Hotel Business Review ( Mar-Apr 2014)

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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

Editorial & Advertising Offices: Delhi:

Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 1202, Pragati Tower, 26, Rajindra Place, New Delhi-110008, India Phone: 91-11-45084903, 25854103 Telefax: 91-11-25854105 Mumbai:

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E-mail: hammerpublishers@vsnl.net Website: www.hbrmag.com © 2014 Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. No article can be reproduced in part or as whole without prior permission of the Publisher.

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.

Annual Subscription rate within India is Rs. 450 and overseas US $110, for surface mail. Single issue is available for Rs. 90 in India and US $25 overseas. Cheques are payable to Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Editorial Policy : Editorial emphasis in Hammer Hotel Business Review

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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These days there are various emerging factors which are expected to significantly influence the sustainability of hotels operating in the organised segment of the Indian hospitality industry, in the near future. Already the influences of these factors in the realms of high-end hospitality of the country are very much evident. It is only a matter of time when the trends percolate to economy and budget hotels too in a much deeper and wider way than they are already doing at present.

Nowadays there is a large segment of people who not only book hotel rooms online, but also chose a hotel to stay after reading about its facilities and services online. Therefore it is no wonder that in order to attract the new-age net savvy tourists many hotels are increasingly relying on social media to promote their services and happenings. In fact, the importance and potential of social media in the entire Indian hotel industry cannot be discounted, as the day is not far when efficiency in managing the social media will make the difference between the success and failure of a hotel, especially in metropolitan India.

The environment consciousness of a five-star hotel or resort is also an important factor governing its sustainability as many discerning guests are now choosing hotels which have a track record of introducing and implementing green measures over hotels which do not have any such credentials. This market reality has probably paved the way for increasing numbers of ecofriendly hotels and resorts. And innovative ways of interaction with guests was and is always an important factor governing the sustainability of a hotel, whether they be five-star or budget or economy properties.

In our Cover Story we have discussed all these above-mentioned sustainability factors for hotels through a number of experts’ opinions.

These enriched information coupled with a cross-section of experienced and pragmatic perspectives is expected to help the newcomers in the Indian hotel business to carve a niche for themselves, amidst fast evolving trends.

Hotel industry is a personnel centric industry, where the human resource can make or mar the present and future of a hotel. Therefore the importance of the human resource department of hotels which is engaged in varied roles to use the human resource of hotels in an optimum manner and look after the work force’s overall satisfaction, assumes critical importance. In this issue, we also explore the crucial and varied role of the HR department in the Indian hotel industry, where finding and retaining the right person has been a challenge for quite some years. The role of hotel management institutes, which are responsible for supplying the skilled workforce to hospitality industry, is also being touched upon.

The Feature section deals with some innovative themes for hotels and resorts, whose translation into reality or realties in a more proactive and sustained manner can help get the domestic and inbound tourism in India its desired growth and momentum. The topic of Menu Engineering in our F&B section can interest a lot of F&B Managers and Chefs of the restaurants in hotels.

Besides these, there are several other relevant issues covered between the covers of this magazine through a selection of information, analysis and perspectives. I hope the package would help many industry players to keep abreast of the recent happenings and trends of this fast evolving Indian hospitality industry, in a more comprehensive and focussed manner.

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

Customer service is central to the hospitality industry and there are multiple factors that contribute towards long-term guest satisfaction. Some of them are comparatively easy to attain while some others are more challenging.

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SPA

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TECHNOLOGY

Shine Spa for Sheraton™, located at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, is meant to be a perfect haven for wellness enthusiasts. This is the first Shine Spa for SheratonTM in India. The spa provides authentic wellness experiences which have the potential to be memorable for the guests.

BUSINESS

A hotel, to be successful, must have quality workforce having various skills. They must have proper training to satisfy the demands of the guests, and proper environment to continue working for the hotel.

Both these objectives are expected to be achieved by the HR. Thus the human resource department of the hotel is rightly termed as the key to prosperity and success of a hotel.

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FEATURE

Hotels and resorts focussed on various innovative themes can be an effective answer to enhance the revenues of our tourism and hospitality industry.

Bangalore-based IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is one of the reputed names which have been technologically facilitating hotels across the globe. IDS Next’s hospitality technology solutions cater to the needs of hotels across various market segments, ranging from large hotel chains and independent hotels, to resorts, restaurants and clubs.

DEPARTMENTS

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F&B

Intelligent menu engineering can facilitate to increase the revenues and profits of F&B outlets.

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Event

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News Scan

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Appointment

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Report

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Product Preview

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Business Opportunity

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Interview

Cover Pix: The Leela Palace Kempinski Udaipur

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Event

HOTEL Business Review

HOTELEX Shanghai 2014

Concludes

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OTELEX Shanghai 2014 was held during 31st March-3rd April 2014 at Shanghai New International Expo Center. The event attracted exhibitors and visitors from over 132 countries all over the world. The number of exhibitors at the event reached over 1600, who covered an exhibiting space of 140,000 square meters. The overseas exhibition area at the event reached 10,000 sq. m with an increase of 42 percent over the 2013 edition of the event.

Famous international brands from Italy, Spain, USA, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries gathered together at HOTELEX Shanghai 2014. On the other hand, the number of professional visitors at HOTELEX Shanghai 2014 had also seen impressive growth with 16 percent increase over that of the 2013 edition of the show.

Overall, 81,596 professional visitors has participated at the event.

HOTELEX Shanghai 2014 hosted several professional competitions such as China Barista Championship, World Latte Art Championship, China CupTasters Championship, China Master Bartender Competition, China Gelato Championship among others.

The 2014 China Barista Championship (CBC) once again garnered popularity among coffee professionals and enthusiasts, with 43 regional winners

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representing 24 cities in China. The champion’s award went to Zhang Yinzhe from the Da Lian division, and he will now represent China at the World Barista Championship (WBC), to be held in Seattle, in the next year.

The World Latte Art Championship was held for a second time at HOTELEX with 76 competitive contenders competing for the exclusive spot at the finals, which is to be held in Melbourne in May. After a four-day competition, Huangyan emerged as the champion.

The China Cup Tasters Championship was launched for the first time during HOTELEX Shanghai 2014 at Hall N7. A total of 64 competitors competed for the exclusive spot at finals, which is to be held in Melbourne in May. Wu Linbo from Wu Han was the champion and will represent China at the World Cup Taster

Championship.

The China Master Bartender Competition was upgraded to its third version with a more diverse contender profile and a more authoritative judging panel. During the four-day competition, 70 bartenders participated and expressed their passion. The Classical Cocktail Challenge saw Liu Bing from Muse on the Bund emerge as the champion, and he will be invited to the UK. to attend the World’s 50 Best Bars ceremony, while he will also receive a pass to enter the Hong Kong Bartender Competition. Meanwhile, the Flairtending Cocktail Challenge champion’s award went to Zhan Chao from Guang Zhou, who will now take part in the Hong Kong Bartender Competition and the 2015 Master Class Road Show.

Organised by Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co., Ltd., and coorganised by Carpigiani and Fabbri, two leading gelato ingredient and equipment brands in Italy, the 2014 China Gelato Championship held its second edition with 48 contenders, over four days of competition. Zhang Haiyang fought her way through 48 peer competitors to grab the top spot.

HOTELEX Shanghai 2015 will be held during 30th March – 2nd April at Shanghai New International Expo Center with expected more space and fascinating events.

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Event

HOTEL Business Review

SIAL CHINA 2014 and SIAL WINE WORLD 2014

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IAL CHINA, Asia’s leading food & beverage exhibition, will be taking place during 13th-15th May 2014 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China. The show will be colocated with Bakery China and SIAL WINE WORLD 2014. It is geared to be a major platform for the Asian food & beverage industry. The show is expected to garner 2400 exhibitors, 45,000 visitors, and will be spread across 10,000 sq.m, across 8 halls. Comexposium is the organiser of this forthcoming mega show.

Prominent product zones at the mega show will include: Dairy Zone in N1 — organised by China Dairy

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Industry Association, Sea Food Zone in N2 — organised by China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Association, Fruit and Vegetable Zone in N3— organised by Foreign Economic Cooperation Center, Ministry of Agriculture of China, Shandong Agricultural Zone in N3 — organised by the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province (Shandong is the top province of China’s agricultural exports market).

SIAL CHINA is the premium platform to connect international and domestic buyers. It is supported by many international exhibitors as well, including Gefa E .V, Wines of Germany, Bateel International, Corex Foods, Food Bridge Ltd. The confirmed national pavilions include that of Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Tunisia, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Greece, USA, Portugal, Canada, Ireland, France, Chile, Argentina, Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, India, Indonesia, New Zealand and many more. France will be present at the event as the Guest Country of Honor.

There would be various important events at SIAL CHINA 2014. La Cuisine

by SIAL, which will be endorsed by World Association of Chefs Societies and supported by China Cuisine Association, will have high level and innovative culinary demonstrations and competitions sponsored by exhibitors’ products. Retail & Hospitality Forum - SIAL TV will be a meeting point to express opinions, share ideas and gather information. SIAL TV will join with Retail & Hospitality

Forum to bring you the updated onsite interviews with exhibitors, visitors and also show reports. SIAL Innovation and SIAL Business Meetings will be the other important events of SIAL CHINA 2014.

After SIAL Party will be a good opportunity for networking and tasting exhibitors’ wines.

SIAL WINE WOLRD 2014, which will be co-located with SIAL CHINA 2014, will come across as a professional premium & qualified B2B wine trading platform with strict visitor control; catering to the professional wine producers, distributors and retailers. Not only its strict quality control over professional visitors makes SIAL WINE WORLD a recognised brand, but also its renowned events’ partners make the show shine.

SIAL WINE WOLRD 2014 will have SIAL - Best Buy China Competition, which will again go into partnership with WINE 100, one of the most professional and authoritative wine rating agencies in China. In this event, a group of Chinese market specialists (comprising consultants, sommeliers, journalists and importers) will conduct a blind tasting of more than 300 wines entered by the exhibitors. The awards will represent the best value of wines for professional buyers and consumers.

SIAL WINE WOLRD 2014 will also have Wine Innovation Forum, where not only there would be showcasing of wines, but would also give one the opportunity to attend high level dedicated conferences delivered by wine experts.

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HOTEL Business Review

Event

Aahar 2014: Fostering Business, Disseminating Information

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ahar 2014, the international fair on food and hospitality in India, was held during 10th-14th March 2014, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This was the 29th edition of Aahar. Aahar 2014 was demarcated into two separate and concurrent exhibitions. They were ‘Hospitality India,’ which covered hotel & restaurant equipment and supplies and ‘Food India,’ which covered food and processed food products, food processing & beverages.

The trade event having significant influence for the food & beverage and the hospitality industry was organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which is the nodal trade promotion agency of the Government of India, and was supported by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, Association of Resource Companies for the Hospitality Industry of India(ARCHII), Hotel & Restaurant Equipment Manufacturers’ Association of India(HOTREMAI),

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All India Food Processors’ Association (AIFPA), Food and Hospitality Support Association of India(FHSAI), Forum of Indian Importers(FIFI), and Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA). The event was inaugurated by Rita Menon, Chairperson and Managing Director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).

The mega event was held across Hall Nos. 6, 7 to 12 A, 14, 15 & 18. Aahar 2014 was held from 10 am to 6 pm during the above-mentioned days, and on the first four days the trade fair was meant exclusively for the business visitors. On the final day of the fair that was on 14th March, the fair was open for the general public during 2-6pm. The event was spread across 44,000 sq. mt. of gross exhibition area.

For this year’s edition of Aahar, ITPO introduced a new segment for organic foods and cheese along with its regular segments that is ‘Food India’ and ‘Hospitality India’. Aahar 2014

Event was also supplemented with concurrent events such as ‘Culinary Art India2014 Competition’, ‘Indian Biscuits & Confectionery Congress2014’, seminars on ‘Environment Concerns of Hospitality Industry’ and ‘Food Regulations in India.’

Aahar is widely regarded as the largest food and hospitality specialised event in South Asia. In this year’s edition of Aahar, around 768 leading companies from India and abroad took part. Overseas participation was from Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and UAE. The fair attracted 21186 business visitors. Apart from this number, VIPs, foreign trade delegations and diplomats also visited the fair.

Fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat and poultry products, other processed food products besides dairy products, bakery products, non alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages, food ingredients, food preservatives, chocolates and other confectionery products, bakery and confectionary equipment, crockery/cutlery/chaffing dishes, kitchen equipment, food processing and packaging equipment, farm equipment and supplies, air & water pollution control equipment & accessories, a range of housekeeping solutions were only some of the impressive range of products and equipments which were showcased at the show.

The recently held event attracted a galore of overseas & Indian buyers, importers & wholesalers, besides overseas trade delegations, policy makers, media persons, suppliers and hoteliers among others. The trade fair not only facilitated many players in the food & beverage and the hospitality sector across the globe to enhance their business potential through participation in the show, but also afforded opportunity to

HOTEL Business Review

gain insight on new trends and equipments, which could help many industry players to stay abreast with the times and thereby benefit their business or career prospect in the long-run.

Rita Menon expressed that Aahar had achieved international standards in terms of logistics and services. She presented the awards to the participants on excellence in display and design.

She also informed that the next edition of Aahar, which will be the 30th edition of this institutionalised B2B event, would be hosted with new facets from March 12 -16, 2015 at Pragati Maidan. In his welcome address, Malay Shrivastava, Executive Director, ITPO, said that Aahar fair is a signature event of the food processing and hospitality industries. He pointed out that most of the participants did evince their interest to participate in the next edition of the fair.

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Event

HOTEL Business Review

EVENTS’ CALENDER

HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2014:

Leading International Exhibition for the Hospitality Industry HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2014— the 12th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair 2014, is slated to be a leading global show for hospitality, food service, and food & beverage industries.

The 12th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair will be held during 26th-28th June 2014 at Area A, China Import and Export Fair Complex, in Guangzhou, China. It is believed that this annual show will have an impressive display of the latest products and innovations pertaining to the hospitality industry.

The show will represent several sectors, which will be segmented under Hotel Equipment & Supplies and Food & Beverage. The sectors will include food service, kitchen equipment, hotel furniture, freezing equipment, tableware & accessories, clean and laundry, interior supplies, intelligence & POS systems, hotel lighting, hotel textile, wine & spirits, icecream, canned & processed food, coffee & tea, bakery products and dairy food. The 12th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair is expected to keep the visitors up to date with the key trends across hospitality sector in Asia.

HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2014 will have concurrent events like Guangzhou International Coffee Carnival and (Barista) Latte Art Championship, 2014 Cocktail Open Bar Operation and Champion Bartenders Show.

Here it deserves a mention that the 11th Guangzhou International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair (HOSFAIR Guangzhou 2013) was held during 27th -29th June 2013 at China Import and Export Fair Complex, across Hall 1.1-5.1. The show garnered excellent suppliers and purchasers from the hospitality industry, all across the globe. The event was spread across 63,000 sq m exhibiting space, and attracted 1308 exhibitors. During the-three-day show, 61,088 trade professionals gathered from more than 70 countries and regions.

Food & Hotel Asia 2014 (FHA 2014) 8-11 April 2014 Singapore Expo, Singapore www.foodnhotelasia.com SIAL China 2014 13-15 May 2014 Shanghai New Intl. Exhibition Center, China www.sialchina.com NRA Show 2014 17-20 May 2014 McCormick Place, Chicago, US www.restaurant.org Thaifex- World of Food Asia 2014 21-25 May 2014 Impact Exhibition and Convention Center, Thailand www.worldoffoodasia.com HOSFAIR 2014 26-28 June 2014 China Imports & Exports Fair complex, Guangzhou, China www.hosfair.com Thailand Retail, Food & Hospitality Services 2014 24-27 July 2014 Hall 103, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) www.thailandhoreca.com/ Fi and Hi India 2014 29 Sep- 1 October 2014 Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregoan East, Mumbai www.foodingredientsglobal.com/india/home IH Expo 2014 + F&B Pro 12-14 September 2014 Expo Grounds, Near Panaji, Goa www.trinityworld.biz The 3rd Shenzhen International Hospitality Equipment & Supplies Fair 14-16 October 2014 Shenzhen Exhibition Centre, Shenzhen, China www.szhosfair.com SIAL Paris 19-23 October 2014 Paris Nord Ville Pinte, Paris www.sial.fr International Foodtech India 2014 14-16 November 2014 Hall No.1, Bombay Exhibition Centre, NSE, Mumbai www.foodtecindia.com Equip Hotel 2014 16-20 November 2014 Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, France www.equiphotel.com Hotel Expo 2014 26-28 November 2014 The Venetian Macao www.hotel-exhibition.com

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HOTEL Business Review

Ambiente Comes to India

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he anticipation among the Indian interior décor and home accessories market continues to rise with the launch of Ambiente India, the new international offspring of one of the most important consumer goods trade fair, on the subcontinent.

The event is slated to be a leading trade fair for India’s interior decor and home accessories market. Ambiente India will be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi during 19th-21st June 2014 and it is to be organised by Messe Frankfurt India in association with the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).

During the recent years, the increased exposure to global

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lifestyles and increase in disposable incomes in select segments of the Indian society have created a conscious desire among a significant section of Indians towards luxury living. The trend of branded luxury residences and customers’ willingness to splurge on premium products is also picking up in sections of urban India.

Against this background, the launch of Ambiente India will present an ideal platform for domestic and international brands for interior décor and home accessories to cater to the evolving consumer needs in pockets of urban India.

With over 100 years of expertise in organising trade fairs across the globe combined with Messe Frankfurt’s reputation in delivering a serious business platform, Ambiente’s debut in India is set to attract interior designers, decorators, architects, wholesalers, retailers, and modern traders as visitors; and will prove an ideal destination for networking, knowledge sharing, and identifying opportunities and avenues for future business prospects.

To be spread across 1400 sq. m in its first edition, the event is expected to attract new and leading brands to showcase their comprehensive collection of home accessories, which would be demarcated into three clearly structured categories of dining, giving and living. Major industry players have already confirmed their participation at Ambiente India.

Messe Frankfurt’s involvement in bringing an internationally acclaimed show to India provides added advantage to the Indian home décor and accessories sector. Raj Manek, Managing Director, Messe Frankfurt India, stated “We intend to create a bridge for local exhibitors to expand their brands in international markets while allowing an opportunity to Indian interior designers, architects and retail chains to explore next season’s home fashion trends.”

Looking forward to launching his new collection at Ambiente India, Pradeep Bhansal, General Manager – Int. Sales & Marketing, Winners IPL, stated, “We are very glad that Messe Frankfurt has decided to bring Ambiente to India. An international platform like this will help us reach out to both Indian consumers and international collaborators. We will be launching our latest kitchenware and luxury home design collection at Ambiente India to gauge the market response before they hit the stores this Diwali season.”

Commenting on the entrance in the Indian home décor and accessories market through Ambiente, Michael Schueller, Managing Director, Ritterwerk GmbH, stated, “The opportunities in the Indian market for ‘made in Germany’ brands like ours is what has pulled us here. We have been exhibiting at Ambiente Frankfurt for many years.” He added that “We look forward to the Indian edition of the fair and are hopeful of a successful start in India.”

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Mar-Apr ’14

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HOTEL Business Review

Absolute Hotel Services Comes With Eastin Easy Talegaon The Bangkok-based Absolute Hotel Services has signed a new Eastin Easy branded property at Talegaon, Pune, which is scheduled to open in 2015.The Eastin Easy Talegaon is being developed on the main Malwadi, Talegaon Dhabade, on Talegaon Chakan Road, near General Talegaon Hospital, Pune.

It is strategically an important commercial location of Talegaon, Pune. Absolute Hotel Services India has signed the management agreement with Aishwarya Regency Hotel to develop, brand and operate the property.

Eastin Easy Talegaon will be a three-star business hotel with accommodation of 85 rooms. The rooms of the proposed hotel will be designed for contemporary living experience and will be equipped with facilities for business and leisure travellers. Facilities will include an all day dining restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre and meeting & conference facilities.

The accommodation and facilities at the proposed hotel are expected to be suitable for guests who want comfort and convenience at the right prices with great flexibility and consistency in service delivery. Eastin Easy Talegaon would also present unique services and offers, which would include free wi-fi

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News Scan internet access in the property and easy stay rates with 6/12/24 hour choices.

“We are very excited with this opportunity to manage and brand Eastin Easy property in Talegaon, Pune, India, which will be the first international three-star property in this area. The hotel will cater to the growing demand for business travellers, as it would be located on Talegaon Dabhade, which is home to many multinational industrial and automobile companies, agro-based units and a thriving poultry belt which is the largest in Asia,” said Sameer Dharkar, Managing Director, Absolute Hotel Services India.

Luxury Hotels Group Makes Foray into the Indian Market Luxury Hotels Group is extending its global hospitality marketing and distribution network with the opening of an India office in New Delhi; its first in this rapidly expanding and extremely critical market.

Luxury Hotels Group is a collection of fine hotels, outstanding boutique properties and luxurious residences in the world’s most popular destinations and capitals. These properties were conceived to target the luxury travellers.

Hospitality industry veteran Naresh Chandnani has been appointed as the Regional Director – Asia, to establish the group’s dedicated vision. Chandnani has over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry spanning operations, sales & marketing and strategic business & brand development. He is widely travelled and has worked in an international environment. He has a thorough knowledge of the Indian leisure, corporate & MICE markets.

“Opening a dedicated office in India is a significant step towards supporting a fast-growing global network of hotels, as we continue to expand worldwide,” said Mark Jones, Vice President, Luxury Hotels Group. “We would be looking at getting luxury hotels from India, on board the LHG platform, which undoubtedly would enrich the group’s own identity and provide exposure to new markets that would be otherwise unreachable and unaffordable. Naresh with his in in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Indian market is the ideal person for this role,” he elaborated.

Commenting on his appointment, Naresh Chandnani said, “I am delighted to be on board and look forward to establishing the group’s presence in India. The Indian hospitality market is a mature yet price sensitive one. Our product is very competitive.

The hotels will see good value in our offering in terms of the brand and the benefits we deliver.”

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HOTEL Business Review

MICROS Adds iRiS Software System to its MICROS Commerce Platform

MICROS Systems, Inc., a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, has announced the addition of iRiS Software System’s hospitality guest service applications to the hosted MICROS Commerce Platform™ (MCP).

MICROS’s recently released MCP provides for the integration of content across a single site, including the integration of multiple third-party solutions. iRiS’s award winning guest service applications, iRiS Valet, iRiS F&B, iRiS Lobby, iRiS Mobile Concierge and iRiS Spa will now be part of the MCP community.

Here it deserves a mention that London-based iRiS Software Systems Ltd. is an award winning interactive guest services application creator. It provides apps designed for hotels, cruise lines and restaurants. The iRiS applications are designed to improve the guest experience, increase revenues and reduce costs, improve communications between guests and staff, and to provide a smart marketing tool.

“We are pleased to offer the iRiS hospitality guest services applications, which deliver an exciting mobile guest experience that fully integrates with our MICROS solutions installed around the world,” stated Tim Brown, SVP eCommerce, MICROS. “The ability to connect an unlimited number of third-party solutions to our customers in such a seamless manner through the MCP management module is a key capability of the MICROS commerce platform. With MCP, our customers can focus on their brands and guest engagement as MICROS has made the technology easy,” he pointed out. “iRiS is delighted to announce that MICROS has chosen to partner with us to offer our products to the market on a larger scale,” affirmed Chris Atkin, iRiS’s Chief Commercial Officer. “The partnership validates our position as a leading platform for guest facing applications and enables us to continue investing in our core technology. By bringing together operational and guest-facing products, our customers can deliver the kind of services already enjoyed by the airline and banking sectors. Our joint offering allows customers to be more flexible with their business models, drive new revenues and maintain stronger communications with guests on pre, during and post stay.”, he pointed out.

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News Scan

The Deltin at Daman Delta Corp. Ltd has announced the launch of ‘The Deltin’, a 176-room property in Daman, which is expected to become the region’s largest destination for gaming and hospitality. Delta Corp Ltd. is an Indian company which operates primarily in gaming and hospitality. The company holds three of the five gaming licenses issued in Goa. The Deltin is the latest offering from Delta Corp. Ltd., following the recent launch of Deltin Royale, which according to the company’s release, is India’s largest offshore gaming vessel in Goa. Delta Corp also proposes to operate an in-house casino in

the said hotel, which will be spread over 60,000 sq.ft. This will make The Deltin an integrated casino resort.

Then the hotel can come across as a perfect haven for gamers and vacationers alike.

“The opening of The Deltin is a milestone for us and underlines our efforts to provide luxurious yet accessible gaming and hospitality destinations in the country. I am confident that it will reshape the face of the hospitality industry in India,” said Jaydev Mody, Chairman of Delta Corp Ltd. The Daman property, which stands out for its stunning architecture against the Daman landscape, offers easy drive-in access from major urban centres such as Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, as well as from other major cities in the west and north India.

Each room in the hotel is equipped with top of the line luxury amenities, including 40” HD TVs, HD satellite programming, mini-bar, high-speed Internet connectivity, in-room safes, 24x7 room service, and early check-in options, among other facilities.

The elegant rooms are complemented with comprehensive F&B options at the hotel, which include the Emperor (for Asian cuisine), Vegas (a multi-cuisine restaurant), Whiskys Lounge (VIP lounge with an exclusive collection of single malts), Poolside Bar and Grill (bar and Mediterranean style grill and barbecue), The Juice Bar (having health drinks and fresh juices), and The Cake Shop, among others.

The Deltin at Daman also provides about 30,000 sq ft of MICE space catering to large events such as corporate conferences and weddings. The banqueting division at the newly opened hotel offers a one-stop solution for large and small group events, ranging from 20 to 2,000 persons.

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HOTEL Business Review

M Cube at Jaipur Marriott Hotel The second edition of M Cube — Marriott Meetings Matter — was hosted recently at Jaipur Marriott Hotel. The two-day event was themed around ‘Fusion of Ideas.’ The event took place on 4th & 5th April 2014

and was hosted by Senior Marriott International representatives.

More than 18 CEOs, Managing Directors and owners of top MICE companies along with 9 General Managers across Marriott properties came together for the M Cube at Jaipur Marriott Hotel. The key agendas were set forth keeping in mind the end customer and to educate the Indian travel trade about the MICE offerings.

The second day of the event had a four hour long business session.

At the event, Marriott International presented its report for 2014, showcasing various steps to be taken by Marriott to foster growth.

Thereafter, a gala dinner night was held at the City Palace Jaipur.

Enthused guests took part in elephant polo while others enjoyed traditional folk dance and music. A lavish royal dinner concluded the 2014 edition of M Cube.

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News Scan

Celebrating the Second Anniversary of Planet 21 To mark the second anniversary of Planet 21 (the sustainable development program launched by Accor Group in 2012), Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre (NHCC) celebrated the occasion with their stakeholders and patrons and reinforced the group’s commitment towards energy conservation and resource optimisation.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, the employees of NHCC and HICC (Hyderabad International Convention Centre) and the guests undertook environmental activities which can facilitate the safeguarding of the natural surroundings. The anniversary celebrations involved blood donation camp, pollution check, tree plantations, car pooling club, the Zero Print Out Day, and saving power by switching off non essential lights.

A free pollution check-up camp was organised for employees & vendors of NHCC & HICC to help reduce the pollution levels. The staff at NHCC and HICC switched off all non-essential lights apart from observing a ‘Zero Print Out Day’ to reduce the carbon footprints. The employees also undertook tree plantation around the hotel premises.

The focus was to create and maintain the green belt around the hotel to ensure a green environment around the property.

NHCC has also created a beautiful outdoor sitting area for the guests to relax and enjoy the landscaping with the lake view & flock of birds flying across the sky. Here it deserves a mention that Accor Group’s sustainable development program named Planet 21 has been recognised the world over.

Speaking on the occasion, Peter Frawley, General Manager Delegate - Accor Andhra Pradesh Hotels & Goa Hotel Operations, said that “With Planet 21, Accor Group has set itself a series of sustainable objectives for 2015. These objectives are structured into seven pillars (Health, Nature, Carbon, Innovation, Local Development, Employment and Dialogue) and 21 commitments. We at Accor India are committed towards devising a sustainable solution for creating a green future for our next generation.”

Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square Announces Summer Coolers Promotion Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square has announced the launch of an exciting Summer Coolers Promotion at Café O’ Lait, the patisserie of the hotel. Available from 2nd April to 31st July 2014, the promotion offers the guests an opportunity to enjoy varying and deliciously refreshing flavours of iced teas and frappes. These innovative flavours have been specially developed by the in-house beverage team of the hotel.

The inventive collection of iced teas includes 10 divergent flavours, including Apple & Basil, Ginger & Honey, Irish Tea and Jalapeno & Mint among others. Guests can also delight in six distinct varieties of frappes such as Papaya, Apricot, Banana, Amaretto, Litchi & Raspberry.

The Summer Coolers Promotion is available from 11:00 am onwards, on a daily basis.

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News Scan

HOTEL Business Review

The Preferred Growth Preferred Hotel Group, a global provider of sales, marketing, and distribution services to independent luxury hotels, has announced its first quarter results.

Over the past three months, the company generated a 19 percent increase in reservations revenue for its member hotels when compared to the same time period during 2013. Here it deserves a mention that Preferred Hotel Group represents 650 hotels, resorts, and serviced residences across the globe.

In addition, the company released key findings regarding the increases in enrollments, spending, and repeat stays that its iPrefer guest loyalty program has fostered since transitioning to a points-based structure last year. A major factor behind Preferred Hotel Group’s momentum during the first quarter of 2014 was iPrefer, which, less than eight months since the debut of its pointsbased structure, has proven its ability to drive strong bottom-line benefits to independent hotels.

Compared to pre-launch activity, the program has generated a 52 percent

increase in member enrollment and a 120 percent increase in active members (members with at least one stay). In addition, iPrefer members have spent, on an average, 110 USD more per booking at participating hotels than travellers who are not enrolled in the program.

“The to-date performance results for iPrefer are impressive,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, President and CEO, Preferred Hotel Group. “More and more travelers are favoring the independent hotel experience, but they still want the perks, specifically points and added recognition through status tiers, that the hard-brand loyalty programs provide. The success of iPrefer shows our ability to not only conceptualize innovative programs but also to predict industry trends,” she added.

Moreover, Preferred Hotel Group signed new partnership agreements with hotels and resorts across 15 countries during the first quarter. Notable additions include CasaSur Bellini Hotel (Buenos Aires, Argentina); Crystal Energy Resort (Crete, Greece); Farmhouse Inn (California, USA); Gorrian Hotel Istanbul (Istanbul, Turkey); Himalayas Qingdao Hotel (Qingdao, China); Himalayas Nantong (Nantong, China); Lower Slaughter Manor (England, UK); Shilla Stay Dongtan (Hwaseong City, South Korea); and SLS Hotel & Casino Las Vegas (Nevada, USA).

Electrolux Professional Gets Highest Distinction at Red Dot Award 2014 The thermaline M2M - Made to Measure by Electrolux Professional impressed the 40-member expert jury for the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2014. In one of the prestigious product competitions of the world, the company proved its design excellence with its Swiss-made premium professional cooking solution.

The thermaline M2M - Made to Measure stood out from 4,815 entries and received the Red Dot: Best of the Best for highest quality and ground-breaking design.

In 2014, only 1.5 percent of all entries in the competition received this coveted top award.

On 7 July 2014, in front of around 1,200 guests from all around the world, Electrolux Professional will be presented

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with its deserved trophy during the awards ceremony at the Aalto-Theater in Essen, Germany. After the Red Dot Gala, the winners’ exhibition will be opened in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen, where the thermaline

M2M Made to Measure will be showcased for four weeks before it enters the permanent exhibition.

The simple, but stunning design of this extraordinary cooking line, grants it

an appearance that can only be matched by its impeccable quality. The extremely functional glass control panel has been designed to increase visibility and precision in temperature setting, which can be fixed with an accuracy of up to 1°, thereby making the user’s life much easier.

“The international jury conferred us with the highest category ‘Best of the Best’ because of the distinctive and ground-breaking design quality among thousands of great and well-designed products. This is confirming our dedication to excellence when it comes to design and it also represents the right tribute to the hard work and collaborative approach of the whole team,” affirmed Michele Cadamuro, Design Director at Electrolux Group Design.

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Appointment

HOTEL Business Review

Dev Bose

Howard Johnson, the renowned hotel brand and a part of the Wyndham Worldwide Group has announced the appointment of Dev Bose as the Executive Chef of its first property in India – Howard Johnson Bengaluru Hebbal.

Chef Dev has been in the food & beverage industry for nearly 14 years now. A graduate in hospitality management from the International Institute of Advanced Studies, Kolkata, Chef Dev has gained great culinary expertise under trained and renowned Chefs.

Chef Dev specialises in western cuisine and in working with fresh seasonal products; he is well-known for his recipes that are contemporary and creative. His culinary creations were globally recognised during the Commonwealth Games in 2010. He has passion about creating new dishes. Prior to joining Howard Johnson Bengaluru Hebbal, Chef Dev worked with Hycinth by Sparsa at Trivandrum, as Executive Sous Chef.

Pooja Vaswaney

Pooja Vaswaney is the new Public Relations Manager of Sofitel Mumbai BKC. Pooja brings to the table eight years of experience in the hospitality industry, and she will be responsible for overseeing the external communications of the hotel, as well as contributing to the growth of the sales and marketing functions of the brand.

Biswajit Chakraboarty, General Manager of Sofitel Mumbai BKC, said, “External communications is a vital aspect of the hotel’s marketing efforts and we are delighted to have someone with international exposure to luxury hospitality and skills in external communications joining the team.”

Beginning her career with the Four Seasons Hotel London, Pooja moved to the Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai. She then served as a part of The Westin Mumbai Garden City’s marketing team as the E-Commerce Manager before moving to her new role at Sofitel.

Jagmohan Misra

Unique Global Hotels Alliance Pvt. Ltd. has announced the appointment of Jagmohan Misra as the Country Head. Misra has over 33 years of combined experience in the development, project manegement, operations and launch of some of the leading hotel brands in India.

Misra began his career with the The Oberoi Group in 1978 and achieved the distinction of being appointed as the youngest General Manager of the group.

During his stint with Radisson Hotels in Malaysia he was responsible for the opening and succesfully setting-up of operations of the four prime properties owned by the brand.

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Saibal Sen

Saibal Sen has been appointed as the General Manager of Howard Johnson’s first property in India – Howard Johnson Bengaluru Hebbal.

Sen comes with a rich experience of 19 years. In the past he was associated with esteemed hospitality groups like the Taj Group, Four Points by Sheraton and The LaLiT among others. His last assignment was with the Sarovar Hotels & Resorts. Sen is an alumni of the prestigious Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition, Mumbai.

Gagan Deep Singh

Gagan Deep Singh has been appointed as the General Manager of Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. Prior to this assignment, he was the Director of Operations at JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai. Gagan comes with about 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He began his career with Marriott in 1999. As the General Manager of Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre, Gagan will be responsible for the smooth functioning of the property.

With a repute of having successfully worked in different roles at various Marriott properties around the country, Gagan was one of the main protagonists who successfully executed the launch of Pune Marriott Convention Centre Hotel (now JW Marriott Hotel Pune) where he was responsible for leading the F&B team of 350 people to drive the launch and performance of the eight food and beverage outlets. Gagan was recognised for his performance with ‘Operations Excellence Award for Food and Beverage, 2011 Asia Pacific’ by Marriott International Inc.

Amit Midha

The Marriott International has announced the appointment of Amit Midha as the General Manager of Courtyard by Marriott Bilaspur. Associated with the hospitality industry for over 15 years, Midha brings with him an assortment of rich experience. In his current role he is responsible for providing strategic leadership expertise to facilitate effective and efficient overall management of the property.

Welcoming the appointment of Midha, Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, Marriott International Group of Hotels, said, “Amit’s expertise and perseverance make him a proficient hotelier. We are delighted to have somebody of his caliber to spearhead our first property in Chhattisgarh. We are confident that Amit will steer the management of the hotel strategically.”

Commenting on his new role, Midha said, “The opportunity to showcase my commitment to Marriott International is a privilege. It is really thrilling for me to be given the opportunity to oversee Courtyard

by Marriott Bilaspur as the General Manager. I am eagerly looking forward to welcome both business and leisure guests from all across the globe.”

Report

HOTEL Business Review

Cygnett Shows Promise

By Swarnendu Biswas

C

ygnett Hotels & Resorts, a hotel management company, which took its birth in 2012, has announced its association with Jameson Inn Inc., USA at a press conference held at The Park, New Delhi, on 24th April 2014. Jameson Inn Inc., USA owns and operates a chain of hotels in the Southeast United States.

With this association, the Cygnett Hotels & Resorts will promote the Jameson Inn brand of hotels (Jameson Inn and Jameson Inn & Suites) in India, and with this association, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts envisions itself to be a leading player in the budget and mid-scale segment hotels in the country.

“The coming five years would herald the era of consumer-led brand focus for the Indian hospitality industry,” averred Sarbendra Sarkar, MD & CEO, Cygnett Group, while speaking at the conference. He views that “With cutting-edge technology, transparent operating modules, tailor-made sales strategy, revenue administration, owner friendly management modules and with a cost-effective approach towards the operations to realise a high ROI for the owners, Cygnett positions itself as turn-around specialist.” He is confident that Cygnett Group can convert loss making hospitality projects into profitable ventures.

According to Sarkar, the team of Cygnett Hotels & Resorts comprises a group of hospitality industry veterans, who are committed to go the extra mile in terms of thought and innovation to make a difference.

Initially, the Gurgaon-based Cygnett Hotels & Resorts will focus on franchise and management of properties, but eventually the group plans to have its own hotels too, in the second phase of its expansion. Sarkar added, “Our initial focus and approach is to franchise and manage around 45 hotels pan-India by the end of 2020. Thereafter, we have a definite plan to create our own

Sarbendra Sarkar

assets pan-India and then transcend our presence into the other parts of the subcontinent, with the help of our US-based collaborators.” He also talked about exploring the tier-II and tier –III cities of the country and the much neglected North-east India, which the Indian hospitality industry is yet to tap in a big way. In fact, Sarkar informed that the growth priority of Cygnett Hotels & Resorts were the tier-II and tier-III cities of India.

Presently, the newly formed group is already managing one 50-key hotel in Kolkata — Jameson Inn, Kolkata — and the group will have its varied brand presence across Guwahati, Varanasi, Nepalgunj, Jaipur, Bangalore and Lucknow within 2014-15. These six properties will have a total room capacity of over 300. The second property within the ambit of Cygnett Hotels & Resorts will become a reality in Guwahati, within two months from now.

This would just be the beginning of the growth story for this ambitious group.

“We would be having 3000 keys under our ambit by 2020,”informed Sarkar confidently. He said that the company would explore both management and

franchise routes for its expansion process.

The hospitality expressions of the Cygnett Hotels & Resorts can cater to a fairly wide market, ranging from economy to budget to mid-scale to fivestar.

The portfolio of Cygnett Hotels & Resorts has an array of brands within its ambit, which it will continue to promote.

Besides the two international brands of mid-scale Jameson Inn &Suites and the budget brand Jameson Inn, the hotel management company has the upscale five-star brand of Cygnett Plaza, the midscale brand of Cygnett Park, the budget hotel brand of Cygnett Inn, and the economy hotel brand of Cygnotel.

In this way, the group presents a wide choice for hoteliers looking for professional expertise in managing their hotels. Whether they are having a five-star or a mid-scale or a budget or an economy hotel, the hoteliers can find the solution to the management challenges of their properties with Cygnett Hotels & Resorts.

According to Sarkar, the strengths of Cygnett Hotels & Resorts which can help it stand ahead of competition are “Our ability to cater to the management solutions of a wide range of hospitality properties, ranging from economy to budget to five-star, our expertise in turning around a loss making hospitality venture into a profit making one through astute management of operations and resources and through pragmatic business vision, our offering of co-branding option to the owners of hotels which many other hotel management companies do not provide, and our cost-effectiveness.” He added that “We offer effective solutions to check the manpower costs in hotels and resorts.”

In a time where the sluggish phase in the Indian hospitality industry is inducing hotels to opt for cost-cutting measures, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts’ focus on costeffective manpower solutions is expected to interest the hoteliers of varying range, across the country.

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HOTEL Business Review

Ensuring

Sustainability of

Hotels

The changing environs and tastes of the people play a prominent role in a service industry like hospitality. These days, the management of hotels in India, especially of those hotels belonging to the organised segment of the Indian hospitality industry, have to be on their toes to adopt new technologies to suit the evolved needs of their guests. Customer service is central to the hospitality industry and there are multiple factors that contribute towards long-term guest satisfaction. Some of them are comparatively easy to attain while some others are more challenging.

To maintain the revPar, the GMs of hotels have to be alert to the needs and desires of the guests. So how do they manage to keep the guests pleased and make them their regular customers? Ashok Malkani talks to some professionals and experts to find that there are several issues involved for maintaining the popularity of a hotel. Their experiences and methods will probably help newcomers to make a success of themselves in the Indian hotel business.

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Cover Story

N

owadays we are having a large number of travellers who are affluent or upwardly mobile, widely travelled, and young at both age and mind. Many of them have been exposed to international standards of hospitality and expect the same or similar to be replicated across their Indian hotel experiences. And many among them are net savvy and use the online platform to access information about the hotels that they are thinking of staying in. And there is a sizeable segment of guests and potential guests who are both highly discerning and highly net savvy. These guests and potential guests have created a need among the Indian hospitality industry to not only improve and enhance the purview of its services but also to use the online medium, particularly the social media, more proactively and creatively to showcase and promote their properties and services.

The Edge of Social Media Social media has acquired an immense importance in the promotion of hotels.

It has emerged as a crucial medium to attract and retain the guests belonging to the affluent or upwardly mobile youthful generation. “Social media has now become the direct medium of listening to and hearing from your guests, particularly Gen Y guests. Our hotel has a Facebook presence that serves primarily as a direct and active resource for keeping guests informed about the happenings at the hotel, as well as responding to feedback on the same. We also pay special attention to

HOTEL Business Review

Twitter postings. The feedback through social media is treated as important. Another forum that is a primary focus for our hotel is TripAdvisor. Great importance is placed on a swift response mechanism to all the reviews that get posted there,” explained Ranju Alex, General Manager, Goa Marriott Resort & Spa. Biswajeet Chakraborty, General Manager of Sofitel Mumbai BKC too feels that social media plays an important role in retaining the sustainability of a hotel. “There can be no two opinions about the importance of social media in the success of hotel business, these days. In keeping with the trends, we have on board an eCommerce Manager who manages our online spaces. We also encourage bloggers and online publications to visit and review our Magnifique experiences. We also develop strong relationships with online portals to ensure that we are accurately positioned through these booking engines,” elaborated Chakraborty.

Sahdev Mehta, General Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pune – Chinchwad averred that “At our hotel we engage our customers on multiple social media platforms. We try and keep it fresh and interesting and the effect has been great.”

“Travellers of today are pressed for time and greatly value convenience. Right from reading reviews of the hotel online and doing bookings online to being informed and updated on the activities taking place

at the hotel online, they value collecting and imbibing all the information about hotels while sitting at their desk. In this regard, social media has probably emerged as one of the most crucial platforms for publicity and sales in the hospitality sector.

These days, it is extremely important for hotels to be social media active and move with the times,” affirmed Manish Dayya, General Manager, Hotel Novotel Goa Shrem Resort.

Nirupa Shankar, Director, Brigade Hospitality, agrees that social media plays an important role for promoting a hotel. “Social media is fast becoming a key distribution channel. There is a lot of information that can be gained through this platform. Social media platforms lend insights on the needs and expectations of a tech-savvy generation. The feedback on social media is in real time and more importantly, can go viral”, she said.

Vishal Singh, General Manager, Hyatt Pune, while concurring with the general opinion of the important role of social

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HOTEL Business Review

media in the hospitality industry, added, “We are active on Facebook, Twitter, Tripadvisor, where we have a considerable fan following. We interact with our guests and identify their likes & preferences through contests and other online guest engaging promotions.”

Vivek Shukla, General Manager, The LaLiT New Delhi declared, “Social media is changing the face of the Indian hospitality industry and the way it functions. Today we get real time customer feedback and this helps us access different issues quickly and efficiently.”

“Gen-Y forms a majority of the modern travellers, and they are mostly active on social media platforms. Hence our hotel also has an active dedicated platform to communicate with the needs of the travellers, be it reservations through smart phones to giving feedbacks on social media,” averred Hemant Tenneti, Hotel Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan.

Eco-friendly Initiatives Another new trend that is slowly taking roots in the Indian hospitality industry is that of eco-friendly hotels.

Environmentally conscious travellers are starting to make lodging choices based on hotels’ eco-friendly ratings. Many environmentally friendly corporations now require their employees travelling on business to stay at green hotels.

Tenneti expressed that environment was definitely an important factor as far as Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan was concerned. “We adopt the following methods,” he said, and went on to explain them. He informed that “there has been careful selection of energy-efficient glazing, building wall and roof materials in the hotel.” Besides, the recycled materials and locally manufactured building materials were used for the construction of the hotel.

“The usage of VOC paints, adhesive, sealants, primer and coating have also been kept to minimum at the hotel, and the hotel has an efficient HVAC system and chiller, which helps with considerable energy saving,” he asserted further. Besides these, according to Tenneti, the hotel has taken steps to ensure that there is reuse of the fresh water usage by using low-flow water fixtures. “The use of STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) water for flushing and landscaping also reduces the requirement of fresh water at the hotel,” he proffered.

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Vivek Shukla

These are not all the green measures at the hotel. “There is provision for reuse of rain water at the hotel. The entire landscape of the hotel has been undertaken using the top soil which was collected, stored and reused from the same site,” he stated. According to Tenneti, “The lighting controls, CO2 sensors, LED lights help to reduce the operational cost of the hotel.” There is linen and terry reuse program in guest rooms of the hotel, and as daylight is accessible to the hotel throughout, Tenneti informs that they do not need to switch on lights throughout the day; at the lobby, in the banquet and at office spaces of the hotel.

In fact, the concept of eco-friendly hospitality has gained momentum through the Indian hospitality industry.

“We are committed towards sustainable development. With PLANET 21, Accor’s sustainable development program, Novotel commits itself to the planet. The hotel

Ranju Alex

uses eco-labeled products in the rooms which are certified by an independent organisation,” stated Dayya.

“As a green hotel, we at the DoubleTree

by Hilton Pune – Chinchwad have implemented an in-depth program for reducing our carbon footprints. As part of our endeavour towards reducing consumption of water, we have installed water efficient shower heads and dual flush valves. The water pressure in the washbasin valve at our hotel is at 4 liters per minute which is 30 percent of that of a regular valve. We also recycle water from the rooms, treat it and divert it for use in landscaping. We encourage guests to participate in our eco-friendly initiatives by choosing to keep their linen longer,” informed Mehta.

Mehta further noted that “At our hotel, garbage is diligently segregated and recycled, and so is soap. The used oil is donated to NGOs for soap manufacturing and distribution. Of course, plastic bags are big no for us, and packaging is done in paper stationary. Moreover, every department has targets for paper consumption. These are but a few ways in which we contribute to the environment.”

“We believe that guests are more eco-conscious these days. Following are the implementations that our property has invested in order to associate itself to being a more environment-friendly organisation,” Ranju iterated while adding, “We have changed over from candescent lights to LED lights; we have discontinued the usage of hot water boilers by replacing them with heat pumps thus completely avoiding the release of carbon into the environment; we have vermiculture as a process to convert wet garbage into organic fertiliser for the horticulture department; and we have Linen Reuse Program, where we place tent cards in the rooms that suggest to the guests to help us save water by not requesting us to change the linen daily but every alternate day.”

Singh stated that eco-friendliness was a prominent issue as far as his hotel was concerned. “We have implemented Hyatt Thrive, our global corporate responsibility program. We have various initiatives to contribute towards the environment; like the conserve card placed on the bedside which gives the guest the choice to reuse the same linen. We also have several energy conservation initiatives to conserve water, heat, light and power,” he affirmed.

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HOTEL Business Review

Nirupa Shankar

“There is no doubt that today’s traveller is more environmentally concerned and eco-conscious than before. We at Sofitel Mumbai BKC follow a host of good practices to align ourselves to utilise natural resources in the most efficient way possible. We have proudly achieved 8 percent less consumption in electricity, 9 percent less in PNG and 21 percent less in water consumption as compared to the last year and we strive to keep improving on efficiency. In addition, we support ‘plant for plantation’ by donating laundry savings towards plantation. We always encourage all our guests to reuse linen and towels wherever possible, which contributes towards significant saving of resources,” declared Chakraborty.

Shukla too asserted that guests were becoming more and more eco-conscious.

“We have more and more guests who do not want their linen changed everyday if they are staying with us for 2-3 days. We recently celebrated the Earth Hour at the hotel and all our guests enthusiastically had candle lit dinners. The hotel has done significant investments over the last year for becoming environment-friendly by initiating a Sewage Treatment Plant Project, rainwater harvesting, and installing an organic waste composter. Our group has also planted thousands of trees to reduce our carbon footprints,” he pointed out while talking about the environmentfriendly initiatives of his hotel and as well as the LaLiT group in general.

However, Nirupa argues that guests do not stay in a hotel merely due to eco-friendly reasons. “There is data to prove that guests have not yet reached a

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level where they will stay in a hotel only because it is more eco-friendly. This is true especially for business hotels,” she asserted while stating in the same breath that “However, guests do appreciate the ecofriendly initiatives taken by a hospitality property. It makes them feel better and creates goodwill with the brand.”

“At our hotels we use a number of eco-friendly initiatives,” Nirupa informed.

They include using LED lights not only in common areas but also in rooms, using of fresh air ventilation in corridors instead of the A/C to reduce power consumption when the ambient temperature is cool, reusing STP water for gardening and flushes, using of motion sensor for common area toilets among others.

Satisfaction through Interaction But merely attracting the guests through social media or eco-friendliness is not enough. Hotels must offer holistic customer satisfaction package so that the guests become regular visitors to the hotel.

Everyone I interviewed agreed on the concept that customer satisfaction and interaction with guests, which also contributes to the guests’ happiness and approval of the hotel, are essential for the hotel’s sustainability and will continue to be so, for years to come. “However, the perception of customer satisfaction has evolved over time and is no longer about meeting guest expectations but rather exceeding guest expectations,” Chakraborty opined.

“At Sofitel Mumbai BKC, wherever possible we aim to think out of the box and leave our guests with memorable experiences that keep them coming back for more,” he added further. “An integral part of our training at Sofitel Mumbai

Sahdev Mehta

Hemant Tenneti

BKC involves forging relationships and building a rapport between our ambassadors and our guests, who are treated as extended family. In addition, our ambassadors are empowered and encouraged to go the extra mile for creating extraordinary experiences for our guests,” stated Chakraborty. Here ambassadors mean the work force of the hotel.

Chakraborty gave an example to prove his point. “A recent example of such services includes when an ambassador at our Indian restaurant Jyran arranged a cooking class for a guest with his name engraved on a Chef’s cap. The guest was anxious to learn how to prepare the dish. He was so thrilled with his own preparation that he sent the dish up to his room for his partner to taste and later proposed to her, and she accepted,” gushed Chakraborty.

Mehta believes that little things count.

That is the reason why DoubleTree

by Hilton Hotel Pune – Chinchwad ‘s interaction with guest begins as soon as the guest enters the hotel premises. “We welcome the guests in a slightly unique manner. Along with a smiling face, we have a warm signature DoubleTree by Hilton Chocolate Chip Cookie. A warm and friendly welcome is the first step towards customer satisfaction. We like to create a rewarding experience (CARE) and providing friendly customer interactions.

Importantly, we go out of our way to assist our guests to make sure they leave the hotel with a smile of satisfaction after they have had a memorable experience with us,” disclosed Mehta while adding that “At our hotel, we ardently follow our CARE policy and endeavour to create an environment

Cover Story

Manish Dayya

that reflects on our brand values.”

“Every team member in our hotel is empowered to take a decision which enhances guest experience and the results are brilliant. All our employees have been trained to assist our guests,” asserted Mehta confidently.

“Yes, customer satisfaction is the key to success in today’s hospitality industry.

In this industry, satisfaction may be defined by the probability of your guest’s intent to return to the property. The higher the probability means greater the customer satisfaction,” reasoned Ranju. “There are other parameters like arrival experience, food & beverage offerings as well as the service, which would simultaneously impact the whole customer satisfaction package. We need to be aware that it is the people, service and recognition that bring back a guest. No carpet or TV makes a guest loyal to you,” she stated.

“The key to customer satisfaction is to understand the guest’s expectations clearly and then exceeding them. It should be remembered that every third guest has different needs,” feels Tenneti.

Elaborating on the necessity for interaction with guests he said that front office employees should, “go through extensive training, and have a highly acceptable level of general knowledge so that different conversations can be had with guests. Every guest likes to talk, especially single travellers, and we need to find the topic that interests him or her.”

Nirupa stressed that “Customer satisfaction is all about meeting expectations; under promising and over delivering. Providing value for money, no matter whether you are a two-star product

HOTEL Business Review

or a five-star product, is important.”

“Having a product that suits market requirement and then delivering on service and meeting of customer expectations is key to having happy guests,” concurred Nirupa.

“The management staff of all our hotels make sure to interact with guests, either when they arrive at the hotel or while they are dining at the hotel.

Department heads take turns doing lobby duty to ensure that guests are always well received. When the guests are dining, the restaurant manager makes sure to visit all the tables to ensure that the guests are doing fine. For repeat and VIP customers the General Manager makes sure to meet the guests in person and take care of personalised requirements, if any,” iterated Nirupa.

“Customer satisfaction is a top priority at The LaLiT, where the entire teams are sensitised to cater to the smallest of guest needs. Our team members are the ambassadors of our brand promise — ‘Limitless Hospitality’— which aims to delight the most discerning guest and endeavours to fulfill even an impossible request,” claimed Shukla. “We have a robust system of guest history through which we keep a track of individual likes & dislikes of our loyal guests. All these together come as part of complete customer satisfaction package,” he added.

Dayya believes that the elements that contribute to the satisfaction of a business traveller are right location, spacious rooms, elongated working desk and high speed Internet. “Besides these,” he pointed out, “At Novotel we have contemporary bathrooms, good meeting space, balanced choice of food and beverage available round the clock, three breakfast options

Vishal Singh

Biswajeet Chakraborty

and we have attentive team members to look after all the needs of the guests.”

“We take a number of steps to ensure that guests leave our hotels feeling content and satisfied. Front Office associates make courtesy calls to the rooms every evening to ensure that the guests are having a comfortable stay. A feedback report as well as a departure report is done by the Guest Relations Executive,” added Dayya.

“We have implemented procedures to get immediate guest feedback, which enables us to undertake timely service recovery wherever needed. Technology has enabled us to proactively understand the guest expectations through effective use of CRM tools. Furthermore, training plays a vital role in enhancing our employees’ acumen towards guest interaction. All our employees are trained on maximising this facet at every guest interaction opportunity. They are encouraged to take feedback professionally while at the same time maintaining guest privacy,” explained Singh while elaborating on customer feedback of the guests at the hotel which he is managing.

One can infer from these observations that the creative use of social media, environment-friendly initiatives and continual, proactive and personalised guest interaction are emerging as important requirements for maintaining sustainability in the organised segment of the Indian hotel industry. At present these facets are more relevant for high-end hospitality, but the day is not far when these requirements would prove to be essential for the longterm growth of even budget and economy hotels in the country too.

(Read about more sustainability factors for hotels in our next issue)

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HOTEL Business Review

Business

The Crucial Role of HR

Hotel industry is one of the fast growing sectors of the economy of our country. And everyone is aware that the growth of this sector depends on its ability to serve the guests to their utmost satisfaction. Thus one of the most essential requirements of this industry is to have skilled labour force which can help the hotels to achieve their set goals and objectives.

A hotel, to be successful, must have quality workforce having various skills. They must have proper training to satisfy the demands of the guests, and proper environment to continue working for the hotel. Both these objectives are expected to be achieved by the HR department of hotels. Thus the human resource department of the hotel is rightly termed as the key to prosperity and success of a hotel. Ashok Malkani finds that the HR of hotels has multifarious duties which involves training, keeping the staff motivated, etc. And its biggest challenge is to retain the employees.

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n an industry which interacts with guests 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, it is imperative that the quality of staffing and servicing should be at high level. For, in the hotel industry, first impression is often the last impression and a guest expects courteous and impeccable service from the time she/he steps into the hotel. In fact the trail of courtesy begins even before the guest has stepped in, as the doorman welcomes her/him. One can say the success of a hotel is largely determined by the quality of its staffing and service.

And these vital operational elements are generally provided by the human resource department of the hotel. The HR department of the hotels not only has to ensure that the personnel recruited meet the standards and requirements of the hotel but also the personnel’s retention.

People Makes Hospitality Philippe Charraudeau, VP West & GM -ITC Maratha, Mumbai said, “Success of any hotel depends on its product, people & process. HR plays a vital role in the second element of success that is people.

No matter how good the product and

process laid are, it is the people who make the success story of a hotel possible.”

Salil Desai, the Director of Human Resources, Sofitel Mumbai BKC too believes that it is the personnel who make or mar the hotel. Thus HR of the hotel has not only to ensure that the right people are hired but also need to ensure that they are content at their job. “It is all about the people in our industry. Our people, usually

termed as human resources, are aptly addressed as our ambassadors. It is very important that HR policies of the hotels are employee-friendly and also flexible to accommodate genuine/sincere/reasonable requirements to ensure that the personnel are content, satisfied and motivated. We strongly believe that only happy employees make guests happy,” averred Desai. He went on to add that “HR in the hotel

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industry is expected to play a vital role in the retention of employees by way of effective employee engagement programs and employee relations including dealing with the unions, if any.”

Gauri Mishra, HR Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pune – Chinchwad too is of the opinion that HR plays a vital role in the success of a hotel. “HR, along with the operational departments, plays an integral role in the success of a hotel. A hotel which is able to achieve guest loyalty, ensure team member engagement, meet revenue goals and expense budgets is a successful hotel,” she affirmed while pointing out “Delivering a flawless guest experience will take care of guest loyalty, and give you returns in terms of revenues. Furthermore, keeping the expense in check also depends to a large extent on alert and cost-conscious team members. A sense of belonging amongst team members goes a long way towards finding ways to keep your guests happy while keeping costs at a minimum.

Creating an environment that allows talent to shine through, where your team members are engaged, motivated, and empowered is the Generation Y HR.” Elaborating further on how HR helps in the success of a hotel, Manish Kumar Rishi, the Director of Human Resources, The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, declared, “Attracting the right talent, developing them in their core skills as per the industry standards and retaining them is critical to the success of the hotel industry. Thus the human resource team of a hotel’s role is very important, as we are the individuals who look out for the right people for the right job.

Manish Kumar Rishi

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However, for an organisation the human resource department would be required to give training and groom the associates with service standards as set by the organisation.” He however stated that “it is the overall team performance that drives the success of a hotel.”

Viral Jasani, HR Manager, Courtyard

by Marriott Pune Chakan agrees. “The hotel industry should act like a democratic government that is for the people, by the people and of the people. Every associate of a hotel plays a very important role in the success of the hotel. The HR of the hotel holds the responsibility to source the right talent. We do this by engaging our staff and training them in their respective job roles and in the requirements of the organisation. HR in this new age is not just a support department but is an integral part of the business partner structure,” he explained.

Tackling Attrition Training the staff is not the main challenge for the HR in the hospitality sector.

Retention is. According to Charraudeau, “The retention and dearth of good human resources is a challenge as they are easily lured by the opportunities abroad.

A unique initiative undertaken at ITC Maratha is the WelcomAchievers point.

Here, employees are given special reward points for showcasing right conduct, discipline and co-operation at work.

These points can be redeemed against cash purchases in the market. To address these issues, we also have some HR initiatives like annual appraisals, outof-turn promotions, bonuses, employee engagement activities and much more.”

Rishi concurs with this view. He states, “The biggest challenge faced by human resource in the Indian hotel industry is in attracting the right talent & ensuring in retaining them. This can be overcome by having in place right sources and timings of recruitment and overall viable retention strategies.”

Desai believes that it is difficult to retain the younger staff. “The challenge is mainly in retaining young talent in the age group of 22 to 26 years where we see more attrition. We try and provide them a workplace which is friendly, fair and rewarding,” he stated.

Gauri too opines that attrition is one of the major challenges facing HR in hotels.

“Companies are facing a shortage of talent, so it becomes all the more imperative to retain high performing team members and create succession plans for developing future leaders. Having a better corporate culture will give you a competitive edge and help attract the best part of the workforce.

Skills alone cannot be the base for hiring.

You need to understand what motivates a person, what makes her/him tick and ensure that her/his attitude is in sync with that of the company,” she disclosed.

“With the surge of hotels, the associates have enough options to explore but the hotel does not always manage to get the right guy for the job. If there were more short-term courses in institutes for students to select their career option, it might be able to resolve this issue and help the industry in meeting the requirement of skilled manpower,” Jasani pointed out.

The Role of Institutes The manpower shortage has to be met

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HOTEL Business Review

by the hotel management institutes. So how far do the Indian institutes meet this challenge? Desai believes that the institutes are doing their best to meet the requirements of the Indian hospitality industry.

“The education imparted by hotel management institutes is indeed worth appreciating. However, students need to be trained in general management skills too. There are some reputed private hotel schools in India and they indeed possess excellent educational standards,” maintained Desai.

Gauri, however feels that some of these institutes are not up to the mark.

“These days, students opting for a career in hotel management have a plethora of options when it comes to choosing a learning institute. However, not all of them meet the mark in terms of providing a good base of knowledge for students to apply, when the time comes for practical experience. It is imperative that institutes upgrade their syllabi regularly to impart knowledge which is relevant to today’s hotel industry scenario. In my opinion, many of the hotel management institutes in India do not place enough emphasis on refining communication skills and projecting a professional image. A few eminent institutes do put their students through a rigorous drill to prepare them for the industry, but not enough do,” she observed.

Rishi concurs with Gauri’s view. “Over a period, hotel management institutes in the country have played a significant role in providing support to the hotels.

However, there has been a prominent gap in the recent times with the shortage of quality institutions not matching up to the supply of new hotel openings,” he expressed.

However, Jasani is of the opinion that the education system in our hospitality colleges is great. “But,” he added, “one needs to impart more practical trainings and on the job trainings.”

Philippe Charraudeau

responsibilities of the HR team of a hotel should include team member induction, reviewing training needs through skills gap analysis, creation and delivery of training modules on brand awareness, behaviour and guest interaction, formulation of career development paths for team members, conducting performance appraisal, grievance redressal and disciplinary proceedings. We also organise extra curricular activities for team members’ engagement and liaise with the local community for CSR activities,” elaborated Guari.

Desai believes that the HR must make the employees feel at home to ensure their retention. “Welcoming new employees needs to be a ritual in the organisation as integrating new employees and making them feel comfortable in their new environment/culture helps in employee retention. Hence, creating an appropriate

Myriad Demanding Roles However, the role of the HR does not end merely with recruiting the right people and keeping them happy. There are several other duties for them to make the employees reach their optimum level of performance. The same goes true for the hotel industry too.

“Apart from recruitment, essential

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Viral Jasani

induction program is a crucial element in employee retention,” stated Desai.

“Human resource professionals are instrumental in other important functions like performance reviews, analysis of compensation and benefits against salaries offered by competition, employee engagement programs, training & development, succession planning and career growth of employees,” he informed.

“Staff recruitment is just one of the functions of the entire gamut of human resource in the hotel industry. Our task starts from recruiting the right talent for the right role, but it does not end there…

At our hotel, we have a lot of other activities for HR like creating a safe and healthy work environment, fostering the development of great teams and building a winning culture, training and developing the personnel, growing associates’ career path, creating platforms for associates to share their ideas and thoughts, addressing grievances if any, etc.,” proffered Rishi.

“At Westin Hotels & Resorts we also invite associates to share their passion and help them in showcasing their passion/ talent through various activities that we plan throughout the year. Apart from this we have also initiated a programme to encourage associates for a cross exposure in other departments. We believe that associates with multiple talents create stronger leaders. This not only builds morale for the team but also provides increased flexibility for staffing,” Rishi added further.

Charraudeau succinctly informs on some training initiatives undertaken

by ITC Maratha, which are induction training, on-the-job training, periodical refresher courses, and hotel management trainee programmes. There is also the HR measure of Departmental Learning Coordinator at the hotel. Each department of ITC Maratha, Mumbai has an employee who is the learning co-ordinator for her/his team members. She/he provides guidance and assistance to her/his team on learning the processes and functions of the department. “Besides these, regular employee engagement & corporate social responsibility initiatives are organised,” aired Charraudeau.

Explaining further about the tasks of the HR department in hotels, Jasani said, “We are now responsible for ensuring that the staff is engaged and is kept motivated.

One would find the HR in hotels

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actively initiating activities for associate engagement, communication workshops and trainings.”

Today’s HR professionals have to be effective communicators who are able to interact with all levels of staff and establish good relationships with all department heads. “The people of the HR department need to be friendly and approachable and thus there are times, when the HR will also be seen at the shop floor, catching up with the associates and tending to their needs,” observed Jasani.

Gauri, who shares this view, added, “HR needs to maintain open and clear communication with senior management as well as junior team members. Building trust is imperative in establishing clear lines of communication.” Desai too is of the opinion that HR has to communicate at all levels to achieve success. “At Sofitel,” he informed, “We adopt various ways of communicating with our employees, which include Employee Communication Boards, monthly forums like Round Table with the GM, High Tea with the GM, SoFresh with the Director of Human Resources for those completing their first month of employment, Monthly Ambassadors Day Celebration, Daily Departmental Briefings, Fortnightly Management meeting for HODs and Excoms, Weekly Excom Meeting, etc.”

Rishi, while talking about his group, articulated that HR takes a lead in ensuring that communications are maintained at all levels. “We have introduced forums like Koffee with GM; weekly departmental meetings where human resource is also present. We had also launched a campaign called Bright Idea, where associates could share a bright idea and the best idea/suggestion would get implemented. Besides, there are one-on-one meetings with new associates among other HR measures. These forums help us to communicate at all levels,” asserted Rishi.

Salil Desai This would mean that the employees in the Indian hotel industry would have to be technology savvy. The HR has to ensure that the hotel personnel – from front office to back office – are kept up to date with the technology that is used in their day-to-day operations. Different hotels have adopted their own methods to induct their staff into the intricacies of the latest technology.

Disclosing the plans at Starwood, Rishi stated, “Information technology touches everything that we do at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Every single day, we strive to challenge our associates to grow through our world-class training and development programs, which support their differences across cultures and geographies. We also have an online portal called Development

Training in Technology But with the changing times, trends change too. And in today’s world where technology has penetrated all human activities, the hotel management institutes will have to teach the use of the latest technology to the students for the Indian hospitality industry is adopting the latest technology for efficient management of the hotels.

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Gauri Mishra

Centre that enables our associates across the globe to get trained and be updated with the new technology & trends.”

“The employees at Sofitel are provided with the necessary training according to their training needs. We train our employees on various new technoplatforms introduced by us on Guest Satisfaction Index and Loyalty Program software. We also have an independent Online Training Room for our employees in addition to Internet kiosk for net savvy ambassadors, as a part of our ‘Ambassadors’ facilities,” informed Desai.

“As everything today works on modern technology, it is important that employees in the hotel industry are aware of how to use various tools related to e-learning, hotel operations and tracking guest satisfaction, guest requests and complaints.

The advent of social media has drastically changed the way people communicate and the time they take for it. Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram to name a few platforms are great tools for promoting your hotel. We, at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pune – Chinchwad, conduct training sessions for team members on the benefits of social media and how to use them. Every time we implement a new tool or resource, we introduce it through instructional sessions,” elaborated Gauri.

“Marriott has a global system of sharing the updates on a daily basis. This gives us detailed information on the hotel’s performance and its day to day activity.

These are shared with all associates at the start of the day with the team’s morning briefing. Apart from this, we also give constant trainings to our associates, encouraging them to update themselves with what the technology has to offer,” clamed Jasani.

Yes, as the HR departments of the hotels continue to strive for the success of their hospitality properties, they are reminded of the famous words of Isaac Asimov who wrote: “The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change…” In these times of high attrition across the Indian hospitality industry, the HR departments of the Indian hotel industry have to take up the challenge of keeping the employees motivated so that they do not shift loyalties. The HR departments have to ensure that their respective hotels continue to prosper and flourish through optimum usage of human  resource.

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Towards Themed

Hospitality

By Swarnendu Biswas

W

ith the rapid decline of rupee with respect to dollar during the last year, the domestic tourism’s potential has increased as compared to outbound tourism. In the last issue of Hotel Business Review, we have discussed briefly the various factors which can augment the domestic tourism by directing the potential and habitual outbound travellers towards domestic destinations.

Some of those factors discussed can increase the domestic tourism by enhancing the inflows of conventional domestic tourists too, and also by increasing the number of foreign tourists to the Indian destinations. In all the three ways the Indian hospitality industry can benefit. Enhancing domestic tourism revenues is one of the effective ways by which the Indian hospitality industry can easily emerge

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from its presently sluggish phase.

In this issue, instead of a broad-based and extensive approach, we would go for an intensive approach. We would attempt to discuss at length a single factor which can increase the domestic tourism revenues. And it is a different factor than the ones described in the last issue’s Business Story by this writer.

Why not more numbers of players in our hospitality industry think of actualising the idea of uniquely themed resorts and hotels in a more proactive, innovative and holistic manner? I know there are high-end spa resorts and heritage hotels/resorts are there but still overall the variety of themed resorts in India is quite limited. What about resorts set far from the madding crowd (preferably in some offbeat and relatively unexplored destinations), which are focussed on fitness, sports, wellness and

adventure together?

Mind, Body and Soul Resorts These types of resorts would be much different from conventional adventure or spa resorts. Their approach would be more comprehensive than found in conventional adventure or spa resorts.

Succinctly, these resorts could be directed to develop or rejuvenate the mind, body and soul of the guests in a holistic manner. As such they can be defined or positioned as the Mind, Body and Soul Resorts or MBS Resorts in the market, which I think would attract a galore of domestic and as well inbound and potentially outbound tourists to Indian destinations, and thereby enhance our tourism and hospitality sector’s revenues.

Indian and foreign tourists coming to these types of resorts would have to

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HOTEL Business Review

The Chocolate Boutique Hotel go(or would be strongly advised to go) through a series of exercises or fitness regimens on a daily basis, which would of course be tailored according to the guests’ health and fitness levels.

The exhaustive and diversified fitness regimens or training modules should be ideally developed by some nationally renowned fitness gurus like Leena Mogre, Kiran Sawhney or Deanne Pandey and the army of fitness trainers at these proposed resorts would have to adhere to those regimens, while training their guests.

This would enhance the health and fitness quotient of those resorts. Time to time the nationally renowned fitness expert/s can come to those resorts on invitation and inspect whether the fitness regimens are being followed according to their guidelines. At the same time, they can provide some unique fitness

tips or develop some unique exercises which the run-of-the-mill gym of a hotel is not likely to provide, to the guests.

Of course, the gym and the fitness equipments in those resorts should be of international level.

“A resort focusing on fitness, sports, wellness and adventure together can be a great success module for the Indian hospitality industry,” expressed Kiran Sawhney, the renowned fitness expert.

“With growing interest in fitness and adventure, there are now ample number of people who are now interested in finding fitness and adventure gateways.

It is certainly a commercially viable approach for the Indian hospitality industry,” she added.

Kiran suggested that such resorts should have adventure park or sports complex for the kids and for the adults she suggested state-of-the-art gyms,

outdoor exercise options in open fresh air, infinity pool with aqua exercises and tai chi, kickboxing, yoga. About innovative fitness workouts for these resorts, she talked about Doonya workout, which according to her “is a Bollywood- based fitness workout, which is going to be a rage in the upcoming days.” According to the fitness diva, “During Doonya workout, the energy and expressions coming from Bollywood-inspired music and dance will keep you smiling as you burn huge amounts of calories while learning dance and fitness fundamentals, in the process.” Kiran’s own Dancercise is also a unique workout with loads of fun where dance and fitness are perfectly amalgamated.

Kiran is however, extremely serious about the quality of trainers in these proposed Mind, Body and Soul resorts.

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The quality of trainers has to be top class. Among the best trainers and instructors should be on their board. As far fitness equipments go she suggested that “These resorts should have TRX, bosu, dumbells, kettlebells, barbells, step, ramps, Swiss balls, and gym machines of best brands.”

Those kinds of resorts should ideally also have their food & beverage options developed by nationally renowned nutritionists like Ishi Khosla and Naini Setalvad among others. According to Ishi Khosla, the renowned clinical nutritionist, the Founder of www. theweightmonitor.com and Whole Foods(an enterprise engaged in producing and retailing of health food products and operating health food cafes), and the Founder-President of Celiac Society for Delhi, “Healthy food choices which are high on nutrition and lower in calories, and free of toxic ingredients like trans-fats, artificial preservatives and colours without compromising on the taste, should be included in the menu of such resorts.”

She viewed that resorts focussed on fitness, sports, wellness and adventure together should include functional foods in their menu. “They should incorporate functional foods like oats, soy, whole grains including brown rice, and nuts, seeds, green tea and variety of fresh vegetables and fruits in their menu,” said the nationally renowned nutritionist.

These resorts could also have inhouse doctors to help advise the people

Kiran Sawhney

with lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc. in order to improve their lifestyles.

Regular health check-ups of people afflicted with lifestyle diseases could also be provided at the resorts. Yes, these fitness, sports, wellness and adventure resorts would not only be targeted at fitness, sports, wellness and adventure enthusiasts but also to people afflicted with lifestyle diseases, which is a threatening reality in urban India. Some fitness tips should also be provided to the people afflicted with lifestyle diseases

by the trainers, while keeping in mind the nature and extent of their ailment/s.

At the same time, these types of resorts should cater to avid sports lovers, by providing a plethora of outdoor sporting options ranging from cricket to football, to tennis to swimming to wrestling to boxing. There could be the provision of in-house sports coaches at the resort, and cricket and football matches between sports enthusiasts could be arranged at these resorts.

Complementary martial arts and kick- boxing training of fifteen days can be provided to women guests by the in-house martial arts instructors at these resorts.

Of course, these resorts should have a state-of-the-art spa having a gamut of oriental and western therapies and also Ayurvedic options to comprehensive wellness, but the spa facilities should ideally be complemented with a wide array of adventure options. Depending upon the geography of the resort, various adventure tourism options like paragliding, bungee jumping, mountaineering, scuba diving, water skiing, dune bashing, jungle safari, etc. should be provided by these resorts at affordable rates. In these resorts specially tailored packages for women adventure tourist enthusiasts can also garner many upwardly mobile single lady travellers seeking some quality thrill, away from their busy corporate schedules.

I am not saying that such resorts are not already present in India, but I am sure the concept of a one-stop mind, body and soul hospitality haven where top-notch and comprehensive fitness, sports, wellness and adventure services are provided, rarely gets translated into reality in our country.

Chocolate as the Theme Besides the holistic concept of Mind, Body and Soul resorts, the hospitality industry of India can introduce some uniquely themed hotels and resorts.

What about a hotel themed on chocolate? There rooms can be designed like chocolates and there could be chocolate making classes and workshops at the hotel or resort, which the guests can avail free of cost.

The guests at this type of unique hotel or resort could have the opportunity to attend workshops

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Feature without any extra cost where appropriate pairing of chocolates and wines could be taught. And chocolate cocktails can be made an integral part of their menu.

These can be supplemented with organising of interesting chocolate competitions, where the hotel guests, with the guidance from expert chocolatiers, could endeavour to give creative expressions to chocolates in the form of chocolate doll, chocolate train, portraits with chocolate, chocolate jewellery, etc. The winner can get an attractive prize, such as waiving of one week’s room rent. An attractive prize like this would not only attract more and more players in the said chocolate competition, thereby increasing the hotel’s /resort’s popularity, but the said property can also garner more guests.

This type of idea can be very much be a reality in the backdrop of growing interest for chocolates in India. Already there is a unique chocolate themed hotel in the UK, which is appropriately named as The Chocolate Boutique Hotel.

Situated in Bournemouth’s fashionable Soho Quarter, the hotel has 15 unique

HOTEL Business Review

chocolate themed bedrooms. The hotel has been named as one of the top six novelty hotels in the world by The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, and more recently, CNN voted the hotel as one of the top six hotels in the world recommended for a ‘girlie’ getaway.

They have ‘Chocolate Weekend’ packages, which according to the hotel’s website are perfect for an anniversary,

birthday, special occasion or even for just a weekend break with a fellow chocoholic! While staying at this hotel, one can attend interesting and innovative chocolate workshops. These are only few of the several attractions of staying at this hotel. One can know more about this unique boutique hotel in the UK by visiting their site www. thechocolateboutiquehotel.co.uk.

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Tribal Resorts The Indian hospitality industry can also explore the idea of heritage resort in more depth by taking the concept of heritage beyond the realms of conventional history.

Why not established hotel chains come up with the endeavour to actualise the idea to have tribal-themed resorts in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, North-east and other places of India, which have a rich presence of tribal life? In these resorts, the day-to-day lifestyles, festivities and some of the wonderful customs and costumes of the tribes of Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and North-east and other parts of India can be reflected in the cultural programmes hosted at the resort or in the ‘role playing’ and attire of the personnel of the resort. Of course, all these exercise should be done while keeping in mind that no law of our land is being violated or compromised.

Of course, it goes without saying that such resorts should be located in close proximity of the tribal areas, preferably within the tribal villages, and the ambience and décor of those tribal resorts should simulate a tribal village though they can be spruced with comprehensive post-modern amenities and facilities in an unobtrusive and latent manner at the same time.

Heritage Resort Villages Or what about having heritage resort villages where the life and times of

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Of course, there needs to be lots of role playing by the work force of the heritage resort village in order to recreate history in the post-modern era, and the work force of the heritage resort village should be endowed with some acting skills too besides their expertise in offering personalised hospitality that is reminiscent of a bygone era.

And of course, cars and other forms of modern transportation would be parked some specific distance away from such a unique resort (say a mile away from the resort), and it is better if the resort is accessed by crossing a river or a huge lake, or parts of sea(if the resort is located in a island) by boat.

Ishi Khosla

a given era will be recreated on a day-today basis, thereby giving the impression that one is literally living in that given era or has been transported to a different historical era by magic? This would give tourists the sense of time travel.

For example, a heritage resort village can be build with the idea of simulating a slice of life as it was in India during the Mughal era. The small make-believe village could comprise of about say 20 houses reflecting Mughal architecture where the guests would stay. The houses would be scattered around the village, and the heritage resort village would also have people (the employed personnel of the resort) seen doing their daily chores; working as blacksmith, carpenter, etc.

Cruise Hotels Then we can have more floating resorts in the backwaters of Kerala, which can be shaped like Kettuvalams but their size could be much bigger than normal Kettuvalam-turned resorts. Each of these resorts could have 50 rooms and could host 100 guests at a time. They can get a kaleidoscopic view of rural Kerala while enjoying post-modern luxuries.

More ships can also double up as cruise resorts for giving wonderful vignettes of the Konkan or Malabar coastline, or the fascinating wildlife of Assam or Sunderbans, which are not that well explored by many of our domestic tourists. Both these measures can enhance our domestic and inbound tourism potential. I know cruise hospitality is not a unique idea, but for some reason such an idea is not as popular in the Indian hospitality industry as it deserves to be.

I know all these ideas require huge investments to become reality, but there is no dearth of huge Indian and international hospitality chains in India who have the power to make such investments. In fact, I think the high profitability potential of these ideas can encourage the industry players to channelise their investments in these unconventional areas.

By exploring the unconventional areas of tourism and hospitality, the domestic tourism and hospitality can reach their potential in terms of visitors and revenues and the Indian hospitality industry can easily counter the presently disturbing trend of sluggish growth in  ADR and RevPAR across cities.

Mar-Apr ’14

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F&B

HOTEL Business Review

Engineering the Menu

By Sharmila Chand “How can I create higher profit items in menus?” It is a perennial question that frequently hovers on the minds of the F&B professionals, be they owners or F&B Managers. The question has also been the topic of discussion in many seminars and conferences. From logical comprehension, one understands the answer lies in the key term, i.e. ‘Menu Engineering.’

What is Menu Engineering?

According to an expert, menu engineering is the study of the profitability and popularity of menu Four Steps Towards Menu Engineering

• Do costing of your menu prudently.

• Categorise the menu items according to profit and popularity levels.

• Design your menu.

• Test your new menu.

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items and how these two factors influence the placement of the food & beverage items on a menu. The goal of menu engineering in food service outlets is simple; to increase profitability per guest.

Several studies have been done to analyse the subject of menu engineering. While the term menu engineering is mostly used with regard to traditional paper restaurant menus, the concept is equally relevant for menus having online presence. For a food service outlet selling items with varying levels of price and profitability, menu engineering can help enhance the profits.

“A good menu should be re-worked at least three times a year and have something seasonal going on every now and then,” averred Bakshish Dean, Head Chef and CEO of Johnny Rockets India.

Now here lies the challenge of

understanding what items to be placed in the menu so that they can garner better yields in terms of profits. We raised the question to some well-known F&B professionals and got some interesting point of views, which are discussed below.

The Right Menu According to Chef Thomas Joseph, Executive Chef, Mövenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore, menus which generate profitability without compromising on quality and guest delight are the menus which should be promoted, ideally.

“Profitability will always come with guest delight. We cannot be profitable without happy guests,” observed Joseph. On a general level, he cites a few factors, which he believes are key to creating profitable menus.

“Incorporate dishes which are prepared with locally sourced ingredients; vegetarian choices should

F&B

“Low cost items, which are filling and nutritious, should always come first e.g. soups, salads and sandwiches. Apart from this, local or seasonal products on the menu should always gain prominence over imported or out of season products.”

— Sandeep Panwar, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa New Delhi.

be prepared with vegetables that are in season; avoid dishes which require partly prepared outsourced products like taco shells, sausages, etc.,” elaborated Joseph.

However, there are challenges in creating such menus which yield higher profits. “Usually hosts, especially of social events, look for opportunities to serve dishes that are unique in order to create a lasting memory with their guests; they want the event to be spoken about positively for many days to come,” explained Joseph while adding, “So it takes considerable effort to convince them to go for regional specialties which can be prepared with seasonal ingredients available.” There are other challenges too. “Creating a wide variety in menu becomes challenge while working with set list of ingredients, especially seasonal ones. However, on the positive side, hosts of social events are likely to be happy with the end result when the menu laid out fits within desired pricing and garners positive feedback from guests,” pointed out Joseph.

HOTEL Business Review

menus which can yield higher profits is the inability to do basic costing right. One needs to keep in mind every aspect, which includes price, processing (yields), cooking loss (shrinkage), spoilage, wastage, garnishing, accompaniments, etc. while crafting the menu. If they are taken into account in the prudent manner while creating the menu there is no way you can go wrong in pricing your dishes, and if the pricing is correct your profit margins tend to be secure,” articulated Dean.

A menu with high profit potential must also be supplemented with skilled and trained personnel. “Make sure that your staff is well trained, motivated and skilled for the job. Too often the implementation of a menu fails, not because of the content of the menu but due to a poor execution of it,” concurred Guto Souza, Head Chef, Go with the Flow restaurant in Goa.

Going Seasonal There are several advantages of having a menu focussed on seasonal ingredients.

“The advantages are that an element of freshness gets incorporated in the menu as the base ingredients get changed frequently. Moreover, the costs of seasonal and local ingredients are lower as compared to imported ingredients.

The guests may also be pleasantly surprised to see a different product on the plate depending on the season and market availability,” elaborated Chef Shubhendu Kadam, the Executive Chef, Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre.

Dean advocates going seasonal.

“Have majority of your menu dishes done as per the seasonal availability of ingredients. Procuring seasonal

— Chef Guto Souza, Head Chef, Go with the Flow, Goa

ingredients facilitates towards affordability,” asserted Dean.

“Ensure the quality levels of different menu items while using different seasonal ingredients. Setbacks can also be due to fluctuations in the prices of the ingredients as well as the availability,” added Souza.

The extensive use of seasonal ingredients can be an intelligent step towards profitable menu engineering. “However, some guests can raise concern on limited choice or variety when menus are designed with seasonal ingredients,” aired Joseph. Moreover, he points out that “Seasonal ingredients are available for limited periods, so at times sourcing ingredients becomes a challenge when these go off shelf in a period of three months. And there is an additional cost involved when we have to fly down the ingredients from elsewhere.”

Other Factors to Heed

Costing and Personnel “One limitation towards creation of

“The challenge is to design the menu according to the profile of your guests.

Sometimes the two don’t match.”

Shubhendu Kadam

Dean views that while crafting a winning menu, one needs to give careful consideration to procurement, raw material quality, ordering in the right quantities, storage and several other factors. If these factors are not judiciously adhered to, the menu engineering process may receive setbacks.

“One needs to make an effort to reach the source of the products and buy from there, which will always get you a

Mar-Apr ’14

47

F&B

HOTEL Business Review

better procurement price. Then the food service business should focus on buying the best possible quality of raw materials, which will not only give the given food service business a higher yield but will also enhance the overall product appeal and quality of the food & beverage offerings of the outlet,” observed Dean.

“Ordering the right quantity comes next. If the quantity ordered is not correct you will either loose out on the sales if ordered less or increase your wastage if the ordering is more than what you need,” Dean added. He also calls for adequate storage facilities for the raw materials.

“Adequate storage space helps maintain raw materials till they are utilised. If storage is not optimal both spoilage and wastage will be high,” affirmed Dean.

There are other factors whose non compliance can mar a winning menu.

“The Chef and the F&B Manager need to have a clear idea of the processing and thawing yields of a raw material. If they are not being adhered to the cost of the basic raw material may go high and this would shave the entrepreneur’s profits.

Furthermore, the Chef and her/his team need to be very well-trained in the pre-cooking and cooking processes, the kitchen equipments must be in top condition, and the food service outlet must have good standards of food safety,” offered Dean.

operational requirements and pricing techniques,” said Joseph. The experts also gave some useful tips pertaining to the inclusion of the right items in the menu. “Tomato soup, makhani preparations can be included when tomatoes are in season and are priced very low in the market. This helps in creating variety within limited costing.

Similarly, aam ka panna is a favourite during the hot summer season. At the same time, since mango is a seasonal fruit, its inclusion in the menu can help realise increased profits,” explained Joseph.

Dean advises food service outlets to know their customers and their taste profile for including items in the menu. “For example, if in the vicinity

“Menus which generate profitability without compromising on quality and guest delight are the menus that should be promoted, ideally.”

there is dominant Punjabi community which frequents your restaurant then there is no point introducing flavours from Gujarati cuisine in the menu. You could have a one off dish to showcase but the primary flavour profile should be connected with the target guests’ palate,” opined Dean.

Dean also advises on costing the recipes correctly, procuring from the source, pricing the dishes correctly, concerted promotion initiative of high profit dishes by the team, and organising of regular sampling of high profit dishes.

Dean prefers keeping the dishes

simple. “Complicated dishes call for a number of processes and flavours.

This usually pushes the cost of the dish which then becomes difficult to price and eventually sell. Simple recipes on the other hand are consistent and easy to execute. They result in higher table turns hence better profitability,” proffered Dean.

He also calls for having limited dishes on the menu. “This not only will reduce your preparation and execution time but is likely to enhance your profitability considerably,” Dean asserted.

Souza believes that to ensure higher profit from the menu, “it is important that you use the ingredient optimally and limit waste as much as possible by generating extra menu items out of the same ingredient.” He cites the example of pork belly, which can be subjected to a number of culinary applications.

“Roasted pork belly can be used as a main course. Smaller pieces of pork belly, which cannot be used as a main course can be sliced thin and then served as a starter with a delicious truffle risotto. And the even smaller pieces, which cannot be sliced can be minced and made filling for mouth watering momos,” Souza explained. He also gave the example of strawberry, “which can be used as strawberry risotto, strawberry sauce for fish, and as strawberry tart as dessert.” 

Experts’ Advice “Menu engineering demands sound understanding of guests’ aspirations,

“Buy from the source, so that you could avail the price benefit.”

— Bakshish Dean, Head Chef and CEO of Johnny Rockets India.

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— Thomas Joseph, Executive Chef, Mövenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore.

Mar-Apr ’14

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Spa

HOTEL Business Review

Shining Through Wellness

By Sharmila Chand

Shine Spa for Sheraton™, located at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, is meant to be a perfect haven for wellness enthusiasts. This is the first Shine Spa for SheratonTM in India. The spa provides authentic wellness experiences which have the potential to be memorable for the guests. The spa has wonderful array of treatments, quality products and skilled therapists.

T

he focus of the spa has been to facilitate the fundamental need for recharging while travelling.

Here the guests can find a warm, comfortable atmosphere that is both luxurious as well as homely.

The spa has vibrant interiors inspired by classic elements of the Regency period. Lush colours fill the spaces with materials that add a dash of sparkle to the ambience. The first Shine Spa for Sheraton™ in India has an array of special signature features which can provide delightful experiences for the spa goers. Serenity of the ambience can move the guests entering the spa.

At the same time, despite the ambience of serenity, the spa provides a perfect setting for guests to mingle and connect. The wellness haven is about letting your guard down and feeling good. Forget about sombre and silent spa experiences; here you can feel at home by having an interesting conversation, by bursting into laughter, or just by relaxing.

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Mar-Apr ’14

Simply put, the spa presents wellness and luxury without the pretense, which can brighten the jaded spirits.

Succinctly, Shine Spa for Sheraton™ at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway presents itself as the spa for people who love life; where ‘life enthusiasts’ can relax and make the most of their trip.

The Spa Menu Here each treatment begins with a ritual foot wash, which gives the spa therapist a chance to connect with you and customise your Shine Spa experience.

After your treatment, you can share the glow by leaving a message on the glow board. Sharing the glow is an important part of the Shine philosophy. Bringing a friend or a loved one to experience the ‘Shine for two’ package at the spa is a great way to show that you care.

The spa menu at the Shine Spa for Sheraton™ at Bangalore offers exclusively designed packages. They include Shine

Spa

HOTEL Business Review

massage services to soothe aches and pains, alleviate stress and rejuvenate the body; Shine facial treatments to purify and enhance beauty.

Beyond providing rest, relaxation and recovery, with the Shine body package, the team at the spa aspires to uplift its guests and encourage them to focus on the betterment of self, elevation of spirit, enhancement of mood, improvement of outlook and total personal renewal.

While here each treatment begins and ends with a chime, every movement through Shine Spa for Sheraton™ at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway offers an opportunity to experience harmonious, sensory, and peaceful moments.

Creating a Wellness Oasis

By Sharmila Chand

Saif Usmani is the Spa Manager of the first ever Shine Spa for SheratonTM in India, at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway.

Usmani has been associated with healthcare and spa industry for over 12 years, serving in various positions around the globe. His most recent and successful stint was with Mandarin Oriental, Singapore as the Spa Treatment Manager. Usmani has also served as the Spa Manager and Fitness Counselor at The Parma Spa and Wellness Center — Virginia, USA, and as a Spa Supervisor at The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur.

His passion and expertise clearly are in spa therapies, treatments and wellness. Usmani has also been trained in Ayurvedic therapies and Panchakarma. “Shine Spa for SheratonTM is a huge value addition to the Sheraton property in Bangalore and assures comfort for business and leisure travellers alike. I look forward to sharing my expertise and skills to make Shine Spa for SheratonTM the best spa in the city,” said Usmani.

Through his journey with wellness, he has strived towards maintaining the highest levels of satisfaction by managing clients’ requests and anticipating their needs. He has been actively involved in health and fitness consultations and in the development and implementation of fitness packages. He has also trained therapists in Ayurveda and yoga therapies, spa management software and standard operating procedures. The excerpts of the interview follow: How long have you been in the wellness industry? What are the changes you have witnessed in your field during the recent years?

I have worked in the wellness industry for more than 10 years. And during these years, my workplace varied from Jaipur to the US to Singapore and now Bangalore.

These days, there seems to be a strong

emphasis on upgrading facilities, in striving to achieve excellence, and in maintaining loyalty among the clientele.

I feel that more personal attention to the individual client and specialised services are taking the spa experience in India to a new level.

There is probably more emphasis than ever before on a relaxing and soothing environment within the spa, with great

attention to detail. A wide variety of spa services has also become important.

What are the top three traits or skills every Spa Director or a Spa Head must have to manage the spa successfully?

A Spa Director must be able to manage and inspire her/his staff to consistently achieve excellence. Besides,

Mar-Apr ’14

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Spa

HOTEL Business Review

she/he must be intimately familiar with the many details that create the ultimate spa experience. The Spa Director must also be committed towards exceeding each client’s expectations from her/his spa treatment.

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

I enjoy providing a soothing oasis for clients where they can experience relaxation and healing.

Is your job challenging? Can you cite some challenges of your job?

It is indeed challenging. We need to strive to maintain excellence even when external factors, such as late shipment of products, comes into play. Also, training and maintaining highly qualified staff is always a challenge.

If you could change one thing about your job, what would that be?

I would like to be able to spend more time with my family without sacrificing my commitment towards perfection at the spa.

What direction do you see the spa industry in the country taking in the next 10 years?

As technological advances in the cosmetic field become more available, I expect these state-of-the-art treatments to be offered across many spas.

Could you tell us the USP of your spa?

Shine Spa for Sheraton™ at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway emphasises attention to the individual client’s needs and we strive to provide a gentle soothing environment where complete relaxation and rejuvenation is possible.

There are different kinds of spas.

How would you define and classify your spa?

Our spa offers treatments ranging from Ayurvedic massages to popular western treatments like deep tissue massages, facials, etc. There is something for everyone at Shine Spa for Sheraton™ at Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, where we urge you to relax,

uplift your senses, enjoy the moment and find your glow.

How many treatment rooms do you have, and how big is the spa?

Our spa consists of ten treatment rooms covering 945 square meters of contemporary splendour, dedicated wholly to uplifting of the senses.

Three VIP couple suites with in room changing area, steam shower and Jacuzzi, two regular couple suites with in room changing area, shower, and four single rooms with room changing area and a Vichy shower room comprise the infrastructure of this spa.

Do you offer signature treatment/ signature treatments?

Yes, we do have signature treatments.

Some of these are Shine Touch, Shine Essence and Shine Choice.

Tell us about the other facilities and features offered at your spa

Besides luxurious treatment rooms with water-based amenities and all natural Starwood approved products we have steam and sauna. Both are conveniently located just a step away at Sheraton Fitness by Core Performance; our world class fitness studio.

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

I would opt for Shine Choice as it is a fully customised package. In this signature treatment of ours the guest can customise her/his own treatments from the list of massages, scrubs, wraps and facials available. After the treatment you will be treated with a choice of vegetarian/ non-vegetarian snack with a healthy juice.

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53

Technology

HOTEL Business Review

Sophisticated Software Solutions for Hospitality Like numerous other industries, hospitality industry of postmodern times also needs to bank heavily on a slew of software technology solutions to automate and streamline hotel operations, which include optimising or at least systematising the use of manpower, leveraging multiple distribution channels to grow occupancy, and eventually increasing the profitability of a property.

Bangalore-based IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is one of the reputed names which have been technologically facilitating hotels across the globe. IDS Next’s hospitality technology solutions cater to the needs of hotels across various market segments, ranging from large hotel chains and independent hotels, to resorts, restaurants and clubs. Swarnendu Biswas from Hotel Business Review spoke to Binu Mathews, CEO of IDS Next Business Solutions about various aspects of hospitality technology solutions offered by their company. Below are the excerpts of the interview: Kindly explain briefly how IDS Next’s software solutions facilitate the workings of the hospitality industry. Besides facilitating online reservations, in which other areas do your company’s software solutions help towards the functioning of the hotels? Explain briefly one such functioning

IDS Next is a pioneer in the field of hospitality technology in the Indian hospitality industry. We offer a host of ERPs(Enterprise Resource Planning) designed to suit the needs of hotels, depending on their size and requirement.

We do not believe in a ‘one size fits all’ philosophy; and have carefully crafted several ERPs to address each and every segment of the hotel industry. Right from small hotels or lodges offering limited

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services to large star hotels (both standalone and chains), we offer different ERPs keeping in mind their niche requirements. We also empower resorts, clubs and F&B outlets with our software solutions.

Our ERPs have been designed to automate operations in every department of a hotel be it front office, finance, accounts receivables, point-of-sale, inventory, maintenance, banquets and conferences, sales and marketing, HR & payrolls, F&B costing and more. Our FortuneNEXT 6i Suite of Enterprise class solutions are highly integrated and run on a single database.

We help hotels to free their staff from doing unproductive data entry and get them to spend more time productively engaging with guests. Hotel operations

are mission critical and we offer 24/7 technical support to ensure that the large number of hotels using our software are up and running at all times.

Kindly throw some light on your partnership with RezNext

IDS Next also has a unique partnership with RezNext. Through a smart and intuitive dashboard called ReD, the IDS Next hotel ERP is empowered to assist hotels to manage a host of distribution channels, online reputation and revenue and also access a business intelligence tool. Through the RezNext interface, hotels can get connected to a host of traditional OTAs(online travel agents) and newage channels so that hotels can beat the competition, reach a larger number of

Spa Technology potential guests and maximise revenues.

The partnership between IDS Next and RezNext offers online reputation management tool which helps hotels to track what is being mentioned about them by guests on various review sites and also enables the hotel management to respond quickly and responsibly.

Similarly, the revenue management solution helps hotels to understand guest behaviour patterns and market trends, and develop strong pricing strategy to improve profitability.

Throw some light on PAX. In what ways (in terms of efficiency, economics, etc.) it is suited specifically to the needs of the small budget hotels? Kindly explain in detail

With PAX, IDS Next has entered the sub-three star hotel category. PAX has been designed for the specific needs of small hotels, budget hotels and limited service properties. IDS Next launched PAX and ventured into the sub-three star hotel category simply because we had a chorus of demand for quality software for these hotels’ niche needs.

PAX is unique for its ease of use,

HOTEL Business Review

compactness and costeffectiveness. Its four modules, namely Front Office, Point of Sale, Accounts Receivable and Telephone Management are easy to deploy. PAX also has host of interfaces like Tally, Door Lock, EPABX, Document Scanner, Webcam and Plutus Online Credit Card Settlement.

The advantage of PAX is that customers can automatically download product updates through our online patch management. Another feature that makes PAX a unique offering for small hotels is its real-time two-way interface to online room distribution channels like web booking engine, mobile channel, traditional online travel agents, and nontraditional online channels through the Rexlite connect.

The Rexlite dashboard can also be

accessed through a large screen mobility device and can assist hotel owners to check the statistics related to a hotel, realtime. Hoteliers can also allot inventory to connected online channels and manage rates. Real time two-way connectivity to online channels ceases human errors and enables owners to manage their room inventory effectively and avoid turning away the guests. PAX is one of the few software solutions for budget hotels that offer this facility.

PAX has also been designed to address a host of pain points faced by

Mar-Apr ’14

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Technology

HOTEL Business Review

the management of budget hotels, such as limited access to trained manpower.

With PAX, hotels can go live quickly and the software can be operated by any level of the hotel staff with minimal training.

With PAX, hoteliers can also reduce revenue pilferage through housekeeping and inventory management. The Tally interface also provides easy accounting without manual entries. Moreover, PAX has been competitively priced so that it is affordable even to the hotelier in small towns who wishes to systematise and automate operations.

Also explain about IDS Next’s some of the software solutions for large hotels/hotel chains

As a market leader, IDS Next understands that managing a large hotel or chain of hotels is a Herculean task and the hotel management needs to have in-depth and collective understanding of inventory, bookings, revenue and other aspects too. They also need to plan loyalty schemes and maintain elaborate guest history that they can use for marketing. Keeping these needs in mind, FortuneNEXT 6i Enterprise can be easily scaled up to the requirements of large hotels and hotel chains.

With as many as 12 modules, the software’s centralised data integration feature enables efficient property management to improve the hotel’s performance and productivity.

Additionally, FortuneNEXT 6i Enterprise is tablet ready and offers a host of drill down reporting features so that hotel management can take better and faster decisions even while on the move.

Some of the key business benefits of FortuneNEXT 6i Enterprise are as below: • Enhanced financial planning and improved operational efficiency • Safety of guests’ payment card details as the software is PA DSS Certified • Improved transparency and accountability within the property • Enhanced decision making capabilities • Reduced operational cost and personalised guest services • Effective housekeeping and concierge management Additionally, we have two add-on softwares that large hotels and hotel chains can adopt, namely Fortune CRX and Fortune Central Financial Reporting

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System.

Fortune CRX helps hotel chains to access all reservation related data. It can be easily integrated to the FortuneNEXT 6i suite of Hotel ERP and offers a realtime end-to-end reservation system.

The hotel reservation solution shows real time availability of accommodation, room rates, instant allocation checking for tour booking, audit trail for critical applications and more.

Reservations made through Web CRS are transferred to the Hotel ERP instantly, making reservations online and real-time with no additional manual steps. This optimises a hotel’s use of manpower and minimises errors.

Fortune Central Financial Reporting System effectively automates entry of financial data into respective ledgers, collates vital financial information and allows a hotel’s management to create multiple reports and provide insights into the hotel chain’s financial details.

India. How many offices do you have in India? Does your business have a pan-India presence across the Indian hospitality industry?

In India, we have over 2800 clients.

This gives us the largest market share in the country. Some of our prominent clients are Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, ITC-Fortune Group of Hotels, Royal Orchid Hotels, Golden Tulip, The Pride Hotels, Keys Hotels and others. We have our headquarters and R&D center in Bangalore and have five regional offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad. IDS Next has a pan-India presence. Our software can be found in 300 cities and towns across the country.

Besides India, in which other countries does IDS Next provide its software solutions? Do you have office/offices abroad?

Apart from India, we have presence in 40 countries. We have presence in SouthEast Asia, Oceania, Sri Lanka & Maldives, Middle-East, and Africa. We also have dedicated sales and support offices in Sri Lanka, Middle-East, and Africa.

How do you gauge the future for software solutions in the Indian hospitality industry of today, and what are your reasons behind your opinion?

Have you the requisite software for checking possible credit card/ debit card misuse? If yes, briefly explain on this aspect

The hospitality industry is vulnerable to data theft and hacking. The situation is extremely serious when the information stolen is financial in nature, for example a guest’s credit and debit card details.

Recognising this situation, IDS Next proactively sought PA DSS Certification for our Hotel ERPs. This means our software encrypts payment details of card/ s handed over by the guest and disposes of this information after a pre-determined period of time.

Kindly name some of the important clients of IDS Next in

The hospitality industry of India has been slow to adopt technology, but that phase is now over. Now, with Internetsavvy guests, who look up and book rooms online, browse for last-minute deals, and regularly discuss their travel plans on social networking sites, hotels, whether big or small, have no choice but to follow their guests.

Discerning guests are also becoming demanding when it comes to service and they expect quality. Nowadays in this IT age, few hotels can manage to meet their guests’ expectations and keep them happy without information technology to bolster their efforts.

Competition is also growing and now perhaps no hotelier can afford to isolate himself/herself from software technology and still garner high profits by relying exclusively on expensive manpower. With all these aspects in mind, I think the role of software solutions in the Indian hospitality industry is both crucial, and its future being very bright. 

Mar-Apr ’14

57

Product Preview

HOTEL Business Review

OFFERING COMPLETE KITCHEN SOLUTIONS

Jindal kitchen Equipments was earlier manufacturing kitchen equipments under the umbrella of Jindal Gas Group which was started in 1982. Jindal kitchen Equipments Pvt. Ltd. was formed as a separate company in1999, with the following main areas of operation: Equipment Designing, Kitchen Layout, Air Ventilation, LPG Pipeline, Fresh Air Systems and Design Equipments as per customer’s requirements.

Company is an ISO 9001:2000 Certified Company. The range of equipments manufactured includes- Cooking Equipments, Commercial Refrigerators, Display Fridge, Trolleys, Tables &

Racks, Receiving & Storage Equipments, Food Preparation Equipments, Washing Equipments, Cabinet Refrigeration, Commercial Kitchen Equipments, Kitchen Equipments, Bar Equipments, Catering Equipments, Bakery Equipments, Hotel Kitchen Equipments, Domestic Kitchen Equipments, Display Storage Refrigeration, Service Equipment, Imported Equipments etc. The company has done mega projects with Indian Army, Industrial Canteens, Restaurants, Food Courts and Hotel Industries. They have also exported Kitchen Equipments to USA & Saudi Arabia. The company situated in 5000 sq yards has complete in-house facility for equipment manufacturing. They have different departments for Designing, Marking, Cutting, Welding, Bending Finishing and Inspection. The company use Food Grade materials and have many new designs in Research and development. They also manufacture all kind of Commercial Burner, Needle Control Valve, Click-on adopter, Non-return Valves etc. The range of activities undertaken by the company includes: Equipment designing & Kitchen designing, Installation of Gas Pipe Line / Gas Bank., Exhaust & Fresh Air System, Installation / After Sale Service, Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC). The modernized production facilities and team of professionals play an important role in over-all production processes.

They have excelled in production of stainless steel kitchen equipment, which is well shown by the appreciation of their clients base spread all over the globe with our modern manufacturing techniques, streamlined production processes and cutting edge research. They have expanded its product range to be with the demands of the global market. The company also offers customized solutions as per buyer’s choice.

Jindal Kitchen Equipments Pvt. Ltd. jindalkitchens@gmail.com

BEING SAFE WITH OZONE

Ozone, the trusted and leading security solutions provider, offers its high-end digital Hotel Safes for hoteliers who are committed to provide convenience and peace of mind to their guests, through ensuring top-grade security of all their guests’ valuables.

This safe can be digitally accessed by using 4-6 digit user code and also features an audit trail function that records the last operation details. For security against any kind of tampering, the safe slips into a secure mode on four consecutive wrong code inputs. In case of any emergency, the safe can also be opened by using a master code or mechanical override key.

Robust, compact, easy to use and spruced with smart features, these safes can be fixed easily in wardrobes and cupboards or fixed anywhere in the room. Ozone offers Hotel Safes in a wide variety of designs and sizes to suit diverse requirements, thus facilitating hoteliers reinforce their commitment towards outstanding hospitality.

Ozone Overseas Pvt. Ltd. sayami.d@ozone-india.com

REFLECTING CRYSTAL CLEAR QUALITY

Established in 1889, the history of Stölzle Lausitz goes back to 125 years. The company started to manufacture mouth-blown glass stemware in 1908 and evolved into one the largest producers of drinking glasses in Europe.

Stölzle is one of the few glass manufacturers who have mastered the manufacturing process to produce a one piece stem and bowl. The result is machine made glasses with the features and elegance of mouth-blown stemware. Today, Stölzle produces more than 40 million stem glasses a year.

Stölzle stands for innovation and quality at optimum price. This principle is being amply manifested in the company’s mass-produced lead-free glass lenses, which are required for a good glass of wine; both for Exquisit Royal Glasses Event the average wine drinker and as well as for professional use in catering and hotel industry.

On the occasion of its 125 years of its glass making tradition, Stölzle is offering Anniversary Sales Promotion for its customers.

The offer is valid on two products; on Event & Exquisit Royal glasses.

Soft Sensations Pvt. Ltd. raman@softsensations.net

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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ION EXCHANGE (INDIA) LTD.

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45

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59

LOOM CRAFTS FURNITURE (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

24, 25

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35

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43

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Mar-Apr ’14

59

Interview

HOTEL Business Review

Dedicated to Succeed

By Sharmila Chand

With 15 years of experience of working in the Indian hospitality industry behind him, Terrance Motha, General Manager, Lazylagoon Sarovar Portico Suites, Goa, is dedicated to the success of the property.

A hotel management graduate who passed out in 1998, he begun his career specialising in front office operations, and grew in his career subsequently. During his tenure, he worked with the Kenilworth Resort & Spa, The Leela Goa, and the The Zuri White Sands, Goa Resort & Casino (earlier it was Radisson White Sands Resort). He has also worked with the Sterling Holiday Resorts.

He joined the company in the capacity of Corporate Head Front Office and moved up within the same organisation. He is happy in his present position where he is engaged with since December 2013. In his present capacity he is managing a 40-key boutique resort spread over 2 acres and overlooking the Baga Creek.

In his words, “I enjoy my responsibility of running the operations, maximising revenue, and creating a memorable experience for all our guests.” The excerpts of the interview follow: Kindly give a brief overview of your property. What is its USP?

It is a boutique resort located on the Baga Creek. We have spacious rooms suited for families, which are well- equipped with standard amenities. The property offers a wonderful view of the lagoon.

Location is one of our main attractions.

The property is centrally located and has easy access to prime and well-known beaches like the Anjuna, Calangute, Baga, and as well as the flea markets and all the happening events like the Sunburn Festival, the India Bike Week, etc.

One can say that our quality service, our value for money and affording of excellent views are factors which distinguish us from many other hotels/resorts operating in the same bracket.

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

We believe the best marketing strategy is the word of mouth of our guests. We have 40 percent repeat business and referrals from guests who have stayed with us.

Our main priority is to ensure there is guest satisfaction. One happy guest is equivalent to 10 referrals for our resort.

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

F&B is no doubt one of the most important revenue earning departments of the property. We work towards understanding 60

Mar-Apr ’14

guests’ needs in terms of their tastes, and in ensuring options of food from their hometown. We also strongly promote the local Goan cuisine.

What would you say is the highlight of your F&B outlets?

We like to offer food according to the guests’ needs with very warm and personalised service, and we have been acknowledged for the same.

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

We want to create a name within the local competition as a main option for dining.

What are the most crucial challenges to tackle in the Indian hospitality industry, during the present days?

One of the most crucial challenges to tackle is the cut- throat competition where the demand is more than the supply. One needs to enhance or maintain revenues despite the cut-throat competition.

Another challenge pertains to expense.

With inflation on the rise, we have the challenge to manage the cost factor without compromising on the standards of service.

Staffing is another challenge for the present day hospitality industry. Attrition is a big issue.

What do you enjoy the most about being at the helm of affairs at the property?

I find that here every day is a new day

for me, with new issues to tackle. It makes a person more innovative as she/he has to come up with new ideas all the time to tackle challenges. It brings out the best in you and at times it amuses you to know your strength within.

What do you think makes for a good GM of a hotel/resort?

To be a good GM of a hotel/resort, one should be a decent team player, should be a good decision maker, be a positive thinker and should have a positive attitude.

What are your strengths, professionally?

I think I am a good team player who can motivate colleagues. I am also able to tackle issues with guests and staff, and lastly, sales have been my forte.

How do you de-stress?

Being with the family is the best option. I ensure to spare some time with the family.

What is your working mantra, your guiding philosophy in work?

I believe in practice what you are preaching. I believe in leading by setting an example.

Anything else you would like to say?

I owe so much to this industry for my personal and professional growth. It has made me a disciplined person and improved my confidence level. I would like to play my role and responsibilities with utmost sincerity in my present and my future positions.