Hotel Business Review - July-Aug 2014

July-Aug ’14

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Editorial

HOTEL Business Review

HOTEL B u s i n e s s

R e v i e w

An Exclusive Business Magazine for the Hotel Industry

Publisher cum Editor

Rajneesh Sharma

rajneeshhammer@gmail.com

Associate Editor

Swarnendu Biswas Resident Editor

Sharmila Chand (Delhi) Ashok Malkani (Mumbai) Layout & Design

Hari Kumar V Narender Kumar

Production Assistant

Mamta Sharma

Business Co-ordinator

Pooja Anand

Advertising Sales

Delhi: Debabrata Nath, Sumesh Sharma Mumbai: Rajesh Tupsakhre Subscription Sales

Dattaram Gangurde Director Sales

Sanjay Anand

Director Operations & Finance

Rajat Taneja

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Hammer Hotel Business Review is a bi-monthly magazine, printed and published by Rajneesh Sharma on behalf of Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1202, Pragati Tower, 26 Rajindra Place, New Delhi. Printed at Print Creations, C-112/3, Basement, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase- 1, New Delhi 110 028.

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magazine is on educational & informational material specifically designed to assist those responsible for managing instututional Hotel business. Articles are welcome and will be published on the sole discretion of the editor.

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Our lives are becoming more and more stressful, and though travels sometimes aspire to be different, but the process of travel itself often adds to the stress in many busy lives, whether they be made for the purpose of business or leisure or both. As a natural consequence of these incessant springing of stresses from various corners across our busy urban lifestyles, there is an emerging and pressing need to temporarily retreat to holistic wellness havens, where one can not only relax but also rejuvenate; where one can not only lose one’s stress but also can find a healthier oneself.

This need is being catered to a great extent by a plethora of spas across hotels and resorts, which are no longer meant only for pampering of the skin and enhancing beauty, but are also targeting refreshing of the body and soul.

Succinctly, spas in India are emerging as holistic wellness havens.

Moreover, spas are not only frequented by high-end leisure travellers, but also by many matter of fact business travellers, who are not minding the combination of a hectic business trip or a conference with rejuvenation. A decade ago, it was perceived that spas in India were only frequented by high profile ladies, but now men are also visiting spas in equal numbers or perhaps even outnumbering women as guests in spas, in many cases across the country. Of course, the treatments offered across spas in hotels and resorts in India have also become much more extensive and innovative over the years.

In our Cover Story, we have covered various facets of the fast maturing spa culture across various hospitality properties in the country through insightful interactions with important industry experts, which many of our readers may find to be useful.

The quality of human resource is one of the major forces behind the success and failure of a hospitality property. Therefore performance management of employees across hotels, resorts and other hospitality properties is one of the crucial keys to generation of impressive revenues and healthy bottom lines for the concerned hospitality properties. In the Business Story of this issue, we have dealt with how the employees are being recruited across various hotels, and also on the orientation and training of the human resource across different hospitality properties.

In order to make India more attractive to foreign tourists than it is now, Indian hospitality industry, along with the support of the various state tourism departments and the Union Ministry of Tourism, should attempt some comprehensive measures to bolster women travellers’ safety and security. At the same time, specially tailored packages for single women travellers and groups of lady travellers, travelling within the country, should become more widespread across the hotels and resorts of the country. We have explored the issue in our Feature Story, with special focus on Delhi’s present unsafe status for the women travellers at large.

Besides these relevant topics, we have explored several other important issues pertaining to the Indian hospitality industry in this issue, which we hope would induce our esteemed readers to have an absorbing time between the covers.

HOTEL B u s i n e s s

inside

R e v i e w

An Exclusive Business Magazine for the Hotel Industry

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COVER STORY

Nowadays more and more travellers are looking for wellness in their travels. No wonder, since the late nineties, India’s wellness sector has been experiencing huge growth of spas. A great many hotel chains, whether their focus be leisure or business travellers, are either setting up/did set up spa resorts or adding well-equipped spa facilities to their properties.

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BUSINESS

Getting the most out of employees has always challenged employers, and hospitality employers are no different in this regard. In the hospitality industry, bringing out the optimal performance from employees can greatly impact guest satisfaction and, eventually, profitability.

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FEATURE

The depressing scenario of India as far as its attraction towards the foreign tourists is concerned can be changed significantly, if India becomes a more friendly country towards single women travellers, which of course besides uplifting the image of the country and enhancing its tourism revenues would benefit the Indian hospitality industry; presently going through a sluggish trend.

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F&B

Since the last decade, diners in urban India are shifting their preferences towards healthy food & beverage options which has also augmented the demand for food made with fresh organic ingredients.

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SPA

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ENGINEERING

Spread over 3500 sq. ft., The Spa at Hyatt Amritsar offers a relaxing haven for the jaded spirits. Here one can celebrate holistic well-being through the seamless integration of yoga, Ayurveda, meditation and international wellness experiences.

What appears to be a common water seepage problem can also structurally damage and weaken various properties, which also include hospitality properties, and possibly the best damage control solution is to have the establishment in good repair at all times through a meticulous water damage mitigation programme.

DEPARTMENTS 04

Event

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News Scan

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Appointment

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Report

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Technology

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Product Preview

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Business Opportunity

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Interview

Cover Pix: ITC Mughal, Agra—Lobby Long, Kaya Kalp - The Royal Spa

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Event

HOTEL Business Review

Ambiente India: Right Exposure to the Right Audience

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he first edition of Ambiente India, the new Indian edition of the renowned and important consumer goods trade fair, closed its doors on 21st June at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi with an impressive visitor turnout. It was held at the same venue during 19th-21st June 2014. Even the sweltering Delhi heat failed to reduce the fervour for this grand launch, as the event saw 6525 trade visitors over its three day course.

With the fair’s strategic coupling with Heimtextil India – the Indian edition of the world’s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles – combined with the platform’s pure business-to-business structure, the event established a firm position as a sourcing destination for the domestic home fashion industry.

163 companies from India, Germany, Japan, Sri Lanka and Turkey chose this platform to present their inspiring art pieces, home furnishing and décor solutions. Messe Frankfurt’s involvement in bringing an internationally acclaimed show to India proved as an added advantage to the Indian home décor and accessories sector. Both home décor and accessories have linkages to the Indian hotel industry. Many of the products displayed at the first edition of Ambiente India could be used in hotel rooms (like carpets, cushions, etc.) hotels’ restaurants and hotels’ spas.

Exciting collections by Jade Exports, Hide Fashion (Apparel Merchandising Co. Pvt. Ltd.), Princeware International Pvt. Ltd., Jaipur Rugs Co. Pvt. Ltd., N.

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Ranga Rao & Sons, Linc Writing Aids Pvt. Ltd., Asian Handicrafts Pvt. Ltd., LTS International, Ritterwerk GmbH attracted massive visitor attention and were some of the key highlights of the fair.

Repeat participants from international editions of the fair to the first-time domestic participants, both set of exhibitors appreciated the show’s potential to bring their target clientele to the show.

Glad that the show was finally making its debut in India, Rituraj Sharma, Vice President – Consumer Products, Borosil Glass Works Ltd. said, “We have been a part of Ambiente in Frankfurt for a very long time. Apart from developing good contacts, it is a great place to know what is happening in the industry. We had the same kind of experience at the Indian edition of the show and got excellent leads. With the brand’s reputation of targeting serious buyers, inquiries generated at Ambiente India are bound to result in good business. I am sure we will take part in the next edition of the show.”

Aditi Sharma, Designer and Partner, Gomaads asserted, “Ambiente India has brought to Gomaads the right kind of exposure. Being a newcomer, we are happy with the reception we have received for our products. We have also met a lot of interior designers and architects at the floor who were interested in our products.”

“We joined Ambiente India for its pure business-to-business focus, and the visitors’ profile has definitely matched with retail stores and volume buyers.

We have already signed a good number of deals and are looking forward to a lot more after the fair gets over,” stated an enthusiastic Subhash Gujar, CEO, Opal Luxury Time Products Ltd. Chandrakant Pavadahi, an interior designer from Delhi, was of the opinion that Ambiente India was a notch above other shows in this sector. “We have been in the interior designing business for over nine years and it is important for us to keep a track of new developments and innovations in the market. Heimtextil India & Ambiente India shows seem much better compared to other shows in this sector. The displays are very good and we are taking back a lot of fresh contacts.

We will surely visit again next year,” he affirmed.

With several deals and interesting business contacts acquired on the show floor, an overwhelming majority of the exhibitors’ response hinted to an overall success of the fair. Nitin Narayan from Avantika’s Garden also expressed his happiness with the way the show was organised. “This is the first time we exhibited at Ambiente India and I must say the arrangements made were up to the mark. Organisers have focused on providing a valuable experience to exhibitors and have not cut down on expenses. Our products have generated interest among the right set of audience and we developed good contacts through the show,” he commented.

The next edition of Ambiente India is scheduled during 25th – 27th June 2015 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

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HOTEL Business Review

Heimtextil India — Fashioning Promising Potential

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he debut edition of Heimtextil India – the Indian edition of the world’s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles—completed its three-day run on 21st June, 2014 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, with several companies closing an impressive number of deals on the show floor. The show was held during 19th-21st June 2014 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

The show has been organized by Messe Frankfurt, which is one of the world’s leading trade fair organisers, Heimtextil is a part of the Messe Frankfurt Texpertise Network which is a combination of the world’s most important textile trade fairs.

“It was the right decision to host Heimtextil in India. Heimtextil is an international brand that stands for worldwide quality and success. India offers an optimal framework through the growth of its cities, the increase of available income and the high development in the hotel and restaurant industry, which together presents the best conditions in which to continue the success story of Heimtextil in India.” said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President, Textiles & Textile Technologies of Messe Frankfurt.

The show attracted 163 exhibiting companies, and 6525 business visitors, including architects, interior designers, project planners, retail chains and buying agents from across the nation. Many companies chose to present their new collections and ranges for 2014-15 at the Indian edition of the show. With the fair’s strategic coupling with Ambiente India – the offspring of the world’s renowned consumer goods trade fair— combined with the platform’s pure business-to-business structure, Heimtextil India established a firm position as a sourcing destination for the domestic home fashion industry.

Being a part of the Heimtextil fairs worldwide, Rajjnish Arora, Vice Chairman,

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Dicitex Furnishings Ltd., remarked, “We are very glad that the event has finally arrived in India. The launch edition was organised and marketed very well. The turnout was better than our expectations with high-profile visitors and decision makers walking in every day. We received a lot of orders through the show. We will surely participate again next year.”

In fact, the fair’s business-generating potential was resonated by most exhibitors, including industry giants D’Decor Exports, Punikim Textiles Pvt. Ltd. (Dimora), Birla Century, The Woolmark Company, Indian Drape Pvt. Ltd. and others. Thrilled with the response to their new collection at Heimtextil India, Deepak Raghani, Devaa Textiles (New Castle) said, “Launching our collection at Heimtextil India was a good decision, as we met the right visitor profile and got substantial orders through the show, which has convinced us to consider participating again next year. The conversion rate was much better compared to other shows as there were no unwanted walk-ins.

This saved considerable time, allowing us to concentrate purely on business.”

“The fact that Ambiente India and Heimtextil India are being held together makes it easier for bulk buyers like Snapdeal.

We have been able to find many products that we can source from one easy location.

I have met with new sellers, seen brand new products in home furnishing as well as in interior décor and am very impressed with the fair,“ concurred Amit Kumar, Deputy Manager – Seller Business Development,Snapdeal.com.

A special Turkey pavilion at the fair saw some of the most prominent Turkish home furnishing and textile companies presenting their latest collections. “We were very impressed with the sheers at the Turkish Pavilion and look to source from them after

our internal analysis. The ideas and product ranges presented were very interesting,“ said Sheetal Shah, Assistant Manager – Design, Future Retail Ltd. Held concurrently with the exhibition was a one-day South Asia Digital Textile Conference which served as a catalyst for digital textile printing technology. Participants at the conference unanimously agreed that with India being the second largest textile producer in the world, digital printing in textiles can provide a massive boost to textile consumption, both in the domestic and export markets. Well-attended by professionals from the design, consulting and production sides, the conference brought economical and technical aspects of digital textile printing to the forefront, and highlighted the future roadmap for the industry.

Speaking about the growing applications of digital printing in textiles, Rana Raychoudhury, Worldwide Principal Technical Consultant (HP Large-Format Production), Hewlett-Packard Ltd. asserted, “We participated at Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Tokyo and now in India and believe that this is the perfect meeting ground to connect with industry professionals and educate them about the freedom that digital printing offers to textile businesses.”

The next edition of Heimtextil India will be held during 25th – 27th June 2015 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This textile fair can be of great interest to the Indian hospitality industry, as home furnishing and textiles play an important role in hotels’ décor solutions. It is expected that the event would soar to even greater heights of success in India and here the Indian hospitality industry can find an effective platform to explore the opportunity to source their décor and as well as utility products, such as bed linen, cushion covers or furnishing fabric among others.

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HOTEL Business Review

EVENTS’ CALENDER

India Holds Great Promise for Ambiente India

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uring Ambiente India 2014, Hotel Business Review had a discussion with Nicolette Naumann, Vice President, Ambiente & Tendence. She sounded very much satisfied about the impressive footfalls of trade visitors that the show was generating and the impressive presence of exhibitors at the show (the event witnessed 6525 trade visitors and the presence of 163 companies from India, Germany, Japan, Sri Lanka and Turkey over its three day course), and was enthusiastic about the potential that the show can promise for the Indian hospitality industry in its subsequent edition. “We have entered the Indian market as we are sure that there is an impressive demand in today’s India for the range of products displayed at our fair. And this demand is expected to grow in the near future,” she asserted. According to her, “Ambiente India provides an inspirational business platform offering exciting new products and trends, which can be broadly segmented under the Dining, Giving and Living sectors.”

Nicolette informed that besides Frankfurt in Germany, Ambiente has presence in China and Japan too.

This is the first edition of Ambiente

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in India, and Nicolette feels that Ambiente’s association with India would be promising and enduring. The fair’s strategic coupling with Heimtextil India – the Indian edition of the world’s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles — has further strengthened Ambiente India’s position as a sourcing destination for the domestic home fashion industry.

She thinks that India, with its huge middle class population, with a significant proportion of them having sizeable disposable incomes, with its growth in urban infrastructure, and impressive development in the hospitality industry, is ideally suited for an important event like Ambiente India, where an awesomely wide range of lifestyle consumer goods are showcased at a single platform, thereby facilitating great networking and business for the participants. “The growth of Indian cities, appreciable increase in consumer incomes in the country during the last decade or so and the above-average development in the hotel and hospitality trade and as well as in the real estate sector are fostering demand for products in home décor and furnishing,” she elaborated. She opined that presently India’s home décor and interiors accessories market has great expectations to develop further in the times to come.

“Many of the impressive range of home décor and interior accessories products at display at the fair are much relevant for stylish homes, and are also relevant for the classy hotels and resorts.

The examples of products displayed at the fair, which are suited for the hotel industry can be carpets, cushions, curtains, linen, lighting, customised stoneware for floors, etc.” explained Nicolette, while adding that many of the products on display at the fair can add value to the spas across hotels and resorts.

Restaurant & Bar 2-4 September2014 Hongkong Convention & Exhibition Centre Hongkong www.restaurantandbarhk.com Asiafruit Logistica 3-5 September 2014 AsiaWorld-Expo, Hongkong www.asiafruitlogistica.com Food & Hotel Thailand 2014 10-13 September 2014 Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) Bangkok, Thailand www.foodhotelthailand.com FHRAI 49th Convention 12-14 September 2014 Jaipur Marriott Hotel, Jaipur www.fhrai.com India F&B Pro + Hospitality Expo 2014 12-14 September 2014 Expo Centre, Panaji, Goa www.trinityworld.biz Light India 18-21 September 2014 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi www.light-india.in Annapoorna World of Foods India - 2014 24-26 September 2014 Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai www.worldoffoodindia.com Fi and Hi India 2014 29 September - 1 October 2014 Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregoan East, Mumbai www.foodingredientsglobal.com/india/home SIAL Paris 19-23 October 2014 Paris Nord Ville Pinte, Paris www.sial.fr International Foodtech India 2014 14-16 November 2014 Hall 1, Bombay Exhibitioon Centre, NSE, Mumbai www.foodtecindia.com Equip Hotel Paris 16-20 November 2014 Porte De Versailles, France www.equiphotel.com Sigep 2015 14-21 January 2015 Remini Fiera, Italy www.en.sigep.it

Feb-Mar ’14

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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HOTEL Business Review

FHA2014 Scripts a Great Success Story

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ood&HotelAsia2014 (FHA2014), Asia’s much-anticipated mega biennial food and hospitality tradeshow, closed on a high. It was held at Singapore Expo, during 8th-11th July 2014. Attendees to the show had an exhilarating week, which involved closing deals, forging new partnerships, making new business contacts and learning about the latest trends in the industry.

“We are pleased to see the show flourishing over the years. It is now a renowned platform that brings tremendous value to our exhibitors and visitors. With the show growing with each edition, our team will continually innovate in order to meet with rising and evolving expectations from all participants,” said Stephen Tan, Chief Executive of Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), the organisers of FHA2014.

The event showcased an impressive spread of offerings which ranged from fine and unique food ingredients and products, food service equipment and technology, hotel amenities, hospitality technology to wines and liquors from a mix of returning and new regions.

The 19 th edition of the show started off by setting new records.

Spanning an immense area of 102,000sq m, it was the first FHA show to fully occupy Singapore’s biggest exhibition venue. The show had 3,213 exhibitors, the largest assembly to date for this show, and 63 group pavilions. It attracted 64,826 attendees, 43.1 percent of them from overseas.

There were many important deals struck at the huge show. German company SYS Systemfiltration, the producers of the Vito Oil Filter System and oil tester, reported that it had closed a deal worth €100,000 with an Australian company, and another worth €33,000 with a Singapore seafood chain.

“We have sold more than 100 units in the first three days of the exhibition, an average of 30 per day,” said Michael Theiss, the Sales Director of SYS Systemfiltration, a third-time exhibitor at FHA. “People are now not looking for basic technology but innovation and a touch of green for their business. So they come to us.

FHA is the most important event in Asia for our company. It has helped us to touch base with our potential buyers and to meet our partners

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from all over Asia,” he added.

There were many positive remarks over quality buyers at the show. “There are not only a large number of visitors at the show, the quality of visitors is great as well. We have met a lot of buyers and importers; we are very pleased with the turnout. We have about 10 exporters, and everyone has been very pleased with the output of the show,” Jean-Pierre Garnier, Head of Export Services, EBLEX from the UK pavilion in FoodAsia.

“It is all about Asia now. About two thirds of the world’s population lives in Asia, and Singapore is a gateway to Asia. It is very important that we develop our brand in Asia for the long-term. The growth of the middle class, the rise in affluence and the greater appreciation for quality products make Asia very central for us towards going forward,”

he added.

“Close to 20 Philippine companies are exhibiting at FHA2014 under the Philippine pavilion. We are excited to be here because Singapore is a regional trading hub and especially important for food companies that want to expand their businesses and distribution networks in the region. We observe that FHA continues to attract increasing numbers of visitors year after year. We are here because we do not want to miss out on the action,” asserted Glenn G Penaranda, Commercial Counsellor, Philippine Trade & Investment Centre, Embassy of the Philippines, Singapore.

“FHA has always been professionally organised, with a wide variety of new kitchen technologies available. The show offers a great learning experience for all. I will definitely encourage my colleagues to come

to FHA2016,” said Franco Ho Swee Fook, Honorary-advisor and Life Member of the Chef Association of Malaysia.

“FHA offers a good opportunity to discover many new ingredients and to meet international Chefs. It offers incredible cross exposure to share capabilities, new ingredients and new techniques – to create a vibrant food scene.

From this show, you would always get back home better equipped to try new things with new ingredients and new equipment,” said Sandro Falbo, Executive Chef of The Fullerton Hotel & The Fullerton Bay Hotel, Singapore.

The exhibition was accompanied by an international conference with speakers focusing on key topics and issues faced by the F&B and hospitality industries, including new ways to deal with the manpower shortage, managing hotel operations and revenue optimisation strategies; managing F&B operations and food concepts; and latest technologies for the hotel and F&B sectors.

FHA2014 witnessed world-class competitions, such as the FHA Culinary Challenge (FCC), which saw more than 800 Chefs from 27 countries taking part as competitors and judges. The National Team Challenge and Battle for the Lion held every four years, also returned to the FCC this year, with Singapore and Hong Kong national teams taking the top awards in each category respectively.

“Winning the Lion Trophy signifies a new milestone for the team; receiving all the warm congratulations and commendations from judges and fellow national teams proved that it was not just about winning a competition, but friendship and respect that soar beyond the scoreboard!” expressed Anita Cheng, Team Manager of the Hong Kong Culinary National Team, on their victory in the Battle for the Lion.

In addition, there was the Asian Pastry Cup with Malaysia coming out tops, held in conjunction with Bakery&Pastry, the FHA Barista Challenge and the first-ever FHA Latte Art Challenge. The RIPE-WSA Cocktail Challenge and the WSA Wine Challenge were also held alongside the event.

FHA2016 and WSA2016 will return to Singapore Expo during 12th–15th April 2016.

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HOTEL Business Review

To Make Lighting Attain Limelight

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ighting is one of the most important elements in designing of spaces. Its role in the hospitality industry cannot be over emphasised. Smart and sustainable lighting technologies are gaining momentum, driven by demand from energy guzzlers like the retail sector, commercial spaces, hospitality and healthcare industries among others.

With its high efficiency, long-life and substantial savings in energy consumption, LED technology is expected to be the next choice in lighting for the Indian hotel industry. By 2020 we are also expected to also see the smart lighting market grow at tremendous pace.

Encompassing sustainability, energy efficiency, innovation, quality and creativity, Light India 2014 will showcase an exhaustive range of lighting products during 18th –21st September 2014 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Recognised as a professional venue for designers, architects, building contractors, developers, lighting engineers and project planners to discover and source the latest in the world of lighting, luminaries and its accessories, Light India 2014 will once again bring leading brands together on the show floor with their most advanced lighting solutions.

With industry majors like Anchor Electricals Pvt .Ltd., Bajaj Electricals, Philips Lighting, India, Crompton Greaves Ltd., Orient Electric,

Havells India Ltd., Halonix Technologies Pvt. Ltd., HPL Electric and Power Pvt. Ltd., EON Electric Ltd. and many others confirming their participation for the 2014 edition, visitors can expect future-oriented technologies and smart design solutions that can suit the tastes of their discerning occupants.

Talking about his participation at the fair, CGS Mani, President, Bajaj Electricals Limited said, “My company will present our latest technologies and applicable solutions at the show. India’s lighting professionals have a lot to offer to the industry’s international community.

And I believe Light India is the show to display the country’s current innovations.”

“One of our missions is to educate Indian consumers about latest & futuristic technologies invented by Panasonic after rigorous hard work in research & development for making life simpler, safer and comfortable. And we believe Light India presents an excellent avenue for networking, highlighting and promoting cutting-edge green lighting solutions to India,” affirmed Kato Yoshiyuki, Director - Lighting, Anchor Electricals Pvt. Ltd. Adding value as a knowledge platform, Light India 2014 will bring experts to highlight opportunities, challenges and trends within the industry and its applied sectors. Considered as the global voice of the lighting industry, Global Lighting Association (GLA) aims to bring its global members together for a symposium at the Light India 2014 fair

to discuss the roadmap of global lighting industry. A half day seminar by International Solid State Lighting Alliance (ISA), in New Delhi during Light India, will also see Indian and international stakeholders come together to deliberate on global trends and industry standards, which need to be adopted in the years to come.

With an aim to promote excellence in designing for interior living, the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID) will conduct three half-day workshops along with a guided tour of the exhibition, explaining the various concepts on lighting and how it can change the look and feel of interior spaces.

Together with these associations, Light India aims to keep professionals adept with upcoming lighting tools, design innovations and solutions on bottlenecks. For those who wish to learn about the latest technology in green and innovative lighting, Light India will present a premium trade and networking platform.

Organised in association with Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers Association (ELCOMA), Light India is a part of Messe Frankfurt’s international portfolio which includes the Light+Building Frankfurt, Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition, Guangzhou Electrical Building Technology, the bi-annual BIEL Light+Building held in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the annual Light Middle East held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The 12th HOSFAIR Guangzhou Concludes T

he 12th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair was held at the China Import & Export Fair Complex, during 26th-28th June 2014. The event was organised by Guangzhou Huazhan Exhibition Co., Ltd., Asia Hotel Association, Guangdong Cuisine Association, Guangdong Kitchen Committee and Shenzhen Zhongzhan Exhibition Co., Ltd. During the-three-day show, 72,988 trade professionals gathered from 86 countries and regions, which included China mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Canada, USA, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Germany Greece, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Russia, Pakistan, UAE, Japan, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia,

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Singapore among others. The show covered 50,000 sq. m exhibiting space and attracted about 1,000 exhibitors from home and abroad.

The show gathered excellent suppliers and purchasers of hospitality industry from all over the world. HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2014 offered a one-step procurement

platform service for hotels, restaurants, clubs, bars, stores, luxury real estates, etc.

There were ten sectors in the show which included kitchen equipment & supplies, tableware, hotel furniture, hotel textile and uniform, clean equipment & supplies, interior products, intelligence, wine baker and coffee, food and beverage.

HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2014 also attracted over 50 purchasing groups from all over the world involving hotel catering, coffee baking, restaurant and resorts, store and market industry, etc.

The 13 th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair will be held during 25th-27th June 2015 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex.

July-Aug ’14

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News Scan

HOTEL Business Review

ITC is Buoyant ITC has impressive expansion plans on the line as far as its hotel business goes. Over the ensuing two to three years, ITC is expected to add 3,000 rooms in eight new hotels.

At least eight future hotels under ITC’s ambit are under construction.

These eight future hospitality properties, according to Nakul Anand, Director, ITC Ltd., include both owned and managed ones. Besides these eight would be hotels under construction, ITC is having 1518 hotel projects on the drawing board stage.

ITC is aiming for overseas expansion too. The company will also come up with its first overseas hotel in Colombo.

Praiseworthy Measures The Union Government would set up a Waterfront Authority of India which could facilitate plying of sea planes. According to Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, the government has permitted plying of seaplanes in the country and will begin a network of seaplanes through the country. The plan to have a network of seaplanes will commence from Mumbai, which will have a seaplane.

The government is also building a helipad in Mumbai, in the vicinity of The Oberoi, Mumbai and is also envisaging to develop a seven-star hotel on the Arabian Sea. Gadkari also has ambitious plans to create a waterway in the Ganga. He said that the possibility of a waterway in Ganga encompassing GangotriKanpur-Allahabad-Kolkata for cargo and passenger movement was being explored. All these measures, if translated into reality, can give an impetus to the tourism and hence the hospitality industry of the country.

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Sarovar Hotels Expands to Bhiwadi Sarovar Hotels has enhanced its portfolio with the opening of Optus Hometel in Bhiwadi. Bhiwadi, located in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, is an industrial hub. It is located in the Rajasthan-Haryana border. This is the group’s first hotel in Bhiwadi, though the hospitality chain does have presence in Rajasthan. With this newly launched property, Sarovar Hotels has brand presence across six hospitality properties in Rajasthan.

The hotel is expected to meet the quality requirements of budget-conscious business and leisure travellers. Its convenient location in the heart of the industrial hub places it just 45 minutes away from Indira Gandhi International Airport as well as in close proximity to the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway (NH-8).

The 130 spacious air-conditioned guest rooms and suites of the hotel blend aesthetics with functionality to provide comfortable, restful stays. The 10000 sq. ft. of banqueting and conferencing areas have the capacity to organise and handle receptions for up to 700 guests. The F&B options at the hotel include Flavours, the all day dining restaurant. A lounge bar named Chill is to be opened shortly (at the time of writing this report). Wi-Fi, swimming pool, Japanese interpreters’ service and fitness center are other facilities of the hotel which can facilitate amalgamating business with leisure. Besides being an industrial hub Bhiwadi is also popular as a pilgrimage centre as it is the land of ‘Baba Mohan Ram’, the rider god on the blue horse. Thus religious tourists can also be attracted to this newly launched hotel.

IHCL Goes Deep in the Red IHCL suffered a consolidated net loss of Rs.34.82 crore during the last quarter, which ended in 30th June. During the corresponding period in the last fiscal, the hospitality chain did have a net loss of Rs.19.09 crore. The widening of the consolidated net loss of IHCL is in continuation of the chain’s poor financial performance since the last two fiscal. At the same time, two other huge hotel chains, EIH and ITC - which can be regarded as competitors or peers of IHCL - have both posted healthy profits during the 2013-14 and 2012-13 fiscal.

However, at the same time, the consolidated net sales of IHCL increased to Rs. 937.46 crore for the April-June 2014 quarter, which was higher than the consolidated net sales of Rs. 908.70 crore that was posted by the company for the corresponding period during the last fiscal. But in the seasonal nature of hotel business the results in first quarter of the fiscal (Q1) are hardly indicative of the performance of the hotel chains in the unfolding financial year.

A Fusion of Tastes A Pune Fusion Food Festival was held at the MoMo Café of the Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre, during 11th -20th July, where some of Pune’s most loved delicacies were given a fusion spin. Some of the local Maharashtrian dishes were blended with western ingredients to give these local dishes a novel twist that was appreciated by the people who consumed those dishes.

The hotel had, for instance, created a Bhoplyachi Bharit with a difference – in that case the mashed pumpkin was made with a Greek-style yogurt called Labneh instead of the traditional style yogurt. Chocolate Puran Poli was another exquisite creation of this fusion food festival as was Masala Bhaat with Italian Arborio Rice.

Also, Kairiche Saar, a local raw mango soup was flavoured with basil and served with croutons. The Fusion Food Festival saw France’s renowned bakery product – the croissant – stuffed with Pune’s famous shrikhand. Italy’s most famous culinary export to the world – the pizza – also got twisted with a topping of lasooni chutney. The Executive Sous Chef of the hotel, Merajuddin Ansari was the man behind the creation of such innovative preparations.

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HOTEL Business Review

Hilton Worldwide to Enter Ahmedabad Hilton Worldwide has announced the signing of a management agreement with Hirise Hospitality Private Limited for DoubleTree by Hilton Ahmedabad.

The hotel will be an iconic structure that towers over the central business district, just off S.G. Road (Sarkhej - Gandhinagar Highway), near Satellite Road and a short distance from the city centre.

The hotel will offer easy access to prime business and commercial hubs as well as a range of dining, shopping and entertainment options.

John Greenleaf, Global Head, DoubleTree by Hilton, said, “We are thrilled with this opportunity to extend the brand’s presence in India with a hotel that will be strategically located both for business and leisure travellers. The opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Ahmedabad will mark the brand’s entry into the dynamic state of Gujarat.”

“We are delighted with the opportunity to partner with Hirise Hospitality Private Limited for our foray into Ahmedabad, a city renowned for being home to some of the largest industries along with its rich

cultural background in music and the arts,” said Daniel Welk, Vice President, Operations - India, Hilton Worldwide.

The 174-room hotel will feature three dining outlets, an outdoor swimming pool, 24-hour fitness centre and a full service spa. The conference and event facilities at the hotel will include a versatile 9,000-square foot space, which would be ideal for mid- sized business events and social gatherings, and a 24-hour business centre.

This year, Hilton Worldwide has extended its portfolio of hotels in India by launching three new hotels — DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore, Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks and Hilton Jaipur. These openings marked the company’s entry into the markets of Bangalore and Jaipur. Later in the year, Hilton Worldwide will enter Agra with the launch of DoubleTree by Hilton Agra. Located minutes from the Taj Mahal, it will be one of the very few hotels offering views of the legendary mausoleum.

Bickson Quits IHCL IHCL’s Chief Executive and Managing Director, Raymond Bickson has put down his papers. Bickson’s resignation was accepted by the IHCL’s board. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Group. Bickson will be replaced by Rakesh K Sarana, a 57-year-old hospitality industry veteran, with effect from 1st September. Sarna’s previous tenure was with Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Here it deserves a mention that as recently as July 2013, Bickson was re-appointed

by IHCL as its MD and CEO for five years. In the renewed contract his perks and salary were reduced though his commission was increased.

Bickson was a Ratan Tata pick and was at the helm of the IHCL for over a decade. Under his leadership, the Taj Group launched several new hospitality brands like Ginger, Gateway and Vivanta by Taj. Several international properties were also acquired by the Taj Group during his illustrious tenure, including The Pierre in New York City, the W Hotel in Sydney and the Ritz-Carlton in Boston. However, IHCL had incurred losses in the last two financial years. Its loss during 2013-14 fiscal was Rs.590 crore. The company’s failure to acquire Orient Express was also a setback. Would these setbacks be construed as a low point in his career? Only time and the Indian hotel industry would be able to tell.

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Spa by JW JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts has unveiled Spa by JW. Created to demystify and re-imagine the spa experience, this new wellness concept offers guests an intuitive experience that is luxurious yet purposeful with treatments and products designed to address four core benefit states: Calm, Indulge, Invigorate and Renew.

The first Spa by JW will debut in September at the new JW Marriott Houston Downtown, followed by at the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar in December, with more than 20 Spa by JWs in the pipeline. Developed in collaboration with JW Marriott’s brand partner and spa industry leader Aromatherapy Associates, all treatments with Spa by JW are designed with the essential benefit states in mind. The treatments are segmented under Calm, Indulge, Invigorate and Renew.

Sample services under Calm include a 15-minute tense shoulders massage or the full hour “Sleep Deeply” treatment.

Sample services under Indulge include an “Ultimate Aromatherapy” massage or the “Intense Nourishment” luxurious body treatment. Sample services under Invigorate include a “Jet Lag Cure” or “Energy Boost” express massage.

The sample services under Renew include an “Intense Muscle

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Relief ” or a “Detox & Revitalize” body treatment.

Designed for guests who do not have the luxury of time, Spa by JW express treatments provide on-demand services that start at a 12-minute entry point and are bookable without an appointment. With Spa by JW, guests can experience the innovative express spa suites, designed around a state-of-the-art massage chair, exclusive to JW Marriott, featuring embedded scent infusers, noise canceling technology, and cell phone charging stations.

Treatments include a variety of 12 to 25minute services like the Relaxing Scalp Massage (Calm), Hydrating Hands (Indulge), Energy Boost Massage (Invigorate), Nail Shine (Renew), and more.

“Our guests are incredibly passionate about well-being but they don’t always have the time to invest in cultivating it. They are looking for an experience that delivers true impact and results that are tailored to their state of mind,” said Mitzi Gaskins, Vice President and Global Brand Manager for JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts.

For those who find themselves with a little more time on their hands, with Spa by JW a variety of treatment rooms can accommodate longer, full-service spa services. Guests can book full-body treatments and scrubs, 60 or 90 minute massages, cleansing facials, nail services and more.

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Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks Marks Embassy’s Foray into Hospitality Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks, developed by Kelachandra Group and Embassy Group, was launched in the recent past by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, K. Siddaramaiah, amidst an august gathering. The trendy upscale, full-service hotel is strategically located within the Embassy GolfLinks Business Park, the hub of several Fortune 500 companies.

Besides that, the hotel is minutes away from the Bangalore’s central business district and the city-centre, offering easy access to a variety of shopping and dining destinations. The hotel is only an hour’s drive from the airport.

The hotel features 247 studios and suites. Each guestroom is purpose-built to meet a variety of guests’ needs, ranging from transient business travellers to long-stay guests. They offer dedicated living, dining and work areas and a fully-equipped kitchenette.

The property has four dining destinations that offer an array of global cuisines. Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks offers two restaurants, a lobby bar and a café lounge. Ministry of Food is the all-day global cuisine restaurant at the hotel that features an exclusive private dining area and a wine table.

It would delight the business travelers to the hotel to know that the newly launched hotel is equipped with 24-hour business services and six naturally lit meeting rooms. Temperaturecontrolled outdoor swimming pool, a spa, a fitness center, and a kids’ play area are among the other highlights of the property.

“Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks is our first hospitality venture,” said Jitu Virwani, Chairman and Managing Director of Embassy Group, while pointing out that, “We are delighted to start our hospitality venture with the world’s leading hospitality company– Hilton Worldwide.” Here it deserves a mention that Embassy Group is a leading Indian property development company with an impressive 29 year track record

in real estate development.

“Hilton is one of the world’s most recognised names in the hotel industry and we are very excited to expand our portfolio in India, which is a very important hospitality market for us.

Hilton Worldwide entered Bangalore this year and this is our second hotel in the city”, said Daniel Welk, Vice President, Operations - India, Hilton Worldwide. “With an exceptional location; distinctive and spacious guest accommodations, complete range of facilities and services for business and recreation and passionate team members dedicated to guest satisfaction, Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks will fast become the first choice for travellers visiting the city”, he added.

“The team at Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks is focussed upon ensuring that not only are our guests comfortable but their every stay with us is memorable,” said Vikas Sharma, General Manager, Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks.

Premier Inn India Launches its Loyalty Rewards Card Programme Premier Inn has announced the launch of its Loyalty Rewards Card Programme for guests at all its properties in India, across New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. The offer is already on and valid till 15th December 2014.

The offer can be availed at all the existing Premier Inn properties in India across New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. To avail this offer, guests need to enrol in the programme after which they are issued a stamp card. For every thousand rupees spent at any of the above-mentioned properties, the card is stamped and the guest can avail exciting offers on their next visit to any of the above-mentioned Premier Inn properties in the country.

Rewards increase with each stamp, starting with complimentary beverages and food and culminating in a free room night for two after the fifth stamp.

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“At Premier Inn, we have always gone above and beyond to maintain customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

With this loyalty rewards card programme, the minimum spend by the guest remains the same, but the rewards just keep increasing. This is one more step that we have taken to ensure an increase in the number of our repeat guests,” said VV Giri, Regional Director, Premier Inn South Asia, while talking about this offer.

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The Best Debut Resort Hotel Novotel Goa Shrem Resort was adjudged the Best Debut Resort at the recently concluded India Travel Awards 2014. The resort which opened its doors in October

Abacus Awarded Abacus, an important player in travel technology in the Asia-Pacific region, has been recognised as the Best Global Distribution System (GDS) in West India at the India Travel Awards 2014. At an impressive ceremony held at Novotel Pune Nagar Road on 25th July, Parvez Diwan, the Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism, handed the accolade to Jeet Sawhney, the Managing Director of Abacus Distribution Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd. “This award reflects our total commitment to the travel industry’s growth and prosperity as we reach out from 13 cities to help India’s travel suppliers and intermediaries scale their operations, both at home and overseas. We thank the India Travel Awards and all those who have contributed to our success for their support and recognition. We are delighted,” Sawhney said.

Conference on Laundry Business

2013 is the first Novotel Resort property of Accor in India and the group’s first step into leisure hospitality in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Manish Dayya, General Manager of Hotel Novotel Goa Shrem Resort said, “We are elated with the win! This award is dedicated to all the associates who have contributed towards the successful launch of the property, ensuring smooth operations of the resort and delivering world class hospitality to all our guests.” He added, “We will strive to maintain the same proficiency and continue to make Hotel Novotel Goa Shrem Resort the most sought after resort destination in the country.”

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Professional laundry service that maintains efficiency, quality and hygiene at the same time is the one of the edifices of the Indian hotel industry. To address the future of laundry business in India, Anshul Gupta, Director, Quick Clean Pvt. Ltd., conducted a business seminar across five cities, with Electrolux Professional as the innovations & technology partner. The seminars were conducted in Mumbai(2nd July), Pune(4th July), Bangalore(6th July), Hyderabad(9th July) and Channai(12th July). This seminar was targeted at laundry business owners and new laundry business seekers, and was an insight on the potential of investing in professional laundry as a safe and secure business option.

Here it deserves a mention that Electrolux Professional offers food service and laundry solutions to a wide variety of customers around the world, from restaurants and hotels to healthcare and other service facilities.

In his business presentation to existing & potential customers in the laundry business, Gupta very clearly and candidly discussed why they should consider the laundry business, and openly shared his own success story as a successful owner of coin-op laundromats, and as an Electrolux distributor. Established in 2010, Quick Clean Private Ltd claims to be the first company to introduce the concept of laundromats, self-service laundry, in India. With its chain of laundromats across India, Quick Clean is providing a hygienic, clean and economical laundry solution to people in several parts of the country.

“Over the past four years, Quick Clean has equipped nearly eighty coin laundries with Electrolux laundry systems,” pointed out Animesh Sharma, Sales ManagerLaundry, Electrolux Professional. “This conference further puts the laundry business in India into perspective and shows it as a lucrative and untapped business opportunity for new business owners,” he added.

Kim Underhill, Regional Head South East Asia & India, Electrolux Professional, attended the first seminar in Mumbai, and applauded Anshul Gupta’s efforts. “You are definitely an influencer and trend setter for the Indian laundry market growth. We look forward to continue our partnerships in many more great events of such nature in the near future,” she stated.

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Get Floored at the Rug Studio C

arpets are not only regarded as utility items, contributing to the comfort of the residents and guests, nor are they only engaged in enhancing the décor of the room. Customised carpets can play a role in contributing to the unique themes of the hotel room, and their role in hygiene and acoustical design of the rooms are well-known. But those few with a different sensitivity may also realise that exquisitely crafted carpets often whisper the passion and inspiration of their creators, which make them wonderful and as well as enduring lifestyle statements in hotels and elsewhere, yes even in this age of cost-cutting.

The newly designed rug studio of Ramsha Home & Living in Mumbai offers a unique rug browsing experience. It is probably the first studio in India, meant exclusively for rugs. Here it deserves a mention that Ramsha Home & Living is an important player in the carpets segment, which supplies carpets to both hospitality sector and as well as through retail.

These objects d’art are available in different shapes and sizes to meet the requirements of homes and hotels. The rug studio is

expected to generate great interest among the designers and architects involved in the creation of hotel rooms. Many of the rugs showcased at the studio can engage the discerning visitors in their story of design, and draw them into their warmth.

Succinctly, these carpets reflect the finely honed skills of the craftsmen of Ramsha Home & Living, which is manifested through the delicate intricacy of designs. One can explore the various collections at leisure in the sophisticated environment of the studio.

The carpet collections displayed at the studio include Dream Collection and Luxury Collection among others.

The Dream Collection presents a combination of wool and artificial silk on contemporary designs. The studio also has braided rugs, which involves a new technique in weaving with cotton yarn and woolen yarn. Then there are leather carpets.

The rug studio also has a collection of hand-knotted carpets made from 60-100 knots in various customised designs, in bamboo silk, artificial silk and New Zealand woolen yarn.

Besides exquisite collections of carpets the studio also has a range of home furnishing products, which include pouffe, cushion covers, blanket, bath mats, door mats, yoga mats, and kids’ rugs.

Vikram Singh Vikram Singh has been appointed as the General Manager at Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Amritsar. With the mission of delivering quality services to guests, Vikram has completed around 18 years in the hospitality industry.

Prior to this position, he was working with Ananda In The Himalayas.

He also has had tenures with Hyatt Amritsar, Hotel Grand Legacy, Amritsar and Hotel Magnet Resorts Ludhiana among other hospitality properties.

Vikram’s strength lies in the ability to take on challenges.

“Challenges energises my mind. I do not rely heavily on repetitive skills. I like to create new benchmarks for myself,” he asserted while pointing out, “I am good at adapting to changes and becoming comfortable in new settings. This has immensely benefitted me in my career pursuits.” He has a diploma in hotel management from IHM Pusa, New Delhi

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Gorav Arora

Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre (NHCC) and Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) have announced the appointment of Gorav Arora as Director - Sales and Marketing.

Gorav has more than fourteen years of experience in the areas of sales & marketing and F&B operations. He has proven track record in boosting revenue growth and holds a strong background in room sales, convention/association/ banquet sales& marketing and F&B operations.

Gorav began his career in hospitality with Hyatt Regency Delhi.

During his tenures, he has had experience of working with reputed hotel chains like the Oberoi Group, Hyatt and Accor. Gorav has also worked with Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and Hyderabad International Convention Centre earlier, from 2008 to 2012. His last assignment was with Trident, Hyderabad as Director-Sales.

Stephanie D’Silva

Stephanie D’Silva is the newly appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai. She has a career of 12 years in the hospitality industry till now, with a promising future ahead. At JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai, she is in charge of organising and directing all sales and marketing efforts to achieve objectives and operational goals for the property.

Armed with a post graduate diploma in business management from the Xavier’s Institute of Management, Mumbai in international sales and marketing, Stephanie began her career with Fariyas Hotels and Resorts. With Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces she had a nine-year-long stint. Before joining JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai, Stephanie was associated with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, at The Westin Mumbai Garden City, as the Director of Sales and Marketing.

Anish Srivastava

Mosaic Hotels, Noida has appointed Anish Srivastava as its Operations Manager. Anish began his career as an Assistant Manager with Ramada Hotel Manohar (now Fortune Hotel Manohar) Hyderabad, in 2000. During his till now fourteen-year-long career in the hospitality industry, Anish has worked with various reputed brands in the Indian hospitality industry which includes Ramada, Jaypee Hotels and Mahagun Sarovar Portico (a unit of Sarovar Hotels).

In his new tenure, he will be the key force behind the operations of the F & B department of the hotel. Some of his several responsibilities in the present tenure include working closely with the sales and marketing department of the hotel in the area of promotions, special packages,

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corporate discounts and new accounts and managing all F&B and day-to-day operations within budgeted guidelines and to the highest possible standards.

Abhishek Sahai

The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has announced the appointment of Abhishek Sahai as the General Manager of The Leela Palace Udaipur. He brings with him over 14 years of experience in core hotel operations and has worked at senior positions with the Oberoi and The Leela.

Prior to joining The Leela Palace Udaipur, Abhishek was Rooms Division Manager at The Leela Mumbai.

Abhishek, who began his career in the hospitality industry with The Oberoi, New Delhi, first joined The Leela group in 2010 as Executive Assistant to the President and Front Office Manager of The Leela Mumbai before progressing to the role of Rooms Division Manager at The Leela Palace Chennai.

Rajiv Kaul, President, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts said, “We are delighted to have Abhishek lead the team at The Leela Palace Udaipur. His dynamism and leadership skills shall be a great asset as the hotel continues to evolve into one of the most desirable destinations of the country.”

Abhishek has undertaken the Management Development Program from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

Vikram Malhotra

Vikram Malhotra has been appointed as the President, South Asia & Middle East, at Cygnett Hotels & Resorts Pvt. Ltd. Cygnett Hotels & Resorts is a young hotel management company, which was born in 2012.

With a career spanning over 20 years in hospitality and consulting, Vikram has worked in both the Middle-East and SouthAsian markets. During his career he has had been associated with leading hospitality groups like the Oberoi, Carlson, and ITC group of hotels. Vikram had also served as the Vice President, Development South Asia for the Premier Inn Hotels.

As part of his consulting experience, Vikram was heading the Real Estate and Hospitality Advisory practice with KPMG in the Middle-East and has lead major advisory engagements pertaining to strategy and business planning, market and financial feasibility studies, hotel operator search and negotiations, asset management and deal structuring.

Rex Nijhof

Rex Nijhof is the newly appointed General Manager of Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet, Mumbai - Marriott Executive Apartments.

He has over 26 years of experience behind him. Rex Nijhof has worked with Marriott in various countries like Germany, Turkey and the Netherlands. Rex Nijhof’s earlier tenure was with Amsterdam Marriott Hotel, the Netherlands where he was the General Manager for three years.

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FHRAI’s 49th Convention to Attract Impressive Participation

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ederation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) will have its 49th annual convention in the Pink City of Jaipur, during 12th14th September 2014. The venue for the convention will be Jaipur Marriott Hotel. The theme of the annual convention is extremely relevant to the Indian economy, where tourism and hospitality do play crucial roles, and more importantly, do have the potential to play even more important roles towards growth and development if these sectors are supported by friendly government policies. The theme of the convention is titled ‘Hospitality & Tourism: The key to unlocking India’s global potential.’

According to FHRAI, the annual convention will attract participation of who’s who of the Indian hospitality and tourism sectors. Besides that the event will have the presence of a number of esteemed dignitaries from the central and various state governments.

The convention is expected to serve as an apt forum to share collective experiences and insights pertaining to the Indian hospitality industry, and candidly deliberate on the multitude of challenges which these industries confront, with the goal of charting a profitable and sustainable growth strategy for the future.

The business sessions of the 49th

annual convention of FHRAI will facilitate the delegates with the opportunity to engage with important policymakers, industry leaders, global experts and inspirational entrepreneurs, which can lead to the flow of enriching information and perspectives on issues which are shaping the sector. The business sessions are geared to exhaustively cover the issues relevant to the present day Indian hospitality industry. There will be 10 business sessions during the second and the third day of the conference that is on 13th and 14th September, with five business sessions each on 13th and 14th September respectively.

“The 49th FHRAI Annual Convention will be taking place at an especially opportune time, when the hospitality sector is poised to put the adverse impact of the economic slowdown and global volatility firmly behind, and instead look ahead, with renewed vigour and optimism,” noted SM Shervani, President, FHRAI. “Even in the highest echelons of the government, there is now a growing recognition that tourism will be a pivotal pillar of India’s transformational growth, and must be nurtured as an integral element of our national development agenda. This has inspired our choice of the Convention theme – ‘Hospitality &

Tourism: The key to unlocking India’s global potential.’ The ambitious discourse which we have envisioned, will facilitate greater convergence and synergy between various stakeholders, towards our shared pursuit of making India among the world leaders in tourism,” he observed further in his message to the fellow members of FHRAI. “With a glorious legacy spanning more than five decades, the FHRAI Annual Convention has firmly established itself as the premier event of the Indian hospitality industry.

Each year, the convention facilitates a convergence of all major stakeholders, including top policymakers, senior industry leaders and renowned experts, for insightful discussions on the myriad challenges as well as exciting opportunities facing our sector. The thoughtfully put together interactive business sessions encompass a multitude of pertinent issues. The unique ‘open session’ with senior Central and State Government officials is always an eagerly awaited part of the convention,” explained Vivek Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts.

There is the provision of post conference sightseeing tours after the convention.

IFC Invests in SAMHI Hotels

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FC (International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $21 million in SAMHI Hotels through compulsorily convertible debentures.

This huge investment is expected to increase India’s capacity in the affordable and midmarket hotel segment, create jobs, and promote energy-efficient hotel design and construction. This is IFC’s first investment in the hotel sector in India. Globally, IFC has funded $2 billion to over 270 hotel projects.

According to a press release, IFC is the largest global development institution focused

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exclusively on the private sector. SAMHI is a privately owned hotel asset company that specialises in development, acquisition and ownership of branded hotels.

With the third round of this funding, SAMHI will expand its portfolio by developing greenfield hotels and through acquisitions in tier I and II cities. Presently, SAMHI has seven operational hotels in Greater Noida, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune.

“Besides providing long-term financing, IFC will help us formulate environmental and social standards, and adopt green

building design principles,” stated Ashish Jakhanwala, Managing Director and CEO, SAMHI Hotels.

“IFC’s investment is an affirmation of the support it provides to affordable hotels in countries with increasing domestic travel and rapidly growing middle classes,” said Vipul Prakash, Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services, Asia Pacific, IFC. “This project will generate jobs and create business opportunities for small and medium enterprises, contributing to economic diversification and sustainable growth,” he pointed out.

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Though the Indian hospitality industry continues to evolve, often dramatically, its basic goals remain the same. One of them is the ultimate customer engagement and relationships across all channels with the objective to optimise revenues and profits.

One of the quests of the business of hospitality is to create an emotional allure among the guests and go for their heartstrings to build a lifelong bond. Spa, perhaps more than any other facility provided by a hotel, provides the personal and comforting experience sought by the busy travellers of today. The word ‘wellness’, which is a relatively new addition to the popular vocabulary, is now being bandied about by a plethora of tourists across varying socioeconomic profiles, and not without reason.

While spa resorts help boost health tourism, the day spas in star-hotels across India help fight the fatigue of the business tourists and the corporate world. Ashok Malkani discovers that many spas have developed special short duration treatments to help fight the day-to-day fatigue and also the jet lag.

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owadays more and more travellers are looking for wellness in their travels. The growing health consciousness on the part of travellers is because today travel has become a big contributor to stress syndrome. Airport stress, transportation hassles, jet lag and sleeping disruptions during travels can all lead to stress. Even many business travellers, today, are seeking hotels which have a spa and gym, which will enable them to tackle the stress element in their hectic routines.

No wonder, since the late nineties, India’s wellness sector has been experiencing huge growth of spas. A great many hotel chains, whether their focus be leisure or business travellers, are either setting up/did set up spa resorts or adding well-equipped spa facilities to their properties. Guests are now expecting a very good spa even in city hotels across urban India. Spa is now being seen as a welcome haven to unwind and rejuvenate during a busy business trip. Today’s traveller looks for pampering between meetings and flights but no longer wants to leave the hotel for the much needed relaxation or rejuvenation to re-charge herself/ himself. In this regard, spas assume great importance.

The demand for spas is not only confined among the high-end leisure travellers in the country, of both domestic and inbound profiles. Now the corporate executives flying across the country are also preferring to combine a business trip or conference with a dash of rejuvenation. Now an increasing number of hotel chains are turning to day-spa and massage treatments to court

not only leisure travellers, corporates, but family crowd as well.

Spa Treatments Major hotels and resorts in the country now have or are expected to have spas and gyms to cater to the wellness and fitness needs of their guests. “Spa is a haven to destress. Guests visit the spa for the purpose of relaxation and to leave their worries and stress behind,” stated Husnavaz Dastur, Spa Manager, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments.

She added that hotels need to adapt the spa treatments to cater to their guests’ requirements.

“Our guests are usually business travellers and thus they are well-versed with various spa treatments and therapies offered at various hotel groups. We have made some new changes in the Renaissance Spa menu treatments and have added detox treatments, back and facial therapy, and anti-cellulite treatments, keeping in mind the demands of our guests,” she elaborated on this score by giving a specific example; the example of the spa treatments at the hotel where she is presently engaged in.

Winningla Shimray, Director of Spa at JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai, proclaimed, “Our hotel is a business hotel and we need to cater to the business travellers more than anyone else. To meet the demands of our guests, we have personalised/customised treatments for them, ones that would reduce the stress, relax the body and the mind and improve blood circulation.”

“Being a resort spa we need to be innovative. We have introduced

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reasons behind why the spas are getting popular among the business travellers in the country. “Today’s business guests, on an average, have to deal with more stress than their predecessors and given the high frequency of their international travel trips, they have to frequently cope with an old-fashioned malady named jet lag to a greater degree than their predecessors,” he elaborated.

“Keeping the requirement of our business guests into consideration, So SPA at Sofitel Mumbai BKC has introduced a range of ‘Pre Jet Lag’ treatments, which are targeted especially for its guests travelling on international flights. These Pre Jet Lag treatments help our guests to beat the jet lag blues. So SPA at Sofitel Mumbai BKC is operational 24 hrs to cater to the requirements of our guests,” added Chauhan.

Some Popular Treatments promotions of the month wherein we create a package that adds value for money. We also offer packages which are conceptualised around the five elements —Earth, Wind, Space, Water, and Fire at the same time offering value for money. We also offer ‘Cabana Comforts,’ an outdoor massage which have two treatments to offer: ‘Anti-Stress Massage’ & ‘Back, Neck & Shoulder Massage’,” affirmed Anna Fernandes, the Director of Spa, Goa Marriott Resort & Spa. “The Westin Mumbai Garden City understands the changing requirements of its guests. Well-being is the core concept of Westin Hotels and Resorts and the Heavenly Spa by WestinTM epitomises this. The values of personal care and rejuvenation, with lots of research are given

Husnavaz Dastur

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utmost importance, while designing our spa treatments,” expressed Anu Mohan, Spa Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City.

“Our spa offers Heavenly Touch massages to soothe aches and pains, alleviate stress and calm the body; Celestial body treatments to detoxify, hydrate and heal; and Heavenly Glow facial treatments to purify and enhance beauty,” stated Mohan while giving examples of some wellness solutions offered at the spa managed by him.

“The Heavenly Spa by Westin™ at The Westin Mumbai Garden City offers an array of therapies to uplift guests mentally, physically and spiritually by engaging and stimulating each of the five senses which are sight, sound, touch, taste, and scent, through a holistic approach to wellness.

From healing massages, to cleansing facials and energising body treatments, every element of the spa visit at our spa is designed to help you feel your best,” declared Mohan.

In fact, offering something special in terms of wellness is fast becoming a norm across high-end hospitality options in the country. “We offer several relaxing and rejuvenating packages for our business guests. These packages aim to pamper while also being therapeutic,” added Dr Arjita Kumari, the Spa Manager at Alila Diwa Goa. Manoj Chauhan, the Spa Manager at Sofitel Mumbai BKC, tried to unearth the

With different category of clients — ranging from busy business travellers to housewives to leisure travellers – there is little doubt that the preference of visitors would be wide and varied across spas in hotels and resorts.

According to Mohan, Traditional Ayurvedic Massage with Shirodhara (Shirodhara is the continuous pouring of medicated herbal oil on the forehead), Balinese massage, Heavenly Spa Signature Massage, Aspire Massage (Aromatherapy Associates), Renewal Ritual, Energize Scrub and Revive Facial are among the preferred spa treatments at Heavenly Spa

by Westin™.

“Renaissance Rejuvenating Blend Massage is our signature treatment. It is a hot selling spa treatment. We use

Manoj Chauhan

Cover Story special oils and products which act as a moisturising treatment for the skin. Our spa packages like Ayurveda Stress Reduction and Aromatic Retreat with scrubs and wraps are also among the favourites of our guests,” asserted Husnavaz.

“The Balinese and deep tissue massage are the most popular treatments at Spa Alila. Guests also enjoy specialised packages like massage scrubs and wraps along with treatment enhancers like the detox bath,” asserted Dr. Arjita.

“The most-favoured treatment at our spa is the Aroma Fusion Massage. It is a signature massage of Quan Spa and provides deep relaxation. Deep Renewal Massage is also popular since it helps to release chronic muscle tension through the technique used. Goan Magic is Goa Marriott’s signature treatment. It is a combination of Indian, western & oriental style and attains a state of well-being,” averred Anna.

Chauhan informed that they had designed treatments for different age groups as well as for the preference of the guests. “Among the longer duration treatments, the most favoured at our spa is our popular Indian therapy named ‘Ayurvedic chic’ and our signature treatment titled ‘So Exhilarating’.”

Latest Trends As the wellness movement expands throughout urban India, hotels and resorts in the country are seen to be proactive in offering a healthy environment to their health and fitness focused guests. The challenge is to combine spa and fitness to create a holistic wellness experience that is true to the hotels’ and resorts’ brands.

So what are the latest trends in spa, with

Anna Fernandes

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Biju Nelliyote

regard to the Indian hospitality sector?

“Latest trends include customisation of spa treatments as per one’s DNA test results and earth base pampering. Spas are now also offering personalised treatments in the comfort of one’s home,” disclosed Dr. Arjita.

“Asian fusion is the latest trend in spa treatments in India. This particular massage is tailor-made to give you complete relaxation. It involves rhythmic and gentle stretching for the first half to ease the muscles and second half involves gentle strokes of massage with aroma oil,” elucidated Biju Nelliyote, Spa Executive, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield.

Dr Deepika Dalvi, Spa Manager, In Balance Spa at Novotel Goa Shrem Resort averred, “The latest spa trends in the country so far have been med- spa, eco- spa , detoxification, newer treatments on the menu and value added deals on treatments.”

“People nowadays are very concerned or cautious about their skin, hence brightening facials are in vogue considering they facilitate in giving glowing and natural looking skin,” asserted Winningla.

Husnavaz feels that these days spa is not just about de-stressing though de-stressing is a must requirement for the spas. “Spa is now also a place to beautify the skin and detox the body. New spa therapists aim in reducing cellulite and also help in toning the body and skin. Sea weed and algae body wraps with special body toning creams and oils help in maintaining youthful skin,” she aired while pointing out that “New-age spa treatments are more advanced and scientific in nature with new researched products, which help in maintaining the body.”

Anna cites several new spa trends, spearheading through the country’s business of wellness. She stated,”It is extremely important to have a spa concept, keeping in mind the spa’s design and theme. It has also been observed that the brands used for providing spa treatments also play a very important role since a lot of guests visit the spa/s due to the brand of products it offers/they offer.”

“We have also witnessed the trend of guests requesting for 15 minutes foot massages to be provided in groups for their guests during the wedding celebration so that their guests experience complete relaxation. Succinctly, spa has become the best place to unwind with your friends and relatives. Corporate gifting of spa treatments is one more thing which is very much in trend. The idea of Spa Theme Breaks during meetings or conventions is also a reality,” Anna added.

The fact that availing spa treatments is becoming popular among men and the fact that in many spas men visitors outnumber those of women is also a nascent trend in the wellness sector of urban India.

Short and Effective But whether de-stressing or detoxifying, for a business traveller the time is short and she/he would like the wellness programmes to be compact. So have our Indian hotels risen to this demand? Well, treatments of short duration across hotel and resort spas have become vogue in the Indian hospitality industry. Many hotels and resorts are already practicing them.

“As it is a known fact that many business travellers tend to have paucity of time and high stress levels due to their hectic work schedules, so our spa offers quick and compact spa treatments and

Dr Deepika Dalvi

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packages which cover the body, head and facial and meet the major demands of our guests. Our ‘Renewal Ritual’ takes only 25 minutes and covers therapeutic scalp and shoulder massage with a moisturising hair oil treatment. Our ‘Quick Stress Reliever takes only 30 minutes. It is a massage on the back and neck areas where our mental stress tends to get stored. It helps relax the muscles in this area thus providing relief for any aches that are present. The 30 minutes ‘Facial Express’ is for the clients who are hard-pressed for time but want to experience relaxation, or just have glowing skin for a night out,” elaborated Mohan.

Dr. Deepika disclosed that the treatments designed at the In Balance Spa were fast- paced as the business travellers are pressed for time. “For rejuvenation, the techniques used are more of the destressing type (for men they are focused mainly on the neck, shoulders, head and calf and for females they are focused more on the shoulders, and on foot and beauty treatments). We have express manicure, express pedicure, mini-facials, treatments combining scrub and massage, treatment enhancers and mini treatments to match the therapy requirements of every guest,” she added. ”We have short 20 minutes spa treatments like relaxing foot massages, and 30 minutes back tension relief services. If our guests are short of time they can relax and also avail these mini spa treatments.

We focus on areas of concentration which are generally the back muscles, neck or feet,” stated Husnavaz.

“We have several small packages. We offer tailor-made treatments that can range from 15 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes to suit various wellness needs. We

Winningla Shimray

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Dr. Arjita Kumari

offer flexibility and convenience for guests to indulge in a quick foot spa or a head and shoulder massage between conference breaks,” offered Dr. Arjita.

Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield too has several short duration treatments.

“We have short duration treatments like Stress Reliever Massage & Indian Head Massage (30 minutes). These treatments, due to their shorter durations, have become quite popular amongst our business travellers at the hotel,” informed Nelliyote.

Chauhan stated that Sofitel Mumbai BKC too offered short duration spa treatments. “At the So SPA we have designed a few treatments which would fulfill the expectations of the business travellers. We have introduced Pre Jet Lag treatments especially for the business travellers, which involves shorter duration, especially for the back and feet,” he explained.

The Spa Clientele Of course, besides the business travellers and leisure travellers there are others too who visit the spa. In fact, in many countries in overseas, the spas attract locals, which also contribute towards increasing the hotels’ and resorts’ business. But what is the position in India? “We cater to hotel guests and our Club Marriott Members to avail the spa facilities,” proffered Anna.

According to her, the ratio between male and female guests at the spa which she is managing is 60:40. “In addition to the business and leisure travellers, So SPA at Sofitel Mumbai BKC also caters to residents from the vicinity. The ratio between male and female guests at our spa is 70:30.” pointed out Chauhan. ”Besides business travellers, we have

walk-in guests at our spa, and also health club members & leisure travellers. We usually see men visiting the spa post a training session at the fitness center. The ratio between males and females at our spa would be about 1:2,” observed Nelliyote.

“Since we are a resort spa, we do have a lot of leisure travellers and non-resident guests apart from business travellers who come for conferences, meetings and team outings. As far as the ratio is concerned, we have a majority of male clients as compared to females,” declared Dr. Deepika.

“In addition to the business travellers, the walk-in guests, guests who live in the vicinity of the hotel and the retreat members are regular visitors to the Heavenly Spa by Westin™. The ratio of the male to female guests who visit the Heavenly Spa by Westin™ at The Westin Mumbai Garden City is 60:40,” claimed Mohan.

Husnavaz concurs with Mohan about the ratio of male and female spa clients.

Speaking about the male/female ratio she said, “We have more male clients than female clients which is generally the common trend in all five-star spas across urban India. Male ratio verses female, at our spa, is 70: 30.”

“Besides the business travellers, we have our in-house guests, club members, celebrities and walk-in guests. The ratio between males and females at our spa is 6:4,” averred Winningla.

“Since we are a popular wedding destination, lots of wedding guests also visit us, besides leisure and business travellers and other hotel guests, to relax between the functions,” pointed out Dr. Arjita, while adding that “The male to female ratio at our spa is approximately 6:4.”

Anu Mohan

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HOTEL Business Review

The Evolution of Spas One can say that the need to have a respite from stress infected lifestyles, the need to look good and feel great and the need to have healthy lifestyle have all contributed to the popularity and the evolution of spas in India. In fact, preference towards holistic wellness is a global trend.

Many hotels and resorts all over the globe are now responding to the health conscious travellers. A recent survey has revealed that a large percentage of travellers were looking for wellness in their travel destinations. The survey states that around 87 percent wanted healthier foods, 82 percent spa or massages, 82 percent said that they would like some kind of nature experience, 70 percent wanted gyms with cardio and weights, 54 percent said that they would like healthy sleeping programs, and 47 percent sought meditation/ mindfulness programming.

“The wellness industry shall grow further as now wellness is a way of life.

Moreover, now more guests have the buying power to gift themselves the relaxing spa experiences. In the Indian wellness industry spas now have in-house spa trainers who monitor and train the team with new modern spa treatments.

I personally train the team in new spa treatments and take internal audits to be assured of the quality of spa treatments,” concluded Husnavaz.

“The factors driving the surge in spas in India are increasing health awareness and the urge to lead a healthy life. The spas in India are initiating very popular and attractive packages and deals. The spa industry in the country is growing at a very fast pace and many different types of spas are launching in India. The different types of spas that are getting introduced in the wellness trade in India are day spas, wellness spas, medicinal spas, etc. Wellness spas are spas which have facilities like yoga, gym, aerobics, spa treatments, swimming pool, beauty parlors, etc. on the same floor or property,” summed up Mohan.

From the above interactions with the experts, one can easily infer that the spas in hotels and resorts are expected to assume greater importance as profit centres in the years to come. And the Indian spa segment is expected to become more innovative in terms of its treatments, in the near future.

However, at the same time more skilled wellness personnel would be a pressing need for the Indian hospitality industry. 

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Managing

Performances Hospitality industry is all about dealing with people, which includes not just its guests but also its employees. The employees or the associates, as they are often being referred to in the hospitality industry, need to be selected with great care and be cared for, and their talent and skills need to be nurtured on a continual basis. This is true for almost all industries, though more true for some industries like the hospitality industry, where human resource can not only make or break the business, but often does play an extremely crucial role in doing so.

The HR department of the hospitality property is supposed to play an important role in selecting the right personnel, training them and keeping a close eye on the employees’ performance.

Performance management is one of the responsibilities of the HR department of the hotels and resorts. Ashok Malkani meets some of the industry experts to find steps adopted by their brands for effecting performance management.

G

etting the most out of employees The HR Factor has always challenged employers, “Team members’ performance is, without and hospitality employers are no a doubt, an extremely important factor different in this regard. In the hospitality which influences the guest experiences industry, bringing out the optimal in hospitality properties. Hotels today performance from employees can greatly compete with each other in terms impact guest satisfaction and, eventually, of products and services. As service profitability. providers, the all important human touch Performance management is not just goes a long way in today’s technologyabout improving the performance of driven, poor performers. Instead it is a holistic fast-paced world. In short, associates process that begins who make guests feel at with getting the right home are directly responsible people, setting employee for driving guest loyalty,” expectations, coaching reasoned Gauri Mishra, employees to deliver HR Manager, DoubleTree efficient, high quality

by Hilton Hotel Pune service, and in extreme Chinchwad. cases, terminating the David Naidu, Director of employment of the poor HR, The Westin Mumbai performers or of those Garden City, is also of the employees who do not fit same opinion. “Hotels into the work culture of are no more just selling the organisation.

Nicholas Dumbell rooms but selling cherished

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Business

experiences, and great brands are built on the emotional connection with the guests. And it is only the people who can emotionally connect to the guests.

Hence it is imperative that the associates’ performance is critical and has an impact on the guest,” Naidu averred. “A happy associate will generally lead to happy guests,which in turn can give positive impact on the bottom line,” he pointed out further.

“In our industry, employees have a direct impact on guests’ willingness to become loyal customers.

Also an employee’s efforts result Salil Desai in guests recommending the hotel to others. Our team’s performance is what drives our hotel’s true competitive edge,” asserted Andrea Gracias, HR Manager, Alila Diwa Goa. “If the employees are unhappy it will reflect in the output of their work and their motivation. We need to ensure that our team is kept motivated, energised and happy so that they can keep the guests happy,” she added.

Neesha Mohapatra, Director of Human Resources, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments, feels that being in hospitality, “our first preference is to keep our customers happy. Marriott’s philosophy says that ‘if we take care of our associates, they will take care of our guests and they will keep coming back to us.’

Therefore, it is essential to train our associates to deliver excellence and personalised Neesha Mohapatra service to the

Business

HOTEL Business Review

guests. Their performance on for employment are the shop floors keeps the guests screened thoroughly. happy and drives our business.

Interviews are conducted Guest satisfaction is always the both telephonically key focus with us.” and in person to gauge “Well-trained and motivated communication and associates result in enhancing interpersonal skills, the associates’ capabilities and technical knowledge their willingness to go the extra and on whether they mile in serving the guests. would be a good fit for Our guests perceive a genuine the company. Practical warmth and service excellence knowledge-based Andrea Gracias due to the culture and the positions like those in work atmosphere of our hotel,” explained food production are also required to Abanti Gupta, Director of Human undergo a Trade Test,” elaborated Gauri.

Resources, Goa Marriott Resort & Spa. Andrea felt that it was first necessary Nicholas Dumbell, General Manager to identify the skills and personality traits of Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, that are required for a particular job. “For affirmed, “People and service are keys this we conduct trade tests for the kitchen to satisfied and loyal guests. That is the and spa recruits as this is where we look reason that at Marriott, ‘Staff service for a particular skill set the most. We also overall’ is among our top three focus areas conduct practical tests for housekeeping in our global guest feedback program.” and service as well. Another important Salil Desai, the Director step while recruiting is of Human Resources with to conduct a reference Sofitel Mumbai BKC, stated check of the prospective that the hotel’s employees were candidate to gauge his/ the ambassadors of the brand. her earlier work patterns,” “They understand that guest she stated. satisfaction is directly and Divyangana disclosed proportionately related to their that there were fixed performance.” He emphasised interview patterns for that an incredible sense of different brands of hotels. professionalism and generosity, “Our selection patterns combined with impeccable include various rounds service that did stem straight including an online test David Naidu from the heart of these which tests the aptitude ambassadors, was normally responsible and attitude of the interviewee and how for creating magnifiqué experiences for he/she would handle specific business the guests at Sofitel Mumbai BKC. scenarios. We give more stress on the Divyangana Srivastava, Director of attitude of the individual rather than Human Resources at JW Marriott Hotel his/her aptitude as the knowledge/skill Mumbai, feels that performance of the can be worked upon with right guidance/ employees could be managed by proper exposure,” proffered Divyangana. training. There is no denying the fact “We hire people with good attitude that training and orientation are the keys and train them to do perfect jobs. to the associates’ better performance.

Though we hire experienced people for jobs requiring high competency levels, Gauging Potential and we encourage lots of fresh Abilities graduates from colleges Gauri concurred with too. Every year we go to Divyangana’s views that specific college campus to hire training should be given to the fresh graduates for our employees who are indeed the hotel,” Neesha expressed. ambassadors of goodwill for Abanti has two the hotel. She described the parameters from which usual procedure for selection she gauges an associate. of the candidates in her hotel.

“One of them is ‘hire “Our prospective candidates for attitude and train Abanti Gupta

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need to have pre-existing for skills’ and the second mechanisms in place to parameter is ‘past performance is a good indicator of future periodically review and performance’. We employ ‘tune-up’ performance. both, experienced personnel Andrea disclosed and as well as fresh graduates. that the orientation We know that experience programme for Alila counts but fresh graduates Diwa Goa was named as tend to bring new ideas with ‘Foundations’. It consists them.” of three parts, with Desai believes in hiring the first part focusing people who have a passionate on the Alila values Lebana Penkar attitude and then train and how to translate them for success in luxury them into service style. hospitality. “We engage in Competency “The programe further builds on Based Recruitment Matrix, whereby all Alila Foundations and is designed the Managers in recruitment role use to show how to translate the brand the Capability Framework Behavioural promise and values into a branded and Interviewing Tool, which focuses guest experience. It drives home on selecting the right talent for the right the importance of ‘living the brand’ job and the right cultural fit. We believe and focuses on communication with in having a healthy blend of guests and projecting experienced and fresh talent.” the Alila service image Dumbell believes in the in everything we do. philosophy of hiring the right As far as the training is people with the right attitude concerned, every new and then teaching them the employee undergoes a necessary skills. “Interviews programme called the for both management and Learning Journeys with hourly/non-management us, which is a three applicants are being conducted months on-the-job at our hotel using a behavioral training,” she explained. interviewing system. This “Each new recruit at system allows us to collect DoubleTree by Hilton past examples of applicants’ Hotel Pune - Chinchwad Divyangana Srivastava experiences to help predict goes through a New Hire what their future performance on the job Celebration, which, as the name suggests, may look like in key competencies,” he celebrates the addition of a new family stated. member. It is a fun filled session lasting “Customer focus, effective three days. New employees not only go communication skills, collaboration, through an orientation with the company, emotional intelligence, etc. are some of the but are also required to undergo various competencies on which the candidates are training sessions, to inculcate skills and been assessed at our hotel and accordingly knowledge relevant to their department/s the candidates are selected for the right and position/s. These trainings are a job,” affirmed Naidu. mix of both classroom, on the job, as well as Orientation and self facilitated via an e-learning platform,” Training Once you have selected the elaborated Gauri. right person, it becomes Lebana Penkar, necessary to have an Director of Training & orientation and training Talent Development, programme for the associate Sofitel Mumbai BKC, concerned. If you have got confided that it was the right candidate then the indeed necessary to job of performance ‘coaching’ have an orientation and training programme for becomes easier. But even with high performers, you ‘the new ambassadors’— Gauri Mishra

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Business as she termed the new associates of the hotel.

“Our meticulously crafted ‘Magnifique Journey’ induction helps our new joining ambassadors to align themselves towards Sofitel’s vision, values & goals. A sense of pride and belongingness created towards the organisation at the onset helps our ambassadors to deliver luxury experiences for our guests,” articulated Lebana.

“The General Manager with the leadership team welcomes the new ambassador to a high impact fourday orientation. Every new joining ambassador receives an on-brand welcome manual which provides him/ her vital hotel information and relevant policies and procedures,” she added.

Dumbell is of the view that new associates should have a strong foundation. “This is critical in engaging and retaining talent. This foundation with us begins with an orientation to ensure new associates are well integrated into Marriott, the hotel and their position. Our three-day orientation programme includes introduction to Marriott’s history, core values, culture, growth, vision and success factors, its goals, hotel’s business positioning, guest needs, etc.,” he asserted.

“We commit to give each associate 40 hours of training per year which is audited. We organise lot of trainings for all our new joiners since they needed to be groomed and prepared for our company,” pointed out Neesha.

Performance management is a serious business and there are many more points besides the ones already being discussed here. But to put it succinctly, effective performance management is one of the important keys to reach healthy bottom lines for hospitality properties, on an enduring basis. Therefore, its role is extremely crucial, especially in these times of intense competition, where the personal touch of the employees is often becoming the differentiator between choosing and rejecting a hotel or a resort by the guests.

The industry’s views on effect of technology on the selection of the employees, and Total Quality Management (TQM) steps to be adopted for effective performance of the hotels and resorts will be discussed in the next issue.

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Towards Womenfriendly Hospitality

By Swarnendu Biswas

A

ccording to the Archaeological Survey of India, there had been a significant decline in ticket sales to foreign tourists across the three UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Delhi, during 2013-14. The three UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Delhi are Qutab Minar, Humayun’s Tomb and Red Fort.

As per ASI sources, there was a drop in total number of Indian and foreign visitors to the World Heritage Sites of Delhi during 2013-14, though the decline in the number of foreign visitors across the World Heritage Sites of Delhi was more marked during the last financial year.

Moreover, according to the report of a leading news daily, this trend of drop

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in visitors was not only confined to the World Heritage Sites of Delhi, but was evident across all Delhi’s ticketed monuments, including Jantar Mantar, Purana Qila and Safdarjung Tomb.

These facts obviously indicate a decrease in foreign tourist arrivals in Delhi, during the last fiscal. According to several industry experts, the adverse publicity that Delhi garnered due to the ghastly Nirbhaya rape incident may have contributed to a sharp decline in the number of foreign tourists to Delhi during 2013-14.

This may appear as a conjecture or a general consensus, but the more worrying part is that this conjecture may have some significant strains of reality in it.

Foreign tourist arrivals to the capital in the last fiscal may have dropped due to global recession, but the possible impact of the Nirbhaya rape incident on the single lady travellers in the capital cannot be altogether ignored. Delhi however, consolidated its unsafe for women image, when in January 2014 a Danish tourist was gang raped, after she lost her way to her hotel in Paharganj, Delhi. The heinous act was followed by a travel advisory on India by the UK foreign office, where it cautioned its citizens on travel in India.

In Unsafe State If the above discussed trend of declining foreign tourist visits to the World

Feature Heritage Sites of Delhi continues in 2014-15, it would not lessen the worry of the Indian hospitality industry. It would also be a big setback for the Delhi state government’s pitching for the national capital to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site next year, which if it becomes a reality could be an impetus to the Indian hospitality industry.

It hasn’t helped Delhi’s image when TripAdvisor’s annual Women Travel Survey 2014 stated that Delhi was the ‘most unsafe’ city amongst the 10 Indian cities covered in the survey. The results of the survey were released on eve of the International Women’s Day. The annual Women Travel Survey 2014 collected responses from 1068 women respondents.

The survey covered Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, Pune and Jaipur.

It should shame all Delhites and alarm all Delhi hotels and resorts and other hospitality options also to know that a total of 95 percent of the respondents voiced that Delhi was the most unsafe city among the ten cities covered in the polls. In fact, the percentage of women

HOTEL Business Review

respondents who felt so increased from 84 percent in the 2013 edition of the survey. According to the survey, Kolkata was the second most unsafe city, among the cities covered in the survey, followed

by Jaipur. 85 percent of the respondents voiced that Ahmedabad was the safest city among the ten cities covered in the survey. What is striking in the survey that out of the 63 percent of the respondents who had never travelled alone, 33 percent of the respondents felt that for a woman to travel solo in India was unsafe.

One of the ways by which the hospitality industry of Delhi can encourage more numbers of single lady travellers to include Delhi in their itinerary is by not only making hotels, resorts and other hospitality options for staying in the capital absolutely safe and welcome for lady travellers, but also by playing a proactive role along with the state government of Delhi and the Union Ministry of Tourism in facilitating safety to women travellers during their shopping and business trips and during their leisure excursions.

Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, the

Superintending Archaeologist of ASI Delhi told that they had deployed private security guards to provide security around the Delhi’s monuments and were going to install closed circuit TV cameras in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Delhi.

These are welcome steps though hardly sufficient ones to make women tourists in Delhi feel safe while negotiating the chaotic and noisy roads of Delhi, where men with a deep desire to sexually harass women are not at all a rare phenomenon.

And if women don’t feel safe in Delhi, they would be more and more reluctant to visit its magnificent monuments or stay in Delhi’s hotels and resorts and other hospitality options in the future.

Of course, Delhi is not the only city in India where women are subjected to harassment, threats and violence on a regular basis. Therefore there is no reason to assume that our women tourists wouldn’t suffer the same from the diseased feudal mindset of many of our Indian males, across the length and breadth of the country, unless some serious concrete steps are being taken to address this alarming humanitarian issue,

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which can also snowball into seriously affecting our tourism and hospitality revenues.

In March 2013, a British tourist had to jump from her hotel room in Agra, allegedly to avoid being molested by the owner of the hotel. She suffered leg injuries in the process. In March 2013 only, a Swiss tourist, who was on a cycling tour with her husband, had to suffer the horror of gang-rape in Madhya Pradesh, by six men (or monsters). She was also beaten up and robbed at gun point.

These heinous incidents are not only a scar on post-modern India but can affect our tourism and hospitality industry.

Therefore the above-mentioned initiative should not only be confined to the Delhi’s hospitality industry but should also be adopted by the entire tourism and hospitality industry of India in tandem with various state tourism bodies and the Union Ministry of Tourism, to make India a safer destination for women tourists.

The unsafe atmosphere for lady travellers can be one of the important reasons why India, despite having such natural bounties and historical splendours, had been able to attract only 6.8 million (according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s figures) foreign tourists during 2013. During the same year, China attracted 55.7 million foreign tourists. According to UNWTO’s figures, our country ranks a pathetic 10th in the Asia and Pacific region in terms of international tourist arrivals.

More Room for Ladies This writer believes that the depressing scenario of India as far as its attraction towards the foreign tourists is concerned can be changed significantly, if India becomes a more friendly country towards single women travellers, which of course besides uplifting the image of the country and enhancing its tourism revenues would benefit the Indian hospitality industry; presently going through a sluggish trend. It is because in this age thankfully many women leisure and business travellers, irrespective of whether they are travelling single or in a group, are not only economically independent but have decent disposable incomes, a

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fraction of which they would not mind spending in safe, secure and womenfriendly hospitality options during their travels.

And women travelling single or in all women groups, whether for business and leisure, are increasing in India. According to TripAdvisor’s annual Women Travel Survey 2014, nearly 47 percent of the 1068 women respondents said that they had taken leisure trips as part of a ‘group of women’. And 35 percent of the respondents said that they had travelled solo during the last two years. This is a welcome trend which the Indian hospitality industry must explore with much more sensitivity than it is doing now.

Now how can India be a safer and more attractive place for women travellers? The Indian tourism and hospitality industry can certainly play a proactive role in doing so. Indian hotels and resorts are beginning to realise that

the single women travellers comprise a fast growing, niche market with great potential for generating revenues but they should act more intensively on this realisation. Yes, allocating a single floor for lady travellers can be a creative measure in this direction, which has emerged as a happening trend in the Indian hospitality industry.

In this regard, Kamal, the quintessential floor for single lady travellers at The Leela Palace New Delhi deserves a mention. The floor offers exceptional features and amenities thoughtfully created to provide seamless safety, along with great comfort and privacy. Kamal, the exclusive floor reserved for single lady travellers at the

hotel includes the facility of two way airport transfers with en-route food order service., individualised attention by the hotel’s dedicated female personnel throughout the single lady travellers’ stay, an hour long spa treatment from a range of facials and massages, special F&B amenities, choice of a reflexology or a file and polish change, yoga mat, iron & ironing board. Moreover, Kamal has restricted elevator access which along with the surveillance system can add to the feeling of security of its guests.

ITC Hotels is another women-friendly hospitality chain, which has exclusive floors for lady travellers.

However, reserving separate floors for women travellers in hotels and resorts — irrespective of whether they are travelling alone or in an all women group— is a necessary but not a sufficient step to bolster the security of women travellers.

Moreover, this measure is largely present across some high-end hotels only.

Besides, the awareness about such a women-friendly measure across hotels is also fairly low in India. According to TripAdvisor’s annual Women Travel Survey 2014, 51 percent of the respondents were not aware of the fact that hotels in India and abroad have floors exclusively for women.

I am very much aware that most of the five-star hotels and resorts in India have fairly decent security arrangements for women, but the same cannot be said for the entire hospitality industry of the country. It is about time women business and leisure travellers who cannot afford the services of five-star or four-star properties are also extended such facilities of separate floors for ladies. It would be nice if the Ministry of Tourism makes it mandatory for any two-star and above hotel and resort to have at least 10 percent of their rooms reserved exclusively for women travellers. Of course the rooms (or the floor) reserved for women travellers should get more intensive form of security support — which should of course be 24/7 — than the general areas of the hotel.

Security Support But reserving a floor or for that matter some rooms of a hotel or a resort or other

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Feature

HOTEL Business Review

hospitality options for women travellers — irrespective of whether they travel single or as a group of women — is not enough.

There is no guarantee that a lady guest who is very much secured in the room of a hotel or a resort or in any other hospitality option where she chooses to stay in would not be subjected to nasty harassment and gruesome violence in the city roads during her shopping or business trips or during her excursions in and around the place where she is staying.

The Indian hospitality industry should also concertedly take a proactive stance to prevent such unfortunate and ghastly incidents from happening, if it intends to generate repeat guests. It is because frightened and agitated tourists mean declining numbers of guests in hotel and resort rooms.

To counter this, more and more Indian hotels and resorts and other hospitality options in the country should ideally have sufficient numbers of lady security personnel extensively trained in martial arts on their rolls, who on request from the single lady traveller or a particular group of lady travellers should accompany her/them on shopping and/or excursions and/or business trips.

This would facilitate the ladies coming to hotels and resorts and other hospitality options to feel more secured from the lurking eve teasers, molesters and potential rapists in our midst. The cost of deploying and accompaniment of such a competent team of security personnel can be shared by the respective state tourism departments with the hospitality properties, in case if the managements of the properties are impeded by financial compulsions to introduce such a genderfriendly initiative.

The women travellers who would avail such a facility could also share the costs to some extent by paying a moderate amount for the accompaniment costs of the concerned hotel’s in-house lady security personnel who would be accompanying them.

At the same time, the various state governments should impose fines on those hotels and resorts in their states which do not induct a certain minimum number of such martial arts trained women security personnel on their rolls. Higher the level of the hotel or resort, higher should be the fine. For other hospitality options

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too, such a measure should be strongly encouraged. Ideally, hotels and resorts should have one such lady martial arts expert for every ten lady guests in their properties so that the chances of a lady guest not getting the desired security on request becomes very rare.

Of course, this suggested measure can attain fruition if the Union Ministry of Tourism, in association with various state tourism bodies, develop large numbers of institutes for exhaustive and elaborate training of such lady security personnel, who can be termed as the ‘Tourism Protection Force.’ This would empower women and safeguard them at the same time, besides augmenting inbound and as well as domestic tourism in our country.

This writer is aware that to develop this Tourism Protection Force the states need to make huge investments at the initial stage, but that would be worth it, not only in terms of safeguarding women’s safety and security(which of course, is of paramount importance) but also in terms of potential of huge increases in tourism revenues in the long-run.

Similarly, all lady travellers checking into hotels and resorts and other hospitality options in India, irrespective of the fact that the property is a star-rated property or not, should be supplied with an emergency number that would belong to the nearby police station. This would significantly reduce the extent of the above-mentioned abominable incidents from happening.

More Women Personnel It would be better if more and more hotels and resorts start providing special cab service for women with women chauffeurs. The special cab service for lady travellers and women butler service are nascent trends in the Indian hospitality industry, which needs to get more momentum in the subsequent years. The Oberoi Mumbai has a team of lady chauffeurs to transport the hotel’s lady guests around the city in the hotel’s luxurious fleet of cars. The hotel also has lady butlers.

The Leela Palace New Delhi, which was recently voted among the Best Hotels For Women Travellers in India by the readers of Travel + Leisure India and South Asia, also has dedicated female butlers and female security guards.

However, lady chauffeurs and lady butlers are exception in the Indian hotel industry rather than the norm.

The lady chauffeurs, lady butlers and lady adventure tour experts (to guide women adventure tourists) can become the norm in the Indian hospitality industry, at least across the five-star and four-star properties, if the state tourism departments extend financial support to those hotels and resorts who would have at least 60 percent of their personnel as women.

The Departments of Tourism of various state governments can also make it mandatory that all forthcoming and existing hotels and resorts in their states should invest at least a certain percentage of their annual budget (which ideally should border around 10-15 percent) exclusively on its women guests’ security.

If they are found deviating from this norm, their licenses could be cancelled by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

Kindling Her Interest Of course, exhaustive security measures are not the only way to attract more numbers of inbound and domestic women travellers to and within India, though they are absolutely necessary.

Both tourism and hospitality industry of the country, in association with proactive state support, should create such conditions where heinous incidents against women tourists become an impossibility, but there the responsibility of the hospitality industry towards its lady guests doesn’t end.

The women travellers — whether they be inbound or domestic travellers — should also be comfortable and feel excited to explore this unique experience called India. For this, specially tailored tourism packages for single lady travellers who generally travel for business, or for groups of lady travellers who generally travel for leisure (both segments are increasing over the years) and thoughtful entertainment options exclusively geared to interest them should be provided/ hosted by the hotels and resorts with increasing frequency.

Unless we make our women tourists more safe, more secure, more comfortable and more excited to stay and travel within India, our hospitality industry would tend to lose a huge chunk of its potential revenues. 

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F&B

HOTEL Business Review

The Organic and Local Flavours

By Sharmila Chand

F

reshly picked organic tomatoes and herbs from local farms or backyard gardens are so delicious and nutritious. Then why to ship the ingredients from faraway fields and increase the carbon footprints?

This is the question many Chefs and restaurateurs are raising nowadays.

Since the last decade, diners in urban India are shifting their preferences towards healthy food & beverage options which has also augmented the demand for food made with fresh organic ingredients.

Besides organic food, local food is also attracting the guests’ interest.

There is now a higher appreciation

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for sustainable, ‘in season’, local and natural produce among the people, than it was say a decade earlier. No wonder, many restaurants around the globe are realising that often ‘local tastes better.’

It is heartening to see that many Chefs are giving locally available or produced fruits and vegetables preference over imported food products.

This writer recently interacted with some leading Chefs where the emerging trend of incorporating local, farm-fresh, organic food products into the menus was being explored.

It is a major food trend that cannot be dismissed. And this preference towards organic and sustainable food

by many leading Chefs is manifested in the diners’ choice too. Well this can lead to celebration of taste and health at the same time.

However, despite rise in demand for organic and sustainable food, it is still a niche market in India. Massive promotion of these types of food products by the food service industry, which also includes restaurants in hotels, is needed to make them attain mainstream popularity.

Rising Demand, Nascent Market “Organic food is certainly not as faddish as it once seemed. Nowadays there are bonafide attempts by Chefs

F&B and restaurants in the Indian food service business to embrace organic products. Whilst this may not have any immediate impact on the larger psyche of the diners, it will certainly encourage organic food producers, and spread awareness about organic food products,” expressed Chef Manu Chandra, Executive Chef and Partner, Monkey Bar(in Delhi and Bangalore) & LikeT hatOnly restaurant(in Bangalore), and the Executive Chef at Olive Beach(in Bangalore).

However, on whether there is a serious demand for organic food in the Indian food service business, Chef Manu averred that “I think there is a rising interest, but a serious demand for organic food outside of retail is still at a nascent stage.”

Anurudh Khanna, Executive Chef, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park, is taking several steps to reduce carbon foot prints and in procuring organic ingredients. “Purchasing organic

HOTEL Business Review

organically grown products is increasing on a day-to-day basis, though still more awareness about the concept is needed.”

Challenges to Tackle

“There is now a rising demand for safe food, flavoursome food, seasonal food, locally grown food, food higher in nutritional content and mineral value.

However, this is not a new concept, it is centuries old but undergoing a reevolution.”

— Inderpal Singh Kochhar, Owner, Sewara Organic Farms

“The challenge is the supply chain. There just aren’t enough purveyors offering competitively priced organic food stuff in the country, which can induce businesses to embrace them with enthusiasm.”

— Chef Manu Chandra, Executive Chef and Partner, Monkey Bar(in Delhi and Bangalore) & LikeThatOnly resta urant(in Bangalore) and the Executive Chef at Olive Beach(in Bangalore)

food can cost a restaurant more than purchasing conventional food. The good news is that there are guests who are willing to pay that extra cost to eat in an environmentally-friendly manner,” he said.

Besides health attributes, the taste of the organic food is also a factor to be reckoned with. “There is no doubt that organic food is more appetising than conventional food. Moreover, organic food tend to make menus more creative and that is why it has the potential of increasing the profitability of restaurants in the long-run,” Chef Anurudh pointed out.

However, Chef Anurudh admitted that “These days organic groceries are easily available, but fresh organically produced vegetables are still difficult to procure.” But at the same time Chef Anurudh affirmed that “Demand for

Whether organic food is commercially viable is also a frequently asked question. The exploration of this question is needed to analyse organic food’s relevance across hotel’s restaurants. “Viability here includes both economic viability as well as physical viability. There is no denying the fact that organic food is very seasonal in the context to Indian climatic conditions. Due to wide seasonal fluctuations in India, the economic viability of organic food gets compromised,” pointed out Chef Anurudh.

Then there is the challenge of supply chain in procuring organic food products. “The challenge of the supply chain is an uphill one. There just aren’t enough purveyors offering competitively priced organic food stuff in the country, which can induce businesses to embrace them with enthusiasm. The cost burden of organic food products is often passed on to the customers,” explained Chef Manu.

There are other challenges towards maintaining an organic food menu in restaurants or to make organic food reach farm to fork. According to Chef Anurudh, not only organic food and organic agricultural practices may cost more than conventional food and conventional agricultural practices, leading to the high prices for organic products, but a consistent menu with organic food is difficult to maintain.

“Though demand for organic food is

Dhruv Oberoi

July-Aug ’14

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HOTEL Business Review

growing, running an organic restaurant is not easy. Organic food products tend to be intrinsically more expensive than processed foods, thereby driving up a restaurateur’s costs. Moreover, organic food products are also often in short supply,” explained Dhruv Oberoi, Sous Chef, Olive Bar & Kitchen, New Delhi.

Towards Organic Success For organic food and local cuisines to get wider acceptance in the Indian food service business, the restaurateurs need to have the courage to change. “Instead of attempting to imitate the western tastes, what we need is a celebration of our own biodiversity. If someone tried putting ponkh chaat counters in every mall instead of the buttered ‘American’ Corn, even if just for the brief two months when the dish makes an appearance, one may just come away

“There is no denying the fact that organic food is very seasonal in context to Indian climatic conditions.

Due to wide seasonal fluctuations in India, the economic viability of organic food gets compromised.”

—Anurudh Khanna, Executive Chef, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park

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Sewara Organics

A

noteworthy initiative in organic farming is Sewara Organics, a vertical of The Sewara Group. Sewara Organics was conceptualised by Inderpal Singh Kochhar, the owner of Sewara Organic Farms, who has always been passionate about organic farming. It has been his aim to supply fresh organic produce directly to consumers.

Sewara strives to establish a harmony between the habitat and lifestyle by providing its clientele alternative living choices, which include healthy food & beverage choices.

“We are truly inspired by the principles of permaculture — earth care, people care, fair share. Sewara strives to inculcate an existence that is self-reliant and participative.

Sewara’s primary motive is to reach out to consumers by offering localised and seasonal organic produce basket round the year with total transparency and traceability,” affirmed Inderpal Singh Kochhar, the Owner, Sewara Organic Farms. Sewara Organics has farms of 70 acres in Noida and this enables bringing in same-day harvests right from the fields into the homes of its customers.

At Lodi – The Garden Restaurant in New Delhi, on every Tuesday a special food menu is displayed on the concept of farm to fork. The vegetables and fruits are brought from Sewara Farms. As per the availability of seasonal vegetables a special menu is designed for the day keeping in the mind the love for farm fresh vegetables by consumers. Some of the fresh and pure delicacies on the menu include farm broccoli and thyme soup, fresh lettuce and roasted beetroot salad with honey dressing and almond pudding with homemade fig ice cream.

Sewara Organics’ fresh and dry produce along with an entire range of flavoursome ready-to-eat deli items are retailed at Lodi-The Garden Restaurant. surprised by the collective taste buds of our country. But someone needs to try,” pointed out Chef Manu.

And this attempt at innovation with local cuisines is also needed to a greater extent across our hotels, which if done, is expected to pay rich dividends.

However, Oberoi feels that despite the challenges involved it is very much possible to make a successful organic restaurant in the Indian food service or hospitality industry if several ground rules are taken into consideration.

“There are few points to keep in mind before getting into organic restaurant business. One is getting prepared for higher start-up costs. Also the menu needs to be prepared while taking into account of the expected price fluctuations,” articulated Oberoi.

“Embrace menu changes which will help you to overcome short supplies, value supplier relationships, and think long-term as profit margins are expected to be quiet low in restaurants dealing with organic food,” are some of the other advice of Oberoi to the restaurateurs dealing with organic food products.

To sum up, we can say that in today’s metropolitan India, organic and locally produced food products across restaurant menus in five-star or four-star hotels can have a decent demand among the discerning and health conscious palates, provided awareness building and promotional exercises are carried in a proactive and savvy manner. However, the restaurants concerned must be able to maintain a consistent menu despite the seasonal fluctuations, and must be having a solid supply chain operating in the background. 

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Spa

HOTEL Business Review

The Retreat to Holistic Wellness

By Sharmila Chand

S

pread over 3500 sq. ft., The Spa at Hyatt Amritsar offers a relaxing haven for the jaded spirits. Here one can celebrate holistic well-being through the seamless integration of yoga, Ayurveda, meditation and international wellness experiences. The spa offers an array of signature treatments and therapies, specialising in Ayurveda and international massages, delivered with perfection.

The Spa at Hyatt Amritsar is a huge spa located in the heart of city known for the Golden Temple. It comprises eight wellappointed treatment rooms, a couple suite designed for couples with separate steam and sauna, a private salon, vitality pool and outdoor temperature controlled swimming pool.

There is also an expert consultant to ensure a personalised programme is designed to meet specific individual needs. Succinctly, it is a place to de-stress, detox and unwind, where one can find a tranquil oasis in the middle of the urban jungle.

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Spa

HOTEL Business Review

Meet the Spa Manager Armed with a bachelor’s degree in business management and certified in health and nutrition, Nilesh Kumar, the Spa Manager of The Spa at Hyatt Amritsar, has 16 years of experience in the wellness industry. He has earlier worked with renowned hotel chains like the Oberoi, the Taj, and InterContinental. The excerpts of the interview follow: What are the kind of changes you have witnessed in the Indian spa industry during the past fivesix years?

The spa business in India has been changing in different ways. Menus are now more simplified to reflect the main effect of each category of services with a focus on relaxation, meditation and yoga.

Now guests are facilitated to make clearer decisions on treatments that will be beneficial for their individual needs.

Also nowadays spa professionals are better educated not only in terms of skincare and various techniques but in terms of informational management, targeted marketing and promotion.

There is a big emphasis on personalised wellness, which is a growing trend these days. Wellness holidays are a trend these days for guests to fulfill a more personalised approach for their wellness requirements.

Moreover, guests are focusing on taking a more proactive approach towards improving their physical and mental health. The needs of guests in spas are becoming more specific in nature.

What are the key challenges towards opening a spa?

Starting a spa business can be a rewarding task, but it comes with its challenges. Before starting a spa business in India, it is wise to do your study.

You should also make sure that you are suited for entrepreneurship, and that you understand the significant effort required.

Moreover, an entrepreneur venturing in this direction should thoroughly enjoy

the spa business, and must believe in her/ his products and services. There are many other issues to consider while starting the spa business such as regulations, financing, taxation, advertising support and much more.

How do you decide on the spa menu? What factors have to be kept in mind to chalk out a decent spa menu?

Our spa menu is specially designed for both business and leisure travellers. We have to keep in mind that our treatments are personalised & indulgent, with an emphasis on the pleasurable enhancement of health and wellness.

What do you enjoy the most about being a Spa Manager?

As a Spa Manager, I enjoy interacting with my colleagues and guests the most and this is my priority too. I enjoy maintaining a check of the entire spa’s day-to-day activities. I love to give trainings on latest spa techniques and that

“

We have a world class spa, situated away from the hustle-bustle of the city. We are known for our superlative relaxing treatments. We have amalgamated international professional standards with authentic hospitality.

“

— Nilesh Kumar, Spa Manager

is my passion.

Could you tell us the USP of your spa? What distinguishes it from others?

The well-trained therapists, ambience and the quality services offered are the main attributes of our spa, which induce our guests to come back.

The spa is dedicated to complete wellbeing and total rejuvenation of mind, body and soul. We have a wide range of health and beauty therapies inspired by holistic, international and restorative treatments.

Do you have some customised treatments?

Yes, we do have customised treatments in our spa. We have authentic signature treatment, which is a fusion of deep tissue massage, hot stone therapy, reflexology and Ayurvedic technique applied to create therapeutic effect to increase circulation and remove daily stress and tension from the body.

What is your favourite treatment to receive and why it is so?

My favourite treatment is synchronised Abhyangam massage. This treatment can refresh an individual and the properties of Ayurvedic hot oil leave your skin smooth and nourishing.

Any other point you wish to make?

I wish we should have more spas and beauty schools in India as there is a big challenge to get a trained therapist.

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Engineering

HOTEL Business Review

Controlling

Water Leakages

By Jyotismita Sharma

W

hat appears to be a common water seepage problem can also structurally damage and weaken various properties, which also include hospitality properties, and possibly the best damage control solution is to have the establishment in good repair at all times through a meticulous water damage mitigation programme.

The sight of water damage is so ubiquitous that many assume it to be insignificant. However, the reality is completely different. The reality of water damage can impair the structure, image and functioning of any realty, which also includes hospitality realty.

Affecting Structure and Image The damages from water leakages can come in the form of wood rot, peeling paint, and facilitating mould growth.

Moreover, a long unrepaired leak originating on the hotel’s roof can put at stake the life of ceilings, walls and

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flooring underneath, besides electronics and the personal belongings of hotel guests. It can also affect electrical wiring, thereby leading to a potential fire hazard.

However, it is often difficult to detect the original source of water leakage. In fact, as is the nature of water, a small undetected leak can quickly slide down through a building, charting its own routes in the course and travelling a great distance from the original source, making it difficult, if not impossible, for repairing personnel to detect the source of the leakage.

The loss that such a leak may cause is humungous. For example, if a corroded pipe on top floor of a multi-storied hotel goes undetected, the damage can extend to several floors and make a hole in the pocket of the owners. Therefore detection of the water leakage in a large structure like a hotel at the early stage assumes primary importance.

Moreover, people are today aware that

a damp room poses serious health risk and therefore not worth their money. It is likely that they would prefer a small neat accommodation with good indoor air quality than a damp luxurious suite with visible mould growth and invisible colonies of dust mites.

So if left unrepaired or if the menace is taken lightly, water seepage and water leakage could spell major damage to a sleek hotel, which can cause financial loss to owners not only in terms of incurring exorbitant maintenance costs but also by robbing them of their most valued customers. Succinctly, unaddressed water damage can not only harm the architecture of the hotel, but also its image.

Damaging Sources Sources of water damage are hardly any different for hotels from those of residential or even office buildings.

However, certain buildings which are

Spa Engineering located in areas that receive high rainfall and flood are more vulnerable to water damage.

The roof on a building collects a lot of water. Therefore, to prevent blockages and overflows, which can escape back into the building, adequate maintenance of roof rainwater services is considered a necessity.

Severe storms and flooding are powerful sources of water damage even in most well-designed and wellmaintained roofs and buildings.

Secondly, the sophisticated plumbing hook-ups that are required today in view of the multiple high-tech appliances such as washing machines, coffee machines, refrigerators, ice machines, etc., can also be a potential source of water damage as they can cause leaks when installed improperly.

According to the leading global multi-line insurer Zurich Insurance Group, today’s high-tech residential and commercial appliances (washing machines, refrigerators with ice machines, coffee machines, water coolers, etc.) require more sophisticated plumbing hook-ups, and if installed wrongly, can cause leaks. Zurich stated that “Grey/foul waters tend to present intermittent leaks, which can slowly build up over time, as these types of appliances are not in constant use.” And there is no denying the fact that all these equipment are very much used in hotels too. Moreover, according to Zurich, sprinkler piping and pump sets operate at high pressures, so any break in a line can give rise to rapid loss of large volumes of water.

Plant rooms, boiler rooms and HVAC installations bring additional large volumes of water into a building and any leak in these systems can result in extensive water flow throughout multiple floors of hotels, which becomes especially true if these systems are located on the top floor or roof.

The water supplies in some areas contain certain minerals, which can increase the corrosion rate of the water and make pipes and appliances vulnerable to damage. Moreover, if equipment is stored in a humid hotel basement, moisture problems may cause water damages throughout the facility.

In this case, suggestions of professional basement waterproofing contractors can be sought.

HOTEL Business Review

The Risk Factors Several factors make a property more vulnerable to water-related losses. They are: Age of structure: Like life, buildings may too lose their sheen with age unless carefully maintained. Buildings that have crossed 20 years are likely to have a higher risk profile because of significant wear and tear on exteriors, and also the interior infrastructure. It is only natural that piping and other systems in older facilities are more prone to failure.

Building Height: High-rise apartment hotels may look very sleek, but they tend to be more prone to water damage. Individual apartments or units can have their own combined pressurised hot water and heating systems, and a failure in just one can lead to a large escape of water.

More High-tech Installations: More high-tech installations such as steam showers, jacuzzi spas, soaking tubs and built-in water coolers can contribute to the potential for water leaks.

New Construction Materials: Use of new construction materials other than the traditional concrete and steel also raises the potential for significant water damage.

With changing requirements and evolution of new sense of aesthetics, new materials like concrete forms, modular assemblies and engineered timber are preferred for building construction. However, since many of these newer materials are not always installed to the highest standards, they may not always protect us from water seepages.

Seasonal Storms: Where your property is located can also influence its extent of vulnerability to water damage. There is a higher potential for water leaks and infrastructure failure such as pipe breaks in places marked by intense seasonal storms.

Lack of Maintenance: Any building where regular maintenance of the roof, windows, plumbing and HVAC is being deferred faces the potential loss of structural integrity, which also includes water leakages.

Prevention is Cure At times, hotel’s water damage restoration can be very expensive and therefore the best damage control solution is to have the establishment in good repair at all times though a meticulous water damage mitigation programme. Or in other words, best possible water damage restoration in hotels is their prevention from water damage.

Check Expensive Equipment: Such a programme can start with the regular check of critical and expensive equipment in the hotel as even spillage of water can damage some of these equipment. The next step, if leakage occurs, is to identify the source of this leakage and fix it, without delay.

Roof Inspection: As already mentioned, a well-maintained roof plays a very important role in arresting water damage. Besides regular maintenance, roofs must be inspected after rains and windstorms for any damage and if a leakage is identified it must be promptly repaired. But make sure that the roof of the hotel is closely inspected, which includes the inspection of the flashing,

drains, downspouts and roof-mounted equipment such as antennas or satellite dishes.

Eye on Nearby Construction: Besides your own hotel, preventing water damage also requires one to keep an eye on the new constructions and renovation projects nearby as debris from construction projects and landscaping can also clog drains during heavy rains.

Emergency Response Plan: Having an emergency response plan can help deal with a real situation of water damage in hotels in a better way, by limiting response time and also the extent of damage. It is better if there is a dedicated hotel personnel to counter such an eventuality. An exhaustive phone list of vendors who are engaged in addressing water leakage solutions is also needed.

Besides these, a more comprehensive emergency plan may include an evacuation and shelter plan; training staff for emergency situations; investing in backup power and communication systems; protecting business data and carrying adequate business interruption insurance. 

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Technology

HOTEL Business Review

Facilitating Optimisation of Room Revenues Recently, our Associate Editor, Swarnendu Biswas, got an opportunity to interact with Mike Kistner, Chief Executive Officer, RezNext Global Solutions Pvt. Ltd., who provided insights into RezNext’s endeavours in maximising room revenues, on online visibility and automating the reservation processes for better guest management across the Indian hospitality industry. The interaction also gave an opportunity to understand the increasing role of software solutions to enhance hotel room revenues in India with a more holistic perspective.

The excerpts of the interview follow: Kindly give a brief overview of RezNext’s technological solutions towards hotel operations. Besides playing role in room revenues, in which other areas of hotel operations is RezNext involved in?

RezNext is a leading global intelligent distribution platform that connects hoteliers to the entire distribution spectrum. We are focused on empowering hoteliers and demand generators by adopting a strategic distribution plan that looks at maximising room revenues, optimising online visibility and automating the reservation processes for better guest engagement.

Hotel room distribution is a complex environment today and we are demystifying and simplifying this with our proprietary realtime two way platform that automates the otherwise labour-intensive reservation process while connecting hotels with leading demand generators in domestic and international markets.

We not only help hoteliers make their rooms available for sale in a seamless manner, but also provide hoteliers the intelligence needed to improve their room distribution business.

Hoteliers can view their total bookings, scheduled arrivals, departures, daily sales report, channel performance and occupancy by room type quickly on our ReD dashboard.

For our customer hotels, ReD is becoming the main source of integrated information on their distribution strategy and is becoming

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their decision enabling tool. RezNext is also helping hoteliers with revenue and reputation management intelligence. With RezNext, hotels are able to sell more rooms at the most profitable price and also positively influence a guest’s booking decision. We also strongly advocate use of the hotel website as a powerful revenue generating channel.

Which of the company’s innovative technological solutions, in your opinion, has the greatest potential for optimising room revenues in hotels? Kindly elaborate on this score While online hotel booking is growing very strongly in India, this growth is not uniform across all categories of hotels. Recognising this industry trend, our offerings are designed to meet the different needs of hotels operating in different segments. Many hotels in the mid-market space today don’t connect to a lot of online channels. For them, RezNext is organising the highly fragmented online distribution channel network through its BriDge program and making it available for hoteliers to supply their inventory through one single platform.

For hotels who already have an active online distribution plan, automating the reservation process, maximising the yield from their channels, selling rooms at the right price, driving more direct bookings are priority areas. RezNext caters to their various requirements through

its unique real-time two way platform, custom designed account management services and its industry leading Internet booking engine.

So depending on where the hotel stands currently in their distribution mix, they can adopt a custom build solution set from RezNext.

Do you cater to only five-star hotels or also to budget properties? What are the different criteria/challenges towards maximising room revenues for luxury and budget properties?

We cater to various market segments, which range from two-star to five-star properties. We cover independent hotels and hotel groups across budget, business and leisure categories.

When it comes to luxury hotels in India, I must say that this segment has embraced the digital phenomenon but have to work on an integrated approach and be consistent.

Good reviews from customers and existing packages both work in their favour to influence bookings.

However, luxury hotels in the country need to develop an integrated online reputation management rather than sporadic responses to reviews. They need to have frequent guest satisfaction surveys and have the results shared across review sites. Special promotions, packages that promote an experience will work better for luxury hotels in India.

Furthermore, they need to look at distributing these packages real-time to their distribution

Spa Technology channels. Luxury hotels should also have a multifold distribution strategy powered with revenue management intelligence that looks at past performance data and makes recommendations on when to price their rooms high, during what seasons, what length of stay controls to be exercised and how to adopt a profitable last minute strategy.

For budget hotels an online presence through their own hotels’ website is a must in today’s times. When a guest seeks to book a room in a budget hotel on a third party travel portal, the guest most often checks the hotel’s website to ensure the room meets her/his basic requirements.

Not finding the website or not having good imagery on the website can have a negative influence on the guest’s booking decision. Smaller budget hotels in India that have good rooms and facilities are yet to fully embrace the digital setting. Hence they do not currently have a focus on online reputation management nor do they actively sell to the online customers.

Budget hotels in India can change this scenario by embracing a digital plan which also looks at distributing their inventory across electronic channels. Other trends that budget hotels in India could adopt are to fine-tune their offerings to suit the requirement of their guests, which comprise mostly medium scale entrepreneurs and backpackers. Facilities like free wi-fi, free breakfast are very exciting for this group of guests and must be a part of their room inclusions.

Do you have a pan-India presence or is your company’s operations limited to some select hotels in some select cities of India?

Kindly give names of some important brands/ properties which comprise your clientele. Also talk a bit about your overseas presence We have a pan India presence with offices in all major cities. We are headquartered in Bangalore. Outside of India we have presence in Middle-East, Sri Lanka, and some of the APAC countries through our partners.

Most of the prominent hospitality brands, which include large groups and independent hotels, have already signed up with RezNext.

Some of our clientele include: Clarks Inn Hotels, Golden Tulip Hospitality Group, UNA Hotels, GreenPark Hotels, Lords Hotels & Resorts among many others.

As far as our overseas business go, we are focused on the APAC, Middle-East and the African markets. We will first expand our operations in APAC and Middle-East and then look at tapping the African market more vigorously. Our local partners in these regions have assessed these markets and find our solutions a great fit for these markets.

HOTEL Business Review

Besides IDS Next, with which other companies you have partnership with, presently? Do name some of them. Kindly throw some light on the nature of RezNext’s partnership with IDS Next In India, our first partnership is with IDS Next.

Our intelligent distribution platform connects real-time two way with the IDS Next Hotel ERP and provides RezNext access to 3000+ hotel properties who can automate their room reservation process and can maximise their revenues through this partnership.

We have a best of breed partnership strategy in place which allows us to offer the most comprehensive and advanced distribution solution suite to our customers. Some of our other partners include Maxim, TrustYou, Internet Moguls and several leading online channels like Yatra, Travelguru, Goibibo, Cleartrip, and TripFactory. We are also in the process of partnering with other PMS partners to roll out the benefits of real-time distribution to all of their customer hotels.

What is the USP of RezNext that you believe can help it outpace its competition?

RezNext’s real-time distribution model is a major differentiator. We can offer true real-time distribution with bookings flowing automatically into the hotel PMS from different channels. Our proposition to demystify and simplify the hotel distribution environment is very strong.

Combined with our best of breed partnerships across the globe we help address all the pain points in the hotel distribution industry today and also provide a roadmap to hotels for sustained profitability and growth. Our ReD dashboard that provides real-time distribution intelligence is another big differentiator for us. By equipping our hoteliers with distribution analytics on the go, they are empowered to respond to market dynamics quickly and leverage all opportunities for revenue maximisation.

What is the future vision for RezNext as far as the Indian hospitality industry is concerned?

RezNext’s future vision is to be the change agent for hotel distribution as google is to the Internet. We believe we will be at the center of a large chunk of room bookings across hotels in India while automating and streamlining internal operations for hoteliers and demand generators.

This will enable us to leverage big data analytics for our customer hotels and partners to help them improve their market share. We also see RezNext’s brand visibility improving among guests as a technology facilitator of confirmed / secure bookings.

How do you gauge the future potential of software solutions to enhance hotel

room revenues in India, considering the fact that most of the hotels in India are not star properties?

India is a growing market with huge potential for online purchase. Consumers are becoming increasingly online savvy with the high penetration of smart phones. Hence there is already a great need for hotels in India to adopt online distribution irrespective of their star category. There is a need to help hoteliers in India embrace the benefits of online distribution without it impacting their internal efficiencies.

A hotel’s online distribution plan needs to consider several factors including how to maximise channel yield, what best price to sell at, whom to sell to, what channel mix to adopt.

This is a need across all hotel segments in India and this need will continue to grow as more stand-alone hotels and international hotel chains make their presence in the Indian hospitality industry, thereby redefining the competitive landscape.

Moreover, the consumer demand as we know is also constantly changing. Understanding their buying behaviour, what prices will trigger their purchase, what deals will seem to be lucrative to them, what social influences will trigger a travel, all of these need constant monitoring and analysis. Hence there is demand for custombuild solutions to address these needs now and this need will continue into the future as well.

Do you think innovative technological solutions can help reverse the presently sluggish trend in the Indian hotel industry that is characterised by overall shortage of demand for rooms? If yes, kindly explain how technology can address this macroeconomic lacuna pervading the industry Smart technology solutions can surely change the current scenario of the Indian hotel industry. It is lamentable that most of the hotel rooms available for sale are not available online for booking and this is one of the reasons why they remain often underutilised.

For example, for the hotels with RezNext’s real-time distribution model the issue of overbooking will not arise. The hotel’s inventory is displayed real-time as is on the distributing channels and reservations, modifications and cancellations all happen real-time. Hence the hotel will never be overbooked.

With consumers becoming more online savvy, it is important that hoteliers adopt a digital distribution strategy. This is where RezNext can facilitate the availability of more hotel rooms for sale online. Several mid-market hoteliers in India can now through the RezNext platform make their rooms available for booking in the online market place, introduce deals and packages real-time and be visible to a large consumer base.

July-Aug ’14

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Product Preview

HOTEL Business Review

MicroFresh Fragrance Concentrate 10XT

Unwind at Outdoors with Vetra

Typically hotel and industrial laundries have complained about not having freshness on their laundered clothes due to high temperature processing and the wear and tear associated with tumble dryers.

Tanishka Products, an international pioneer in microencapsulated actives, has introduced fragrance concentrates to ameliorate this complain of the hotel and industrial laundry sector.

MicroFresh Fragrance Concentrate 10XT is a revolutionary concept in that it can be used with and without combining with softener actives to provide long lasting heat stable freshness on laundred clothes.

These fragrances are tumble dryer stable and remain uptil 2 weeks of laundering of clothes. These are extremely easy to use (can be put alongwith the softeners or standalone in the softener compartment), extremely effective for charge neutralisation and are very costeffective.

Other Benefits • Are effective on all types of fabrics and can be used with or without any type of softener • Provide charge & detergent neutralisation in bulky and textured items like bath towels, bedsheets, comforters, and headrests.

• Provide sanitisation and mild antibacterial action (depending upon product variant selected) • Keep on giving bursts of fragrance to the consumer during use of bedsheets, pillowcases, towels through its technique of heat resistant microcapsules, releasing their contents with friction These Fragrance Concentrates, in several different variants to suit a wide variety of tastes and preferences, are available from Tanishka Products Direct Sales Team or on order from their shop in Mumbai.

Tanishka Products vineet.mital@tanishkaproducts.com

Vetra has been a part of the outdoor furniture market for many years. Over the years, the company has supplied furniture to numerous hotels, restaurants, cafes and other public places

around the world. Vetra’s craftsmanship can be customised to match a wide variety of decors.

The company has introduced its synthetic wicker line in 2008 and recently it has introduced Sunbrella strap furniture and teak line. The strap and teak collection can comfortably be used indoors as well. The company has entered into a tie-up with a US-based company named Sunbrella, which manufactures fabric made of acrylic fibre that is excellent for the outdoors, requiring minimum care and maintenance.

The USP of Vetra’s furniture is that they are relatively maintenance free. Just basic cleaning will keep them looking sharp for a lifetime. Moreover, the raw materials used in Vetra’s furniture are environment-friendly and recyclable.

Vetra also offers years of carefree warranty for its products against fading. Prompt and efficient after sales service is another hallmark of Vetra.

Modi Woodspace Pvt. Ltd. info@vetrafurniture.com

Turbo Technology The foundation of Turbo Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd. dates back to 1986. The company deals in electronic traffic, security & safety products and related services. They have a team of highly qualified professionals and engineers having vast experience in the electronics industries. Turbo Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd., is a certified ISO 9001:2008 and a ‘Trust Passed’ accredited company.

Turbo has expertise in designing and developing a comprehensive range of Security, Surveillance, Traffic Control & Enforcement Systems. The company has products having applications in various industries, which also includes the hospitality industry.

Turbo’s Hotel Access Management System includes Software, Encoder, Lock Card and Handset. The company’s Door Frame Metal Detector, latest aesthetically designed Single Pole Metal Detector matching with hotel interior & exterior, Hand Held Metal Detector, Access Control / Hotel Lock Management System, Under Vehicle Scanning System, Under Vehicle Search Mirror, Closed Circuit

Television System, Face Recognition System, Parking Management System, Variable Message Sign for foreign exchange, Sign Board for hotel name etc. does have usage for satisfying the security concerns of the hotel industry.

Company’s policies could be summed up as ‘Honesty, Creation, Quality and Satisfaction.’ Robust infrastructure, highly skilled and dedicated workforce and sound R&D are the company’s strengths.

Its operations not only spans across India but are also extended abroad.

Turbo Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd. turbo@turbosecurity.com

The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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Interview

HOTEL Business Review

Listening, Interacting and Delivering

By Sharmila Chand

Punit Sheth is the General Manager of the first managed Four Points by Sheraton of the South Asia region that is Four Points by Sheraton Ahmedabad.

Sheth has 12 years of extensive international work experience in the hospitality sector, where he has extended his professional expertise to several renowned hospitality brands.

He has done many due diligence projects on management contracts, hotel operations, feasibility reports, etc. for the companies he has been associated with. He has expertise in finance, six sigma and asset management. The excerpts of the interview follow: What is the USP of the property where you are engaged in?

Being a Four Points by Sheraton brand, we have many USPs. A big one being the Four Points signature bed and other programs like Sweet Treat, TLC, etc. The biggest USP from a location perspective is we have a government approved liquor store right next door, which is extremely unique in a dry state like Gujarat.

What is the marketing strategy you have adopted to promote the property?

I personally believe that word of mouth is the best marketing strategy but these days that is not enough. Hence we are very active on social media, print media and have maintained a number one ranking on TripAdvisor. Our Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) helps to market us. The brand Four Points by Sheraton also facilitates our overall marketring strategy.

What distinguishes your property from others in the same bracket?

The Sheraton brand itself distinguishes us in a big way. Moreover, the fact that on the property we always listen to our customers and adapt accordingly be it in terms of more amenities, customised menus, great long stay packages and benefits, is also a factor that distinguishes us from others in the same bracket.

What according to you is the role of F&B in getting business for your hotel? How much importance do you give to this department?

F&B is extremely important. Besides impressing the palates of our in-house guests with our all-day dining restaurant named Eatery, through our in-room dining, through the Nuevo and Fresco meeting space, we 60

July-Aug ’14

also do outdoor catering and have done weddings and corporate functions of over 1500 people spanning five days. We place a lot of importance to the F&B department from an operational perspective and even more so from a marketing perspective as it continually pulls in walk-in and city guests.

Could you reflect on the future plans and new initiatives you wish to undertake in your property?

Having just opened the SPA, we are looking at more innovative ways to increase our meeting spaces with which we can build on our current initiatives like hosting more residential conferences and bigger social functions. We may also look at opening another F&B venue on the rooftop.

We have a companywide initiative of going green where we are looking at reducing our utility consumption by over 20 percent, by 2020.

What is the most crucial issue to tackle in the Indian hospitality industry these days?

An important issue is the oversupply of rooms in certain markets which could not only affect the profitability but does also impede us in tackling another crucial issue of increasing costs of skilled talent. To attract good talent it is important to be a good company but equally important is that you are at par with the market as far as payroll and benefits are concerned.

So if the hotels are not getting good rate due to oversupply of rooms they could have difficulty in maintaining high payroll costs, which eventually can again affect service and quality leading to loss of business. Hence it is a cyclical issue.

What do you enjoy the most about

being at the helm of affairs at the hotel?

The best part of my job is that I can interact with a variety of people from different backgrounds. They could be guests, clients or associates.

What attribute/s do you think makes/make a good GM?

One thing I have noticed from my earlier bosses (GMs) is that they were all great orators but not all of them were good listeners. My endeavour is to listen more, then analyse and then speak or take action accordingly. Generally, most GMs of hotels have the basic technical skills, what makes them good or bad is their engagement in the business and how they treat their associates. This in turn influences what the associates will do for the hotel and its guests.

What is your professionally?

strength,

I started from F&B and moved into finance, which makes me a mix of being good at operations and being guests focused with financial knowledge about the entire hospitality industry. This I think is my professional strength.

How do you de-stress?

I de-stress by playing with my son when I get home. It is a real stress buster. A game of tennis, few laps in the pool or a run on the treadmill also helps if time permits.

Anything else you would like to say?

In this age of great change to be agile is extremely vital. You have to move like a hyena and not like a hippo, even though you may be as big as a Fortune 500 company.

Hence speed of work is very important.

May-June ’14

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