fhraimagazine

magazine Volume-12 Issue-3 • `50 `50 • March 2012

Designed to Lure

‘Food Design’ a critical tool of marketing

MOT Plans to Upscale Tourism Tourism Secretary rh Khwaja discusses plans

FHRAI Annual Convention 2012

‘Employment Generation: Engine of Inclusive Growth’

FHRAI MAgAzIne march 2012 1

[Contents] Editor Deepa Sethi Assistant Editor Sanjeev Bhar Sub Editor Divya goyal Advertising gunjan Sabikhi Harshal Ashar Shovan Kanungo Prem Sagar Design Alpana Khare neeraj Aggarwal neeraj nath FHRAI REPRESENTATIVES ON THE EDITORIAL BOARD Chairman, Publications Sub-Committee Vijai Pande Marketing S.P. Joshi FHRAI B-82, 8th Floor, Himalaya House Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001 Tel: 91-11-40780780, Fax: +91-11-40780777 Email: fhrai@vsnl.com FHRAI Magazine is published, edited and printed monthly by Durga Das Publications Pvt. Ltd. On behalf of Federations of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India and published from Durga Das Publications Pvt.Ltd. 72 Todarmal Road New Delhi 110001 Email: info@ddppl.com Printed at Cirrus Graphics Pvt. Ltd. B 62/14, Phase-II, Naraina Industrial Area New Delhi 110028 For editorial Feedback sanjeev@ddppl.com For Advertising gunjan@ddppl.com Tel : 91-11-23731971 Fax: 91-11-23351503 This issue of FHRAI Magazine contains 68+4 pages cover

All information in the fhrai magazine is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate information. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The publisher regrets that he cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publication, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract and/or in interviews are not necessarily shared by fhrai magazine or DDP. However, we wish to advice our readers that one or more recognised authorities may hold different views than those reported. Material used in this publication is intended for information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use, and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. Contents of this publication are copyright. No part of fhrai magazine or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publication in writing. The same rule applies when there is a copyright or the article is taken from another publication. An exemption is hereby granted for the extracts used for the purpose of fair review, provided two copies of the same publication are sent to us for our records. Publications reproducing material either in part or in whole, without permission could face legal action.

The publisher assumes no responsibility for returning any material solicited or unsolicited nor is he responsible for material lost or damaged.

This publication is not meant to be an endorsement of any specific product or services offered. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw, amend or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation.

All advertisements must comply with the Indian and International Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any damage or loss caused by delayed publication, error or failure of an advertisement to appear.

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March2012 8

President’s Message

48

Learning Concocting a Career

52

Supplier Talk Elan Professional Appliances

54

explore Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach Hotel

36 In Conversation RH Khwaja, MOT Secretary

58

F&B Monin

38 guest Column Hopes for Promising Trends

60

Dine Out Quiznos

40 Technology Talking About the ‘Cloud’

62

Chef Talk Vikas Pant, Radisson Blu Hotel Greater Noida

64

Taxation

66

Movements

68

events

10 Cover Story Designed to Lure 16 news Updates 28 FHRAI

44 Products & Services

45 environment Frugal Use of Water 46 FIHM Promoting FIHM’s Cause

Request Note: Federation of Indian NGOs on Drug Abuse Prevention (FINGODAP) is a network of around 500 Drug de-addiction centres. We request members to donate used & discarded items of the Hotels such as furniture, linen, electrical items, fixtures etc for which you could contact Dr. Rajesh Kumar Executive Director, FINGODAP; Ph: 011 26893872, Cell: +91 9891268872, Email: spym@vsnl.com

Cover picture: Plated food presentation, The Imperial new Delhi.

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President’s Message

[Message] Dear Readers, I used to address you as co-FHRAI members till now. But no longer is this magazine read by only us, members. As your President, I am aware that our magazine is delivered to the Ministry of Tourism, but I was enchanted when I met Shri R.H. Khwaja, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, on February 9, who narrated a few minute references out of this very magazine, before we met our ADG, Mr. Devesh Chaturvedi, at MOT. We had detailed discussions with both of them in that meeting about our six proposals as you would have read in our January 2012 issue of the FHRAI magazine, ‘FHRAI raises its voice on classification norms’ (page 31) and few other points. Actions, as a result of this meeting shall be visible when your property comes up for re/classification next.

HRAWI has worked out a detailed presentation for revising the HRACC norms and I have promised Mr. Chaturvedi that we shall submit them to MOT before March 31, 2012.

May I therefore request, if you need anything to go into that presentation in regard to classification norms, kindly write to me immediately at the address below.

Our National Tourism Awards 2010-11 were presented by the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil on February 29, at the Vigyan Bhavan to our fellowhoteliers. Also, the Union Government has constituted a high powered panel on tourism and inter-ministerial coordination committee for our tourism sector, whom we have requested to empanel FHRAI. Through PR you would have read in media about our second meeting of the HDPB, PCIDSS and guidelines related to marketing development assistance, hospitality and joint brochure support and advertising by overseas offices.

You have read in the previous issue of this magazine, the work of the FSSAI and the Seminar sub-committee. More such reviews are in this issue. After the FSSAI Seminar in Delhi on March16, preparations are on for the same in Kochi, on March 20. The FHRAI Office Sub-committee is working on the new look of our FHRAI web site. You are holding in your hands, the superb job done by our Publications Sub-committee Chairman.

Last year when I had formed the 19 FHRAI sub-committees, everybody was concerned.

I am so happy that I could highlight tasks underway with 11 of them in the previous issue and the rest here, all fully active and delivering results. This would not be possible by just one or two FHRAI office bearers and the SG, it is our achievement this year, only because of this team work.

You shall read further in this magazine a report filed by our FHRAI Institute’s (FIHM) Director, Mr. Navin Kumar Nanchahal on my visit this month. I must appreciate the excellent work he is putting in and the commitment of his faculty, a strong production team and back-end support team that has made the Institute look as fresh as new, training an excellentand motivated student fraternity that I met, who are awaiting your placement. Not only is the ‘Holi Theme Dinner’ being planned but compared to my earlier visit, the FIHM is back with VIE! I am also anticipating your suggestions for the Five Year Plan for FHRAI. With warm wishes, Kamlesh Barot President kamleshbarot@revivalhotel.com (facebook.com/kamlesh.barot; twitter:@KamleshBarot)

8 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

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[Cover Story]

Designed to Lure Today, food is as much a business as it is believed to be a craft. Keeping the lure factor alive in both the cases has been a tedious test for chefs.

Therefore, they are evolving the recipes and enlightening their customers by designing the food innovatively which makes an emotional connect between the food and its customers.

Sanjeev Bhar

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[Cover Story]

F

Food Production Operations and Indian Cuisine’ feels that the challenge is the new generation which is well travelled and have definite preferences to go by. “Discerning customers are definitely enjoying the new styles of presentation and the blend of food flavours across the continents. Many hotels and stand-alone restaurants are improving their food presentation to lure more and more customers,” he says.

Veena Arora, Chef De Cuisine for The Spice Route, The Imperial New Delhi, who recently won the National Tourism Award winner for the ‘Best Lady Chef ’, also feels the same. According to her, the new generation of customers get lured by unique food that is designed in an innovative manner. She says, “These days people are travelling more and are aware

of different cuisines and tastes.”

On the other hand, Sabyasachi Gorai, aka Chef Saby, Director of Kitchens for Ai, the Japanese restaurant, Lap the Club, Olive Beach, Olive Qutab and the Moving Kitchen by Olive and also the winner of the National Tourism Award in ‘Best Chef ’ category, has an interesting take on food design. He believes that food to be successful, food should simply related to the palate we are used to. He explains, “It is natural that I would be comfortable with the food cooked by my mother or grandmother that I have been relishing since childhood. It is because I have grown with a ‘comfort of taste’ with home cooked food. Similarly, diners going out look forward to a new experience each time, without compromising their palate

Pic: Plated presentation by Chef Parvinder S. Bali

ood itself is an attraction apart from our basic necessity to survive.

But when we talk about it as a business element, the connotation changes and it becomes a product which may be liked or hated to an extreme level creating a good or an ugly image of a food outlet. Hence, food evolution has always been looked at as not only about creating something new but also about creating a lure for those who love to feast outside their homes.

In this context, food entrepreneurs have always tried new ways to attract customers with innovation. Chef Parvinder S. Bali who has been associated with hotels for long and has recently launched his book at the 20th World Book Fair in the Capital titled: ‘Operations: Quantity

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[Cover Story]

Pic: Plated presentation by Chef Parvinder S. Bali

comfort.” According to him, vada pav sold on the street-side is amazing, tastes perfect and costs less in comparison to burgers sold in upscale shops. Yet, people pay for the difference due to packaging, ambience, comfort and enjoyable atmosphere, which means food has been aptly designed to lure its own audience.

The Element of Design

As customers are going by a set of definitive choices, ‘Food Design’ is also seen as a critical element in taking the success graph of food outlets beyond the existing. “Guests are charmed by the presentation of the dishes and are ready to pay for them. Therefore the art of

‘Food Design’ has a very important role as a subject in the hospitality industry. ‘Food Designing’ still has to find its own place in the growing Indian dining culture,” opines Arora. This is particularly true because currently there is no specialised subject of ‘Food Design’ in most of the hotel management institutes in the country, she adds.

‘Food Designing’ is a very contemporary subject and is undertaken not only by chefs but as Bali adds even by people from other streams of work such as engineers, doctors or photographers. “‘Food designers’ design and shoot the food subject that is used as advertisements on magazines or even hoardings. There are only a couple of academic institutions that also run professional courses on food designing in India as well as abroad,” he says. On the other hand, the correct study of menu engineering is also becoming one of the best tools to understand the F&B revenue returns, which at some level matches the result food design.

The fact that food is discussed and studied so much and its design is being practiced extensively by senior chefs, is because it is critical for the survival of a dining outlet in the long run by achieving profit targets. Arora explains, “Through ‘Food Design’ you can attract your customers by serving basic food with a creative and attractive look. But the only way you can retain their interest or taste buds is by maintaining the flavour and taste of the cuisine. Any new item, which attracts a customer, will automatically lead to the publicity of a new store whether through attractive hoardings, pamphlets or word of mouth.”

Evolving Food

Pic: Plated presentation by Chef Sabyasachi Gorai

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While new techniques to make food inviting are being tried, innovation in food presentation has also ensured that the evolution of food or rather cuisines, take place unconventionally with less number of trials and is readily accepted by the customers.

Vikas Pant, Executive Chef of Radisson Blu Greater Noida finds the current trend interesting and has accordingly divided it into three types of consumers: ‘Traditional’ having their favourites and are not ready to explore new options; ‘Experimental’, who are willing to explore and relish new dishes and lastly, ‘Mix’ where one behaves in both traditional and experimental manner depending on the mood. He says, “To address the concerns of all three categories a near perfect menu planning is a must. An unbalanced menu option will never be a delight to the consumer. For a consumer,

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[Cover Story] the emphasis is on a balanced menu which is derived from ‘Menu Engineering’ which has become equally important in today’s scenario. It helps in understanding and fixing the gaps in the menu.” Thus ‘Menu Engineering’, like ‘Food Design’, serves the same purpose which is to ensure that the customers relate to the food, while the outlets enjoy constant attention of its loyal customers.

Further, at times, constraints are also teaching chefs to be creative and do which is much like ‘Food Design’. Bali thinks that every chef in India would agree that any famous Michelin star rated restaurant serves hygienic, fresh and simple food with simple food presentations. “The food will automatically look elegant when it is of prime quality. This sometimes becomes a challenge in India, as many products are not grown in India and our range of meats is not as sophisticated and as specific as in other countries. But on the contrary, chefs have to be more creative in using the locally available ingredients and try to make use of the best quality available,” he observes.

Today, ‘Food Design’ is keenly pursued by all food professionals. In this scenario, Arora says, ‘Food Design’ has its own importance and value in the market. “Therefore, even importers of food products should conduct researches about new and exciting items available in the international food market.

These should either be imported as a ready products or raw material with relevant technology should be made available for the entrepreneurs in our country to enable them to create such products,” she remarks.

Nonetheless, within restrictions ‘Food Design’ is still possible. Arora informs, “In our restaurant, along with the taste, presentation of food also plays a very important role. Therefore in accordance with the flavour and authenticity of the cuisine we use things like pineapple shell, banana leaves, etc. to make it more attractive to our customers. But in South Asian Cuisine, there is not much scope of designing.”

Attracting customers also means that you have to design food in a way that brings about many feelings and emotions that one relates with food. “Now, food is making way to become the reason to deck up the entire environment which is believed to be a critical contributor towards liking food. Food surely has become a bold, young and colourful experience, much to the delight of the customers,” add Saby.

Interesting Trends Chef Bali First of all, it is the unique shapes and sizes of platters and plates used. Now, smaller portions of food are being served on large plates. Textures of the food products are altered to make them more interesting on a plate. Mélange of flavours on a plate like pan roasted duck served with mapas gravy from India, etc. is quite interesting. Also, arrangement of food in a height form is still in vogue.

Food design is catching up and a chapter on plated western food has been included in the book – International Cuisine and Food Production Management.

Chef Arora India is diversifying its taste buds and palate. International styling is being used for various food products. These days there are many such examples around us.

From creative coffee art at your next door coffee shop to specialised confectionary stores having variety of patterns on cakes and pasteries. Even the drinks served in the bar have its own charm and attraction. All this and much more is only because of the fancy and trendy ‘Food Design’ market settling in India now.

Chef Saby Indian chefs are taking up the craft of ‘Food Designing’ and this year I believe the trend is going to be more towards presenting organic and slow food and those which come from farm to plate. More importantly, food is going to be presented in a true and honest manner by becoming simpler. The food trend is similar to the fashion industry. There is a cycle of liking and disliking. To be successful, sticking to the basics would be vital. When it comes to international cuisine, I don’t buy the fact that one has to experiment. Rather, I prefer to present only those recipes that an Indian would relate to his palate irrespective of the fact that it is authentic in taste and flavour. I pick up the taste that is appealing and close to Indian sensibilities.

The New Approach

The challenge in the subject of food is evergreen as it stays and continuously

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FHRAI Magazine march 2012 13

[Cover Story]

Veena Arora

Parvinder S. Bali

Sabyasachi Gorai

Vikas Pant

Augmenting F&B Sales Some factors can immensely contribute to increasing of F&B sales: • Freshness of product and menu • F ood promotions which increase the database and at the same time increase the cuisine strength • H uman touch which ensures that every consumer is given full attention in order to satisfy them • I nternal targets for F&B Team which have to be achievable and must attract rewards • M otivation and dedication of the team aligned to a common goal

Pic: Plated presentation by Chef Sabyasachi Gorai

Pic: Plated presentation by Chef Sabyasachi Gorai

14 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

tests the skill of chefs in the dynamic environment. If not food, the economic scene forces chefs to be innovative and keep a vigil for adversities. ‘Food Design’ somehow prepares one and allows the opportunity to present food beyond the food factors.

In today’s scenario, food value and packaging have become critical aspects in determining the success of food establishments, feels Chef Saby. He says, “‘Food Design’ is about creating new styles, presenting it as a nice package and more importantly, creating the non-food factors so as music, décor, etc., attractive such that they contribute to the special effect in presenting food. Today, you would see ice cream presented in a glass made up of ice or for that matter, the use of liquid carbon dioxide which gives the required newness to food presentation.”

Chefs and managers, therefore, constantly try to impress frequent visitors

with their new concepts. The challenge is after all keeping the bottom-line positive and exciting to continue running the business. Bali elucidates, “The competition has become stiffer over the last one decade. Guests have more dining options and the well travelled customer demands the same quality of product. A well designed food will make its mark in guest’s mind and he will start to relating you with international restaurants and chefs in the world. This in turn increases your revenue.”

‘Food Design’ could be divided into experimentation and presentation, says Chef Saby. He is of the opinion that both aspects are vital as one has to make food sensually exciting. “We need to approach food bearing in mind the need of customers. Respecting the basics and creating something out of it would reap benefits and ‘Food Design’ should always be done and practiced after understanding the product and identity of the food outlet. It should not be rough and crude by default, if needed it should be so done with consciousness using design characteristics,” he concludes.

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[News Updates]

FHA2012 to showcase its increased repertoire of events

Since 1978

FHA2012 (Food&HotelAsia2012), Asia’s premier trade event for food services and the hospitality industry, is taking place at the Singapore Expo from April 17-20, 2012.

The exhibition, organised by Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), consists of five specialised shows, namely FoodAsia, HotelAsia, Bakery&Pastry, HospitalityStyleAsia and HospitalityTechnology. Further, this year will also see Wine&SpiritsAsia2012 (WSA) returning to Singapore Expo which will be co-located with FHA2012. The 12th edition of WSA will boast a stronger presentation of international wines and spirits than ever before with a projected exhibition area of 5,000 sqm and 165 exhibitors from 25 countries. Five group pavilions are also expected to showcase an array of products and a host of new labels. The five group pavilions hail from Australia, Austria, France, Italy and Singapore.

This year, the exhibition cum trade show expects to feature more than 2,600 exhibitors from over 60 countries/regions, FHA2012 provides a good sourcing platform for business professionals to meet and exchange ideas, as well as generate new business leads. It is also expected that 47 group pavilions will be showcased at FHA2012. It will witness an expansion of its exhibition area to 85,000 sqm, serving an expected 54,000 government, business and trade attendees from over 90 countries/regions, presenting a formidable purchasing power to boost their businesses for the robust Asian market. Key industry players will be attending the show in large numbers, billing the show as the largest trade event of its kind in the Asian region.

In addition to being a premier platform for generating business and networking opportunities, FHA2012 will also be organising several special events - including knowledge-sharing conferences and culinary competitions, to offer a true allrounded food and hospitality experience.

India Focus This event is important for the Indian domestic market as both the primary and processed food industries are expected to grow rapidly. The food sector is currently estimated to be worth over US$200 billion and is expected to reach US$300 billion by 2015. Growing incomes, falling poverty, changing lifestyles and companies racing to capture India’s middle and upper middle class consumers will cause the food market to grow dramatically in the coming years. As per a study conducted by McKinsey and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the turnover of the total food market in India is approximately `2,50,000 crore (US$ 69.4 billion), out of which value-added food products contribute `80,000 crore (US$ 22.2 billion). Additionally, the Indian hospitality industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8 per cent between 2007-2016.

Claimed to be Asia’s largest food & hospitality trade event, FHA2012 will register a presence of 400-500 Indian visitors and around 10 private companies from India are going to showcase their products and expertise.

With both China and India being the two biggest producers and potential consumers of food in the world, Asia will lead the world market in food production and consumption. This makes the biennial FHA2012 a much anticipated fair for both local and international trade players, as the exhibition will showcase a myriad of food and hospitality products from around the globe.

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[News Updates]

Choice Hotels India opens Comfort Inn Anneha in the capital

Vilas Pawar

Choice Hotels India, the wholly owned subsidiary of Choice Hotels International, has opened Comfort Inn Anneha, its third property in New Delhi. Owned by Parsvnath Group, the hotel has started its operations keeping in mind its clientele by providing business class luxury combined with distinctive service. Speaking on the occasion Vilas Pawar, Chief Executive Officer, Choice Hotels India said, “We are delighted to join hands with Parsvnath Group and expect to offer guests hospitality of international standards at a rational price.

We have an agreement with Parsavnath Hospitality to manage multiple hotel assets on their behalf across Tier-I and Tier-II cities in the country.”

The owning company, Parsvnath Hotels, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Parsvnath Group, a real estate and multi diversified conglomerate, having presence in integrated townships, commercials developments, group housings, infrastructure projects, BOT projects, education, etc. Its new hotel project, Comfort Inn Anneha, offers spacious and well-appointed guest rooms that are endowed with modern facilities. This new property boasts of a lavish interior, beautifully designed lobby with a touch of personal service.

The hotel offers a multi-cuisine coffee shop ‘Pavilion’ for its in-house guests. Here they can enjoy scrumptious F&B options with à la carte and buffet spreads for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The property has a well equipped conference hall ‘Senate’ which is ideal to host in-house conferences, corporate get-togethers and other parties of upto 120 guests.

18 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

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[News Updates]

Springfit mattresses and sleep accessories at Jaypee Greens India’s largest real estate and infrastructure development company, Jaypee Group has set-up its first 7-star deluxe luxury hotel – Jaypee Greens – in Noida, which is adjacent to the F1 motor sports track. Being a luxury premium hotel property, it has set the highest benchmark with world class customer facilities.

To ensure that their guests have stress free luxurious sleep in their well appointed suites, the hotel group will use Springfit range of Pooja Mehta mattresses and sleep accessories in all their premium 84 rooms. Pooja Mehta, Senior Vice President (Purchase) of the Jaypee Group informed, “We were very sure that there would be no compromise with our client’s interests and only the best international standards would be used when equipping our suites.

Springfit came across as a receptive company and open to fresh ideas. Their mattresses used the best inputs from across the world and this is visible in the high quality finishing that matches our standards and we are very happy with the results we have received.”

The seven layered mattress, ten inches in height is specially designed using high tensile springs with independent pockets in a higher density layout pattern. This ensures that all body pressure points are gently massaged at their relevant sensitive points ensuring sound stress free sleep.

Peps Industries signs MoU with Restonic Corporation, USA Peps Industries, a `100 crore inner spring mattress manufacturing company based out of Coimbatore, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US-based Restonic Corporation for a period of 25 years. The MoU outlines the joint efforts such as sharing information on best practices, innovation, emerging technologies and facilitate development of sleep products for Indian consumers.

Restonic products are developed after meticulous research into how much people sleep and their relationship with their sleeping surfaces. Peps has been the American company’s partner to bring the range of Restonic products to India. Pep’s unique expertise and insight into the demands and requirements of the Indian consumers helps manufacture sleep systems, to match the exact quality and technology benchmarks defined by Restonic Corporation USA. K. Madhavan, Managing Director, Peps Industries informed, “The association with world’s 4th largest inner spring mattress company, Restonic Corporation of USA, has helped us to offer Indian customers with innovative mattress compositions. The sharing of patented innovations like Marvellous Middle, Health Protect Sanitized Mattress has provided Indians with mattresses that provides extra support to the body, prevents muscular compression, microbial development, algae infestation and odour.” According to the company, the association will help utilise the dormant potential of the segment with innovative thinking and develop sleep comfort products that meet international standard specifications and cater to the ever-changing needs of the consumers.

Martin Ronald Passaglia, President and Chief Executive Officer of Restonic stated, “Restonic is guided by the principle that getting a healthy night’s sleep is a right, not a privilege. This means that every Restonic mattress is crafted with better quality materials and greater attention to detail. Restonic has been an integral part of the bedding industry for nearly three quarters of a century, with a long-standing tradition of researching, developing and engineering the highest quality sleep products. We are delighted to provide the Indian customers with the innovatively engineered highest quality sleeping products.”

Peps range of products include a variety of spring mattresses, pillows, comforters and spring bases, crafted from materials and components of highest quality standards and certifications. Peps mattress is certified by Entomology Centre Cambridge, under AATCC 147/30/1424 standards. The mattress is internationally certified for no odour, no fungus, no dust mite and no bacteria. Peps sleep solutions also meet the benchmark defined by Restonic Corporation, USA for its Restonic range of products. The technology is patented in its product range. Some of the features of the products include, individually pocketed inner springs that absorbs weight and compress independently.

20 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

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[News Updates]

Abhinav Khandelwal

FCML presents Bathroom Accessories from PomD’Or’s Kubic Collection

FCML has joined hands with Kubic Collection, which is designed by Antonio Blanc for bathroom accessories. It is presented under the brand ‘FCML Luxurious Bathrooms’ that features the collection. Abhinav Khandelwal, Director of FCML Projects said, “Kubic collection is from PomD’Or. The European brand specialises in bathroom accessories and brings together an offering of design focused collections in a variety of finish. Kubic itself has a special finish and design line. The collection is largely preferred by our customers because of its appealing shapes and how the products compliment the Indian bathroom set-up.”

These bathroom accessories are available at FCML Luxurious Bathrooms stores in India. PomD’Or, Kubic Collection is a line created according to the modern concept of present day lifestyle.

The PomD’Or Kubic Bathroom Accessories collection not only offers scope for design and creativity, but also addresses the need of functionality and comfort. The collection offers a huge variety of products like towel rail, double towel rail, towel ring, robe hanger, wall soap dispenser, shelf, ceiling light, shaving set holder, free standing flower vase, ring holder, tissue box and many more.

Keeping an eye on future, FCML recently opened the ‘New Space’ at the Sultanpur showroom. The showroom recently won the ‘Best Showroom Award 2011’ at a Global Platform.

Khandelwal added, “We are also planning on opening many of these ‘New Space’ in different locations in India.

Our Bengaluru store also recently opened and is made on lines of the ‘New Space’ by FCML.”

22 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

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[News Updates]

Eagle Forgings brings Slumberland brand to India Eagle Forgings has tied-up with one of the world’s best hotel bed manufacturers – Slumberland and would be promoting the product in India. Slumberland has achieved its position as a premier international bed manufacturer after decades of being in the market with constant innovation and strategic investment.

Slumberland is one of the most reputable brands of institutional bedding products. Using the advance Posture Spring and stateof-the-art Pocketed Posture Springing System, Slumberland Hotel Beds are widely recognised as the world leader in their own field with unmatched sleeping comfort, support and durability.

Slumberland is one of the most reputable brands of institutional bedding products, using the exclusive technology and expertise developed over the years. It is not only in the home that Slumberland beds are providing the kind of quality night’s sleep that makes for more active days, some of the world’s most prestigious hotels choose Slumberland beds to create the most comfortable ‘sleeping environment’ for their customers. Through their present endeavour it will continue to provide unpararelled sleep comfort for generations to come.

Slumberland was started in the United Kingdom in 1919 with its name appearing for the first time back in the 1930s.

Today, Slumberland beds are widely recognised as the world leader in their own field with unmatched comfort, support and durability.

24 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

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[News Updates]

HRANI organises FSSAI seminar in Delhi As per the wish list of the FHRAI President, Kamlesh Barot to have interactive seminars in all four zones, the northern regional association of FHRAI i.e. HRANI organises the first summit on understanding and effective implementation of Food safety and regulation (licensing and registration) on March 16, 2012 at PHD House, New Delhi. In light of the new ‘Food Safety and Standards act, rules and regulations’ as notified in August 2011 by the Government of India, onus is on food producers and consumers alike to understand the act and take the appropriate proactive steps in implementing and be compliant. Garish Oberoi, Hony.

Secretary, HRANI informed, “To enable the industry in understanding the law of the act and to help implement the same, this workshop is being organised. For the first time an interactive session is planned with the top officials of FSSAI, Department of food safety, Govt. of Delhi NCR and National institute of smart governance, this will enable the colleagues in the industry in understanding the new law.”

Garish Oberoi

He further said, “K. Chandramouli, Chairperson, FSSAI will be the Chief Guest at the seminar and S. K. Saxena, Commissioner of Food Safety, Govt of Delhi will be the Keynote Speaker of the Summit.” Other speakers for the event includes S.B. Dongre, Consultant & Former Director, FSSAI, P. Karthikeyan, JIO/ Technical Officer, FSSAI; Dr. P.K. Vats, Designated Officer, Dept. of Food Safety, Govt of NCT of Delhi; Raghu Guda, Senior Consultant, National Institute for Smart Government. Ujjwal Kumar, Country Head – Business Development, CQM Quality Management (P) Ltd. will also be present. “It would be our pleasure in having representatives from the member organisations as participants at the workshop, which would immensely assist in complying with the regulations and ensuring an even better place of food safety management and safer food for consumption,” added Oberoi.

26 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

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[FHRAI] Dear Members I am happy to share that with the strong leadership of our President Mr. Kamlesh Barot, we have been able to achieve remarkable growth in terms of an association.

The publication - FHRAI Magazine - is aimed at creating an avenue to disperse knowledge so that the tourism industry flourishes and the business of your organisation increases. A joint effort of many has made this publication achieve greater heights in term of quality editorials and is constantly dispersing information that is useful to the members as well as hospitality professionals at large across the country.

I also take this opportunity to highlight that this issue takes into account the details from Chairmen of PR and HDPB Sub-committees talking about their role. Apart from that details on suggestions made by FHRAI on Foreign Trade Policy pertaining to hospitality and role of foreign offices have been discussed. There are also details on FSSAI seminar jointly organised by FHRAI, HRANI, SIHRA and NRAI. Further, I would like to draw your attention on the recent incidents in the Capital which have been a dampener to the image of the hospitality sector. We are working towards taking stern steps to highlight our concern and want the administrative powers to look into these areas that will enable the hospitality sector to work positively towards growing their business.

Vijai Pande Chairman FHRAI Publications Sub-committee vijaipandit@yahoo.co.in

FHRAI Convention to ponder on ‘Employment Generation’ The theme of the 47th FHRAI Annual Convention has been finalised by the association. It is keenly going to focus on the employment generation issue.

Vivek Nair, Chairman for the Convention Organising Committee informed, “This year the convention has been themed keeping in mind the critical aspect of employment.

We have themed it as Vivek Nair ‘Employment Generation: Engine of Inclusive Growth’. Further, the Convention Core Committee has been formed. We have received support from the local Goa Committee Members and members from the Western Region of FHRAI. The convention is going to be held in Goa from September 6-8, 2012. The venue for the annual event will be the Grand Hyatt,

28 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

Goa. Sunit Kothari from HRAWI will co-Chair the convention apart from spearheading the event management responsibilities.

Further, Dinesh Advani would be responsible for the business sessions and international associations’ co-ordination.

The FHRAI Convention has always been one of the most anticipated and widely attended events of our industry’s calendar.

Each year, hundreds of delegates, comprising a veritable who’s who of the hospitality and tourism sector, congregate on this vibrant platform for vivid and enriching deliberations on the myriad strategic and competitive dynamics shaping the industry. FHRAI members are offered an unparalleled opportunity to engage with a multitude of stakeholders including political dignitaries, top policymakers, technocrats, global entrepreneurs, business icons as well as representatives from civil society and media. For the first time this year, international and national associations of eminence shall synergise with FHRAI on the convention. In addition to benefitting from carefully structured and stimulating business sessions, they also enjoy ample occasions to network and bond with their peers, in a leisurely and congenial atmosphere.

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[FHRAI]

PR Sub-committee – FHRAI Kamlesh Barot Chairman I am not sure whether a need did not arise till now or was it the one year volatility of the term for the all-in-one figure ‘President’, that we never had a PR agency at FHRAI neither a PR Sub-committee for this apex body’s mouthpiece as a spokesperson; especially when it has so many touch-points with the populace, our guests, FIHM team and the Government.

I felt the need for setting up this PR Sub-committee at FHRAI and to appoint a PR agency on a long term basis, thanks to the lackadaisical legal system in the country. Our committee is aware that the basic tenacity of FHRAI is to influence Government policy. When our reasoning with the power corridors meet the red tape, over the past few years we have started flogging the legal machinery, which has taken over much of this body’s valuable investments. Now even after pushing full steam, when we are not able to tweak the regulator’s mind-set on our policies, we feel an out-of-the-box approach is necessary, hence PR. First we have to create FHRAI’s substance in the public domain and then bring awareness in the corridors that matter, about our grievances, inspite of which we keep servicing the infrastructure. When this herculean task is achieved in all corners of the country, the policymakers from all over, would not assign the hotel and restaurant industry as elitist but recognise it’s true worth. Then they would not only bring about the change to remove the hurdles we face today, but also resist from any strictures suggested by their peers for this green and pro-underprivileged business, we are into. Who would bring this awareness and create the ‘ouch’ of our barriers to these ecclesiastics? PR! A few PR agency contenders have tendered their no-regret mercantile scheme that we intend to finalise after a trial period, starting around the Union Budget’s announcement.

Very learned in this province are piloting with me on this sub-committee, our FHRAI ex-Presidents - Mr. Sushil Gupta and Mr. Dinesh Khanna, our Honorary Treasurer Mr. Suresh Kumar and experts in this field Mr. Deepak Puri and Mr. Sudheer Bahl. We shall file a PR dip-stick report in this magazine, a little later. All the best to all of us!

HDPB Sub-committee – FHRAI Bharat Malkani Chairman The objective of the HDPB Sub-committee is to help hotels achieve what the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has been talking about all these years - a single window clearance for files. With the highly proactive stance taken by MOT to encourage development of quality hotels in India, HDPB will ensure that all licences and approvals required to start a hotel will be the responsibility of MOT. The hotelier will have to submit his approved plans as well as all necessary documents to HDPB window, who will take the responsibility of ensuring that necessary actions are taken for the approval of the project.

Since this is a new development our first plan is to educate the industry about the existence of this board and its benefits. We have been in touch with some hoteliers that have agreed to put their new projects in the early stages through HDPB. Once the actual files have been cleared, it will generate both confidence and good will. Effectively this HDPB promises to bring about a paradigm shift in the way the industry works once successful.

It will require both sides to plan their moves and understand each other in advance till we are able to create a robust and sustainable process.

We are planning a series of seminars to create awareness about this window. As mentioned above, we have commitment from a few hoteliers who are looking forward to participating in this programme of MOT. We are still to outline the location and frequency of these seminars but will look only at Tier-I and Tier-II cities first.

By adopting a positive and proactive stand with both our members and MOT change will be inevitable, though at times difficult. Nonetheless, given the strengths of our present committee and its diverse and highly successful EC members, we are confident of engaging in dialogue with the members seeking to use this facility of MOT.

[FHRAI]

FHRAI Proposals for Foreign Trade Policy 2011-2012 Suggestion: Allow to import Electric Transport Vehicles (Golf Carts, etc.) as Professional Equipment by the Hotel Industry. Enclosed JS-DBK’s letter confirming that vehicles are professional equipment.

Rationale: Electric Transport Carts are required in resorts and hotels where the hotel building and cottages for staying are apart and far from the main building or reception. It is therefore required for the transportation of the passengers, F&B supply, furniture and goods from main building to the cottage where the guests have to stay. Electric Transport Cart is not a vehicle as it applies only in the enclosed premises. It is off-the-road (not operated on public roads). It has no gear with very limited speed and does not require registration under the Motor Vehicles Act. Suggestion: Para 3.12.6. Apart from Electric Transport Vehicles, importing other vehicles that are a distinct part of the hotel and tourism sector like latest cars, etc. for normal and adventure tourism should be considered as professional equipment which is naturally so since a foreign tourist cannot go out for sight-seeing or for his business activity without a vehicle.

Rationale: As per the present policy, importing of vehicles is not allowed under SFIS. DGFT should issue a clarification allowing vehicles for the hotel and tourism sectors. This para needs amendments to avoid any confusion and legal hassles at customs at a later stage.

Suggestion: Uniformity in the issuance of Licenses-Condition sheet required for SFIS Licences also.

Rationale: Uniformity in all RLAs. Suggestion: Simplify the procedure to avoid verification process of the Genuineness of DFCE authorisation by the customs authorities in Mumbai (JNPT), Chennai and Delhi (ICD-TKD) and Kolkata.

Rationale: Presently Customs (Chennai, Kolkata, ICD-TKD, Mumbai) are getting DFCE authorisation verified from the regional licencing authorities which is a time taking procedure.

Suggestion: Payment received by hotels in Indian rupees from travel agents/tour operators which is earned from the hotel stay of foreign tourists, should be included in the consolidated foreign exchange for the purpose of incentive under the SFIS. Rationale: These receipts in Indian rupees come under other instruments as permitted by RBI for rendering of services in eligible services in the Chapter. Ministry of Finance has also clarified in this matter and therefore it was incorporated in Appendix 26 as one of the eligible services in 1997 much before the hotel industry became a beneficiary of the SFIS scheme.

30 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG) Suggestion: Restoration of benefit of Para 5.7.6 of Handbook of Procedures (i.e.) Removal of maintaining Average level of Exports Rationale: In the present economic slowdown worldwide, the hotel industry is suffering due to the drop in the inflow of foreign tourists. As such, it is becoming very difficult to maintain average level of exports. It can neither increase tariff nor build more hotels to increase its foreign exchange.

Suggestion: Removal of partial annual average Rationale: If the DGFT has any apprehensions in removing the annual average completely for the hotel industry, it can consider the following arrangement: No annual average should be applicable on imports upto 30 per cent of the preceding year’s Foreign Exchange Earnings. For anything above, maintenance of annual average should be made applicable.

The end result would be that the hotels will be strict with their essential CG imports.

Suggestion: Restoration of the approval for the fulfillment of 100 per cent of export obligation by exporting other goods manufactured or services provided by the same firm/ company or group company/managed hotel which has EPCG zauthorisation.

Rationale: In the present economic slowdown (worldwide) situation and in order to make FTP flexible, the EPCG licence holder should be given an option to fulfill export obligation by exporting any other goods manufactured or services provided by the same firm/company or group company/managed hotels.

(Note: Earlier it was 100 per cent which changed to 50 per cent to be fulfilled by the authorisation holder).

Suggestion: Simplify the procedure to avoid verification process of Genuineness of authorization by the Custom Authorities.

Rationale: Presently, Customs (Chennai, Kolkata, ICD-TKD) is getting the EPCG authorization verified from the Regional Licensing Authorities which is time taking procedures.

Suggestion: Online issuance of redemption letter (Export Obligation Discharge Certificate) by regional licencing authorities under EPCG scheme.

Rationale: Presently, customs are getting the Export Obligation Discharge letter verified from the regional licencing authorities which is a time consuming procedure.

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[FHRAI] Suggestion: Importing polished marbles of best quality at the best rates available from the overseas market rather than to import at high cost to meet the ceiling value imposed by DGFT. (Note: The ceiling of value may be imposed for the purpose of levy of customs duty) Rationale: As per the present policy, importing polished marble slabs is permitted freely provided CIF value is US$ 50 or above per sqm. The Industry cannot import even if the best quality is available at best price in the international market.

Suggestion: Definition of consumables stated in the FTP is for the manufacturing sector and thus needs amendments considering the needs of hotel industry.

Rationale: DGFT needs to issue a circular stating that this para is not for service providers - hotel industry. This is in view of the facts that items like guest room amenities, toiletries, SPA and beauty salon items are consumables for the hotel industry.

Suggestion: Revision required in ANF 5B format-EPCG redemption application in the current policy - removal of mandatory requirement of submissions of FIRCs/bank certificates by service providers.

Rationale: No physical documents are required to be submitted by the exporter of products thereby reducing their transaction costs. Chartered accountant’s signatures on the form are the only requirement for them. On the other hand, the service provider (hotel and tourism sector) suffers from huge transaction costs due to mandatory requirement of submitting self attested copies of FIRCs/bank certificates along with ANF 5B which run into thousands for a single hotel unit or lakhs for a hotel company with more than 5 hotel units. Moreover, the hotel industry is required to provide the following documents: 1. Foreign Exchange Earnings duly certified by bankers and chartered accountant 2. Signature with the seal of the chartered accountant on ANF 5B form 3. Appendix 26A duly signed by the chartered accountant

FHRAI – SIHRA Workshop on FSSAI Sudheer Nayar Secretary General South India Hotels & Restaurants Association

I

n our endeavour to familiarise our valued members about the legal and regulatory aspects of this Act, the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) in association with the South India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA) has organised a one day Workshop at the ‘Darbar Hall’, Casino Hotel, Willingdon Island, Kochi – 682 003, on Tuesday 20th March 2012 from 09.30 A.M to 5 P.M. This Workshop will be conducted by leading Food Scientist and Expert Dr. V Pasupathy.

The main objectives of the above workshop are to enable the participants to: • Understand and comprehend the major differences between the Old and new law • Learn about the Licencing Requirementss • Learn about an easy implementation checklist • Learn about how to keep records and documents to be compliant with the new law • Learn about the requirements of the law in terms of FSMS and laboratory tests • Understand the process of sampling by the Government and process flow of proceeding • Learn how to create a custom made indigenous Food Safety System in your establishment

32 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

Participants Profile

The following personnel of a hotel and restaurant will benefit from this workshop: general managers, operational heads, chefs, F&B managers, hygiene managers, engineers, quality control executives, materials managers and housekeepers.

Workshop Fee

The course fee will be `993/- per participant (inclusive OF 10.3% Service Tax). The fee includes lunch for the participants. The course fee excludes accommodation and transport. All participants are advised to make their own arrangements for the same.

Registration and Payment procedures

All nominations should be accompanied by a duly filled up Registration form and a Demand Draft towards Course Fee drawn in favour of SIHRA payable at Chennai to reach SIHRA, M-1 ‘Prince Centre’, 709-720 Ann Salai, Chennai – 600 006, latest by 10th March 2012.

We are sure that our valued Members from Kerala will utilise this excellent opportunity provided by our association for bringing awareness and knowledge to your key personnel on this very important subject and we therefore look forward to receiving your nominations at the very earliest and certainly by the above date.

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[FHRAI]

Guidelines related to support by overseas offices

F

HRAI presents the minutes of the meeting held under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary (Tourism) on January 30, 2012 at 1100 hours to discuss the guidelines related to marketing development assistance, hospitality, joint brochure support and advertising support by overseas offices as here under: List of participants is attached at Annexure ‘A’.

Following decisions were taken in the meeting: Marketing Development Assistance (MDA)

i. At present participation in three fairs/exhibitions and two sales-cum-study tours are permitted to the tourism service providers @ 75 per cent of participation fee and air/rail travel expenses, subject to an upper ceiling of `2.00 lakh per case and `1.50 lakh per case respectively ii. It was proposed that tourism service providers can participate in five fairs/exhibitions/roadshows with at least two participation for roadshows @ 75 per cent of participation fee, air/rail travel fare subject to an upper ceiling of `2.00 lakh per case, in case of fairs/exhibitions and `1.50 lakh per roadshow. MOT could consider 90 per cent of participation fee, air/rail travel expenses subject to ceilings aforementioned. IATO will give their consent in 10 days iii. Those tourism service providers who have foreign exchange earnings upto `5.00 crore will be eligible to undertake one sales-cum-study tour@ 75 per cent of air/ rail travel expenses, subject to an upper ceiling of `1.50 lakh per case. In addition, they can participate in four fairs/exhibitions/roadshows as mentioned in (ii) above iv. For the purpose of MDA, the eligible stakeholders will have to travel by Air India on sectors where Air India operates their own flights. For other sectors travel by private airlines in economy class i.e. wherever Air India does not operate its own flights can be considered by MOT v. At present, financial support @ 25 per cent with maximum ceiling of `30,000 for production of publicity material is extended to stakeholders. It was proposed that it may be enhanced to 50 per cent subject to an upper ceiling of `1,00,000. Support may be extended for the production of brochures/CDs and other publicity material vi. At present, the support is extended to an individual for undertaking only two trips in a year. However, it was proposed to delete this restriction vii. The financial assistance under MDA Scheme will be linked with the performance of stakeholders in terms of Foreign Exchange Earning (FEE) increase, with respect to the previous financial year. It was agreed that there must be an increase of 15 per cent in FEE of the agency over the previous financial year in order to become entitled for

34 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

support under MDA scheme. For availing MDA in 201314 the agency must show an increase of 15 per cent in FEE in the year 2012-13 over 2011-12

Hospitality Scheme

Under the present guidelines of the Hospitality Scheme, repeat visits of the hospitality guests are normally not recommended. If the same person is considered again, it should only be after a gap of 3 years and only to new destinations. For media personnel, the time limit is two years instead of three years.

It was proposed to revise the time limit as given below:i. Media persons - once a year ii. Opinion makers - once in two years iii. Tour operators, different persons from the same agency or same person going to different region – Once in a year for top five agencies from the country and once in two years for rest. IATO should send their recommendations on this in next ten days

Roadshows

i. If any organisation like IATO, ICPB, PATA, ASTA, etc. plans for joint roadshows with MOT and hires a PR agency, the expenditure on the PR agency would be incurred by the organisation and MOT will pay for rest of the arrangements like hiring of venue, hosting the dinner, etc. the stakeholder association may send them their feedback in next ten days ii. draft calendar for organising roadshows in 2012-2013 should be sent to MOT by all asssociations by February 15, 2012 iii. It was decided that the dates for the roadshows, once finalised will not be changed and no participant will be allowed to withdraw after the confirmation of participation in the event. If any participant backs out after confirmation he will be debarred from availing assistance under MDA.

Publicity and Promotion of Incredible India Brand

i. It was conveyed that media plans for international campaign launched in 2011-12 have been shared with all tourism, travel and hospitality associations to obtain their inputs on the same by February 10, 2012. The associations and stakeholders were requested to send specific suggestions with justifications and rates if possible.

The organisations were also requested to forward their inputs on domestic ‘Incredible India’ Campaign to the Publicity Division. Both the above can reach the Dy. Director General, Publicity Division, Ministry of Tourism (mmehta@nic.in) latest by February 10, 2012 ii. The organisations were also advised to interact with M/s.

Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), the creative agency appointed by the ministry for a period of 3 years for driving the creative strategy, for giving their inputs on the proposed ‘Incredible India’ campaign. For the purpose they may contact Mr. Pawan Bhatt, Creative Director, O&M, (Phone: 9999113741)

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[In Conversation]

‘MOT Plans to Upscale the Tourism Sector’ In an interview to the FHRAI Magazine, Union Secretary of Tourism, RH Khwaja talked extensively on the various steps the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has been taking to push the boundaries and enable the tourism sector to flourish and achieve optimum growth.

Justin Thomas What are your expectations from the Finance Minister on the projects and proposals for which MOT has sought assistance from the upcoming budget?

The Planning Commission has approved Rs 1,210 crore for the first year i.e. April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013 of the 12th Five Year Plan. In the current financial year, the original estimates were Rs 1,100 crore, which was reduced to Rs 1,050 crore in the revised estimates. We will achieve this target by the end of this financial year.

Already a number of incentives have been given to the tourism sector in the past five to ten years. For example, 100 per cent FDI in hotel industry is permitted. When operators of adventure tourism import equipments they get rebates on customs on many items. Also, anybody from the sector who goes for borrowings from financial institutions, the rate of interest is low.

But when it comes to the travel trade, asking for industry status for tourism eventually appears as if more concessions are being sought. That is an unending process.

Tourism sector has been consistent with its demand for infrastructure status. What are the chances of achieving that?

It is a sensitive issue. But we have to understand that tourism is not a manufacturing sector. An industry by definition is a manufacturing process. Tourism is a service sector, it is not an industry.

Do you think that the hospitality sector, which is based on service elements, can be considered for it as the same voice is heard from this quarter as well?

I admit that hotels and restaurants is an industry.

36 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

Tell us about the recent setting-up of the subcommittee under the inter-ministerial coordination

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committee for the tourism sector under the chairmanship of Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary.

The sub-committee has already met once and another meeting is scheduled soon. The process of coordination is a continuous one. We know what to do and the question is how to go about it.

What is the progress on the Global Travel Mart that was announced by the Union Minister for Tourism, Subodh Kant Sahai last year?

As far as the Global Travel Mart, which was announced

by Shri Subodh Kant Sahai last year is concerned, it is on schedule for December this year and the ministry is working hard to match up with top marts like ITB, WTM and FITUR. Our challenge is to match up with them. Though we have announced the probable timings, we won’t launch it unless we are sure to match these standards.

Recently an MoU was signed with the Ministry of I&B for the promotion of the ‘Incredible India’ brand. What is the role carved out for MOT in this initiative?

The idea behind this MoU is that the Ministry of I&B and MOT will collaborate and promote film based tourism and thereby, promote the ‘Incredible India’ brand in movies shot in India. It has been observed globally that many destinations become popular for tourists when they see them in movies.

Recent example is the Hindi film, ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ which has been extensively shot in Spain. Spanish Tourism played an active role in the movie. A lot of Indians are going to Spain after the launch of this movie. From an Indian perspective, when ‘Junglee’ was shot in Kashmir, there was an avalanche of hundreds of movies that were shot in Kashmir, prompting the region to become a mega tourist destination before the advent of terrorism in the region.

We have requested the state to set up a small committee in the office of the Chief Minister, to expedite all permissions for shooting and we are willing to give some token amount to facilitate the procedure. This token amount is just to indicate the commitment of the ministry and is not a subsidy. Probably it will cover areas like processing fees, etc.

How is the Hunar se Rozgar Tak (HSR) scheme working out? Is the ministry happy with the progress of the scheme? And what new initiatives are expected in the near future?

We have actively taken deep interest in promoting Tourism’s HSR scheme. This scheme is to be seen through the prism of generating employment opportunities; nurturing and sustaining of skills and giving full employment for skilled and semi-skilled youth. Upscaling the unskilled to semiskilled and semi-skilled to skilled is our priority. This entire process contributes to state and national GDP. By the end of this year we would have trained about 33,000 youths out of which 15,000 would be under HSR. Rest will be under short term courses and skill certification. The success of the scheme could be gauged by the fact that the absorption rate by the trade is around 85 per cent under this scheme.

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

FHRAI Magazine march 2012 37

[Guest Column]

Hopes for

Promising Trends There has been an uneven movement in the hotel room rates as the Indian travel trade entered the year 2012.

As always, January proved to be a challenging month which has been deemed as a less active travel month for leisure and business markets.

Julie Parodi

I

ndia experienced moderate but reasonable results in total for January 2012. Rates had risen during the holidays in December 2011 to essentially equal the elevated ADR (Average Daily Rate) achieved in December of 2010. Rates in January then returned closer to the pre-holiday performance seen in November. January’s ADR came within -5.9 per cent of prior year. This is still a reasonable range for rates, considering there wasn’t the added potential for rates to rise from holiday vacation travel.

Reservations actually displayed improvement over prior year from that experienced in December. January’s bookings came within -4.2 per cent of last year, upward movement from December’s dip below prior year by -6.9 per cent. These results speaks that January typically has been a less active travel month for leisure and business markets in general, as well as robust performance levels last year are challenging to overtake.

As seen below, India was not alone in having trouble with exceeding the gains made last year. January travel results worldwide appeared lacklustre compared to prior year. There are

38 FHRAI MAgAzIne march 2012

many issues being faced regionally that in turn influence other regions. This is truly a global economy and it is still finding its footing. Fortunately, the travel industry proves its stamina to forge ahead even during slow economic times. However, travel is not immune to economic factors and it is the pace of its progress where the degree of consumer and corporate caution will be seen.

India continues to reflect overall trends with respect to the number of night trips and how early they were booked as compared to last year. Hotel stays in India are listing the same or less number of nights on an average, than they were last year. The advantage, however, is that the average length of stay is longer in India than Asia Pacific as a whole and the global average. Consistently longer stays, even by small increments, can add up and create a significant increase in hotel revenue.

Trips are continuing to be booked slightly further in advance than in prior year. This is a positive sign since booking windows are an indicator of how confident consumers and companies are in setting aside resources to travel. Having a sturdy and slightly expanding booking window is especially encouraging as we enter the spring season, when conferences, meetings and leisure travel begin to ramp up.

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

Now is the time to set marketing plans in motion to promote packages that drive domestic and international travellers alike to your hotel for the spring and summer. It is critical to get more profit that these packages are offering outstanding value, not simply slashed rates. Including additional services at a lower price than it could be purchased individually, promotes value without compromising your rate structure. These packages will be all the more profitable if they promote longer stays, for example, stay five nights and get the sixth night free. Travellers are more likely to stay longer and the hotel benefits from additional spending on food, beverages, shopping, activities, etc. Make sure to also reward your frequent-stay guests for their loyalty with extra offerings for extra value. These repeat guests provide your most consistent business and are a likely segment from which more business can be built. They should be actively acknowledged and appreciated as such.

Partnering with travel agents, travel management companies (TMCs) and national and local tourism associations will also be of great benefit to build bookings also. Partnering will provide greater exposure and reach to more markets than your hotel’s sales force could accomplish on its own. This type of marketing and advertising collaboration will also provide more visibility than what one hotel could afford.

In addition to marketing campaigns, hoteliers and associations would be wise to support government efforts to streamline international visitor entry requirements and infrastructure improvements. Countries and cities and not just hotels, are competing for visitors. The easier it is for visitors to enter India and travel from city to city and get around within each city, the greater chance they’ll want to come to your location - and your hotel.

NOTE: : The above analysis is based on the over five billion monthly transactions processed by Pegasus Solutions, the world’s single largest global processor of hotel transactions. The data represents transactions from both the GDS (Global Distribution System) and ADS (Alternative Distribution System) channels, representing the business and leisure markets respectively for approximately 90,000 hotels worldwide. All data is on a date of booking basis unless otherwise stated. ADR (Average Daily Rate) and revenue percentage changes are calculated from values using a single constant exchange rate to eliminate the effects of currency exchange rate movements.

(The writer is the Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Editor, The Pegasus View. The views expressed by the author are personal.)

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

FHRAI MAgAzIne march 2012 39

[Technology]

Talking About the ‘Cloud’ Everyone is talking about the ‘Cloud’ these days. But what does it mean to the hoteliers? The answer is it opens up a reservoir of opportunities for a number of applications to be hosted without much fuss. The idea is that the hoteliers should use this as an opportunity and not remain oblivious to it at this time.

Ravish Jhala

H

ave you heard about ‘Cloud Computing’? World of hype or probably reality, but what do they really mean for you as a hospitality professional? ‘Cloud Computing’ refers to data and applications that are hosted outside the organisation and are provided over the Internet.

However, ‘Cloud Computing’ is evolving.

Life before ‘Cloud Computing’ •

Traditional business applications have always been very complicated

40 FHRAI MAgAzIne march 2012

•

and expensive. The amount and variety of hardware and software required to run them are daunting.

You need a whole team of experts to install, configure, test, run, secure and update them When you multiply this effort across dozens or hundreds of applications, it’s easy to see why the biggest companies with the best IT departments are not getting the applications they need; and small and mid-sized businesses don’t stand a chance

Cloud and Way Forward •

•

With ‘Cloud Computing’, shared infrastructure means it works like a utility; you only pay for what you need, upgrades are automatic and scaling up or down is easy Cloud-based applications can be up and running in days or weeks and they cost less. With a cloud application, you just open a browser, log in, customise the application and start using it

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[Technology] In the hospitality arena, what ‘Cloud Computing’ offers is a robust solution that can reduce costs, streamline operations and improve your business by taking your applications above the property.

‘Cloud Computing’ streamlines all stages of the application development cycle – requirements gathering, design, coding, testing, application delivery and training – with a fully integrated development environment. This environment provides complete, prebuilt applications and project management services. Also, it requires no up-front capital expense.

‘Cloud Computing’ platforms are based on subscription pricing. This approach is a major departure from the traditional IT procurement process.

As per Gartner report trend analysis for 2012 Internal and Hybrid cloud will transform the future ITC datacentre of business.

Internal clouds: When businesses grow accustomed to consuming IT as a service, IT organisations will be compelled to build internal clouds. Building them will be a key data centre trend in 2012 because of the need to compete with external cloud computing.

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Hybrid clouds: Hybrid clouds are connections between two clouds, usually an internal private cloud and an external public cloud. They are constructed using software that enables applications and data to migrate more easily between clouds. Hybrid cloud provides a solution to them in unique ways. For example, hybrid cloud software can enable WAN acceleration and VPN connections between clouds that allow IT organisations to keep application services and critical data in the internal cloud and to move the workload itself to the public cloud. As IT budgets continue to shrink and capital resources remain scarce, hybrid clouds will become a more popular option for augmenting IT capacity and enabling disaster recovery than building another data centre or signing a long-term outsourcing agreement.

Gartner also predicts that the ‘Cloud Computing’ and Mobility will be the top 2 agendas of company to drive business in 2012.

expanding the other business to explore the need.

• When we look at the different layers of ‘Cloud Computing’, 72 per cent is SaaS which is the most commonly used type • Vendors are making a lot of efforts to make it easier for network operators to develop new cloud application using PaaS. • The concept of shared NOCs is becoming important for T2 and T3 operators

Current Scenario

‘Cloud Computing’ is not just a topic of IT community globally. It is rapidly

FHRAI Magazine march 2012 41

[Technology] IDC study estimates on ‘Cloud Computing’:

• The size of the ‘Cloud Computing’ market is massive i.e $42 billion in 2012, up from $16 billion in 2008 • Expenditure on ‘Cloud Computing’ is growing six times faster than traditional IT services • The India market will register a compounded annual growth rate of 76 per cent between 2007 and 2011 and reach $260 million in revenue by 2011 (research by Springboard)

Key drivers for ‘Cloud Computing’ for hospitality industry are as follows:

• Expand scalability • Lower infrastructure cost • Increase utilisation • Improve end user productivity • Improve reliability • Gain access to most sophisticated application • Downsize IT infrastructure • Save energy

42 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

Some of the best practices are:

• Isolate the networks – Cloud, Management and Customers • Secure customers’ access to cloud based resources • Secure consistent backup and restoration of cloud based resources • Storage authentication, authorisation and auditing • A library of up to date templates of base OS and applications • Resource management to avoid DOS attacks • Encrypt critical data • Identity management • Data centric and network centric controls should be unified • Rapid and well defined response procedures • Talent – Network and Data security expertise • Classify your data

Here’s a short list of some of the technologies and trends that can potentially have a big impact on the industry in 2012-13. By no means is this a complete list. These are just some of the things which are expected to generate a

lot of interest across most of the segments of hospitality.

• Virtualisation • Web 2.0/Social Networking/Online Communities • Mobility/Mobile Devices • Business Insight/Analytics • Interactive Digital Signage/Natural User Interfaces •‘ Cloud Computing’centric controls should be unified Cloud and its scalability and scope for customisation, subsumes both opportunity and threats. Cloud is the next stage in IT outsourcing that makes possible the delivery of industry scale IT services.

This will be the game changer to deliver specialised IT services.

‘Cloud Computing’ is rapidly becoming a foundational element in global enterprise computing. Companies across a broad variety of industries are developing, offering or implementing cloud technologies.

(The writer is Systems Manager, Trident, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai and Founder of HOSPITECH - The Hospitality Technology Leaders Forum, India. Views expressed by the author are personal.)

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[Products & Services]

Hush super soft pillow The Super Soft Plus Pillow, another top of the line sleep product from Hush, is the superior alternative to a down feather pillow.

Made up of soft virgin micro fiber, it provides a 3-way support without compromising on softness. This cruelty-free pillow will help you sleep easy in more ways than one as it supports the head, neck and shoulders to facilitate a healthy sleeping posture, while the featherless design ensures that no harm is done to birds and animals for its production.

Newby Teas for HoReCa Based in London and known around the world for its fine teas, Newby Teas under the stewardship of Newby India is offering a range of teas. The company is already making inroads in some of India’s finest hospitality properties apart from a selection of premium retail outlets in the metros. It showcases an exclusive gifting range which offers customers the option of handpicking, mixing and matching a distinctive gift like no other; guaranteed to bring cheer to the receiver.

As the Newby brand expands its presence in India, the gold standard for fine teas is poised to be redefined. The company has come up with traditional black tea, flavoured, black tea, green tea, speciality Chinese tea, flowering tea, wildlife series, luxury range and herbal infusions. For HoReCa Range, it has priced its products in the range of `270 – `5500. Newby offers a wide selection of variants and packaging formats and stock keeping units across its business portfolio.

Weber Ranch Kettle Charcoal Grill Fresh from the success of its complete styling of its wide range of grills Weber, continues to add new products and the best in features to bolster its 2012 Weber brand line-up. Available in India the world’s leading barbeque grill and barbeque accessories manufacturer showcases its charcoal grill – Ranch Kettle under the Weber brand, adding to an already extensive group of its Spirit and Genesis models.

The Weber Ranch Kettle charcoal grill is perfect for hotels, resorts, restaurants and independent homes. Lack of space and the inability to stick everything on the grill at one time is not something of a problem with this enormous grill which has a cooking area of 1,104 square inch.

Though gigantic in size, it is one of the easiest to maintain and move around.

44 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[Environment]

Frugal Use of Water Portable water scarcity is forcing the world to look into this grave matter. By becoming water-positive, the hospitality industry can do wonders.

Niranjan Khatri

C

onsider this. If Earth was the size of an egg then all the water would be equivalent to a drop; all the air if condensed to the density of water would be a droplet only 1/40th as big and all the Arable land would be a not-quite-visible spec of dust. That drop, droplet and spec are all that makes the Earth different from the Moon.

If we focus on the amount of water (in percentage terms), 97 per cent of water is in the sea, 2 per cent is locked up in Arctic and Antarctic oceans and 1 per cent is fresh water. Of this ’one percent’, 22 per cent is in the underground aquifer and the balance 78 per cent is found in lakes, rivers and ponds. This is the global scenario of water.

India records the second highest precipitation rate in the world. The country’s average is 1,200 mm, with the maximum and minimum being 19,000 mm in Cherapunji and 200-300 mm in Rajasthan. India is fortunate to have a number of rivers criss-crossing the country. However, with the increase in industrialisation in the last 50 years, 70 per cent of our inland water has been contaminated by industrial pollution and sewage.

Today the country is facing acute water scarcity in many states and the availability of water per person, per annum has come down from 6,500 m3 to 2,500 m3, as per The Energy Resource Institute (TERI).

According to the World Watch Institute in Washington, India will be one of the highly water-stressed countries, 2020 onwards. The definition of water-stress is that, less than 1,000 m3 of water will be available per person, per annum. With the above scenario, it is imperative that the industry should be aware of the increasing pressure on scarce water resources. By adopting various water frugal technologies available in the market today, they only need to optimise the use of various grades of water for secondary use.

ITC Maurya has installed a STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) and the treated water is used for flushing in the toilets, horticulture and the needs of the A/C cooling tower. The terminology for

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this style of water management is known as ‘Demand Side’ management. ITC Hotels has focused on water management issues holistically for the past 18 years. Other water frugal devices such as dual flushing system, magic eye in the urinals and low flow showers have been installed, while water ‘swap’ concepts have been introduced in a city like Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Knowing that the problem is on the horizon, the need of the hour is to change individual/industrial attitudes to conserve water, especially because it also makes economic sense!

Before taking off, aircraft have a very precise system of carrying fuel and water, based on distance, weather conditions and occupancy, to optimise fuel consumption, without compromising on safety or passenger experience. It is the precision and frugality of design that enables airlines to control costs due to spiralling prices of fuel. Such practices of space must be innovatively inculcated in the hospitality sector too. In this regard the hotels and restaurants in India have a great opportunity to embed water sustainable design by introducing taps with a flow rate of 2-litre per minute, as opposed to current flow rates of 6 to 8-litre per minute. This is akin to the flow rate of taps in modern aircraft! Hospitality units have airconditioned spaces and here one has the opportunity to recover and reuse the water discharged by the air conditioners.

The collective land footprint of the hospitality sector is enormous and this gives Indian hospitality an opportunity of developing a model of working towards water neutrality, which can ultimately become waterpositive and also serve to feed most water starved cities with rain water. This can be done by comprehensively harvesting water in their huge spaces.

(The writer is GM – WelcomEnviron Initiatives, ITC WelcomGroup.

The views expressed by the author are personal.)

FHRAI Magazine march 2012 45

[ FIHM]

Promoting

FIHM’s Cause Navin Kumar Nanchahal, Director, FIHM

F

HRAI – Institute of Hospitality Management (FIHM), in Greater Noida on February 10, 2012 welcomed Kamlesh Barot, the 47th President of The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations in India (FHRAI) for the year 2011–12 along with MD Kapoor, Secretary General of FHRAI. The maiden visit of the President was to get familiar with the operations at the institute and provide valuable support from the industry for overall development of all its stakeholder viz. students, faculty and staff members. He contributed to FIHM by keeping the environment ‘Green’ and ‘Clean’ by planting a tree in the institute. He was impressed with the concept of kitchen garden and horticulture initiatives undertaken by the institute.

During his hour long interactive session with the students, Barot’s main focus was on the overall grooming of the budding professional in the hospitality industry at the institute. He shared his valuable experiences on how he carved his path in the competitive and ever-challenging environment. He was also keen on knowing the experiences of the students at FIHM and aimed at providing excellent industry interaction i.e. academia opportunity to them by proposing the industry counterparts to make frequent visits to the campus for enhancing their knowledge with live examples and situation handling mechanisms.

The FHRAI President had an elaborate discussion with the faculty and staff members on the progress of the institute and its future endeavours. He even appraised the faculty members over the developments pertaining to the academic affiliation with AICTE and Mahamaya Technical University for the undergraduate course in hospitality. He relished to have his

46 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

lunch in the company of students, faculty and staff members at the Sassafaras, one of the training restaurants at FIHM and appreciated the quality of food served at the buffet.

In his closing note, Barot appreciated the efforts of Navin Kumar Nanchahal, Director, FIHM along with the entire team of the institute for giving him a warm welcome and overall development of the students in terms of co-curricular activities.

He appreciated the goal of ‘Self Sustenance’ through alternate means of revenue generation and cutting down the overhead costs by the institute and highlighted the need for the institute to prepare the bench strength for hospitality industry with quality professionals.

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[Learning]

Concocting a Career With the growth of the hospitality sector and the rise in alcohol consumption, the scope of bartending has increased manifold.

There is no reason why aspiring students should not look at this proposition as a career.

I

Vikram Achanta

f you’re a hotel management student or working in F&B service, then bartending as a career is an exciting opportunity open to you. If you have a passion for beverages, enjoy interacting with people. If you happen to be blessed with good communication skills then you are all set to become a great bartender.

Tulleeho is one of India’s leading beverage training firms which also run the Tulleeho Wine Academy offering the WSET courses and the Tulleeho Bartending Academy in Bengaluru. If you do choose to become a bartender, people tend to question are you likely to find a job? The answer is a resounding yes! There are two main reasons for this, which is discussed below in detail.

Alcoholic Beverage Sector Growth

The Indian alcoholic beverage industry is approximately US$ 12 billion and is estimated to grow to approximately US$ 22 billion by 2014 (source - Datamonitor). Curently Out of the approximately US$ 12 billion, at least approximately US$ 1 billion is accounted for by products at the premium end that is MRP of INR 500 or over. Premiumisation is also a distinct trend in the Indian ‘Alcobev’ space, with healthy double-digit growth rates

48 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

in most sectors, be it Luxury vodka or Single Malt whisky. As more and more brands start appearing on the back bar of major hotels or leading restaurants, it becomes equally essential to have high quality personnel behind the bar to advocate these to their guests and to know how to properly serve them or use them (if mixed in a cocktail).

The Growing Scope

The Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI) has estimated that India currently has an immediate shortfall of 1,00,000 rooms. To meet this demand, major hotel chains are scaling up investment in India with expansion into Tier-II markets also. With so many hotels coming up, accordingly the need for qualified manpower will rise and a recent Ma Foi survey indicates that a demand for 40,000 more hotel professionals will be seen by the end of 2011.

However, it is not just the growth of the hotels (4 and 5-star), but also the rapid emergence of high quality dining and clubbing options outside of the hotel space, which is also fuelling the need for trained bartenders. Let us not also forget that the Indian consumers who are frequenting these hotels or restaurants are a different breed from what they were

10 years ago. Well travelled and highly aware, they want the best in beverages and in their service. If a hotel wants to retain their customers, then they need to ensure that they meet these expectations.

These trends all contribute to an increasing demand for skilled manpower.

Now that we’ve settled the question of whether the demand exists for a good bartender, we need to address the next crucial question. How does one acquire the skills to become a good bartender?

The first and most crucial requirement for a bartender is product knowledge.

It’s absolutely critical to have your fundamentals in place, to know your old world wines from the new world, your bourbon from your Tennessee and your lagers from your ales. The top hotel management colleges do a reasonable job in the theoretical underpinnings relating to wine/spirits/beer, but where they are often found lacking for a variety of reasons, is the practical knowledge associated with each of the major beverage categories, starting from most obviously the need to taste what you read about in a book. Reading that Single Malt from Islay has a ‘phenolic’ taste can in no way compensate for your first sip of Laphroaig.

The next after you’ve got your basic taste profiles sorted is to figure out how each major beverage category – vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whisky and brandy are used to make cocktails and what the major styles of cocktails are. And to do this, you actually have to make the classics yourself, with alcohol added. Any good bartender will tell you that the first most important quality of a cocktail is ‘balance’ and to judge ‘balance’ for a Manhattan to name one Classic Cocktail without Rye or Vermouth is an exercise in futility.

After 10 years of being involved with beverage education and training in India, I think what we have is a fundamental mismatch between the education sector and the hospitality industry. The

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[Learning] education sector assumes that the hotel/ restaurant will take care of the practical side of the student education and the hotel/restaurant likewise assumes that the student is joining them, fully trained.

And this is where the problem lies. If you want to seriously pursue bartending as a career, then you need to ensure that you are equipped with the right knowledge and the skills before you embark upon a career. Don’t expect that the establishment you join is going to give you these critical requirements.

Fortunately, major Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai all have specialised bartending schools to help bridge this gap. Quite often the students of these schools could be 12th pass or graduates in different fields who are keen to get a job as a bartender.

It’s important to assess these schools on the following parameters before taking a decision to join them: • The brand – how well known are they • The infrastructure – do they have a proper bar to make the cocktails?

Do they have a dedicated flair area? Is ‘product tasting’ a regular

50 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

feature? Is alcohol used to make cocktails?

• Quality of faculty • Training experience – do they actively work with the beverage and hospitality industry as a training service provider?

Career Progression

In the west, it is quite usual for a bartender to continue working as a bartender for a long time, till he retires and people are happy to pursue this as a profession. There is less of this in India, partly due to the fact that the hospitality industry also needs to realise that this is a specialised profession and that the individuals should be groomed and trained in the same way. Also, a lot of professionals after spending a few years (or more) as a bartender, aspire to move up in the F&B hierarchy and to aim for either the post of a restaurant manager, beverage manager or even perhaps an F&B manager and there are examples of bartenders in India, who have had such a career progression such as Rishi Raj Singh at ITC WelcomHotel, Saket.

Indian bartenders also have a long

history of going overseas to work, either on the cruise liners or in the Middle East and other foreign countries. So there are also lucrative opportunities for you as a bartender outside India.

If you have gained valuable experience as a bartender and are keen on exploring new challenges, then two more exciting career options are possible. The first is in the rapidly emerging liquor retail space, either in one of the large supermarket chains which are retailing liquor like Spar or Nature’s Basket or in the Travel Retail space, working for one of the countries top duty free operators like Delhi Duty Free or Flemingo. According to the bengaluru-based consulting firm Asipac Projects, Airport retail business in India topped US$1 billion in revenue during 2011, with liquor accounting for a sizeable share of the same.

The other career option for you is to join the beverage industry itself, as several bartenders have done and work for a beverage company in the area of sales or key account management.

(The writer is the Co-founder and CEO of Tulleeho.

The views expressed by the author are personal.)

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[Supplier Talk]

Reach & Revenue Elan Professional Appliances, also called as Elanpro, is finding its place under the sun. It is quite upbeat about its feat that it has gained in a small period of time, as it charts growth consistently.

E

lanpro is promoted by professionals who have a collective experience in the commercial refrigeration industry and medical refrigeration solutions. Elanpro has its registered office in Delhi-NCR and specialises in working with HoReCa, Pharma and Retail segments across the country. Elanpro has a team for dedicated sales and service support, which includes a network of channel partners across the country. Speaking about the growth, Sanjay Jain, Director of the company says, “The company was founded by professionals who have a combined experience of over 60 years in the Indian refrigeration and food-service industry. We have a deep exposure in commercial refrigeration.” For the few years that it has been into operation, it has established a strong relationship with major hospitality chains like the ITC Hotels, Taj Hotels, Café Coffee Day, YUM! and beverage giants like Pepsi and Coke.

The Growth of Elanpro

The firm has grown exponentially in terms of reach and revenue. Jain says, “We now cover more locations through our team and through our channel partner network. We have grown in terms of revenue from `500 lakh in 2009-10 to `2500 lakh in 2011-12. We now cover almost all the states through our channel partners.” The network is being strengthened on an ongoing basis. However, according to the company, the major growth of hospitality is taking place in metro and mini-metro cities, “Hence, we shall continue to focus and build our strength in these sectors,” he adds.

Elanpro’s product profile concentrates on commercial refrigeration and professional coffee machines that is currently catering to HoReCa, Retail and Life Sciences refrigeration needs in the Pharma sector. Jain believes, “We can serve the same Industry segments by focussing deeper instead of wider.

We may develop new products based on industry feedback in commercial refrigeration products.”

Elanpro strongly believes in providing the right solution, robust product and quality after-sales service leading to customer satisfaction. “Happy customers means that we will continue to grow,” Jain feels.

Import v/s Manufacturing

The company believes that there is a need to differentiate between importing versus contract manufacturing. Jain elaborates, “Contract manufacturing is very popular in white goods and Pharma products. We too have contract manufacturing with some of the best quality OEM manufacturers. Our factories are based in Spain, Turkey, Italy and China. We are striving to make Elanpro brand synonymous with quality. The strength of brand will decide our growth over the years. Our brand shall be a promise of right solutions, robust build quality and prompt after-sales service.”

Elanpro is launching a range of new products in the refrigeration segment. The new product launches are likely to give it a wider presence in its existing industry segments.

52 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

These shall also be contract manufactured, the company informs. “Our investments are in the area of new product development,” states Jain.

Outlook for 2012

The hospitality industry is dependent on an array of global and business environmental factors. “Whilst domestic business and tourism shall continue growing, due to the growth in the Indian economy. The world economic situation is a curious and mixed bag of issues. As political stability in the domestic and world market remains an issue, the Indian hospitality industry is likely to grow better than the rest of the industry,” articulates Jain.

Elanpro’s Product Profile The products are currently focused on commercial refrigeration and professional coffee machines. The range includes: • K itchen Refrigeration: Comprehensive solution for kitchens made for Indian conditions. Like, Reach In/Under Counters with bigger refrigeration system equipped with Danfoss Compressor to suit Indian conditions • M inibars: Highest quality standards with CE, UL and CB certification. Like, Absorption type Minibars – Models from 15 l to 60 l and compressor type minifridge – 60 l • B ar Refrigeration: Full range, which includes Back Bars, Wine Chillers and Wine Dispensers • A range of Beer and Soda Dispensers • I ce Cube Machine: A range of Ice Cube Machines from Scotsman Group • F reezer and Chiller: Display and back office storage for retail and laboratory applications • C offee Machine: Professional Espresso Coffee Machines from Crem International, Sweden, manufactured in Spain specially designed for India • Fully automatic Coffee Machines from N&W Global Vending

Launch Plans • S pecial types of Chest Freezers for wide-ranging applications in Retail and Pharma • I sland Freezer: Large sized Island type Freezers for better display and focus on power saving and good performance • B eer Cooler: Designed and developed to meet the tough expectation of Beer Retailers. This product has been designed for superior cooling and rough handling at Beer retail outlets • G lycol Freezer and Battery Freezer: Ideal for power starved rural/semi urban areas

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

[Explore]

Novotel

Checks into Vizag Known for the long coastline and undulating beaches, Vishakapatnam is not just a leisure destination anymore.

With the newly opened Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach Hotel, the first international hotel project in the city presents the biggest convention centre on the entire east coast.

Megha Paul

54 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

N

ovotel’s fourth and Accor’s 11th hotel in the country, Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach is the new luxury beachfront 5-star hotel that was recently launched commercial operations. With the biggest convention centre on the east coast, the hotel will position itself as a MICE destination.

Identifying Asia Pacific as the region with the maximum potential for the growth of the hospitality sector, Paul Archer, General Manager-Delegate, Andhra Pradesh, Accor-India, highlighted, “India has never been a preferred MICE destination as there has been a dearth of good convention facilities. Accor wants to develop the market in Visakhapatnam by leveraging its position as a leader in the convention market.”

To target the increasing number of business travellers and showcase Visakhapatnam as the next big conference destination, the state-of-theart banquet facilities have a total area of 40,000 sq ft of indoor and outdoor space to accommodate over 4,000 guests. The property has as many as 12 banquet halls along with pre-function foyer of over 9,500 sq ft. According to Archer, the largest hall can accommodate up to 1,200 attendees for the conferences.

The hotel has enormous accommodation facilities as well. Each of the 225 rooms has a panoramic view of the ocean. This includes 159 Superior Rooms, 23 Premier Rooms, 32 Extended Stay Rooms, nine Executive Suites, one Presidential Suite and one Accessible Room.

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[Explore] Meetings@Novotel • Over 3500 sqm of indoor and outdoor banqueting space • Enchanting ocean view • 5 meeting rooms for break-out sessions • State-of-the-art ‘Eureka Room’ for power meetings • Ballroom capacity of 1,200 guests • A plush pre-function foyer area of over 920 sqm • Wedding capacity of 4,000 guests

To deck up for the GenNext MICE traveller, in addition to the pillar-free ergonomically designed banquets, the hotel offers five multi-functional meeting rooms and cutting edge ‘Eureka Room’ with customised modular furniture for power meetings.

Talking about the USP of the property, Mohammed Shoeb, General Manager, Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach affirmed, “What is unique

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about the hotel is not only are the 225 rooms in the hotel facing the sea but also that the hotel also offers sea-facing meeting rooms and banquet areas.”

Recognising the fact that MICE outings would also require a lot of planning, the GM informed, “Every requirement of an event will be planned meticulously by our banquet team. They would interact with the organiser of the event and would be responsible for

planning and implementing every detail of the event.” The hotel also provides dedicated parking space for over 350 cars and 800 bikes with an exclusive banquet entry.

Going forward, to keep pace with the discerning travellers and help them unwind after a day of long meetings, the hotel provides recreational facilities, including a well-equipped fitness centre, landscaped terrace garden with a jogging track and a 24-hour outdoor infinity pool.

FHRAI Magazine march 2012 55

Designed with the planet in mind Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach is working towards achieving Earth Check certification. Many environmental initiatives have been incorporated into this design and construction, including a sewage treatment plant and an energysaving heating and cooling system

Varun Group Chairman and Managing Director and the hotel’s proprietor, V. Prabhu Kishore said, “For the first time in the country, we have a jogging-walking track on the terrace, at a height of about 40m.”

To ensure that the meal breaks are utilised fully with sumptuous food, the hotel also boasts of four gourmet options.

The Square is the signature restaurant with European décor serving scrumptious breakfast with Asian, Indian and Western influenced cuisines. This includes an interactive kitchen with live cooking counters, teppanyaki and a wood-fired pizza oven. The restaurant also boasts of having the largest buffet spread in the city. Vué is the high-energy lounge bar serving heady concoctions of cocktails and pulsating music. Another specialty Indian restaurant set by the pool and landscaped lawns, overlooking the ocean is the Zaffran. The restaurant includes two private dining rooms each accommodating 10 guests. For the sweet tooth, the hotel also has a pastry shop, Sugarr that offers a wide range of fresh bakes, savouries, pastries, designer desserts and homemade gourmet chocolates. There is a Premier Lounge that is an exclusive lounge for premier floor guests as well.

56 FHRAI Magazine march 2012

Visit FHRAI Website: www.fhrai.com

Holi Festival

Drinks

[F&B]

A Passion for Quality With winter nearly tucked up in the attic, it’s time to come out of our cocoons and enjoy this spring festival.

Every year the Holi Festival is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March and glorifies good harvest and fertility of the land.

It is also time for spring harvest. an occasion brings in The It’s company Moninthat is known world over for its unique beverage flavours and unadulterated joy and mirth, funits mark in the Indian market in a very short has come a long way. It has made play, It music and dance, and, spanand of time. celebrates its Centenary year and also looks forward to a new found of approach course, lotstoofgrow brightfurther. colors!

I

During Holi, all the practices are

t is 100 years since a 19 year old entrepreneur called Georges Monin started selling brandedon wines and days spirits with horse allowed.

In fact, the ofaHoli, and cart and the slogan ‘A passion for quality’. The company can get away he you founded has never strayed farwith from almost his motto. Today, Monin anything is the brand of by choice of gourmet fl avour andit’s an saying, “Don’tbusiness mind, international, multi-million turnover operations with unrivalled productHoli!” offers. (Hindi = Bura na mano, Holi hai.),

so enjoy !for Perfection Requirements

This passion to offer only the highest quality drinks is common in each of the three generations – Georges, his son Paul and now his grandson Olivier – who have been instrumental to the company’s global success. From the outset, bottles were always presented impeccably – individually labelled and sealed, cleaned and wrapped in silk. Georges’ passion for quality was inherited by Paul, who would travel the world sourcing the best natural Findonly more ingredients to guarantee premium flavours.

Quality recipes oninremains a Withday winter nearly tucked up keystone in the modern state-of-the-art production process, attic, timewww.monin.com, to come out of our for where every bottle isthe given a lotit’s number, a traceable reference Facebook the ingredients and the person and who enjoy blending cocoons thisthem. spring and festival. theFestival MONIN App. Every year the Holi is celebrated endless Creativity & Innovation on the day after the full moon in early Always ahead of its time in the use of technology and the March glorifies harvestMonin creative development of newand products andgood applications, and fertility of the land. has carved its reputation as an imaginative drinks solution

Holi Festival

Drinks

provider. Their product offering now extends to over 140 products including premium syrups, liqueurs, gourmet sauces, fruit smoothies and cocktail mixes. New concepts, aimed at tapping different markets and applications.

Creative Flavour Solutions

15 beverage innovation directors, who are experts in cocktails and speciality coffees, are based within their local markets with access to four creative studios worldwide. They work alongside customers to develop their drink menu and devise customised seasonal promotions, as Paul Monin once did for his customers – think Gingerbread Latte winter warmer or a refreshing summertime Mojito Sparkler.

It is also time for spring harvest.

It’s an occasion that brings in unadulterated joy and mirth, fun CeleBrate and play, music and dance, and, of course, lots of bright colors!

During Holi, all the practices are allowed. In fact, on the days of Holi, you can get away with almost anything by saying, “Don’t mind, it’s YearS OF =CreatIVItY ! hai.), Holi!” (Hindi Bura na mano, Holi www.monin.com and facebook so enjoy !

Holi Festival Prog A4.indd 1

58 FHRAI MAgAzIne march 2012

Find more recipes on www.monin.com, Facebook and

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[F&B] Leading the Way

Early product launches in 1940s and 50s were successful because of the visionary marketing strategies, which Paul Monin employed. ‘Un MONIN’, a wine-based aperitif made by macerating orange peel, was launched with an eyecatching, young ‘troubadour’ brand image to appeal to post-war consumers. An immediate success, it was closely followed by ‘Le Glasco’, a syrup made from a base of highly-concentrated lemon juice, which is still produced today. He also tempted customers with seasonal drink recipes. His dynamic product marketing was underpinned with crucial investment in pasteurisation facilities to ensure the products’ shelf-life.

A Complete Offer

Like Paul, Olivier has continued to invest heavily in cutting-edge production facilities to enable rapid new product development on a global stage. The fact that he has capitalised on the taste particularities of over 140 countries and the current range of more than 140 flavours (the largest in today’s market) is testament to the company’s insatiable appetite for creating new flavour sensations, such as basil, hibiscus and gingerbread. As a result of his vision and investment, Olivier has doubled the production in the last five years.

Characterised by Partnerships

The company has a strong partnership ethos, which runs through the core of the business and originates from Georges’ own exemplary client relations. In 1938, his 25,000 customers were visited every six weeks by one of his 30 representatives.

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And even today, when the company operates on a global scale, Monin remains close to its customers and markets, working with a sole partner in each country.

A Brand of Choice

From baristi in coffee shops, through mixologists creating highend cocktails, to bartenders offering simple cocktail solutions, Monin collaborates with a diverse clientele of both independent and national accounts worldwide.

This partnership philosophy is also evident within the organisation and was instilled by its founder, with letterheads from 1924 bearing the inscription ‘with the participation of all company personnel’. This is still the case. In 2011, all 300 employees were invited to create new syrup flavours, which resulted in 40 new ideas, ripe for development.

new Horizons

Though the heart of the company remains in Bourges, central France, the hometown to which Georges Monin was so attached, its reach has far extended the 50 km radius, where he first delivered his goods. The last decade has witnessed a breathtakingly rapid expansion with new offices and production facilities in Fresnes/ Escaut (Northern France), Florida and Malaysia and two further branch offices in Dubai and Shanghai.

Monin took its first bold steps into the export market in 1980 when Paul launched the syrups. Under Olivier, the company’s export sales have soared with his intuitive strategy to export the Monin product portfolio and expand overseas. Today, export sales represent 75 per cent of total sales.

FHRAI MAgAzIne march 2012 59

[Dine Out]

From Toasts to Sandwiches Entering into a master franchise agreement with the Delhi-based restaurant management company, Sub-One Hospitality Services to open outlets across states, the US-based QSR is all set to give a toast to competition.

Megha Paul

T

he fresh fast food market in India has just got more spiced up. A tad fresher, a little more warmth to your bread; that’s what the new alternative from the USbased entrant Quiznos offers on your platter. With loads of low-fat cheese, fresh salads and of course, a big bang, the American Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brand recently opened its first North India outlet in N-Block Market in Greater Kailash-I, New Delhi.

The Quiznos outlet has taken up a rather visible spot in the N-Block Market, Greater Kailash- I, where its set to heat up the competition with its toasted sub sandwiches, as it has done in Hyderabad, where all five of its outlets seem to have their hands full. What sets Quiznos apart from its better- known rival Subway, is that the sandwiches are toasted with the ingredients in an oven, instead of being assembled, wrapped up and passed on to guests.

Quiznos has entered into a master franchise agreement with the Delhi-based restaurant management company Sub-One Hospitality Services to open outlets across states such as Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Quiznos entered India last year with the launch of its first outlet in Hyderabad. Commenting on the brand’s entry in the capital, Parvin Juneja from Sub-One Hospitality Services remarked, “The concept of Quiznos caters to the contemporary urban consumer who is often looking for a fresh, tasty alternative to conventional fast food joints. Delhi being one such place where people love to experiment with fast food choices Quiznos is sure to be lured by the brand’s expansive fare of toasted subs.”

This launch will be followed by the opening of 20-25 Quiznos restaurants within the next one year in prominent locations of Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Chandigarh, Mumbai and Gujarat, he added. “Looking at the goodwill and success that the brand enjoys globally, I am sure that Quiznos will very soon become a preferred choice of sub-lovers across north India,” he said.

Exploring a plethora of ways to spread its wings in the country, these outlets will be available in different formats like kiosks, food courts, dining restaurants and mall locations.

Adhering to its policy of adapting to the local taste and culture, Quiznos will not only offer its world famous toasted subs in the traditional format but will also give options like ‘Paneer Tikka’, ‘Tandoori Chicken’, ‘Lamb Seekh’, ‘Aloo Corn’ and ‘Spinach Tikki’. The extensive menu will also include creative, chef-inspired recipes for salads, flatbread sammies, soups, pizzas and desserts.

Out of the 16 options available here, 10 are international flavours, notably the Chipotle, Honey Mustard and Baja Chicken. The

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remaining six are especially designed for the Indian palate. Hence, you have subs to entice the Indian taste buds such as the ‘Aloo Spinach’, ‘Lamb Shikampuri’ and Veggie Manchurian.

Commenting on the launch, Lee Vala, Chief Development Officer (International), Quiznos said, “The QSR segment in India has evolved rapidly over the last few years and I foresee a tremendous growth of the category in the times to come. We have ventured into India with the vision to expand our business manifold and to become one of the major franchisors in the country. When we thought of bringing our presence in north India, the very first option that came to our mind was Delhi.

Being the capital, this city has immense opportunities for every possible sector, including the restaurant industry.”

Launched in Denver in 1981, Quiznos is the pioneer of toasted sandwich and is today America’s premier Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain. The brand’s philosophy of international growth and the attention to localisation has made it a major QSR player around the world. Through 4,000 restaurants in more than 35 countries, Quiznos offers creative, chef-inspired recipes for the brand’s signature toasted subs, salads, flatbread sammies, soups, pizzas and desserts.

Quiznos’ 30 years of success and large numbers of loyal repeat customers can be attributed in large part to good food.

The brand uses butcher-quality meats, all-natural low fat cheeses, chef-designed signature sauces and toasted artisan bread.

Sub-One Hospitality Services is the associate company of South Asian Hospitality Services, one of the largest and most profitable restaurant management companies in north and west India, which operated over 54 QSRs and fine dine restaurants under master franchisee and franchisee agreements with some of the leading domestic as well as international food chains.

The brands in the portfolio of South Asian Hospitality Services include Nirula’s, Rajdhani, Moti Mahal Delux Tandoori Trail, Wagh Bakri Tea Lounge, Punjab Sweet Corner and Food Park.

Post the tie-up with Sub-One Hospitality Services, Quiznos is here to give a toast to the competition. With the next outlet being in Gurgaon’s South Point Mall, the QSR is poised to toast the competition and lure the Indian taste buds for a lot more.

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[Chef Talk]

A Mixed Bag of Challenges & Excitement Understanding customers is extremely critical in the process of becoming a chef, as they are the creators of new recipes and also the reason behind the revenue graph of a food outlet. Vikas Pant, Executive Chef, Radisson Blu Hotel Greater Noida finds these challenges exciting, as they also play a key role in his growth.

Sanjeev Bhar In the present scenario, how important is it to have sound menu planning and menu engineering that enables one towards becoming a chef?

In the current trend, I personally see three types of consumers - firstly, traditional, those who stick to their favourite dishes and are not ready to explore new options. For example a Japanese guest looking only for a Japanese dish or cuisine.

Second category can be referred as the experimental, who are willing to explore and relish new dishes. Like European travellers who enjoy Indian or Asian food. This experimentation leads to their enjoyment from anything to everything available on the platter. And the last category I would divide as a mix, where one behaves in both traditional and being experimental manner depending on the mood.

He might be a strict traditional during breakfast but prefers experimental during dinner.

To address the concerns of all three categories, a near perfect menu planning is a must. An unbalanced menu option will never be a delight to the consumer. As a chef, my emphasis is on providing a balanced menu derived from menu engineering which has become equally important in today’s scenario. It helps in understanding and fixing the gaps in the menu.

What kind of specialty cuisine have you been involved in? In the present scenario, how do you assess the demand for food to keep returns high and costs at the bare minimum?

For me Asian cuisine has always been the most demanding and that has been my strength too. The best part of this cuisine is the endless collection, which gives diversity to the menu. This is also acceptable to most of the consumers as it provides a great combination of vegetarian and non vegetarian, spicy and non spicy. These incur low cost and yield high profits and always bring a smile on the faces of our investors. The most important aspect is that the ingredients are easily available for this kind of food.

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What is your idea of perfect food? What are the various factors you take into consideration while preparing a menu?

For me, there is nothing called ‘perfect food’. This is subjected to an individual’s palate. A successful chef can come close but can never score a perfect 10. To be closer to that magic digit, it’s very important to understand some basic things which are extremely crucial, from revenue point of view as well.

Likes and dislikes of consumers • Type of consumers i.e. traditional, experimental or mix • Meal operation time i.e. breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Generally, a breakfast is always light but filling and dinner is the lightest and the food should tickle the taste buds • Profile of consumers – business, transit, leisure, family, kid, youth, gender, etc. Each one of these have a specific role to play in the manner they respond to food • Availability and authenticity of ingredients. Without this, a dish will never receive appreciation How do you take up the challenge of reviving the F&B offerings to keep the revenue returns high? Which factors contribute immensely to high food revenue in a hotel?

The correct study of menu engineering is the best tool to understand the F&B revenue returns. However, following factors can also contribute in increasing the F&B sales: • Freshness of product and menu • Food promotions that increase the database and at the same time increase the cuisine strength • Human touch which ensures that every consumer is given full attention in order to satisfy him • Internal targets for the F&B team that should be achievable and must attract rewards • Motivation and dedication of the team aligned to the common goal

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[Chef Talk] What is the profile of the customers the hotel gets for its various outlets? What approach do you take to interact with customers to know the demand trends/ choices?

In the current scenario, any food joint usually gets 50 per cent domestic, 30 per cent European and 20 per cent Asians customers. To be on top of their expectation, interaction is the most important tool. I generally prefer to meet them during breakfast but if for some reason the same is not possible, I ensure that I meet them during the day and often I invite them.

What has been your experience so far as a chef?

It has been a challenging experience so far and has been equally excellent! I have enjoyed every breath that I inhaled as a chef.

I have always admired diversity and this is precisely the place where I got it all.

Which food items should be given importance saleable food items or the uniqueness that an outlet wishes to offer?

According to me, a combination of both is important. Ideally, 60 per cent of items need to be those that are saleable and 40 per cent can be unique offerings or a specialty of the hotel.

This is required as any hotel/restaurant has primarily two targets to achieve. One is to be able to generate good gross operating profit and secondly, to be recognised as ‘the food destination’.

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Chef’s Choice

I have many memories attached to this recipe and it has always been a favourite dish that I not only love to prepare but also gorge on it. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do.

Roasted Lime Chicken Ingredients: Whole Chicken with skin Lime juice Rice Vinegar Fish sauce Breakfast Sugar Ginger paste Garlic paste Chilli paste Coriander Root paste

750 gm 20 ml 10 ml 15 ml 15 gm 10 gm 5 gm 5 gm 10 gm

Method: • Clean chicken and remove all the inner organs • Wash the chicken properly and dry it • Marinate the chicken with rest of the ingredients • Keep the marinated chicken for two hours • Pre heat the oven at 180°C and place the marinated chicken into the oven and cook it for 30 minutes • Now reduce the temperature of the oven and let the chicken cook in slow heat • Make sure that the chicken is properly cooked and the skin has turned crispy • Serve it hot

FHRAI Magazine march 2012 63

[Taxation]

Provident Fund and the Income-tax Law Subhash Lakhotia Tax and Investment Consultant Director, M/s. R.N. Lakhotia & Associates & The Strategy Group

Having contributed to the Recognised Provident Fund, know more about your savings; how to utilise them, when can you withdraw and under what conditions.

U

nder the provisions of Income-tax Law as per section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 a deduction in terms of the said section is permissible to an assessee contributing to the Recognised Provident Fund. This deduction is permissible within the overall limit of `1,00,000.

It may also be noted here that the maximum amount which can be contributed by the employer to the Provident Fund of the employee is 12 per cent per annum of the salary. Thus, in case the employer’s annual contribution to the Provident Fund exceeds 12 per cent of the salary of the employee; in that case such excess contribution will be treated as the income of employees. Likewise, if the interest credited on the balance to the credit of the employee in the Provident Fund Account exceeds 8.5 per cent per annum, in that situation such excess interest over and above the said 8.5 per cent shall be deemed to have been received by the employee and will be added to the income of the employee and thus subjected to tax.

All persons who are contributing to the Recognised Provident Fund should carefully study the provisions of Recognised Provident Funds as are contained in the VI Schedule to the Income-tax Act, 1961. As per this Schedule Rule A speaks about exclusion from total income of accumulated balance in the Recognised Provident Fund.

This rule is really one of the very important rules, the contents of which must be carefully understood by all those persons who are in service. The relevant extract of this rule is as under: The accumulated balance due and becoming payable to an employee participating in a Recognised Provident Fund shall be excluded from the computation of his total income –

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i. If he has rendered continuous service with his employer for a period of five years or more ii. Though if he has not rendered such continuous service, the service has been terminated by reason of the employee’s ill-health or by the contraction or discontinuance of the employer’s business or other cause beyond the control of the employee iii. If, on the cessation of his employment, the employee obtains employment with any other employer, to the extent the accumulated balance due and becoming payable to him is transferred to his individual account in any Recognised Provident Fund maintained by such other employer Thus, if you are shifting from one employment to another employment and you are having a Recognised Provident Fund Account and you have not completed five years of continuous service, in that situation please be careful and take a decision not to withdraw the money from your Recognised Provident Fund Account or else you will be subjected to tax on the accumulation. The best course however, would only be to ensure that your amount lying in the Recognised Provident Fund account is transferred to your new account with new employer and that the money is not withdrawn specifically when five years of service have not been completed. This simple tip is going to be really wonderful tip for all those persons who are in the process of shifting their job and have not been in service for five years continuously.

All those who are contributing to the Recognised Provident Fund should also carefully have a look into the provisions

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[Taxation] contained in Rule 67A of the Income-tax Rules 1962. This rule speaks about the nomination for your Recognised Provident Fund account. In case you have not yet made your nomination for the Recognised Provident Fund account, then please make the nomination in Form No. 40A. The above mentioned Rule 67A while talking about the nomination of Recognised Provident Fund account states that if an employee nominates more than one person, then the employee should specify the amount or share payable to each member of his nominees so as to cover the whole of the amount that may send to the credit of the employee in the Provident Fund. It is also provided that where an employee has a family at the time of making a nomination, the nomination shall be in favour of one or more person belonging to his family and that any nomination made by an employee in favour of a person not belonging to his family shall be invalid. Sometimes, it may happen that at the time of making a nomination for the purposes of Recognised Provident Fund, the employee has no family, then the nomination may be made in favour of any person or persons but if the employee subsequently acquires a family, such nomination shall forthwith be deemed to be invalid and the employee may be allowed to make a fresh nomination in favour of one or more persons belonging to his family. Employees should also remember that by filling up Form No. 40B a nomination made by the employee can be modified at any point of time. For the purposes of nomination under Recognised Provident Fund Act, family would mean the employee’s spouse, legitimate children, step children, deceased son’s widow, deceased son’s legitimate children, deceased son’s step children and dependent parents.

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If you want to withdraw money from your Recognised Provident Fund account then kindly look into Rule 68 of the Income-tax Rules 1962 which speaks about the circumstances in which withdrawals may be permitted from your Recognised Provident Fund account. Briefly the law allows you to withdraw from your Recognised Provident Fund account to make payment of the expenses incurred in connection with the illness of the employee or the member of his family as also for meeting the cost of higher education.

Similarly, withdrawals from Recognised Provident Fund are also permitted to pay the cost of the passage to a place out of India of an employee or any member of his family. Likewise, expenses incurred in connection with marriages, funerals or other ceremonies, which by the religion of the employee, it is incumbent upon him to perform, shall also be allowed from out of the withdrawals made from the Recognised Provident Fund account. Finally, the most important purpose for which the withdrawal is permitted is to meet the expenditure on building a house or purchasing a site or a house and a site.

It is suggested that all those persons who are in service should very carefully go through the various contents of the provisions contained in the Income-tax Act and the Incometax Rules relating to Recognised Provident Fund and try to make the best use of the same. Our recommendation is that the amount lying to your credit in the Recognised Provident Fund account should be withdrawn and invested in buying a house or a plot of land which we feel would be a wonderful management decision for which one has not to repent in the years to come.

FHRAI Magazine march 2012 65

[Movements]

Movements Murlidhar Rao Viswavasu Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lemon Tree Premier

Murlidhar Rao Viswavasu has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Lemon Tree Premier.

Viswavasu has over 25 years of hotel experience and was last the Vice President-Operations of Alila Hotels and Resorts, based in Singapore. He is an IHM Mumbai graduate and began his career as a management trainee with the Leela Kempinski, Mumbai, where he rose to be senior sous chef and later F&B Manager. Post this, Viswavasu worked as F&B Manager at the Four Seasons Resort, Goa. He later led F&B operations at the Four Seasons Resort, Maldives and at the Oriental, Singapore. Viswavasu subsequently led operations at the AAA 4 Diamond Point Grace Resort, Providenciales, The Turks & Caicos Islands. He then moved to Indonesia as the GM of Alila, Jakarta and later took over as the Regional GM of Alila Villas, Maldives before assuming his last role as the head of Alila operations across Asia-Pacific.

Chia Kok Sing

Jeewan Bakhtawar

Chef de Cuisine of EEST The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi

Vice President - Human Resources The Leela Palaces, Hotels And Resorts

The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts proudly announced the appointment of Jeewan Samuel Bakhtawar as Vice President - Human Resources for the group. Prior to joining The Leela, Bakhtawar was Director - Human Resources at Trident, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai.

Bakhtawar has nearly 20 years of extensive business experience across various industries in different parts of India and the Middle East and started his career as a Sales Executive for Avery India in Bhopal. Thereafter, he was with Majdouleen Commercial Establishment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Telco Dealership and Grasim Industries in Gwalior; Lupin in Mandideep and subsequently with MIRC Electronics in Mumbai before joining EIH in Mumbai.

Bakhtawar holds a Post Graduate degree in Human Resource Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

He also holds a degree in Commerce from Hislop College, Nagpur and is an alumnus of Sherwood College, Nainital.

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The Westin Hotels & Resorts announced the appointment of Chia Kok Sing as Chef de Cuisine of EEST (authentic Asian F&B venue) at The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi. Prior to joining The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi, Chef Sing was associated with The Hilton Janakpuri.

Hailing from China, Sing started his career by working with his father who was in the culinary business. Subsequently, he took formal training in a Chinese restaurant and went on to become an Executive Chef at the age of 30. Since then has worked in Malaysia and Burma before coming to India.

Chia Kok is passionate about reading and cooking.

Baiyan Zhou Master Chef of Chynna Gold Hilton New Delhi/Janakpuri

Hilton New Delhi/Janakpuri has appointed Chef Baiyan Zhou as the Master Chef of Chynna Gold, the Sichuan and Cantonese fine dining restaurant at the hotel. With a career spanning almost a decade and experience of working in India and China, Chef Zhou brings with him a deep understanding of Chinese culinary culture.

Prior to joining Hilton New Delhi/Janakpuri, Chef Zhou was the Corporate Chinese Master Chef at The Claridges New Delhi and Surajkund. He has also worked with Mainland China in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi and Thunderbird Resorts in Daman.

Previously, Chef Zhou was with Nowadays World’s Seafood Restaurant, Beijing and Oriental Plaza Restaurant, Shenzhen, in China. Chef Zhou hold’s a certificate from the Cooking Training School, Beijing, China.

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[Movements] Puneet Dhawan General Manager Delegate, Bengaluru & General Manager Ibis & Novotel Bengaluru Techpark

Puneet Dhawan has been appointed GM Delegate Bengaluru and General Manager Ibis & General Manager for Ibis & Novotel Bengaluru Techpark. Dhawan left India in 1991 for higher education in Switzerland. After 2 years of education in Swiss Hotel College, he moved to the University of Massachusetts in USA to complete a degree in Hospitality Management. Post his graduation, Dhawan joined Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group as a corporate F&B trainee based in Manila. In 1994, he moved to their Hong Kong properties and in 1998 joined Century Hotels as Director of F&B. He has held various senior roles in Asia, including management roles at the Century Wanchai Hong Kong (currently Novotel Century Wanchai) and Century Roxy Park Singapore (currently Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel). He joined Accor in 2002 and has held higher positions in the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi and the Mercure Sydney before relocating to Singapore in March 2008 to take up the position of General Manager Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen, the second largest Ibis in the world after Paris. For this Ibis hotel Dhawan was instrumental in getting ‘TTG’s Best Economy Hotel’ Award in Asia Pacific.

With almost a decade of experience across Accor hotels in various roles, Dhawan is acutely aware of the challenges of managing properties in varied market situations and brings with him a wealth of experience in the hospitality business.

Saroj Vanmala Front Office Manager The Claridges, Surajkund

The Claridges, Surajkund has appointed Saroj Vanmala as the Front Office Manager. Vanmala will be responsible for spearheading the room operations.

Vanmala brings with her more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality sector and has been associated with leading hotels like The Oberoi Group, The Taj Hotels and The Park. Prior to this role, Vanmala was the Executive Housekeeper at The Claridges, Surajkund. As a Front Office Manager, Vanmala will be responsible for running of the front office operation, ensuring that high standards are achieved and exceeded.

In her free time, she likes to spend time with her kids and loves to go on long drives.

Sreekumar Sekhar Director of Sales and Marketing Le Meridien Kochi

Sreekumar Sekhar has been appointed as the Director of Sales and Marketing at LeMeridien Kochi. Sekhar comes with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and his key expertise lies in developing and implementing sales strategies in sync with market conditions. In his new role he will be responsible for directing all sales efforts towards achieving the operational goals for the property.

Prior to joining Le Meridien Kochi, Sekhar worked at the Regant Lake Palace Hotel and Resorts, Kollam.

Guido Farina General Manager The Zuri Whitefield Bengaluru

Guido Farina, known for his hospitality achievements and relationship-building expertise, has joined The Zuri Whitefield as its new General Manager.

He has worked in 5 continents with over 56 different nations in city, beach, mountain, lake, desert, rain forest and island hotels and resorts. An experience of over 20 years in hospitality makes Guido the perfect leader to guide the hotel to its committed goals of providing world class hospitality services of personalised and unique luxury.

Guido began his career with a Michelin starred restaurant in Bergamo, Italy, followed by stints in UK, with The Savoy Hotel, Australia and USA. He has contributed 13 years of his professional life to the Le Meridien & Jumeirah Group in Dubai that also saw him being awarded ‘Manager of the Year’ for three successive years. Three years in Asia with 2 award winning resorts The Datai Langkawi and The Nam Hai in Vietnam with GHM Hotels & Resorts has provided the edge of Asian hospitality experience, something that stands in him good stead as he leads Zuri from the front.

This Italian is also a passionate traveller and photographer.

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FHRAI Magazine march 2012 67

[Events]

Recognition for chefs at ‘National Tourism Awards 2010-11’ Chef Sabyasachi Gorai was awarded as ‘Best Chef 1 star, 2 star, 3 star, Heritage Basic Hotel & Standalone’ by the President of Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Union Minister for Tourism Subodh Kant Sahai.

On February 29, the President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil gave away the tourism awards for the year 2010-11 in New Delhi. Held at Vigyan Bhawan, the awards were presented to state governments, union territories, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, as well as individuals and other private organisations.

Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, Director of Kitchen at Olive brand of restaurants, received the award in the category ‘Best Chef 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, Heritage Basic Hotel & Stand-alone’. Chef Veena Arora, Chef De Cuisine at The Spice Route - Southeast Asian Restaurant at The Imperial was bestowed with the honour of the Best Lady Chef at the same event for her outstanding achievement and contribution to the promotion of tourism in the country.

This was in recognition of their performance in their respective fields and also to encourage healthy competition with an aim to promote tourism. This year the ministry has introduced two new categories of awards, ‘Best Heritage City’ and ‘Best Heritage Walk’.

In Best Chef category, apart from the above two chefs, Chef Arvind Saraswat was given the honour in ‘4-star, 5-star, 5-star deluxe, Heritage Classic and Heritage Grand Hotel’ category.

Chef Veena Arora was awarded as ‘Best Lady Chef’ by the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Union Minister for Tourism Subodh Kant Sahai.

King of Chefs 2012 award for Ista Bangalore Sandeep Biswas, Executive Sous Chef, Ista Bangalore has been crowned the King of Chefs 2012, at the annual event organised by Kingfisher and Explocity. In the event, the best of chefs in the city competed for the coveted title. Chef Biswas competed with 15 other top chefs from across all hotels in Bengaluru. There were two rounds, which included a Mystery Basket as well. Chef Abhijeet Saha (of Caperberry, Fava fame) and Karen Anand, noted food critic and Columnist, along with 4 independent food critics/bloggers judged the event.

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[Events]

Artistic display at The Westin Gurgaon ‘Articulate - A Conversation with Art’ organised by Habiart Foundation was showcased at The Westin Gurgaon from February 24-March 4, 2012. Curated by Aditi Mody and Isha Patodia of the Habiart Foundation, the exhibition includes a diversity of contemporary Indian artists. Aptly named ‘Articulate’, each artwork displayed speaks a thousand words compelling you to pause and listen. A walk through the exhibition transports you through different environments and time zones, captivating and enthralling as you peep into the soul of each painting.

It allowed art connoisseurs to scan through the rural Tellangana images of Thota Vaikuntham to Bengal via the mastery of tempera artist Bratin Khan, veteran artist Subroto Gangopadhyay and brush against the artistic intellect of Kolkata maestro Shuvaprasanna. Along the way are the bold and bright running cows by HR Das and the rural flavour of Laxman Aelay’s work.

Michael Pelletier, Minister-Counsellor for Public Affairs, US Embassy in New Delhi inaugurated the exhibition on February 24 and remarked, “India is blessed with a wealth of amazing contemporary artists, who make us all question underlying assumptions and imagine new possibilities. Works such as these have helped me and my diplomatic colleagues recognise the amazing creativity and potential in India today.”

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FHRAI Magazine march 2012 69

RNI No. DELENG/2000/1230 Posting Date 15-21/08-2011 Postal Reg. No. DL-(C)-01/1294/2012-2014 at MBC-1 Date of Publication 12-03-2012