the same.

Meta search engines give customers several options for hotels and the guests majorly look at location and then the pricing for their hotel stay.

Your management mantra My management mantra is to have a positive intent on our people and empower them. I believe delegating without abdicating and talking straightforward and on-point is always useful.

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Anurag Katriar President, National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) The dynamics of the restaurant business in 2020 In my opinion, the industry in India is going through some challenging times and that is going to continue for a while in 2020 too.

The challenges are multi-fold; from general economic slowdown to regulatory challenges to change in consumption trends and hugely unregulated online operations in the food service space.

The industry sees a big shift every five to seven years and that has begun in 2019 and will perhaps continue through the best parts of 2020 too. I see consumers either seeking highly experiential dining or just looking at affordable options in the neighbourhood or online. I expect the middle-rung “generic” restaurants struggling a bit. Delivery business will continue to flourish and I am also hopeful that the malaise of deep-discounting will wither down a bit because the biggest players in the market also realise the need to reduce cash burn.

I am also quite hopeful that the chefs in India will look inwards, i.e towards the regional Indian food to seek the next round of inspiration. This may also bring the good home chefs into prominence.

Dr Nitin Nagrale Founder, Hospitality Purchasing Manager's Forum (HPMF) The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Digital and Disruption are the new Dynamics hitting all businesses and the same will be applicable to the hospitality procurement business. We need to have forward thinking to bring new ideas and new ways of working. Collaboration, Procurement Consolidation, Ownership Driven approach will be the game changers.

through much stronger and united bodies like CII, Assocham, FICCI, etc. FHRAI, NRAI, HAI etc work in their own ways, bigger chains and groups are not active and it works in isolation. We will have to collectively define the future of the hospitality industry. Time has come for industry to make a united representation to get stimulus, GST input credit and other support required. Single window for projects approval and user friendly FSSAI norms will be my take.

Your expectations of industry-friendly policy in the upcoming budget

Your management mantra

I feel our industry is not strongly united as a force and hence not able to pitch and influence policy decisions like other industries do

Think beyond tomorrow, be ahead of the curve, involve and influence the team and work through path breaking initiatives.

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Your expectations of industry-friendly policy in the upcoming budget ●

NRAI sincerely hopes for the following: Creation of a separate central ministry for the industry. We contribute significantly to the Indian economy and employ 7.30 million Indians. We deserve a dedicated ministry to propel us into a quick regulated growth. ● Restoration of Input Tax Credit on GST for the industry. It has crippled the trade very severely. ● A better and balanced ecommerce policy framework for the industry. ● More work towards the stated goal of “ease-of-doing-business”, leading up to single-window project clearance for the trade.

Your management mantra ●

● ●

Hire the best talent and give them autonomy to operate. As leaders, look after these people and let them look after your business.

Be proactive and be aware of the changing trends of consumers and consumption.

Think about money matters before opening and after closing the restaurant. During the interim period, just make sure that everyone walking into your space and walking out is happy and content.

COVER STORY

Gurbaxish Singh Kohli VP, FHRAI and President, HRAWI The dynamics of the hospitality industry in 2020 Some time ago, India has been faced with hurried implementation of GST, overall economic slowdown, among many more parameters, which have in turn arrested the industry's upward growth. The economic slowdown was inevitable as soon as GST was rolled out. We at FHRAI have been prodding the government to place the industry out of the 'elitist' and 'luxury' tag. Luxury is a relative term. What might be luxury for one, not essentially the same will be for another. Our continuous lobbying against the multi-tier GST implementation in room categories has been heard by the government. It is a start, wherein from 28 per cent we have brought it down to 18 per cent in the case of luxury room tariffs, but we still believe in rationalising it further because the price bracket tagged as luxury is a mere US$ 100 - a benchmark room tariff at most hotels abroad. Budget hotels and business hotels should be taxed between 12-15 per cent and not any higher. With the current reduction, we are positive that the demand will grow.

We have become more competitive than in our neighbouring countries. But even now domestic travellers are finding international destinations more pocket-friendly than Indian destinations like Kerala. Also, how do we address the hassle created due to poor infrastructure?

Being a visionary, PM Narendra Modi has re-

alised that tourism can be a game-changer paying heed to the cases of many other countries who are now prospering as they thrive on tourism as a product. There have been some good decisions such as rolling out of E-visas, visa on arrival. But what does a traveller see when they book a hotel? It is the skyrocketing tax that is keeping FTAs from visiting India. The government has to understand that, to invite more international travellers, it has to bring drastic industry-friendly changes in the tourism policy.

India also strives for an increase in the supply of rooms. With the Centre's recent announcement of a target to receive 20mn FTAs by 2022, the room inventory supply definitely needs to be looked at.

We can achieve the target, the only thing needed by the government is giving a boost to the hotels.

Ours is the highest taxed sector. We generate one of the highest Forex; one of the highest employment opportunities, but what is the government doing for the industry still remains a question.

The de-growth of the foodservice space in the country is due to unfriendly policies and most importantly, not allowing the whole segment to avail Input Tax Credit (ITC). Today, if I have to start my restaurant in India, I need to have 35 No Objection Certificates (NOCs), which is a lot. But again, that has been reduced from the previous 76 NOCs. The government is doing a brilliant job, but now we are saying at least listen to the voice of the industry.

A S Ahuja President, Purchasing Professionals Forum - India (PPFI) The dynamics of the hospitality procurement business in 2020 Major dynamics of hotel procurement will be partnerships. Effective relationships are built on partnerships, not on price. In the old days, good price was a major factor to sign the deal; today, it’s a partnership.

Building relationships that bring value to both sides.

The new reality of procurement is focused on the right cost, quality, delivery, flexibility and strategic sourcing. Just like any other relationship, one must be open, honest, and willing to share and learn from each other. All of this creates a greater need to highlight mutually beneficial collaboration. They should respect that we are buying the product from them, and we respect that they are our associates/partner and pay them on time. Another dynamic I can foresee, is the gigantic role of Supply Facilities companies: we expect them to go above and beyond, offering value-

added services that address business needs and challenges. Rather than simply being order-takers, Supply Facilities companies will start offering solutions to clients in audits, procurement and more.

Your expectations of industry-friendly policy in the upcoming budget We hope to see the Budget focusing on rationalising the GST rates for the domestic travel industry, as the top end customer segments are choosing to holiday abroad.

This, in turn, creates a ripple effect on the employment rates. The hospitality industry is a big employment generator. Sustainability is another expectation - simple steps such as investing in solar panels and alternative energy sources can go a long way in making our country more sustainability-focused while still pushing for economic growth. Quality tourism education at rational price is also on the wishlist.

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IN FOCUS

‘FAUCETNOZZLES BYALTERED HELP SAVE 90 PER CENTOFWATER CONSUMPTION’ Altered, a Swedish innovation company that provides low effort-high impact solutions has introduced a tap nozzle that reduces water consumption up to 90 per cent without affecting the functionality of the faucet. In conversation with Akshay Nayak, Mikael Abbhagen, head of design and co-founder at Altered speaks about Altered branded water-saving equipment's application in the hospitality industry What lack of awareness in saving water did you witness across industries to innovate the product Altered: Nozzle?

The awareness about water consumption is still at a very nascent stage. We are not so aware of how much water we personally consume and how. Growing up, we're conditioned to using water in a particular way and we do not see a need to change a few habits.

In regular tap water gushes out at around 10–12 L/min. Most of it just passes your hands, meaning you only use the water that touches your skin. This results in billions of gallons of freshwater running straight down the drain every day.

Through our patentpending technology, the Altered: Nozzle atomises the water, breaking the water up into millions of drops. Creating a high-speed heavy mist shooting out of your tap.

This drastically increases the surface area of the water, making it possible for you to get in contact with every single drop of water coming out of your tap.

Altered: Nozzles help you understand how the use of water is more about functionality and less about quantity. They assist you in not just becoming more aware, but also evaluate personal consumption mathematically. Hence proving that one must use solutions

that help us use only how much we need, in the interest of a better future.

Using these nozzles, one can wash hands & clean dishes with better functionality & efficiency, yet use 90 per cent less quantity.

Altered: Nozzle puts the onus on us, to stay conscious and re-habituate. It's a lot about re-conditioning mindsets.

What is the USP of Altered: Nozzle's diverse applicability?

The resultant water savings without the loss of functionality is its biggest USP. The Nozzles retrofit existing faucets. The fittings are universal, with adaptors for most taps provided with each piece. It is a quick and easy solution to get a huge impact on water and energy consumption today.

Mikael Abbhagen

The simplest way to start saving water is in hotel rooms, accounting for 30 per cent of the total water usage in hotels

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Hospitality industry being a major water guzzler, how do you see the Indian HoReCa segment as a key market for Altered: Nozzle?

India is a fast developing nation, with a vast geographical spread. As development increases, so will infrastructure and consumption, leaving the HoReCa segment ever busy.

Water used in hotels and other lodging facilities accounts for approximately 20 per cent of the total water used in commercial and in-

stitutional buildings. Reducing water use in hotel rooms has the highest potential impact on water savings.

High consumption and the rising need to preserve natural resources earn an increase in regulations as well. Consequently, making environmental sustainability a leading factor in purchasing decisions. According to the 2015 Nielson Global Corporate Sustainability report, 66 per cent of the consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands. Yet, a majority (82 per cent) of the companies say they lack the tools and strategies to turn insights into actionables. The simplest way to start saving water is in hotel rooms, accounting for 30 per cent of the total water usage in hotels.

Reduced use of water will also mean, reduced water heating and lesser pumping of water translates to savings in energy and reduction in carbon footprint.

Altered: Nozzles help you meet customer demand, save on utility costs, avoid regulatory fines and add value to social responsibility.

What is the future roadmap for Altered?

We are launching an Altered: Shower now at the beginning of 2020. We are constantly expanding our product portfolio with more taps, soaps, showers and global reach. We are just getting started.

CAMPUS NOTES

'NIPS GROUPAIMS TO BE INDIA'S LARGEST HOSPITALITYCONGLOMERATE IN NEXTFIVE YEARS' Providing an array of national and international hospitality and culinary programmes ranging from diploma level to masters, NIPS Group of Institutes strives to provide best-in-class all-round hospitality education to the aspiring hospitality students. Vivek Pathak, group MD, NIPS Group speaks to Akshay Nayak about the many facilities that the group of institutes provides

Vivek Pathak

How has the hospitality education scenario evolved in India?

With the widespread and fast growing globalisation and surge of internet, the hospitality sector has emerged as the fastest growing sector in the world. The world-class top Indian hotel chains and proliferation of renowned international hotel brands in the country have already infused dynamism into the industry and a demand for hospitality education. The world-class education and training from leading hospitality education institutes of the country is helping them to prove their mettle and find

their place in the sun.

The contemporary hospitality industry scenario is buzzing and has become quite promising in terms of career prospects, progression and incentives. More interesting has been the revolutionary employee branding that has occurred, with the industry offering a lot more to aspirants apart from a glitzy career. Remuneration and working lifestyle have come on par with other leading sectors of industry, resulting in the successful wooing of passionate and professional talent.

No doubt, the advent and investment of international hotel

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CAMPUS NOTES

brands in the Indian market has commenced the evolution of the hospitality industry as a potential and prudent employer. Today, for a hospitality professional, the whole Earth has become a playground. With the kind of quality hospitality education, leading Indian institutes are providing the professionals trained in India opoortunities worldwide.

Through each year leading hospitality institutes witness an increase in the number of applicants vis-à-vis previous years.

More often than not, it is the decline in the interest in traditional courses that account for students opting for hospitality as a career.

What are the various offerings for the students across NIPS Hotel Management Institutes?

NIPS across all its campuses provides an array of national and international hospitality and culinary programmes ranging from diploma level to Masters courses, delivered in world-class environment along with its national and international partners. NIPS is highly connected with top universities in countries like UK, Canada, Australia and many other countries.

NIPS takes pride in sending its students all around the world for internships including USA, Canada, UK, Spain, France, Portugal, Germany,

UAE, Singapore, Mauritius and many more.

NIPS alumni are working all around the world and in various different sectors like airlines, cruiselines, MNCs and many more along with the leading hotels in the world.

The hospitality industry strives for quality manpower.

How does NIPS train the students to meet the modern needs of the industry?

Best part of learning in NIPS is the international environment and exposure that the students get. NIPS Hotel Management’s generous facilities allow for a hands-on delivery of the hospitality and culinary management programmes.

“Learning by Doing” has long been the approach of NIPS. In tandem with its strong Indian and International partners, the institute develops professionals who can both implement their ideas in a working environment and lead the required processes, making them absolutely employment-ready for any country in the world.

The NIPS programmes focus on global trends, business strategy and operational leadership. Students who join the institute learn the art of international hospitality management and develop the principles of the Indian hospitality touch.

With FSSAI getting more

50 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY January 2020

stringent in food handling and safety, how do you train your students to meet the terms set by the regulator for the industry?

Special sessions are held at regular intervals to train the students as per the FSSAI manuals and standards and it is also incorporated within the students to make it a regular habit to maintain highest standards of sanitation, food safety and hygiene.

Do you see importance in vocational training for hospitality professionals? Any programmes that NIPS Group conducts?

The scenario is very encouraging. It is like a huge ocean of opportunities where students belonging to any socio-economic background has equal opportunity to excel. In a country of 1.2 billion, almost 50 per cent is below 25 years of age hence India can be termed as a young nation. With the development of the skilling industry in

India through vocational training, we have been successful in turning our negative aspect of an overpopulated nation into highly skilled nation, in both aspects of quantity and quality.

NIPS Skill Development Training Institute offers vocational training in multiple verticals of the hospitality sector in partnership with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Government of India, and especially for underprivileged students, we offer them the courses without any charge.

More importantly, it is not sufficient to develop someone's skills and leave them, we also need to find them a proper place to showcase their skills and earn their daily bread, so that is one more thing NIPS does for its students under vocational courses that it gives all of them decent jobs to make a career and change their socioeconomic status.

You have four institutes in the North East and East region of

India. Any plans to expand?

Future expansion plan is to launch our upcoming institute in many more locations pan India in the coming three years.

Over the years, NIPS has expanded exponentially by launching other brands like Windsor Bakery, Kolkata Biryani, Elysian Banquet, NIPS Chef Culinary Academy, NIPS Pastry & Chocolate School, to name a few. NIPS is strongly focused on expansion of the vertical of the group and to spread pan India.

NIPS Hotel Management seeks to unlock the industry’s full potential as one of the biggest engines for growth in the economy and to ensure that the industry’s needs are effectively represented by engaging with government, the media, employees and customers. Our key priorities are the future workforce of the sector and in the process to become the largest hospitality conglomerate in the nation within next five years.

MOVEMENTS MBD Group MBD Group has appointed Parmeet Singh Nayar as VP - Operations and general manager hospitality. Nayar will support the growth of MBD Hospitality in Indian market and oversee the performance of the Group's hotels in the region, including Radisson Blu MBD Hotel Noida and Radisson Blu Hotel MBD Ludhiana. Prior to joining the Group, he held various manage-

has served in an illustrious career spanning more than two decades now. He is reputed for his appetite for the culinary arts which he has married with his nifty managerial skills to successfully lead and inspire highly performing teams. An authority in the fields of operations, sales and marketing, he has also gained the reputation of successfully handling challenging markets vis-Ă -vis the finance department.

The Westin Pune Koregaon Park

Courtyard by Marriott Pune, Chakan Courtyard by Marriott Pune, Chakan has appointed Vikas Mittal as the director of sales. He brings over rich 17 years of experience with international hotel chains like Marriott International, Accor, Radisson, Moevenpick, Lalit, ITC and Taj. He started his career in front office and post that worked with Catering Sales, Mice Vertical, Leisure segment and various roles of Sales and Marketing with a dif-

The Westin Pune Koregaon Park has appointed Amandeep Singh Khurana as the restaurant manager for the newly launched 'The Market'. Khurana is a versatile and resultsdriven professional with 5.5 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He started with the pre-opening as a Team Leader for Andaz Delhi in 2016 and then got promoted in 2018.

development, Sanas has been known for bringing out the best in an employee. A young achiever, she brings onboard a rich experience of over 12 years in HR and has worked with prominent companies like Marriott International, Keys Klub Parc Estique to name a few.

Her last assignment was with Four Points by Sheraton Bengaluru.

Novotel and ibis Bengaluru Outer Ring Road Novotel and ibis Bengaluru Outer Ring Road recently appointed Vikas Mittar as director of finance at Novotel & ibis Bengaluru Outer Ring Road.

An industry veteran, he brings across a rich experience in the hospitality of 15 years and overall experience in Finance of over 19 years. A seasoned hotelier, Over the last 15 years his deep understanding and command of domain experience in

Parmeet Singh Nayar

rial positions with international hotel chains including ShangriLa and Hilton.

Vikas Mittal

The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat Subhash Sinha is the new general manager of The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat. A veteran in the business of hospitality, he has enjoyed exponential success in all the top-notch properties he Amandeep Singh Khurana

Subhash Sinha

He also has an experience in all different F&B outlets due to cross training exposure and also a part of the Personal butler Team. At The Westin Pune Koregaon Park, Khurana will be responsible for maintaining established quality and service standards and manage the restaurant The Market for the hotel.

He thrives on developing new ideas and concepts, and innovative and creative ways to improve the service standards and values.

ferent chain of Hotels. His last assignment was with Four Points by Sheraton Whitefield Bengaluru.

Courtyard by Marriott Pune, Chakan has also appointed Rajni Sanas as their human resources manager.

With a deft hand in performance management, recruitment, selection, training and

Rajni Sanas

Vikas Mittar

accounting & financial management through SAP, OPERA, Control Gap Analysis and Supply Chain Management will be an asset to the dual property.

Novotel and ibis Bengaluru Outer Ring Road has appointed Rahul Panwar as hotel manager. His last assignment was as an executive assistant manager at the 462 keys Novotel Phu Quoc Resort & Villas in Vietnam. He brings with him a rich international hospitality experience with over 13 years across global hospitality brands in India, USA, China &

Rahul Panwar

Vietnam. He has also bagged a multitude of awards like HOD of the Year & GSI Champion of the quarter in his previous stints.

Fairfield by Marriott Kolkata Abhishek Sachdev has been appointed as the hotel manager of Fairfield by Marriott Kolkata. With over 13 years of enriching hospitality experience across multiple hotel companies & varied roles at ITC, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Indian Hotels Company, he is a recognised individual within the hospitality industry. He started his career as a management trainee at ITC Hotels and was associated with ITC Windsor, Bangalore as a duty manager before moving on to the pre-opening team of ITC Gardenia, Bangalore as an asst. front office manager.

Abhishek Sachdev

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MOVEMENTS Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai

cultures in different countries with leading global luxury hotels, Five Star Deluxe Hotels, luxury cruise liners and City Centre Hotels.

Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai has appointed Agatha Gomes as its new director of catering sales.

Prior to her latest role, she was a part of St Regis Mumbai where as the director of catering she was responsible for curating and overseeing corporate events, and large-scale

Sofitel Mumbai BKC

Sudhakar Appa

opening of Four Seasons’ very first project in India - Mumbai.

The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa

Agatha Gomes

Indian weddings. During her tenure with the hotel, she was presented with the Astor Excellence 2018, Marriott Excellence Leader of the Year, and Elite Awards - Catering Leader APEC 2018 - for raising the bar on performance and growth in her domain of expertise.

Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai has also appointed Sudhakar Appa as its new director of engineering. A part of the Four Seasons family since its early days in India, Appa embarked on his Four Seasons journey in Mumbai in 2007 during the pre-opening phase.

Prior to joining Four Seasons, he started his career with an apprenticeship programme with the Indian Navy, where he earned his Diploma in Electrical Engineering (specialisation in Aeronautical Engineering).

He later graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Public Administration from Indira Gandhi National Open University. After completing 20 proud years of service as an aeronautical engineer with the Navy, he had an opportunity of joining luxury hospitality with the

A seasoned culinary professional, Chef Gaurav Misra has been appointed as the executive chef at The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa. Bringing with him an extensive experience of 20 years in the hospitality industry, Chef Misra has a dynamic and proficient career in the culinary space. In his new role, he will expertly spearhead the entire kitchen operations; from crafting innovative menus, ensuring the customer’s satisfaction, to managing & mentoring the culinary team. Over the years, Chef Misra has acquired a deep understanding of traditional and modern aspects of the F&B industry. He has worked with diverse

Akshay Sood

role will also include overseeing the costs and control of food quality, ingredients to achieve customer satisfaction, profitability of the outlets, business and development and ensuring the best gastronomy experience to the guests at the property.

Chef Rakesh Rana

five restaurants at Indore Marriott Hotel. He is a master when it comes to Italian Cuisine, Continental, Indian and European Cuisine. In his 15 years of experience, he has worked with various luxury brands in the hospitality industry like Hyatt, The Imperial New Delhi and Oberoi prior to joining Indore Marriott Hotel.

With the distinction of being trained under expert guidance of international chefs, he is proficient in planning, inventory management and maintaining hygienic standards at work.

Rational International India

A seasoned culinary professional, Chef Amit Rao has been appointed as the executive sous chef at The Westin Mumbai Garden City. Bringing with him an extensive experience of over 16 years in

Rational International India has appointed Saurabh Puri as the marketing manager. With an extensive experience of over 10 years in the marketing domain, he has worked with leading companies in India like HT Media, Aircel and Max Life Insurance, where he played an instrumental role in managing big projects and launches for each of them.

Prior to joining Rational, Puri was associated with an EssilorLuxottica group company, where he was responsible was managing the marketing activities at not just domestic level but also internationally.

Chef Amit Rao

Saurabh Puri

The Westin Mumbai Garden City

Indore Marriott Hotel

Chef Gaurav Misra

52 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY January 2020

Sofitel Mumbai BKC has appointed Akshay Sood as the director of F&B. He will be responsible for the entire F&B operations across the five restaurants and bars at the luxury property. In his new role, Sood will be managing and executing events held at the hotel and assist clients in programme planning and menu selection, wherever required. As a proficient professional, Sood comes with more than 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry. His

the hospitality industry, handling numerous specialty restaurants and working alongside Michelin Star chefs, Chef Rao hones a dynamic and proficient career in the culinary space. In his new role, he will expertly supervise and assist in kitchen operations, from crafting innovative menus, ensuring the customers are well attended to, to managing & mentoring the culinary team, among others.

Chef Rao began his career in 2001 at Hotel Taj President, Mumbai where he worked at Trattoria and learnt the nuances of Italian cuisine. He then moved to Dubai where he worked at Grosvenor House West Marina Beach, Dubai and subsequently moved to Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India.

Chef Rakesh Rana is the newly appointed executive chef at Indore Marriott Hotel.

He will lead the culinary team and will be responsible for the kitchen management such as pricing, cost management, curation of innovative menus, maintaining food quality and guest satisfaction across all

MOVEMENTS Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel and Lakeside Chalet, Mumbai - Marriott

Executive Apartments, recently appointed Bjorn Fernandes as the director of sales and marketing. Prior to this, he was the market director of revenue management – Mumbai Cluster for Marriott International. He has been a part of the Marriott family for a decade and deeply understands the culture and dynamics of the organisation, ensuring a smooth movement into the new role. With a strong acumen for numbers, Fernandes is expected to bring a new flavour to enhance this profile.

bai BKC. It is at Sofitel Mumbai that he progressed to director of rooms from his starting designation of duty manager. Apart from eight years of experience in Accor, he has also worked extensively with brands such as Marriott, ITC and Emirates.

Varu by Atmosphere, Maldives Parag Shah

Fairmont Jaipur

Bjorn Fernandes

Fairmont Jaipurhas appointed Parag Shah as the director of rooms, leading the rooms division operations of the property. In his new role Shah will be responsible for the over-

all functioning of the rooms and will spearhead various functions such as front office, housekeeping and guest services. With more than 15 years of experience in hospitality operations, his last assignment was at Sofitel Mum-

Varu by Atmosphere, Maldives announced the appointment of Monica Suri as the GM. She brings more than a decade of experience within the hospitality industry and a wealth of knowledge from H&R, training and core operations. Prior to joining Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts, she was the GM of Marriott Jaipur, India and was also associated

Monica Suri

with brands like Westin, Le Meridien and Taj. She graduated from Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Bangalore and holds an MBA in sales and marketing. She has completed her Leadership Programme from Cornell.

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January 2020

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January 2020

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

WEEKEND

Scene and Heard With Marcellus Baptista

High degree

T

here seems to be no stopping to the opening of new bars around town. Creating a flutter was 73 degrees - Bar & Bistro, a happy bar and bistro at Bandra Reclamation. Started by Mayur Luthria, Hiren Kakad and Parul Kakad, the name 73 degrees denotes the longitude line of the globe that passes through the east of Mumbai. The space, you heard, promises to bring you a blend from the countries that pass through the same longitude. So, one can expect food, spices, herbs and sauces from the Maldives, India, Russia, Canada, west coast America, Peru, Brazil, Haiti, Columbia, Argentina, Bahamas and Chile. The cool and carefree decor along with quirky touches were admired on launch night that saw the presence of Raj Kaushal, Dino Morea, Candice Pinto, Kim Sharma and Teena Singh.

Giorgia Andriani and Parul Kakad at the launch of 73 degrees

Cheer factor

B

ar launches are always cheerful affairs, like the launch of Shibui, the bar on the first level of Shizusan located at High Street Phoenix. Launch night saw it packed to capacity with guests enjoying the wines, beers, spirits and cocktails that included Jamun Club (gin, jamun, sweet-and-sour mix) and Shibui Sour (whisky, soaked tamarind, maple). Tasty pass-arounds did the rounds, while the sushi boat platter at the community table was a super hit. In attendance was Rohit Aggarwal of Lite Bite Foods, owner of the place, who was seen meeting and greeting the guests along with his son Armaan.

And the cocktail conversation blended beautifully with the catchy music spun by the DJ.

31 and counting!

H

ow time flies! That’s what guests who were there on day one were saying as they stepped into Goa Portuguesa that was celebrating its 31st anniversary. On the invite it said 30+ but those who were there on the very first day the restaurant opened in 1988 did the math and knew it was 31. It was a great gettogether of friends, old and new, and it was also a celebration of the Global Gourmand Awards for the Goa Portuguesa cookbook by Chef Deepa Awchat. Yes, Dr Suhas Awchat, who started it all, was there to warmly welcome all the guests including the usual suspects of Alyona and Sanjeev Kapoor, Ashok Salian, Dr Sandesh Mayekar, Dr Jamuna Pai, Gogi Singh, Bharat Dhabolkar, Sonali and Roopkumar Rathod. Naturally, the bar was buzzing, the celebratory cake was cut, the champagne was popped, the starters were passed around and there was a dinner spread, too.

Shiamak Davar and Suhas Awchat at the 31st anniversary of Goa Portuguesa

Whisky wave

M

Armaan and Rohit Aggarwal at the launch of Shibui

aking waves has been the Whiskey Festival at the Mumbai Duty Free (MDF) at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Hundreds of bottles of whisky of varied brands were on view with travelers having a tough time deciding what to purchase. Afzal Kaba, brand ambassador, Diageo, was there to guide guests on a special inspection of the festival. They gleaned that the festival offered MDF shoppers unbelievable discounts on products, free shopping money and complementary experiences from partner brands. There was also a chance to win international trips for seven lucky couples. The festival that was on Terminal 2 of the airport including some amazing offers and steal deals on bestselling liquor brands like Johnnie Walker, Glenfiddich, Jack Daniel’s, Macallan, Chivas and Glenlivet.

Afzal Kaba at the Whiskey Festival in the airport

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WEEKEND

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS Novotel Pune Nagar Road celebrated a stellar journey of exceptional six years in Pune. To commemorate this and show their sincere gratitude to the city, the hotel hosted a gala celebration that was graced by the crème de la crème of the city. The event showcased a live band performance as the guests relished on the delectable spread of international and traditional cuisines

REMINISCING SCOTTISH ROYALTY The Leela Palace, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi was recently transformed into a corner of Scotland, with Scottish royalty, kilted bagpipers, theatrical Gaelic poetry and a procession of a haggis. It was all in celebration of the Indian Chapter of ‘The Keepers of The Quaich’, a global society dedicated to the promotion of the values and prestigious image of Scotch whisky, in the presence of accomplished members of the society and whisky aficionados

GOING GREEN The Park Bangalore recently joined hands with Namma Metro, also known as Bengaluru Metro, to save the environment by planting 3000 trees

58 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY January 2020

CHRISTMAS CHARITY BALL The Poona Hoteliers Association (PHA) signed off the eventful year with a bang. The annual PHA Christmas Charity Ball was organised at JW Marriott Hotel Pune, a member Hotel recently. Members and stakeholders of PHA who turned out in the theme of red, white and green contributed graciously towards the evening’s collection in aid of PRC, Khirkee. The event kicked off with cheers as the president, Sharan Shetty welcomed all and reflected upon the year’s achievements while announcing the next season of the successful PHA Premier League (PHAPL)

JINGLE BELLS Basking in the true spirit of Christmas, Jaipur’s modern palace, Fairmont Jaipur celebrated the lighting of their spectacular Christmas Tree. The majestic 12 feet high Christmas tree next to the gingerbread house, added to the merriment of the Christmas spirit. The creative team of the hotel donned their innovative hats, decorating the hotel’s lobby and Anjum, the coffee lounge with a display of edible decor, complete with a toy train and ‘Fairmont’ station

NOVEL SPIRIT VBev, a dynamic company engaged in the import, marketing, sales and distribution of international wines, spirits and beer recently brought to India the first and only premium Baijiu - Jiangxiaobai Pure

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