Hi apr13 cover low res by Hotelier India

Registered with Registrar of Newspapers under RNI No. MAHENG/2009/34648. Postal Registration No. MH/MR/N/98/MBI/12-14 Published on 7th of every month. Posted at Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai-400001. Posting date: 8th & 9th of every month Total number of pages 108 Volume 5|Issue 4|April 2013|`50

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FOCUS

DEVELOPERS AND BRANDS LOOKING BEYOND METROS

DESIGN

SPOTLIGHT ON LANDSCAPING

FOOD

EVOLVING DESIGN OF RESTAURANTS

PEOPLE

CHEF FRANCESCO OF 0-KM CUISINE

THE FAB

FIVE DEVELOPERS, BRAND OWNERS, ARCHITECTS, INTERIOR DESIGNERS AND CONSULTANTS HOLD THE KEY TO WELL-DESIGNED HOTELS

Published by ITP Publication India

MARKET DATA EMERGING TRENDS | COLUMN MICHAEL ROMEI | GM’S DIARY ELTON HURTIS 01_HI_Apr13_Cover Final.indd 1

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CONTENTS

49 26 COVER STORY

We get the fab five — developers, brand owners, architects, interior designers and consultants — to share their thoughts on the hotel development process. 16 MARKET DATA

80 COMMENT

India is maturing in both its roles as a destination and a market. What trends do hotels need to watch out for to make the most of growth?

Michael Romei, general secretary of Union Internationale des Concierges d”Hôtels tells Indian concierges how to delight guests.

43 SPOTLIGHT

94 TECHNOLOGY

Take cues from these rare, thoughtfully designed luxury experiences from Leading Hotels of the World properties across the globe.

Everything you want to know about BIM.

46 PEOPLE Italy-based chef Francesco Costagli is touted the 0 km chef. He shares tips and best practices in truly organic sourcing.

49 DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL News and views on the development landscape in India, from key players, to ripe markets and strategies to overcome hiccups.

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96 FOOD The changing profile of the diner and new cuisines entering the market demand trendy design.

102 PICKS OF THE MONTH Hotelier India’s round-up of the latest arrivals in the market and of the must-have products for your hotel.

106 10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW Grand Hyatt Goa.

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April 2013 | Volume 5 | Issue 4

Design directions

ITP PUBLISHING INDIA PVT LTD 898 Turner Road, Notan Plaza, 3rd floor, Bandra (West), Mumbai - 400050 T +91 22 6154 6000

GLOBALLY, GUESTS ARE LOOKING AT ENHANCED SERVICES AND EXPERIENCE, BOTH OF WHICH, ARE BASED ON HOW WELL THE HOTEL IS DESIGNED.

To me, five has always been a favourite number, and not just because that was the only maths table I could rattle off as a kid, but also because some of the most fascinating things have ‘five’ at their core — senses, elements, Pandavas...I could go on. In fact, when putting this issue together, I realised that the design decisionmakers in a hotel property are also — well, FIVE! This is a design-focus issue and hospitality is all about experience — both in terms of service and ambience. Globally, guests are looking at enhanced services and experience, both of which, we discovered, are based on how well the hotel is designed. While the front-of-house experience is more tangible in terms of the space flows and decor, the back-of-house design ensures efficient service — together, determine if your guest will come back, and what will he say about you to his peers. Many design-related things came up in this process — some old, some new and some surprisingly, not actively implemented as yet (BIM being a case in point, which we have covered in detail). Some interesting case studies, too, will point out how, sometimes, design can become a conversation starter that lingers in the minds of guests. We look at some aspects that determine design and trends that guide development, which is another concern for the industry. This issue also lays a special emphasis on the development scene in the country. We get some of the stalwarts to talk about the trends and innovations, things that need focus and the way forward in our Development Special. Though each issue is special, what makes this one more so, is the fact that we bring another facet of the industry to the fore — how to create the right environment for both guests and staff, making them feel at home.

Babita Krishnan Editor

Deputy managing director S Saikumar Publishing director Bibhor Srivastava Group editor Shafquat Ali EDITORIAL Editor Babita Krishnan T +91 22 6154 6042 babita.krishnan@itp.com Managing editor Raynah Coutinho T +91 22 6154 6043 raynah.coutinho@itp.com ADVERTISING INDIA Business head Gurmeet Sachdev T +91 9987 208866 gurmeet.sachdev@itp.com Regional manager - South Sanjay Bhan T +91 9845 722377 sanjay.bhan@itp.com MIDDLE EAST Publishing director Diarmuid O’Malley T +971 4 444 3000 dom@itp.com Commercial director Sarah Worth T +971 4 444 3000 sarah.worth@itp.com STUDIO Head of design Milind Patil Designer Reshma Jhunjhunwala PRODUCTION Deputy production manager Ramesh Kumar ramesh.kumar@itp.com CIRCULATION Distribution manager James D’Souza T +91 22 6154 6032 james.dsouza@itp.com Cover image: Arkodeb Mukherjee Location courtesy: JW Marriott, Mumbai

Disclaimer The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. Printed and Published by Sai Kumar Shanmugam, Flat no. 903, Building 47, NRI Colony, Phase – 2, Part -1, Sector 54, 56, 58, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400706, on behalf of ITP Publishing India Private Limited, printed at Repro India Limited, Marathe Udyog Bhavan, 2nd Floor, Appasaheb Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400 025, India and published at ITP Publishing India, Notan Plaza, 3rd floor, 898,Turner Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai - 400050 Editor: Babita Krishnan

To subscribe please visit www.hotelierindia.com WRITE TO THE EDITOR Please address your letters to: The Editor, Hotelier India, 898 Notan Plaza, 3rd floor, Turner Road Bandra (West), Mumbai - 400050 or email babita.krishnan@itp.com. Please provide your full name and address, stating clearly if you do not wish us to print them. Alternatively, log on to www.hotelierindia.com and air your views. The opinions expressed in this section are of particular individuals and are in no way a reflection of the publisher’s views.

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ADVISORY BOARD Our distinguished advisory board has been assembled to help guide Hotelier India to become even more representative of its community. Members have been invited from the highest levels of the industry to ensure that the magazine continues on its path of success.

Homi Aibara Partner, Mahajan and Aibara Management Consultancy Division

Kamlesh Barot Ex-President, FHRAI

Uttam Davé President and CEO, Interglobe Hotels

Naveen Jain President Duet India Hotels

KB Kachru Executive vice-president – South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group

Rajiv Kaul President, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts

Akshay Kulkarni Regional director – Hospitality, South & Southeast Asia, Cushman & Wakefield

Anil Madhok Managing director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts

Rajeev Menon Area vice-president India, Malaysia, Maldives and Australia, Marriott International

Dilip Puri MD, India and regional VP, South Asia, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts

Sanjay Puri Principal architect, Sanjay Puri Associates

Sanjay Sethi Managing director and CEO, Berggruen Hotels

Vijay Thacker Director, Horwath India

Manav Thadani Chairman HVS South Asia

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News&people

Emerging trends...p16

• Reports • Appointments • Analysis • Profiles • Openings

Chef Costagli...p46

A cut above the rest The Oberoi New Delhi has been awarded the National Tourism Award in the Five-Star Deluxe Category AWARD In recognition of its contribution to tourism in the country and unremitting commitment to excellence, The Oberoi hotel has been awarded the prestigious National Tourism Award in the Best Five Star Deluxe category. Instituted by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the National Tourism Awards are presented annually, in various categories, acknowledging exceptional performance and contribution to promoting India as a tourist destination. Jay Rathore, vice-president and general manager, The Oberoi, New Delhi, said, “It is a matter of great privilege to receive the award from the President of India. The award reflects the hotel’s commitment to quality and consistent dedication to guest satisfaction.” Talking about the accolades, Rathore added, “The honour bestowed on us has been made possible by the efforts of our highly

What They Said. Hoteliers are passionate about the industry in which they work. Every month, Hotelier India presents the sound bites that could spark discussion among experts.

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Dr. K Chiranjeevi, MoS fortourism, Pranab Mukherjee, president of India with Jay Rathore, VP & GM, The Oberoi, New Delhi and Rueben Kataria,EAM,TOND.

motivated and well-trained team members. Such recognition reinforces our commitment to improve consistently, anticipate our guests’ needs and live up to their expectations.” The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, instituted the National Tourism Awards to recognise excellence in the tourism industry. The best hotels, restaurants, tour operators and travel agents are acknowledged for their

“There is greater pressure on the designers to come up with ‘different’ hotels which might not add any value.” Ar. Stephen Albert, vice-president, WATG

outstanding performance and contribution to the hospitality and tourism industry of India. These Awards are presented to those who have demonstrated consistent and unflinching com-

mitment to quality in their categories. Selection of awardees in the hotel categories are evaluated on the basis of annual revenue earned and percentage increase in numbers, foreign guests stayed, International Certification and Awards won related to service quality, security, eco-friendly measures and contribution of the hotel in promoting and conducting Hunar Se Rozgar Programme. This recognition by Ministry of Tourism comes after The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur was awarded with the National Tourism Award in 2010 – 2011. The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, got the National Tourism Award in its respective category for three consecutive years earlier, in the years 2004 – 2005; 2005 – 2006; 2006 – 2007.

Quick facts

: ONYX Hospitality Group announced a strong financial performance (total system revenue jumped by 12 per cent and RevPAR grew by 8 per cent) in 2012 and a steady pace of new hotel signings and openings that will set the pace for continued growth and international expansion.

“There is a lack of local flavour and fabric in bigger brands, which for a country like India is very sad, since we have so much to offer.” Ajay Bakaya, executive director, Sarovar Hotels

“The medical tourism industry in India has a potential to contribute around 25 per cent to the country’s GDP over the next five years if its potential is completely tapped.” Varsha Lafargue, founder and chairperson of Indian Medical Tourism Conference and Alliance (IMTCA)

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NEWS & PEOPLE

Study shows positive investor Reviews drive higher rates: Cornell Study displays the relationship between sentiments for APAC positive reviews and ARRs Development trumps transactions STUDY

Hilton has opened its seventh hotel in the Delhi-NCR region.

STUDY Asia Pacific hotel transaction volumes are projected to reach US$3.5 billion in 2013 on the back of strong investment sentiment to buy hotel assets in the region, Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest Hotel Investment Outlook report has revealed. Australia and Japan are expected to see a lion’s share of investment dollars this year, while pockets of activity will be seen across the rest of the region. Investor appetite for acquisitions is strongest for Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, Auckland, Osaka and Tokyo while Asia Pacific hotel markets continue to rank among the highest globally for development sentiment, with Bali, New Delhi and Mumbai appearing in the global top ten. Despite strong investor sentiment, a low level of established product for sale will widen the pricing gap and slow the pace of transaction volumes. So investors will continue to consider new developments in order to achieve sufficient scale across the region. Supply in Asia is projected to increase by an average of 5.5 per cent per annum across 23 markets over the next two years. Investment benchmarks are being established in India. The study forecasts that during this year they will favour both buyers and developers with a slowdown in development activity and more opportunities to acquire.

TripAdvisor revealed results of a study by Chris Anderson, associate professor, Cornell University’s Centre for Hospitality Research that further supports research findings published by TripAdvisor, on how essential online traveller reviews have become for hotels. In a first attempt at determining ROI of social media and reviews, ‘The Impact of Social Media on Lodging Performance’ demonstrates a direct link between online customer satisfaction and the potential for higher rates. Data from ReviewPro, STR, Travelocity, ComScore and TripAdvisor have been combined to show social media’s growing influence on the consumer research process and how this influence, in turn, can impact a hotel’s ability to set prices, drive occupancy and

increase revenue. According to an earlier study conducted by PhoCusWright on behalf of TripAdvisor, more than half (53 per cent) of respondents state that they will not book a hotel that does not have any reviews on the site, and 87 per cent of users agree that TripAdvisor hotel reviews “help me feel more confident in my decisions”. The recently published Cornell report further shows that a little more than one-fourth (26.5 per cent) of TripAdvisor visits occur in the last five days prior to reservation – a pattern, which shows that user reviews are one of the final criteria in the hotel booking process. Also, the study has found that for every 1-point increase in a hotel’s 100-point ReviewPro Global Review IndexTM (GRI), a hotel can see a 0.54 per cent increase in occupancy, which can lead to an 11.42 per cent increase in revenue per available room.

Quick facts

: IHG signed six Holiday Inn, six Holiday Inn Express and one Crowne Plaza across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune in 2012.

What They Said. Hoteliers are passionate about the industry in which they work. Every month, Hotelier India presents the sound bites that could spark discussion among experts.

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“Philippines Tourism has declared that its focus is going to be the Indian traveller in the year 2013.” Elizabeth Winkle, MD, STR Global

Hotels with good reviews command higher rates and improved occupancy.

“The first step towards energy efficiency is to have a small green team in your property.” Param Kannampilly, chairman and MD, Concept Hospitality

“We now operate 11 hotels in the country and, at the current pace of rapid growth, we hope to increase our portfolio to 50 hotels in the next five years.” Martin Rinck, president, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide.

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Property-level

range of products

insar Infosoft Pvt. Ltd.

www.winsarinfo.com

Rohit Bajpai will oversee operations of the Hilton New Delhi-Noida-Mayur Vihar and DoubleTree by Hilton New Delhi-Noida-Mayur Vihar. Till recently, he was general manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Goa-Arpora-Baga. Prior experiences during his 10 years in hotels include the Royal Orchid hotels in Jaipur and Bangalore; the Shangri-La in New Delhi and ITC hotels.

Datta joins the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel &Convention Centre and Courtyard by Marriott, Hyderabad with two decades of experience that spans Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Hyatt Hotels and Carlson Rezidor Hotels. His last posting was as GM at the Radisson Blu Dwarka, New Delhi.

Stephanie Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Silva Director Matthieu Firmin General Manager

Pramod Dashora General Manager Pramod Dashora has been appointed to the Mercure Hyderabad Abids, a mid-scale hotel by the Accor group in the commercial district Abids in central Hyderabad. Dashora has approximately two decades of experience and a strong background in operations and administration.

Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Silva joins as director of sales and marketing at The Westin, Mumbai Garden City with over 12 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Her prior assignments include director of sales at Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces Mumbai, commercial sales manager and deputy sales manager at Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces.

Prior to this posting at the Ibis, Delhi Airport, Firmin was the general manager at the Novotel Survilliers Saint Witz, France. He has been with Accor for over 12 years and his past assignments include being deputy general manager of the 556 rooms Ibis, Charles De Gaulle Airport.

Sanjay Gupta General Manager

Rohit Bajpai Director Operations

Anand joins The Westin, Mumbai Garden City with over nine years of experience. His last assignment was as pastry chef at Park Hyatt, Hyderabad and his previous assignments includes sous chef Bakery and Pastry at Novotel Hyderabad and Convention Centre.

He joins as multi-property director of sales and marketing for the Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre and Courtyard by Marriott Pune, Hinjewadi. His 15 years in the industry also include Hyatt and Starwood. He was previously director of sales and marketing for the Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, where he was responsible for positioning Pune as a global MICE destination.

Sharad Datta General Manager

Siddharth Anand Pastry Chef

Abraham joins Siddh Spa at the Hyatt Regency, Chennai. His experience covers the Leela Palace Goa; Coconut Lagoon, Caritas Ayurveda Hospital and Backwater Ripples in Kerala; Wildflower Hall, Shimla Radisson Plaza Resort and Spa Kumara; Banyan Tree Spa in Phuket, Thailand as Ayurvedic doctor; and Cidade De Goa, as spa manager on the pre-opening team.

Abhijit Chitnis Director

MOVERS & SHAKERS Jojy Abraham Spa Manager

NEWS & PEOPLE

Prior to joining Le Meridien, Jaipur, Gupta had been instrumental in establishing Le Meridien Coimbatore. With 19 years behind him, his experience includes The Royal Orchid Group of Hotels in Bangalore, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Grand Hyatt, Radisson, Hilton and Hyatt Regency. His substantial work in the hospitality sector is reflected in the numerous awards his properties have been bestowed with.

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With over 25 years of experience, Prakash joined Hilton Garden Inn, New Delhi in 2010 as operations manager. Prior postings include Country Inn & Suites, New Delhi, as GM and various positions in F&B roles at Fortune Select Global, Hyatt Regency and Maurya Sheraton in India, Radisson Hotel in Nepal and Le Meridien in Bahrain.

Rohan Sable General Manager Vijay Taksali Director of Finance

Jean-Philippe Lagarde General Manager Lagarde has been associated with the Accor Group for about two decades. Before taking on his current responsibility at the Novotel, Mumbai Juhu Beach, he was general manager of the Ibis, Navi Mumbai, prior to which he had an impactful term of six years as general manager of Novotel, Madrid Campo de las Naciones in Spain.

Sable has been appointed as general manager of the Ibis, Mumbai Airport. He brings over 13 years of hospitality experience to the table. This includes his role as general manager of hotels owned and operated by Singapore-based Ascott. In India his experience includes chains like Royal Orchid and Sarovar.

Prior to joining the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel, Taksali has served as director of finance of Pullman, Gurgaon Central Park; financial controller of Ibis Hotels in India; assistant financial controller of Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon; financial controller Aman Bagh and manager finance HRH Group of Hotels, Udaipur.

Federico Volpi Italian Chef

Aadil Kazi Maintenance Manager

Jhingon has joined The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts as EVP, operations. Prior to this, he was GM, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas. He has held command over icons like The Oberoi hotels in Mumbai and Delhi, besides the Taj Exotica in the Maldives and Mandarin Oriental’s properties in Singapore and in Las Vegas.

Prior to his current position at the Ibis, Gurgaon, Khubchandani was hotel manager of Ibis, Pune, where he put together a committed management team to manage operations in a challenging business environment – since May 2011, after relocating from New Zealand, where he had worked in his formative years with Accor.

Satya Prakash General Manager

Rajesh Jhingon Executive VP

He joins the Courtyard by Marriott in Bhopal from his last position as director of operations at the Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport. He is backed by a 15-year experience that started at OCLD and The Oberoi Mumbai, and has covered chef’s roles and managerial positions in F&B.

Ravi Khubchandani General Manager

MOVERS & SHAKERS Elton Hurtis General Manager

NEWS & PEOPLE

Volpi brings with him over 21 years culinary expertise. He will oversee the dining experience at the Westin, Pune Koregaon Park’s Italian specialty restaurant, Prego. His last assignment was with the Da Bruno Sul Mare, Marbella, Spain as head chef. He has worked with Michelin Star-rated restaurants like San Domenico in Imola, Italy.

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Photographs: courtesy Keys Hotels

MARKET DATA

Emerging trends How must hotels evolve to make the most of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth? CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD The year 2012 was challenging for hospitality in India with a marginal downward trend in performance in terms of occupancy. For the 20 key cities of India, the occupancy percentage was recorded at 60 per cent as compared to 61 per cent in 2011, while the market managed an ADR of Rs4,560 over Rs4,440 in 2011, thus resulting in a slight increase in RevPAR which was noted at Rs2,675 as against Rs2,640 in the year 2011. The past year or two have witnessed several interesting features or trends in the market, some of which are specific to India while others are global in nature.

TRENDS/ OBSERVATIONS The last couple of years have seen a rise in the mid-market/budget segment of hotels across cities. Increasingly, promoters and developers have shown preference for this segment over luxury developments

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as they are cost effective and also do not demand elaborate facilities. Also, since occupancies in the metropolitan cities are largely driven by business-related travel which is increasinly price-sensitive. Companies that once had their executives staying in upscale hotels whilst travelling on business, for the simple lack of sufficient branded inventory in the budget segment, now choose budget/ mid-market hotels instead. There is a clear demarcation of hotel products based on service class like economy (budget), midmarket, upscale, upper upscale and luxury products. This demarcation can be clearly noticed amongst most big hotel brands like Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Accor, Carlson, etc. Even the old established players like Taj group of hotels, which operated for almost a century with the only brand name Taj Hotels has now segregated their products into different service classes to better suit their international positing based on

service class and brand standards. They have reworked their branding strategy and now brand their hotels as Ginger, Gateway, Vivanta and Luxury hotels. With new supply coming into the market, there is an acute shortage of qualified talent. To add to this issue, with international brands coming into the market, poaching of labour can be seen as a regular phenomenon across different cities. The new entrants pay relatively higher salaries than what is prevalent in the market to attract potential talent from competition, resulting in a high attrition rate at existing properties. This also meant a positive variance in remuneration of the hotel staff . In markets across India, we have observed developers of various hotel projects, both large and small, being keener on the lease model or the franchisee model of operating hotels over the model of management contracts. The developers insist on a minimum guarantee

on revenues for lending out their properties as against profit sharing, which is a challenge in the volatile hotel business. Both the investors and operators are being more apprehensive and cautious than they were the year before. There is a considerable amount of inventory which has been delayed over different markets; projects that have overshot deadlines and proposed hotel openings being significantly delayed. The reasons vary from political unrest to capital investment challenges. There have been instances where one or more investors have opted out of the project during the development stage. This stagnated inventory is also expected to enter the market along with the other newly planned developments in the next couple of years. We notice a trend of hotels being an important part of many major mixed-use developments happening across markets in the country

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MARKET DATA

Performance of Hotels in India 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

61% 61% 61% 61% 61% 61% 61% 61% 61% 59% 2011

2010 ARR

2012

RevPAR

AOR

Supply of Hotel Keys in India 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Existing

Upcoming

No. of Keys as of year 2012

alongside residential, retail and other commercial developments. The capital value appreciation is also seen to be higher in case of mixed use developments as the end user finds it more convenient to live in an integrated township model. There is a lack of sufficient MICE infrastructure of international standards in the country by virtue of which the increasing demand for the same is going un-catered. India, as a market, lags behind in both quality and quantity of MICE infrastructure and facilities when compared to locations like Hong Kong and Singapore. There are only a handful of venues in India that can accommodate large conventions and conferences which is resulting in a major loss in the global and domestic business segment. The new and upcoming facilities like Caparo in Noida and HSIIDCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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2,000 crore project in Manesar, besides the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai and the Fairmont Jaipur with large convention/ conference facilities, should be able to bridge the gap to some extent. With the regular advancement in the field of information technology, the hotel brands are now able to reach out to wider audience around the globe. The use of digital media for promotion which was earlier limited only to major brands is now within the reach of smaller players and standalone hotels. Social networking sites are becoming more influential. Mobile applications are being used for marketing, room reservations and table bookings. Most hotel companies today are focusing on going asset-light. Management contracts and branding assets is a very exciting option for operators, though the developers

sometimes need to be educated on revenue potential and terminal value appreciation for the property to consider such arrangements. The terms of engagement from a brand perspective involves additional cost and higher risk on returns. The asset-light model for hotel companies is gaining momentum with developers who own prime, enviable sites in the market being prepared to develop hotels and hand them over to an established brand to operate, thus ensuring consistent revenue flow. The approach for the same could be fixed lease, franchisee or management contracts. The upcoming examples for the same would be Lemon Tree hotels, Keys (Bergrruen Hotels), Carlson, Accor andTaj.

The current year would see a significant amount of refurbishment and renovations to existing hotels and also the F&B department of hotels is poised to step up and perform more aggressively in contributing to the revenues of the hotel. There is a need to drive leisure travel in the country and to promote tourism more aggressively on a larger scale. Leisure travel in India has not seen any new destinations emerging or being targeted. It is only now that there is some supply being planned and coming up in some of the tourist destinations. The supply however is not enough and lacks consistency. The budget/mid-market and MICE segments owill continue to dominate growth across markets.. HI

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19 GM’S DIARY

ELTON HURTIS General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott, Bhopal

Time to catch up Hurtis indicates that time management and informal guest engagement need focus BY RAYNAH COUTINHO HI Tell us about the most important guest you have ever hosted. Mrs Pratibha Patil — while I was at Goa Marriott Resort. We had arranged a dinner for the government officials at Raj Bhawan.

HI What was the most nail-biting moment you experienced that day, hosting the most important guest of your career. The moment Pratibha Patil shook my hand!! Fortunately (because my anxiousness might have been caught on camera) or unfortunately (what a moment to have not documented!), the photographer wasn’t there.

HI What is the most valuable lesson you have learned, vis-à-vis a supplier? Order your supplies on time and ensure that you always have your stocks in place.

What’s the best way for a hotelier to unwind? Personally, I would have to say that the best way to unwind is going home to my family on time. HI

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HI Which market or city do you find most exciting as an hotelier? Bhopal. There is a strong dining out culture and our hotel is one of the avenues for people to head towards in the city. At the moment, demand exceeds supply in the industry as a whole — it is great and exciting to be a part of this growth story.

Your pet peeve, as far as hotels are concerned? I’d give anything for a guest to be addressed by name. Guest recognition and a keen understanding of their needs is extremely important in the hospitality industry. It’s all about intuitive service and a tremendous eye for detail. This added attention makes all the difference and in my experience, is the key element that goes in the making of a loyalist, whether an in-house guest or one from the local market. HI

HI When was the last time you booked yourself for a spa treatment, while on a holiday? I don’t remember the last time I went on a holiday…but in Goa, I used to visit the spa almost once a week. HI

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03-04-2013 14:02:57

Consumer connect initiative

FLOOR CARE Not an easy task, but not that difficult either…

Abhay Desai Regional Sector Sales Director –BSC (AMAT)

LEAST EXPENSIVE APPROACH

low airflow on the refinishing pro-

and has a “neutral impact” on floor

Routine maintenance procedure de-

cess, it is extremely critical to apply

finishes. This is critical to extending

signed to catch dirt at the door is the

thin, even coats and make sure each

the gloss life of the finish. With any

finest and least expensive approach

coat is completely dry before apply-

cleaner, auto-scrubbing (with vacuum

to floor maintenance. The best way

ing the next. This

pick-up) is much more effective at soil

to remove soil from a building is not

layer to dry thoroughly and cure into

to allow it entering in the first place.

A housekeeper or BSC should know

with a higher gloss and clarity. The fin-

floor cleaning equipment and chemi-

what type and how many entrance

ish will last longer – ultimately saving

cals have changed the way floors

mats are needed at every door and,

time and money.

are maintained. Facility managers

will enable each

stronger, more durable film

removal than damp mop cleaning. Today,

numerous

advances

therefore, should serve as a good consultant for the facility manager to advise the best way to entrap soil

and water. However, even with daily

floor is often the first thing a

maintenance, interim measures, such

person notices upon enter-

as buffing and burnishing and restor-

ing a building. Floor care is

ative procedures such as a full strip

an integral part of keeping a facility’s

and re-coat of the floor, also need to

appearance pristine. Whether it is of

be done. Frequency of maintenance

a commercial building or a five-star

is determined by the type of build-

hotel, maintenance of hard flooring

ing, building traffic, weather, type of

is every housekeeper’s nightmare.

floor and other factors. Therefore, it

Though not an easy task, it is not that

is very important for a facility man-

difficult either.

ager to work closely with a BSC to

Most commercial buildings today,

understand and establish a floor care

have various types of flooring such as

maintenance plan that is the most ef-

wood, stone or terrazzo in the lobby

fective and cost efficient for the floor.

and quarry or ceramic tile in the restrooms, making floor maintenance,

STRIPPING AND REFINISHING

protection and restoration challeng-

Prior to stripping, maintenance work-

ing. Even routine maintenance can re-

ers should be diligent in removing

quire various methods and chemicals

debris from floors. When using a

as, for example, stone and terrazzo

stripper, it’s important to ensure all

DAILY CARE

want a superior floor care plan that

floors should be cleaned with true

of the old, yellowed, damaged fin-

Daily care is critical to maintaining

delivers high productivity and less

pH-neutral cleaners, marble floors

ish is removed. When looking at the

the floor finish throughout the year.

cost.

should not be cleaned with acid-

stripping process, there are several

Matting is the first step in a sound

changed to accommodate the ad-

based chemicals and wood floors

steps necessary including thorough-

floor care programme because soil

vances in technology.

do not like water.

ly cleaning the floors and applying

prevention is less expensive than

Once a floor care programme is

The first step for a facility manager

the stripper, to wet vacuuming and

soil removal. By placing mats at all

determined, the property manager

is to determine the manufacturer’s

applying a clean rinse. When refinish-

entrances, it’s possible to prevent

should expect a floor care schedule

recommendations for maintaining a

ing, it’s important to remember that

damaging soils from being tracked

from the BSC that meets the specifi-

particular floor. As an example, some

floor finish dries from top down. Even

onto the floor finish. Dust mopping

cations agreed to and which should

customers may request that a floor

though it might look so, not allow-

helps remove as much of the loose

be used as a tool for accountabil-

be made shiny because they think it

ing enough time for the entire layer

dirt and soil as possible. Particulate

ity and communication. That way, a

should be, when the floor is actually

of finish drying can make the floor

soil is the largest cause of floor wear

property manager will know when

designed to have a matte or natural

appear murky. It can also make the

so removing the various types of grit

and what to expect.

finish. Improper maintenance can

finish less durable and the staff will

and grime daily can make a huge

A beautiful, clean and properly

lead to floor damage and ultimately,

need to repeat the process sooner

difference in extending the life of a

maintained floor will give back in

expensive restoration. When a build-

than normally needed. Thumb-rule

floor finish.

value by enhancing the building’s im-

ing is constructed or renovated, a

states that a proper floor finish re-

One effective way to get rid of re-

age, protecting the health of its occu-

BSC can be the perfect source for

quires three to four coats to ensure

maining soils after dust mopping is

pants, ensuring public safety, as well

helping to determine the best type

durability throughout the year. Be-

to use a floor cleaner that is both ef-

as sustaining, if not increasing, the life

of flooring to fit the building’s needs.

cause of the effects of humidity and

fective at removing particulate soil

of the floor.

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Use of different types of material in buildings makes floor maintenance a challange.

Floor care programmes have

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At home with hotel design Backed by experience in designing residences, yoo has now forayed into hotel design. CEO Marco Nijhof tells us why these spaces will be par excellence BY RAYNAH COUTINHO

t this year’s International Hotel and Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, yoo Hotels unveiled two intricately crafted designled hotel brands: yoo2 and yoo Collection. yoo, the global design company founded by international property entrepreneur John Hitchcox and renowned designer Philippe Starck, has now marked its entry into hospitality In India, yoo is most recognised for its design of high-end residences. They’ve been in the business for over 14 years and have been brought to fruition the visions of Creative Directors; Anouska Hempel, Philippe Starck, Marcel Wanders, Jade Jagger and Kelly Hoppen. Zooming into the hotel story, Nijhof has previously worked with brands like Corinthia Hotels, Boscolo Hotels, Hyatt International, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts and Marriott, joining Neues Schloss Hotel Management GmbH in Germany. yoo takes great pride in the fact that him and his hotel management team have a combined 107 years of experience in hotel management, leasing, franchising, and operations.

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The yoo-designed Sans Souci in Vienna is an example of what investors can expect out of the brand’s own hotels.

Together, they have transacted a combined £15 billion in single asset, portfolio and hotel opportunities. HI Which trends in international design will your new hotels incorporate and which will they reject? At yoo Hotels we try not to follow design trends, and instead approach our hotels with an understanding of guest’s needs and good design. We like to think that if design is good enough to outlast time, then it’s not a trend. Whatever we do with design, we like to lead and make a statement of design with the hotel, which sets the hotel apart from the rest. We like to think of ourselves as design leaders, not followers. We are aware that people want to have local and authentic experiences; and they want to know where they are when they wake up. We can see this desire resonate across the globe, and how in this time of

hyper connectedness, we want to be sure our experiences are real. This is intrinsic to the yoo Hotels DNA, which is why we consciously infuse local flavour in our spaces. At yoo we believe in conscious living, of knowing where you are in the world, and this carries through to yoo Hotels. HI Tell us about the concept of Human Luxury that you advocate. We’ve been creating design-led residential spaces for over 12 years and it has given us a lot of understanding of the way people want to live in their spaces. This is what inspired the concept of Human Luxury. It means, we first think about human needs in a space: comfort, convenience and all of those added luxuries that people desire, consciously or subconsciously, in a hotel experience. We then meet those needs and desires in an uncompromising way, through every design and service element

— the accessible luxury of yoo2 or the unabated five star luxury of yoo Collection. Human Luxury is different for every person, for some it’s the bed, for others it is about bathroom amenities or the shower. What we have tried to do with our design is cater to all of these different people at different time in their lives. HI Gives us examples of how local and cultural elements will be represented. Why you decided not to go with the cookie-cutter brand approach that lends a certain brand promise and comfort to guests? Whether a wall motif, a pattern in the floor tiles, a sculpture in the lobby by a local artist, or a tantalising menu item, the elements of local culture we’re inspired by, depend entirely on the location, and are revealed to us through a lot of research, on the ground, into the local context. Every destination is unique and in turn requires a

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unique design response. We don’t believe in a cookie-cutter approach, but at that same time, we also bring a certain yoo Hotels vision to all our projects that is tried and tested. We don’t reinvent what we know works and what we know people want. Every project is a balance between what yoo Hotels stand for, designed in the spirit of the local culture. HI Who is your target audience and how does your design tie in with its traits? yoo2 is targeted at design-aware global citizens aged 20–45 years old. They’re design aware and seeking an original design-led experience at an affordable price. They are people who are willing to pay a little bit more for design because the affinity to design is there. yoo Collection is targeted at high net-worth individuals, the demographic is slightly older, and we like to think of the target market as connoisseurs of hotel experiences and luxury. They have uncompressing standards in design and service. It’s a market we have designed for already with all of our residential designs in India. We want the yoo Hotel bars to be local hotspots as well as great places for guests to relax. We design our spaces to be innovative, locally inspired and exciting. It means you get to experience the real city when you’re in the hotel, and this element of integration is really important to us, and sometimes the best way to do this is to partner with a cutting-edge brand that has the same approach to F&B as we do to design.

Are you looking for hotel owners to partner with in India? If yes, who among the people reading this should approach you? Do you have locations in mind? What benefit will they get from partnering with you versus a brand that travellers are already savvy with and used to? We feel the market for design and boutique hotels is underdeveloped in India and we would be looking for investors who believe in and share our desire for design and identity, in order to roll out our yoo2 or yoo Collection hotel. We only HI

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have to look at the demand for our residential design and the success of our projects in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore to demonstrate the appetite for our design in India. HI Which existing brands will these hotels be comparable with? With yoo2, we like to think that we’ve created a new category — which is purely a design-led affordable luxury. yoo Collection is our vision of unadulterated luxury, where unique design that is locally inspired and original is a priority. It’s an antidote to the world’s big five star hotels.

HI Budget hotels and design... too many people tend to get this wrong (particularly in India where brands complain that owners go OTT with sprucing up their projects) and then return on investment becomes a challenge? How do you get it right? What we know and what we’ve proven with our clients around the world is that good design doesn’t always have to cost more. Our extensive experience in designing landmark residential homes has taught us how to create something unique within budget. Expensive materials and expensive and excessive furnishings don’t always equate to good design. For us, good design and great hotel experiences are achieved through a way of thinking about how individuals use a space and responding to that in an original and inspired way.

HI Give us details of the Aqua Boracay in the Philippines — rooms and public area design? Aqua Boracay by yoo is the first yoo Collection managed hotel on the beautiful Island of Boracay in the Philippines. The furnishings and design from the yoo Studio are inspired by the nature of Boracay. I would love to tell you more about the amenities spaces, but all will be revealed when the project launches.

HI Being design geniuses, have you also come up with any back-of-house design concepts that could improve efficiency/work flow? We believe in open integrated office

F&B outlets are to be innovative, locally insipred and exciting.

The yoo design philosophy revolves around identifying how people will use a space, such as a lobby.

Just like at the Sans Souci in Vienna, yoo’s hotels will incorporate human luxury.

spaces that focus on efficiency and communication, as an open space improves communication. If we have this improved communication, we are much better positioned to provide our customer with a better service. Open office spaces are conducive to an integrated approach to the customers, therefore catering to their needs

and desires from all our operating departments, combined toether, becomes easier. The general manager in a yoo2 affordable luxury hotel, will not have their own office hidden in the back. The objective is to be totally immersed in the operation, thereby leading the hotel in a customer-focussed approach from the top. HI

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Five 03-04-2013 14:06:20

27 COVER STORY

BY BABITA KRISHNAN

hese discussions must begin with “I have a dream”, one would think — but when the dream means investing crores, as is in the case of developing a hotel property, then one needs to be more practical and astute. To come up with a winning investment, one needs to find the right combination of decision makers in areas that hold the key to a good design. The five heads who are finally responsible for the way a hotel design would turn out are — the owner (who invests in the property), the brand (who gives an identity to it), the architect (who gives concrete form to the dream), the interior designer (who creates the experience for guests), and the consultant (who ensures that the experience is delivered without a hitch). We get them together to unravel the design process as it happens and air some of the issues affecting it on the way. Hosted by JW Marriott hotel in Mumbai and the able team of its general manager Pavithran Nambiar, Satyen Jain, CMD Pride Hotels, Rajiv Puri, vice-president project development Marriott International, Prem Nath, principal architect Prem Nath Associates, Khozema Chitalwala, principal architect Designers Group and Rajat Railch, director HPG Consultants, get together to live through the process and its lacunae. : When you start planning for a property, what are the main steps starting from idea germination? Satyen Jain: Once I identify the property, the most important criteria is to check the investment. One has to evaluate the revenue that can be generated from particular location versus investment

required. The land cost, cost of construction, type of hotel as the occupancy will vary, also, what kind of product is fit for the bracket, these are the key things which I look for. HI : Once the location is finalized, where does the brand step in? Rajiv Puri: We would first understand what level of hotel we would like to make and what is the market requirement. When the right segment is decided, then the next important criteria is to identify the target guest (more local or international). That is when the brand plays a part. Jain: We also need to see which brand can deliver for that kind of location in terms of brand recognition as well as distribution.

HI : It is the owner’s thought process, but the brand has a certain image to follow. Do clashes happen at this stage? Puri: I always suggest that the owner should have a hospitality consultant to guide against the pitfalls, if they are not comfortable signing on a brand. No brand tries to enforce anything, they bring with them experience and the best practices. We are available throughout the process with professional expertise, to interpret your vision with a local flavour. It is all about feeling comfortable that the operator is going to do the right thing for us. That understanding is coming, because many owners are repeat builders. However, the thought process of building it as cheaply as possible also remains.

Developers, brand owners, architects, interior designers and consultants make up the five decisionmakers that hold the key to good hotel design

HI : So when does the architect step in? Prem Nath: The owner normally has the idea, so he involves the consultants and gets the business plans. Then comes the architect. Hotels are complex properties, so I decided to know every aspect of the industry. Architects are responsi-

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HI : When do the interior designer and consultant come into the picture then? Rajat Railch: Developers can be divided into two broad categories. First is the mature developer who knows the process and would like to bring in the brand as soon as possible and things are much more smooth. The brand controls everyone and there is a financial discipline in the project. Unfortunately in India, hotel development is still midway between infancy and mature developer and there are a lot of projects in that space. Usually we are one of the first people to get on board. Majority of times, there is no clarity on what category the developer wants to build; and if he does know, he starts getting influenced by a bunch of people and the image of the hotel keeps on changing. All this leads to there being no financial discipline plus the ego issue, without any clarity — a concoction for disaster. And there are a lot of projects like this. However, there is also an ego clash between the developer and the brand development team — they know works well in the market, but the owner thinks only of showcasing the project for ego satisfaction. In owner-driven hotels, specs keep changing, mid-scale becomes lux-

of experience of running a successful business in your own style takes some time. I think this is where we have to find the merger — the most common point is cost and what the owner wants. HI : Why this whole mindset of foreign architects coming and building in India? Do we have a dearth of architects here? Puri: I have been fortunate enough to have been a part of the industry for seven years before leaving India and working in about 12 countries. The first boom happened in 1982 when we built few hotels — Hyatt, Meridian, Sheraton, etc. and I was associated with that boom. Then nothing happened from 1982 to 2000, and a whole generation of architects did not get international exposure. I have been working for 27 years and have built 70 hotels and visited 5,000. So, nothing happened for 18 years and when we came in and started building hotels, we got stuck half way and solutions were not coming. International architects provided solutions faster from their perspective and gave value addition, so I started working with them. In 2005 when we started working in India, we had

IT IS ALL ABOUT FEELING COMFORTABLE THAT THE OPERATOR IS GOING TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR US. RAJIV PURI, VP PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL

ble for getting in an identity. Hotel properties are places people come to see and be seen. We have to create a space that is welcoming, and I feel hotel industry reflects lifestyle of the people. HI : How much of freedom you have as an architect to design? Nath: The job of an architect is to translate everybody’s need into the design — of the hotelier, brand requirement, interior designer. Not only does he have to make designs and drawings according to rules and various codes, but also keep in mind the taste and comfort of the

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guests. So as an architect, I get my freedom depending on how well we understand each other. Sometimes we have problems when the owner is not able to understand budget and costing. He knows budget and location, and sees only profit. In a limited budget, he wants something beautiful! My skill along with my other consultants lies in creating the space efficiently within the given budget. An interior designer can use non expensive materials and still make a design look good, but an architect cannot compromise. The owner wants minimum cost and maximum profit.

ury, projects get stuck and maybe never get built. With a brand tieup, right in the initial design process, they ask the owner to appoint various consultants and this always results in a better product. Khozema Chitalwala: I would agree with Rajat, but the unfortunate scenario in the industry is that there are hardly any seasoned developers. The first timers come to us and want to build a three-star property with five-star luxury at three-star cost. It makes life difficult for everyone. Puri: They are very successful in what they have done so far (laughs), so erasing so many years

only two projects now we have 20 operational hotels. Pace of architecture has changed completely and on 85-90 per cent of my projects I do not have international but Indian architects. Interior design, on the other hand, took a little longer, and still is growing. We have to understand that the value and perception of a hotel comes from interior design; unless it’s an architecturally iconic building downtown which adds to the asset value, nobody would want to spend money. HI : What has been your experience? Chitalwala: I am absolutely in

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COVER STORY

agreement with Rajiv that there was a big lull in the 80s and 90s. Fortunately for us, when the momentum started we were a part of it with a lot of international consultancy firms. The biggest problem is not the designing. To design hospitality spaces there is a need to understand all functional aspects of the business – housekeeping, engineering, and maintenance, since it is a public space; and that can come only if you have worked on a current project. Then, ideas are easy but documenting them is very important, where I feel, the industry is very weak. The complete design process is not documented and delivered; this allows the project management consultancy to execute the project very smoothly. Having done so, where we have been failing to deliver in

the past is in completing and giving the promised shape to it — the correct final touches like whether the artwork is placed in the right place, carpet coordinates have come correctly or not, etc. Now there is a team of designers who are doing it absolutely at par with international standards. And having seen the understanding and evolution of designers, brands have gradually started realising their potential and are experimenting with their smaller (two and three star) brands. Puri: It is safeguarding the investment. A hotel takes an investment of 200-400 crore and we can’t give him a choice of a designer from Mumbai with this much experience or an international designer who is safer — you don’t want to get on to a race course with a new jockey. So, we show the Indian

designers a prototype and ask them to show us their execution. Same with kitchen designers; earlier we were using international names, but now we have five Indian kitchen designers who are doing almost all the jobs. So things are changing very fast. We are saying let’s go local but the owner is still in favour of international designers, that is another difficult situation. Jain: There are some pros also. The Indian architects and designers have a better understanding of the local requirements. They might miss out on some of the international outlook, but definitely have a better local understanding, which works in favour of the local owner. Railch: I will differ here slightly. In the luxury and upscale segment, we have a long way to go. And I am

documentation. Railch: Indian designers will give you a group of construction drawing much before the whole concept is presented, whereas a foreign architect will go step by step. I think we are reaching there but still the last mile has to be covered. They give clarity from day one along with the right process from macro to micro, we, on the other hand, tend to go from micro to macro. HI : If there is a change in design due to the owner’s interference, even though it might not affect the brand, does it delay the deliverables? Chitalwala: Of course there can be a delay. ID plays a very important role, that of coordination with architects, structure, MEP, facility, owner and brand. Being pro-

TO DESIGN HOSPITALITY SPACES, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND ALL FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS AND DOCUMENTING THEM WELL KHOZEMA CHITALWALA, PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT, DESIGNERS GROUP generalising here, when it comes to concepts, majority of the designers are quite bad. Second, we tend to change designs according to the whims and fancies of the owner. Internationally, if the design is good, they will not touch it. Standing by your design (if you are convinced about it) is something we lack, though we are good at detailing; and when it comes to internal coordination, our architects and designers are far better. But with concepts, we are still weak. Nath: I want to share my experience of some time ago with a client in Delhi who wanted to build an IT Park, which I designed. Now this complex was to also include a hotel which he wanted a foreign architect to design. He wasted nearly a year in getting designs from various foreign architects but finally asked me to design it, which I did We are able to combine expertise with the understanding of Indian working conditions and mindset to deliver what the owner wants. What I have learnt from the foreign architects is the extent of

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fessional and mature, the branddirected changes come at a very preliminary stage where they do not affect the progress. But the owners can walk in anytime and demand a change. For ID, it is a big process to make those changes which, obviously causes delays. Puri: I don’t think we have mustered up the courage to stand up to what we think is right and professionally correct. We always ask the designers about the changes, since we are not designers. I am here to assist all teams to make sure I get what I want in terms of brand, operational efficiencies, etc. and what I can discuss with the designer. Our designers have to stand up for themselves and convince the owner that they are spending his money correctly. Though you cannot push beyond a point, but as an operator, we have the right to say that Mr. Owner you, aren’t right! Chitalwala: To add to that, after 15 years of hospitality practice, it is only now that we have got the courage to stand up to the owners.

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COVER STORY

We meet owners who have a very fickle mind and we do not touch their project till they sign up with a brand. Railch: Yes, it is much easier when there is a brand on board. Otherwise it is a fantasy-come-true for the family of the owner. Jain: It is not only the owners are trying to get a better product, even brands are trying to over position themselves. All brands who are midmarket abroad, come to India and suddenly position themselves as five-star or luxury. So that should also be reflected upon. Nath: Talking about owner’s interference, I might not agree with

absence of a brand, I think that would be a real disaster. The reason is simple, the investor has never stayed in a budget hotel and has no clue about — he is investing 150 crore, and has been staying in the most luxurious places on earth. So, there is no financial control and the budget hotel tends to become luxurious as he, his family and the decision influencers start thinking from the perspective of what they have been seeing over the years. Thus, especially for a budget hotel, the brand needs to be present from day one to ensure clarity. Puri: There are a few points that I want to touch upon. Indian con-

ARCHITECTS ARE ABLE TO COMBINE EXPERTISE AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL WORKING CONDITIONS TO DELIVER WHAT OWNER WANTS PREM NATH, PRINCIPAL DESIGNER, PREM NATH ASSOCIATES my client completely and usually will ask him to allow me unquestionable 20 per cent changes to be done in the project, subject to no change in his cost…I am willing to modify anything anywhere. Railch: Also, if someone is planning to build a budget hotel in the

sumer thinks of hotels differently than an American consumer. For 80 per cent of Indians, hotel is a thing of relief. Also, there is no definition of luxury in India. As the economy grows, people move up in lifestyles and the perception of luxury changes, which is very good

for the industry. Irrespective of the brand, one needs to put have standards in a property, because what might be ok for Indian guests might not be so for the foreign guests — that is where the brands come in with safety and quality standards, even if they increase the cost marginally. Also, we understand that in India there is a difference from the design to deliverance, so we keep a buffer with that Indian negotiation in mind and do end up achieving 80 per cent of what was promised. With the inclusion of a brand your asset value increases many fold, so why not pay a premium for the brand standards? We are in a more matured state in terms of brand acceptance and owners understanding when we ask them to spend more for services, MEP, fire safety, energy efficiency, etc. and they are agreeing. Railch: In spite of a matured market, why is it that the first few owners become guinea pigs for brand

experiments? As you change the brand standards later, the initial owner would lose out since his investment is already done. Puri: The reason is not very complicated. When a brand comes into India they, along with the owners, study the market and work accordingly. But it is a dynamic scenario and demands and requirements keep on changing, you learn as you go along. Next is the consultant. I think we have to get the maximum value from a consultant and expect them to stick to their core strengths. That is what happens in all developed countries. A consultant will not go beyond his area of expertise and opine about another to the owner. HI : How do you tackle an egoistic owner? Railch: It is very difficult to talk to people who start with the attitude that says it is my money and my hotel so I am right.

THE CONSULTANT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN JUSTIFYING THE BUDGET AND NOT COMPROMISING IN SERVICES. RAJAT RAILCH, DIRECTOR, HPG CONSULTING

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COVER STORY

running 7,000 room nights a day is very important. And owners should be happy about not having to make a mistake. It is not about what you have done right but what you have done wrong because that will come and hurt you and you will learn from there. HI : Once the process has started, do you feel that the owner might get sidelined by others on the core design team? Jain: As people who have been building hotels for so many years, the owners do have ideas, which we share with the design team and inputs are important. But for those making a hotel for the first time, it is better to accept the opinions and suggestions of professionals. He needs to be clear about what he wants to make and the budgets, and ensure that it is being followed. Also, most importantly, no flip-flops! I think these changes are what cost more in terms of money and time.

: But how easy is it to marry brand identity with owner expectations? Chitalwala: Sometimes we land into very difficult situations. If the brand agrees to a practical and favourable suggestion, the owner starts believing that the brand will follow what I say; and then they demand that we get the presentations approved before showing HI

Puri: But the Indian owner is very smart and understands one thing — return on investment. That is the common ground where you can make him understand anything. Chitalwala: In such a case, the designer is reduced to being a draftsman who will interpret the owner’s ideas into reality only. HI : But has the fraternity matured to the point of refusing such clients? Puri: Many designers have begun to do so and insist that the owner gets someone who understands operations to run it for them, because then at least he is doing something right. I am doing some 50 projects across India and we get these kind of owners. We respect their sentiment, but tell them that let us look at it very practically. Nath: Yes, slowly the awareness

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Railch: It is gaining in importance. The owner might try to push into making changes but the good thing is the process of ‘hand over’ where everything has to be up to a certain standard and it is not about making good drawings, a maturity has come regarding investing in core areas because the owners have also now understood that there are only two costs that you can control in a hotel — energy and staffing, and for both one has to focus on the backend. This is where the consultant plays a vey important role in justifying the budget and explaining the importance of not compromising in services. Jain: I need to add here, that the land cost in India is very high, so when it comes to back-of-the-house operations, costs need to be treated like gold. Real estate costs should also be considered along with the brand and services requirements. Puri: With brands coming in, there has been a lot of standardization and proper documentation, feasibility and efficiency studies are done. Per key efficiency is calculated and that is the first benchmark of cost controls. HI : Give me a wish list of the best combination of people and the mind sets to build a well-designed hotel. Railch: The best combination would be the clarity in the mind

is coming and we have begun talking a stand. : So then what is the first step in the design process? Puri: It is the owners’ idea in terms of perception and business that needs to be merged; and if there is somebody from an operations background, they will guide him through the process because nobody wants to fail. What a brand brings to the table is the experience of running some 4,000 hotels across the world on a daily basis and we can share with the owners what works and what doesn’t; what’s changing and what is not; what is bringing in the money and what is not; where you are saving on heat, light and power; saving on wages; etc. This experience that we draw from HI

AN OWNER NEEDS TO SEE WHICH BRAND CAN DELIVER IN TERMS OF BRAND RECOGNITION AS WELL AS DISTRIBUTION SATYEN JAIN, CMD, PRIDE HOTELS it to the brand. We have an independent relationship with both and have to mediate to ensure that a healthy environment is maintained for the correct product. Railch: It is a difficult situation for us as well since we are recommended by the brand for a project. Many times the investor thinks that our suggestions will favour the brand. But one needs to work around it. HI : Does back-of-the-house design get importance at all?

of the investor, a financial discipline, professional approach with all consultants on board early and brand before that. I think then a project can turn out at a much faster pace and in a more controlled manner.This would result in a good hotel with in the stipulated cost and time frame is achievable. It is my wish list if we could have a common forum where all of us could share our good and bad experiences so that we could learn from each other and not repeat the mistakes. HI

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:07:45

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CASE STUDY

Avasa hotel Situated in the heart of the new ‘Silicon Valley’ of India, Hyderabad, Avasa is an idyllic getaway which wins the hearts of its guests instantly with its minimalistic yet chic decor

The central chandelier represents water flowing in for good chi, symbolic of good luck and fortunes flowing into the premises. The central pond collects all the good luck and wealth that is flowing in.

With its industrial-themed decor and alternative cuisine, SKY — the lounge, promises a novel experience and is located on the 10th and 11th floor. It is inspired by the 1930’s deconstructivist expression of artist Naum Gabo.

Entrance of the property, designed intelligently to prevent dust intrusion into the property. The massive glass structure that can be seen in the image, prevents any unwanted particles from entering the lobby area. As per feng shui, the glass screen blocks bad chi from entering into the premises. The metal chandeliers add to the design element.

Teak, granite, travertine, mirrors and bronze make up the palatte of materials for Ohm, the modern Asian restaurant. The wooden artwork that is seen in the picture is a bespoke piece for Ohm that was specially created by Australian artist Tony Twigg.

The classy, elegant, divinely white stairs lead to the banquet area. The stylish and contemporary design, along with the bird chandeliers specially imported for Avasa use, gives one a feeling of peace and tranquility.

A glimpse at the incredibly comfortable moon sofas, which are located on the third floor of the property. Moon Sofas give a direct view of the pool side area.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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03-04-2013 14:08:47

NEC: Your Hospitality Communications Partner Elated Guests, Elated You

Delivering Customer Delight & Enhanced Profits NEC offers a comprehensive set of solutions that is tailored to meet the unique needs of the hospitality industry. Whether on premise or in the cloud, from basic telephony to the latest advanced, productivity-enhancing UC solutions, NEC offers properties of all sizes, innovative hospitality solutions to fit their every need and to become more efficient, responsive and productive-resulting in overall guest satisfaction. Our proven track record in the hospitality industry demonstrates our commitment and our belief that five-star service requires five-star solution. That’s why premier hotels across the globe call NEC their trusted technology partner.

Reasons to choose NEC: • Staff Productivity & Mobility • Network Management & Security • Conference Services • Guest Services • Maximum ROI

Contact: NEC India Pvt. Ltd., Tel. No.: 011-61101000, Fax No.: 011-61101001 Sales: North & East: (Anirban Bhattacharya @ +91- 99710-48899) | West: (Ashish Dhole @ +91- 98201-91587 ) South: ( Sachin Watkar @ +91- 96866-01709) | E mail: enquiries@necindia.in | Website: http://in.nec.com NEC Hospitality Partner: Enkay Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd, Tel No: 022-66262222

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CASE STUDY

Hotel Marigold Hotel Marigold is a one-of-its-kind luxury property with a soothing Indian contemporary ambience. It is a seamless blend of convenience and world-class business services

This is a part of the hotel lobby area that lets the guests unwind and relax. The decor is a fine blend of classic Indian architecture with a contemporary touch. The Indianness is evident through the massive golden lamp and decorative leaves, while the trendy chandeliers and round tables add the modern contemporary touch to the décor.

The décor of the Peacock Ballroom stands true to its name, using shades of purple and green. The hall can seat up to 600 in a theatre arrangement. It is ideal for large gatherings like weddings or conferences. With the advantage of sound-proofed partitions, guests can also conduct smaller events at this venue.

Mystique is a sophisticated and trendy bar, featuring a unique ambiance with a world of martinis, great wines, single malts, tequilas, and discreet service. The lounge is inspired by Mediterranean culture with hip décor. The highlight of the space definitely are the massive pillars with circular orange chandeliers on the ceiling, adding a fiery hue to the entire ambience and giving it a true lounge-like feel.

Saffron Soul is an all-day dining outlet which serves authentic dishes from the kitchens of the world, ranging from Indian to Mexican to Continental. The décor is trendy and welcoming, with use of cane chandeliers/lamps.

Mekong is the fine dining Pan Asian restaurant which gets its name from the Mekong River that flows through seven countries, thus allowing the guests to experience the culinary delights of these seven different regions. The highlight of Mekong is its distinctive interiors and ambience that stands by its name, with blue walls and rippling water murals adorning the walls, ceiling resembling waves, and genuine Indonesian cutlery giving it a true aqua/river like feel.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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03-04-2013 14:09:51

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11/30/2012 3:29:14 PM

FEATURE

The green dream How important are the green spaces in a property? We decode the greens with a case study

BY BABITA KRISHNAN

hatever is the scale of the hotel — whether it is a business hotel, three or five-star or a resort property — landscape acts as the key design element. Landscaping is both science and art, and requires good observation and design skills. A good landscaper understands the elements of nature and construction and blends them accordingly. According to the Pune-based landscape architects Vikas and Nilima Bhosekar, “We call landscape design as an exercise with the theme

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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and aesthetic. So the budget is allocated depending on the class and standard of the hotel, but no one can deny the importance of good landscaping.” But is there a difference in planning a landscape depending upon the hotel profile? Landscape planning principles remain the same for all hospitality properties, but the materials, elements and design intent may change according to the profile of the hotel say landscape architects. The other key factor to be kept in mind is the theme of architecture that should reflect in the landscape for the entire property to gel visually. Then, the space available fol-

lowed by the requirements of the landscape play an important role in dictating what the landscape will look like. The climatic conditions of the location of the hotel also play a vital role in landscape planning. So how does one decide what would constitute the greens? Are there any specific plants that one would work with keeping the Indian weather conditions in mind? “The theme of landscape decides the selection of plant material; but we try and accommodate maximum number of Indian species, without disturbing the intent of the landscape,” reveals Bhosekar. Since the landscape needs to be reflective and

an extension of the building per se, the owners and brands or operators will always have an interest in its design and intent and are usually involved right along with the landscape architect. But how much is the pressure for the landscape to be sustainable, since that is the way forward with the owners and operators becoming aware and the architects designing properties to be more and more energy efficient and sustainable. “All our landscape creations are sustainable. One can make the landscape sustainable only by using local materials, selecting local plants, with the use of methods like rain harvesting and

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03-04-2013 14:10:56

41 FEATURE

Vikas and Nilima Bhosekar

solar energy for different needs,â&#x20AC;? says Bhosekar. Like any design discipline, landscaping, follows trends that determine the look of the surrounding greens. There are trends in landscape as minimalistic, zen garden,

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contemporary, meditative landscape, etc. to name a few, but the latest trend is Less is More, which is probably a reflection of the architecture style that is popular these days. Architecture and greens together complete the picture. HI

Hotelier India | April 2013

03-04-2013 14:11:03

FEATURE

CASE STUDY

The Corinthian Club The flow of the terrain is followed in the landscape design. The security cabin and fountains are placed so that they flow with the character of the outside. The landscaping has been done such that one cannot make out the level difference from the lowest to the highest point in the total spread of about 21 acres, which is from zero to nearly 50 metres.

The arena has the stage at the lowest level and lawns at different levels for best viewing. Even the fountain has been created at a lower level. Each space has been created by utilising the gradient and to gain the maximum effect for the landscape design to come through and seem an extension of the architecture.

The architectural theme is Greeco-Egyptian and the landscape continues the same. The wall with Egyptian motifs has been designed by the Bhosekars and helps in merging the architecture and landscape. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole idea is to create visual harmony,â&#x20AC;? they say. Architectural elements like pergola and columns along with gargoyles and even a grotto in the pool, have been used by the designers to merge with landscaping. The plants used also complement the theme and using date palms and miniature roses keeps the landscape fairly maintenance free.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:11:08

43 SPOTLIGHT

Designer experiences What is design and decor par excellence if your resort offers run-of-the-mill experiences? Today’s traveller tends to be drawn by life-enriching opportunities for leisure. Here is how it’s done internationally BY RAYNAH COUTINHO

ospitality in India has evolved — especially during the last rough patch — to come to the realisation that having rates as a differentiator will only result in under-cutting and a bloodbath, particularly in locations where supply has recently boosted. Brand DNA, design and service styles are the new

TARGET: TIME TRAVELLERS

differentiators. Hotelier India caught up with the delegates from Leading Hotels of the World properties from around the world and got them to show us what helps them to stand apart in their various locations. They were in Mumbai for a showcase held as part of LHW’s 80th anniversary celebrations.

TARGET: GOURMANDS Brenners Park Baden, Switzerland

Grand Hotel Et De Milan, Italy

This hotel opened in the 1800s but has recently been renovated, bringing in some contemporary elements. “We have a Giuseppe Verdi Suite because he stayed in this hotel for 20 years,” said Federica Cataldo, the hotel’s representative.

The hotel has its own bee’s garden, which, delegate Manuela Busch says, is the best in the city. “The focus of our F&B offering is local, organic food,” she says. The hotel’s calling card is its Micheli restaurant which also has 17 Gault Millau points. “We change the gourmet menu very regularly,” she added.

TARGET: WELLNESS ENTHUSIASTS Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

“The hotel has a combination of modern and heritage rooms and as such appeals to a wide crosssection of travellers. Indian travellers love the fact that we have an Indian chef at our Asian restaurant. Our key USP is our thermal spa. We have 31 doctors and 15 therapists as part of the hotel’s spa team,” delegate Mirjam Meir revealed to us.

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TARGET: PSEUDO-SWISS Grand Hotel Park Gstaad, Switzerland “Gstaad’s staple tourist product is chalets, as no other types of buildings are permitted. We have a 400 sq. m. suite, which will make the guest feel like he owns one of these Swiss chalets; it will be akin to the experience of actually living the local life,” said representative Tania Winter.

Hotelier India | April 2013

04-04-2013 15:07:38

SPOTLIGHT

TARGET: LOVERS OF UNABASHEDLY LAVISH

TARGET: “WINDOW” SHOPPERS La Mamounia, Marrakech, Morocco

Gstaad Palace, Gstaad, Switzerland

This 100-year old property is one of Switzerland’s three family-run hotels. “It’s old-school service here. Owner personally greets the guests, and repeat visitors and staff often recognise each other. The experience consists of guests being flown by helicopter to the Chopard factory, to interact with the watchmakers. Also, on the menu is an igloo stay at a nearby camp set up by the hotel,” the palace’s delegate Melanie Ehlert explained.

TARGET: THE STARSTRUCK

Often, what’s outside the window draws more attention from guests than what is on offer within the hotel. “Our hotel is 90 years old. Besides the hotel’s own heritage potential, we’re marketing the views from our hotel — the iconic La Mamounia Park, the Atlas Mountains, etc. We’ve also dedicated suites to legends : The Churchill suite features one of his unfinished paintings and the Majorelle suite features lots of blue as a tribute to the painter,” said representative Denys Courtier.

TARGET: INDIAN WEDDINGS

Kanuhura, Maldives

Datai Langkawi, Malaysia

Some guests, will put down any sum for a peaceful, luxe, outdoors experience. “Ours is a two-island resort. We have a sandbank, where cocktails can be set up. Also, part of our offering is that we can set up a typical large, comfortable luxurious hotel bed for guests to sleep under the stars,” said representative Leonna Wong.

“We have a beautiful location in a rainforest and also have a private beach. We do traditional Indian weddings. Part of the offer is educational nature walks for guests,” said delegate Joanna Lee.

TARGET: THE DO-IT-ALL Sukhothai Bangkok, Thailand

TARGET: ETHNOCENTRIC TRAVELLERS Capella Resort, Sentosa Island, Singapore

Trip budget notwithstanding, Bangkok tends to attract the traveller in a hurry. So this hotel has made lots available within its space. “Our USP is a chocolate buffet that is extremely famous because it was started 21-years ago. Also, we have six acres of land and we created an oasis for the spa that seems far away from Bangkok. We have a concept called the Art of Dining where we call in a two or three-star Michelin chef for a week-long dining experience,” explained Vanessa Williams, the delegate.

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Hoteliers are savvy with the fact that some guests are all about local immersion, while others will not budge so much as an inch when it comes to food, drink, language and sometimes, even TV shows. “We have personal assistants speaking Hindi, Chinese and Russian. We celebrate Christmas on January 7 [like they do in Russia] and will celebrate Diwali, starting this year,” delegate Vic Khor said.

www.hotelierindia.com

04-04-2013 15:07:46

caere mag Ad Final Artwork Wednesday, April 03, 2013 7:33:20 PM

PEOPLE

Costagli strives to source all ingredients used at his workplace local ly.

The chronicles of Chianti

Chef Francesco Costagli believes that low carbonfootprint cuisine and being the best in the business can go hand in hand

BY RAYNAH COUTINHO

ostagli is famous for taking the 100-mile diet to an all-new level with his title of “0-km chef.” His claim to fame is the preservation of age-old Italian culinary traditions, besides which, he is credited with only using products procured within the surroundings of Castellina (in Chianti, Italy), where he currently works at Michelin starred restaurant, Ristorante Albergacio. He has worked closely with several Chianti wineries and is a first level sommelier, with over 25 years of experience.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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We caught him while he was in India for Fratelli Wines-ITC Hotels wine and fine-dining initiative and asked him to explain the paradoxes that he plays out through sheer culinary genius. HI How does one balance the global guest’s needs for various types of cuisine while ensuring 0-km sourcing? For instance, hotels in India are expected to put Italian food on offer... but the ingredients (or many of them) will need to be sourced from Italy... 0-km cuisine is a general approach that wants to preserve and maintain a high quality of the upmost taste, flavours and healthiness quotient.

There are certain ingredients that need to be imported like olive oil, or pasta, which also happens in many parts of Italy. Not all regions produce olive oil, so if you are located in the north of Italy, your olive oil will still come from Tuscany or Umbria; so in this case, such a product won’t be sourced locally. 0-km cuisine is based mainly on fresh ingredients, i.e seasonal vegetables. In India, all fresh vegetables and non-vegetarian items, like lamb, are sourced locally. Coming to India, I found Indian lambs are much better than Italian; they have less fat and are much better sized, which makes it easy to work on them. Preparing Italian cuisine in India, even if you

need to source some ingredients, tastes just as good as the original. HI Tell us more about your 0-km cuisine... how does it work and how did you decide that it was possible? 0-km cuisine perfectly represents my motto that is “we are what we eat”. 0-km cuisine has given me the opportunity to preserve our traditional flavours and inherit the taste from my grandmother’s recipes and previous generations; at the same time, presents a kind of cuisine that can be defined as traditionally modern, which means traditional by inspiration but modern in technique of cooking. The main idea behind this cuisine is to use ingredients that

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:16:02

PEOPLE

YOUR GUIDE TO THE LOCAL SOURCING BUZZ

Local sourcing is a buzzword for ecological conservation since 2006, when several major supermarket chains vowed to focus on locally sourced food as it benefits local communities and reduces the carbon footprint in transportation. The term 100-mile diet refers to a diet which consists entirely of foods grown and raised within 100 miles

Ravioli Agli Asparagi was part of the specials that chef Costagli brought to the table while in India.

I FOUND INDIAN LAMBS ARE MUCH BETTER THAN ITALIAN; THEY HAVE LESS FAT AND ARE MUCH BETTER SIZED, WHICH MAKES IT EASY TO WORK ON THEM

Francesco Costagli

are produced locally; so that one has perfect control on the quality and taste of all ingredients used, while preserving the original taste of same ingredients used decades ago. In your opinion what does it take (give us five key points) to run/ work for a Michelin star restaurant or to earn a Michelin star? Great team work, for a chef’s assistants are like your arms. The head chef has to give the overall direction and ideas on how to distinguish your main cuisine, but your assistants are HI

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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those who implement the dish. Perfect service on table, but with discretion. The best service is when a customer is sipping a glass of wine and doesn’t even realise that it has always been maintained full throughout the meal. Presentation of dishes is very important. Aesthetically, a dish has to be attractive, but what counts is consistency in flavour. For instance, our cuisine surprises our customers by being traditional in taste but modern in style. A perfect wine list, because these are vital to give your customer a perfect dining experience. Your sommelier has to be perfectly trained to assist and suggest which wine has to be paired with a given dish. Ingredients should be only the freshest, which will allow a chef to turn a dish into his own masterpiece. Working on every dish with an aim to make it your own master-

piece, you end up feeling that what you feed your customer is something that is yours. Are there any wine and food pairing thumb rules that in your opinion need to be re-looked? Or any area that hotel sommeliers pay too little attention to? I think that in order to find perfect wine-food pairing sommeliers, we must be guided by a chef with a deep understanding of ingredients used in any given dish so that a sommelier can perfectly understand flavours involved and find a perfect pairing of wine. Each dish can be paired with many different wines, so a good sommelier must have two or three wine options for each dish; thus giving the diner an opportunity to have a wider array of choices. Chefs, too, have to be informed on wine characteristics so to properly tune your food with wine. HI HI

(161 kilometres) of the dinner table.

Followers of the 100mile diet are often called

“locavores,”

because they eat locally produced food. Though not easy, but local sourcing is a great

CSR effort and also trims F&B costs.

In many parts of the world, ingredients may travel as much as

1,500

miles (2,414 kms) to reach the diner. These travelling or food miles have a profound impact on the environment, farming practices and the quality of food.

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:15:36

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

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03-04-2013 16:16:00

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

Building Aspirations lop e dev m, y o t bo re ali t f i o u sp sp fut ho u e c h t h e Wi n th iew t aket o v ys nt ly e e n k o m me an c o S e ore on ly. e m iv eal sit po s rev r lde o h

By NATASHA BOHRA & BABITA KRISHNAN

esearchers and development trend spotters across the country have been predicting a surge in the hospitality sector in the immediate future. With metros facing a space crunch and investors finding them unviable, the next logical shift is either to satellite towns or tier-II and III cities. Also with an increase in the business travel to these areas, there has been an increase in the demand. The shift in focus has already begun with many brands already trying to consolidate their positions in these cities. The mainstay of hotel design lies in understanding the target audi-

April 2013 | Hotelier India

49-75_HI_Apr13_ Devlopment.indd 50

ence of each property and effectively translating client requirement and market aspirations into an ideal design solution which will be a commercial success. According to architect Siraj Hasan, who has been designing hotels for the last three decades, maximum development of hospitality properties is happening in new cities, for eg., Gurgaon – Delhi; OMR – Chennai; Whitefield – Bangalore; Navi Mumbai – Mumbai; etc. These areas have a large cosmopolitan crowd and will support F&B outlets and multinational companies, which have their offices here, will feed the rooms inventory. In the last decade, as the major cit-

ies developed rapidly, real estate prices soared, and the cost of setting up and sustaining business operations in these cities became prohibitive. Companies, therefore, started looking at other cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. The emergence of the tier II and III cities led to an aggressive increase in hotel development activity and provided avenues for expansion of hotel brands. The Incredible India campaign has also played an important role in increased arrivals to India. Brand India under several subsets such as cultural tourism, eco-friendly vacationing, medical tourism, religious circuits, adventure sports

tourism, wildlife safaris, beach destinations and wellness vacations is what needs to be showcased well for the market to grow.The growth of the Indian economy over the past decade has definitely helped in development beyond metros, as emerging commercial hubs and desirable conference destinations, particularly for the businesses emerging in those cities. New airports, road and rail connectivity and specific meeting and conferencing facilities in hotels have definitely assisted this growth. “Hospitality development is one of the highest revenue earner in terms of ‘per sq. ft’ basis and it gives developers the satisfaction of owing a

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 16:16:01

Deolali Club.

Radisson Blu Alibaug.

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Hotelier India | April 2013

03-04-2013 16:16:04

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

SIRAJ HASAN Principal architect, Siraj and Renu Hasan Architects Hasan established his design practice along with his architect wife Renu in the early 80’s, and the firm has since designed landmark projects all over South India through their offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Whilst the company's architectural wing takes up large residential and commercial development projects, their interior design wing is focused on hotels and hospitality design. The interior design vertical has won them many accolades and national awards; four of them by the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID) and several by other various organisations. In recent times their projects such as The Movenpick Hotel & Spa, Bangalore, Aloft properties in Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore and Chandigarh and Ocean Spray, a five-star resort in Pondicherry have been featured in national interior design publications, celebrated for their outstanding design. Among the company's list of past clients are Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, ITC and its Fortune brand, Accor, The Residency Group of Hotels in Chennai. Starwood's Aloft and Sheraton brands, Dolphin Group of Hotels, The Taj Group of Hotels, Carlson and Sterling Holiday Resorts. Siraj is also very active in the Karnataka Chapter of IIID.

Four Points by Sheraton Pune.

Country Inns & Suites Mysore.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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branded hotel,” says Siraj Hasan, principal architect, Siraj and Renu Hasan Architects. According to industry observers, currently, the village landlords are selling their land and becoming cash-rich. And the tier II and III cities are promising for developers and investors as they have lower land prices and more potential buyers. Most players feel that India has been waiting a long time for this development, but there was a lack of investors. Anand Misra, MD, UKM Group, who ventured into the hospitality business in 2005, says that the main reason was diversification and clarifies that “Hotel business is a real estate activity, so a natural extension for any developer.” Vinay Phadnis, CMD, Phadnis Group launched RIMC Sahil India Hospitality, a joint venture between Sahil Hospitality and RIMC International,

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 16:16:09

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3/1/2013 6:16:45 PM

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur.

NAVEEN JAIN President, Duet Hotels Duet India Hotels started the hospitality venture in late 2007. They are positioned in the underserved internationally branded mid scale segment in key metro cities. They provide products in this space which are internationally branded such as Holiday Inn Express brand. The product offers international standards great sleep experience, express start breakfast and free wi-fi at value for money prices to both business and leisure travellers. The company already has an operational property as Holiday Inn Express at Ahmedabad and upcoming hotels being developed at Hyderabad, Chennai, Navi Mumbai. They also have two other operational hotels as Four Points by Sheraton in Pune and Jaipur. Duet India Hotels has over 1,600 rooms under development and land acquisition for another 1,000 rooms is under active negotiations. The company intends to develop over 4,000 rooms over the next three years. Duet Hotels has a joint venture agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with them owning 76 per cent and IHG with 24 per cent stake to develop 19 Holiday Inn Express hotels in India. Of which, they already have one operational and four under development.

Oceanique, Goa.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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headquartered in Germany and INET, headquartered in Switzerland, towards the fourth quarter of 2008. Prestige Group ventured into hospitality in the mid 90s and is concentrating mostly on Bengaluru. “Though the core business is realty development in residential and commercial spaces, the reason for branching out into hospitality was the increasing demand for rooms and better services,” says Zaid Sadiq, executive director of the Group. They are not looking at beyond Bengaluru presently, and the focus is on MICE facilities. Mishra also clarifies, “Currently our business interest is in Rajasthan. We are looking forward to establishing a firm footing here. Also, returns in the smaller cities are better as compared to the metros because of high cost of investment and fierce competition.” Pride Hotels that began operations in 1999, has followed a reverse strategy of most big hotel chains, which grew from metros first. “We targeted the tier II cites first (Pune, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, etc.) and then started expansion to metros like Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and now Delhi,” reveals Satyen Jain, CMD of Pride Hotels.

MICE HVS research reveals that convention or meetings tourism accounts for over 20 per cent of all international arrivals worldwide. With the emergence of India as a key economic hotspot along with China, convention tourism has enormous possibilities in the country. India's growing strength in the IT arena has prompted a few prominent international bodies to host trade shows and conventions in the country and similar prominence in bio-technology, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors is expected to bring convention revenues to the country in the coming years. India, however, remains woefully inadequate in its abilitiy to attract large international conventions. One of the biggest reasons continues to be the lack of world class convention centres in India. “India needs more convention and exhibition centere to meet

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:45:22

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3/21/13 10:00 AM

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

D Hotel, Lucknow.

SATYEN JAIN Director and CEO, The Pride Hotels Satyen Jain, a chartered accountant and MBA, is the director and chief executive officer of the company. He oversees the implementation of the ongoing projects and keeps a keen eye upon applying international standards in F&B, hi-tech connectivity, room facilities, soft furnishings and hardware at the Pride Hotel sites. The Pride Hotels aggressively started growing in 1999 from a single hotel to 13 properties currently. The main reason for the expansion is acute shortage of rooms available. The company is catering to upscale and mid-market business segments and along with rooms, they are also targeting the MICE segment. Historically, leisure properties have had lower ROI due to lower occupancy so have attracted less investment. Pride Hotels initially targeted the tier II cities such as Pune, Ahmedebad and Nagpur, and then started expansion to metros such as Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and now Delhi. However, at an early stage the focus is to grow in the western and southern region and then go pan India.

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the requirement of MICE segment, which is attracting a large portion of the business. MICE facility development is essentially part of the infrastructure development and hotels add value to the proposition, as quality accommodation is obviously required to cater to demand. In the present scenario, where land prices are unrealistically high, the capability of developing such facilities is limited to a few developers only," says Suresh Kumar, CEO, Fortune Hotels. Architect Sanjay Puri agrees that MICE facilities add a huge potential to the profitability of a hotel, â&#x20AC;&#x153;More than MICE, it is the big Indian weddings that need to be catered to, in every city however small. There are cases where our

www.hotelierindia.com

04-04-2013 10:18:17

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DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

ASHISH JAKHANWALA MD, SAMHI Founded by Ashish Jakhanwala, Manav Thadani and Steve Rushmore, SAMHI is a leading hotel investment and development firm incorporated in early 2011 with intent to provide a unique multi-brand hotel development platform in the Indian sub-continent. The company offers a strong asset base under brands like Fairfield by Marriott, Hyatt Place, Courtyard by Marriott and Accor's Formule-1 brand. It has a focus on the fast-growing mid-scale and economy segment, thus the brand caters to customers with travel needs ranging from business, leisure, moderate to low cost. The group directly and through its subsidiaries has its presence in key metros and cities across India. SAMHI Hotels has financial joint ventures with two large global hotel companies — Marriott and Accor. In addition, SAMHI has also tied-up with Hyatt Place and Four Points By Sheraton. Holiday Inn Ahmedabad.

clients grew from marriage caterers to hoteliers. There are other cases where our clients are creating banqueting facilities of 40,000 sq. ft with a role model in which banqueting generates 60 per cent of the revenue and only 40 per cent is generated from the rooms.” MICE facilities are integral to a hotel in a seasonal market as it facilitates the hotel to maintain occupancies during low seasons. Small to mediumsized MICE facilities located within a hotel would facilitate such demand to hotels and also enable the hotel to target the local wedding and social market. “Standalone MICE facilities are typically very capital-intensive. Purposebuilt MICE facilities in other countries have been developed through

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the PPP mode. Such developments also require a high degree of transport infrastructure and international/national air-connectivity to enable them to operate efficiently,” explains KB Kachru, executive vice-president Carlson Rezidor. While cost of land in tier II and III cities may be more viable than tier I cities, other ancillary facilities such as road and air infrastructure may not necessarily supplement such a development. “While we do not currently have any brands that support standalone MICE facilities (as compared to in-house MICE facilities), we continue to evaluate the potential of such opportunities in India,” he says. Corporates are looking at MICE being organised outstation. The

Formule-1 Hinjewadi, Pune.

most important aspects that a corporate looks at are venue capacity and connectivity to a particular destination. This is where RIMC Sahil has an advantage with its properties located close to Mum-

bai. “MICE is our biggest target audience and we adopt various sales and marketing strategies to reach out to them. We have an excellent product which comprises of room inventory/accommoda-

www.hotelierindia.com

04-04-2013 10:21:21

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

KB KACHRU Executive VP, Carlson Rezidor

Holiday Inn Hyderabad.

tion, venue for MICE, F&B facilities, recreational activities, spa and wellness as well as good connectivity to the property,” says Ajit Dharamadhikari, executive director, RIMC Sahil. Lokesh Sabharwal, vice president Accor, is proud of the two world-class convention and conference centers from the group — the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) and the Lavasa International Convention Centre (LICC); “Our Novotel hotels are key properties to sup-

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49-75_HI_Apr13_ Devlopment.indd 59

port the convention activities. Between HICC and LICC we’ve hosted over 1,500 events and for some of our other hotels such as the Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach, Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach and Novotel Hyderabad Airport, MICE is a key contributor to our overall revenues,” he discloses. Having a clear target audience — the business traveller — Pride has developed a great recall with its guests for “offering great value for the world class product. Also, we offer 40 meeting

The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is a dynamic hotel company with a portfolio of 1,319 hotels under operation and under development, covering 81 countries. India’s growth and potential in the hospitality sector stimulated Carlson’s decision to enter the Indian market in mid 1990s and the first hotel opened in New Delhi in 1998 (now the Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi). The group has achieved a leadership position among other international hotel companies in India with 62 hotels operational and an additional 43 hotels under construction in India. “Our strength lies in our powerful and award winning global brands: Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson and Hotel Missoni. Each brand is positioned at a price point which appeals to a range of target markets including business and leisure,” says Kachru. The company’s growth has been facilitated by their strategic partnerships with country development and management services for the Country Inn and Suites by Carlson brand across India. More recently, they have entered into another joint venture agreement with Bestech Hospitality to grow the Park Inn by Radisson brand in North and Central India. During 2012, the group launched hotels in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkatta, Goa, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, Kandla, and Mysore; and more coming up in Navi Mumbai, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Gandhinagar, Jalandhar, Karjat, Salem, Bhiwadi, Guwahati and Jim Corbett. Carlson Rezidor’s focus is multifaceted and reflects projects under the Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza and Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns and Suites by Carlson brands in key and emerging business and resort locations, including pilgrimage. Their mid-market brands Country Inn & Suites and Park Inn by Radisson are suited to operate more efficiently in tier II and III markets. which are likely to be their key focus over this year.

and banquets halls,” says Satyen. Naveen Jain, president of Duet Hotels feels that we will need to develop strong infrastructure in tier II and III cities to develop the MICE market. “It is not dependent only on developing hotels, but

requires international/domestic airports with good connectivity, good rail/road networks; strong transportation within the city; development of venues for evening functions; and great cultural, sightseeing and shopping options.

Hotelier India | April 2013

04-04-2013 10:21:24

INNOVATING. GROWING. LEADING.

THE WESTIN PUNE KOREGAON PARK

Amit Bhosale

THE POWER OF STARWOOD PARTNERSHIP.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AVINASH BHOSALE GROUP

“As an owner of multiple Starwood branded hotels, Starwood has successfully shown that through its powerful distribution systems and fresh approach to lifestyle branding, a company can operate multiple hotels within the same city and grow market share for each. Our recently opened

Our nine distinct lifestyle brands, powered by a global booking platform and the award-winning Starwood Preferred Guest® loyalty program, give our partners a competitive advantage.

Westin Pune Koregaon Park has emerged as a market leader within a short period of time. We look forward to growing our ALOFT BENGALURU WHITEFIELD

partnership with the

THE WESTIN GURGAON, NEW DELHI

launch of our next hotel,

To learn more, visit us at starwoodhotels.com/development or call +91 124 6768 000

under Starwood’s iconic W brand.”

Kumar Sitaraman

CHAIRMAN & CEO AUROMATRIX HOLDINGS PVT. LIMITED

“Auromatrix is proud to have partnered with Starwood THE WESTIN SOHNA RESORT & SPA

Hotels to bring its young design-oriented and tech-savvy Aloft hotels to India. Aloft provides a highly differentiated

Anil Bhalla CHAIRMAN VATIKA GROUP

experience which resonates with guests and stands out in the cluttered upscale segment. Thanks to Starwood’s strong sales and marketing network and award-winning

“Vatika Hospitality and Starwood Hotels have enjoyed ALOFT CHENNAI, OMR - IT EXPRESSWAY

SPG® loyalty program, our hotels have ramped up quickly.

a strong, successful collaboration on Westin hotels

We couldn’t ask for a more professional, experienced

in India. We can rely on the Starwood team to execute

and flexible group to partner with.”

at a high level, providing valuable development and operational support and delivering market-leading revenue performance. As we expand our hospitality ALOFT COIMBATORE SINGANALLUR

portfolio, leveraging Starwood’s differentiated lifestyle brands and strong global platform will be an important part of our strategy.”

©2013 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Aloft, Element, Four Points, Le Méridien, Sheraton, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin and their logos are the trademarks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or its affiliates.

GDG13017IndiaTestim_Hotelier.indd 1

3/13/13 1:27 PM

INNOVATING. GROWING. LEADING.

THE WESTIN PUNE KOREGAON PARK

Amit Bhosale

THE POWER OF STARWOOD PARTNERSHIP.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AVINASH BHOSALE GROUP

Our nine distinct lifestyle brands, powered by a global booking platform and the award-winning Starwood Preferred Guest® loyalty program, give our partners a competitive advantage.

Westin Pune Koregaon Park has emerged as a market leader within a short period of time. We look forward to growing our ALOFT BENGALURU WHITEFIELD

partnership with the

THE WESTIN GURGAON, NEW DELHI

launch of our next hotel,

To learn more, visit us at starwoodhotels.com/development or call +91 124 6768 000

under Starwood’s iconic W brand.”

Kumar Sitaraman

CHAIRMAN & CEO AUROMATRIX HOLDINGS PVT. LIMITED

“Auromatrix is proud to have partnered with Starwood THE WESTIN SOHNA RESORT & SPA

Hotels to bring its young design-oriented and tech-savvy Aloft hotels to India. Aloft provides a highly differentiated

Anil Bhalla CHAIRMAN VATIKA GROUP

experience which resonates with guests and stands out in the cluttered upscale segment. Thanks to Starwood’s strong sales and marketing network and award-winning

“Vatika Hospitality and Starwood Hotels have enjoyed ALOFT CHENNAI, OMR - IT EXPRESSWAY

SPG® loyalty program, our hotels have ramped up quickly.

a strong, successful collaboration on Westin hotels

We couldn’t ask for a more professional, experienced

in India. We can rely on the Starwood team to execute

and flexible group to partner with.”

at a high level, providing valuable development and operational support and delivering market-leading revenue performance. As we expand our hospitality ALOFT COIMBATORE SINGANALLUR

portfolio, leveraging Starwood’s differentiated lifestyle brands and strong global platform will be an important part of our strategy.”

GDG13017IndiaTestim_Hotelier.indd 1

3/13/13 1:27 PM

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

MOHAN KRISHNA VP operations, GreenPark Group of Hotels GreenPark Hotels and Resorts (formerly known as Diana Hotels) was incorporated in the year 1986, and owns and operates business hotels in Hyderabad, Chennai and Visakhapatnam. The chain is a pioneer of the concept of “five-star services at four-star prices”. All its properties enjoy best in segment occupancy levels. The chain has received small and medium Enterprise National Award for Travel and Tourism. The company currently operates a hotel in upscale segment under brand name Marigold Hotels and is working towards a goal of operating 1000 rooms under management by the year 2014. Krishna has been with the Green Park Group since 1992. Having passed out from IHM Hyderabad, he graduated in economics, has a post graduate Diploma in Business Management and undertook the Executive Programme from Cornell University USA. Under his dynamic leadership, the hotel has been upgraded to the four-star category property and has also achieved many awards.

It has to be an inclusive development which has all the players working together to give a great destination experience to the buyer or customer so that it becomes a preferred choice,” says Naveen. A sentiment echoed by almost all the participants. Ashish Jhakhanwala, managing director SAMHI, adds, “Whereas building MICE is still easy, the development of overall supporting infrastructure is difficult and time consuming.” With the escalation in construction cost, promoters are now reticent to include large meeting halls or convention centres to hotels as this shall further escalate the cost of construction. “As per Rider Levitt Bucknall report, in past five years with same design/specification cost for a mid-market hotel has seen increase of more than 25 per cent. Construction sector is highly sensitive to price fluctuation arising due to local as well as global issues. 10 per cent increase in the prices of steel, cement, sand, labor, copper and timber is a major reason for increasing construction cost. How-

ever, CIS hotels have adequate meeting and banqueting space to cater to MICE segment,” Manoj Nankeolyar, head of Project development at Carlson Rezidor. “The business of MICE holds enormous potential!” says Vivek Kumar, CEO Aamby Valley City & Hotel Sahara Star, “It is estimated that a person travelling into a country for a conference or convention spends four times more than a leisure traveller — on food, business centre services, etc. India is globally connected to a network of over 50 international airlines and several domestic airlines, which provide convenient connectivity within India.” But Hasan feels that we need to improve our security measures first.

CHALLENGES High land cost, lack of clarity in land title and related issues, slow bureaucratic processes, archaic laws, a maze of licenses and high interest rates with lower tenures for loans are some of the major issues. “Additionally, a lack of dis-

Chrome Hotel Kolkata.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:46:08

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DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

SURESH KUMAR CEO, Fortune Hotels In a career spanning over three decades, Suresh Kumar joined ITC Hotels as a management trainee in 1978. In his 30 years with the group, he has held several managerial positions in ITC Hotels’ properties and became general manager in 1987 at a young age of 29 years. He earned the portfolio of vice-president for the Southern Region of ITC Hotels in April 2005 and took over as vice-president operations, ITC Hotels, based in Delhi. Since October 2006, he assumed the mantle of president, Fortune Park Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC. Under his leadership initially as the president, and currently as the CEO, the company has witnessed a phenomenal growth. Currently Fortune Hotels has 69 signed alliances, with an inventory of 5335 rooms, of which 39 Hotels are operational, with the rest at various stages of development. He is a managing committee member of HRANI and an executive committee member of Hotel Association of India (HAI). His accolades include ‘The Green Hotelier’ award by International Hotels and Restaurants Association (IHRA) in 1996, ‘PATWA International Achiever Award’ in 2012.

tinction at a governmental level between international quality budget and upscale hotels, leading to almost similar norms for taxation and regulatory compliances are an issue,” says Sabharwal. “Accor has been one of the few international hotel companies that have committed a significant investment towards the Indian hotel sector. This together with management agreements for our brands with some excellent partners have been key to balancing the pipeline and help overcome some of these issues. Our owners are partners with whom we may have investments together or management agreements in place. We have been working with the developers, state governments and channel partners and feel that there is simply no substitute to perseverance. As a result we have a robust pipeline with the largest number of hotels in the midscale, economy and budget segments actively under construction in India,” he adds. Duet Hotels follows a different strategy to overcome the challenges, “Challenges form part of any business environment. We

have a strong team which continues to look at development challenges and ways to mitigate them. We conduct upfront legal due diligence and get into micro markets where the prices are within tolerable limits. We look at about one acre of land for our development with an FSI ranging between 70-80,000. To avoid project delays we work with contractors who have a good track record. We have been able to choose good partners to deliver projects within the stipulated time frame. Another area is related to approvals — while we would request for single window approvals, we make sure that we understand the regulations of the state very clearly and build accordingly to avoid facing any issues during approvals,” Naveen elaborates. Some of the challenges faced in cities like Bengaluru arise from the fact that the rate of growth is very rapid and the city is not geared up to tackle this growth. Also, the infrastructure is way behind and not in sync with the development. “All of this is never part of the feasibility reports generated,” laments Sadiq.

VIVEK KUMAR CEO, Aamby Valley City and Hotel Sahara Star

Sahara Star, Mumbai.

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After being sold to Batra Hospitality in June 2002, the government Hotel Centaur Mumbai Airport was resold within four months to Sahara, and became a landmark of a world-class hospitality experience, an architectural vision of fusion of hospitality and entertainment with a vision of creating a symbol of modern, progressive India. Sahara Star, the company’s first foray into the hospitality industry is a dynamic leisure and business hotel that represents the most individualised hospitality experience offering traditional Indian splendor with contemporary western elegance, coupled with state-of-the-art facilities, blending a touch of comfort, modern efficiency and warmth. According to Kumar, “Tier II and III cities, where a majority of the urban population resides, are likely to witness development of townships. Recently players have started focusing on these cities, whereas we have recognised the potential long back and planned majority of townships in these cities. We are pioneers in developing them.”

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:46:57

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1/4/2013 8:40:06 PM

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

ANAND MISHRA MD, UKM Group

My Fortune Chennai.

MANOJ NANDKEOLYAR GM, development, Country Development & Management Services CDMS was launched in January 1998 as a joint venture between Country Inns & Suites By Carlson and Chanakya Hotel. CDMS is the only master franchisor for setting up Country Inns & Suites By Carlson brand in India. The portfolio of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group includes more than 1,300 hotels in operation and under development, a global footprint spanning 100 countries and territories and a powerful set of global brands (Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM and Hotel Missoni). In 2013, the group is targeting to open at least nine Hotels in cities like Navi Mumbai, Goa Panjim, Bathinda, Meerut, Bengaluru, and Noida among others. The plan is to add another 500 new operational keys to the CIS portfolio by the year end, taking the tally of total operational hotels around 30. Their focus is to increase our footprints all over India that includes metros, tier I II cities. All the group’s future greenfield projects have MICE facilities as this segment is growing and MICE contribution to the overall revenue of the operational hotels in the range of 15-20 per cent per year. Also, this year they are giving a new look to Country Inns & Suites By Carlson logo and brand identity.

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Anand Mishra, the MD of the UKM Group has earned himself the credit to be known as the youngest builder in Jaipur. He started his career with the construction of the biggest residential structure in Jaipur and has made UKM the most sort after company for quality, in the city. The UKM Group ventured into hospitality in the year 2005, the main reason being diversification. They primarily cater to business travelers. Their current business interests limit only to Rajasthan. The returns in the tier II and III cities are better as compared to the metros because of high cost of investment and fierce competition in the metros. As a result the margins are going down. And the company wished to establish a firm footing in Rajasthan with Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Jaiselmer and Ajmer being their next destinations in the near future.

Looking from the project perspective, Nandkeolyar explains that the major challenges in the project development are: Escalating construction cost, absence of PMCs to coordinate the projects and securing local licenses at the time of preopening. “We are requesting all our new promoters to get a project cost sheet prepared and conduct a third party feasibility study of the market before starting a project. Once tied up, we recommend the owner to hire PMC, which will set the realistic project milestones and empanel the pre-opening team one year prior to project opening,” he says. But India’s size and massive natural, geographic, cultural and artistic diversity offers enormous opportunities for the travel and tourism industry. The promotion and aggressive marketing mea-

www.hotelierindia.com

04-04-2013 10:23:03

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

PARAM KANNAMPILLY Chairman & MD, Concept Hospitality Kannampilly studied under the academic veteran and Indian hospitality education’s pioneer Padma Shri Thangam Philip in Mumbai, and joined the industry in 1975. Under his guidance, the company has developed a complete brand portfolio for the Indian market. “Our promise is a premium standard of amenities and service with a true passion for the environment,” he claims. The Fern is the luxury badge for hotels and resorts with a 5-star and above classification. The Fern Residency is a mid-tiered badge for hotels and resorts in the three and four-star categories. Beacon Hotels provides a budget hotel experience in the two-star category. And also, CHPL operates hotels and resorts for owners under their own names. The company currently operates seven hotels in tier-I cities, eight properties in tier-II cities, and the rest in emerging tier-III locations. They incorporate the latest principles of environment sustainability in their designs. Hotel Meluha in Mumbai, The Fern is the greenest hotel in India with an ecotel tier I and a LEED Gold certification. CHPL is recognised for its leadership in environmentally responsible hotels.

Meluha The Fern Mumbai.

sures undertaken by the government is expected to aid influx of tourists. The industry would also benefit from introduction of new forms of tourism and development of niche segments.

POLICIES “Tourism has been recognised by the government, as an engine of economic growth and employment generation in the country, but it is yet to translate effectively into policy framework. There have been a few notable policy changes recently, but they are either yet to be effectively executed or lack synchronisation with the legitimate demands of the hospitality indus-

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try, like for instance, the setting up of Hospitality Development & Promotion Board (HDPB) by the central government and the inclusion of three-star or higher category classified hotels, located outside cities with population of more than one million under Social & Commercial Sub-Sectors of Infrastructure Lending by Reserve Bank of India,“ says Suresh. Moreover, each state in India has specific policies and laws pertaining to land, licenses and development norms of hotels. There has been considerable discussion on giving hotels an industry status, which will facilitate growth and viability, however, the decision is awaited from the

government. Sanjay Sethi MD and CEO, Berggruen Hotels, feels that there have been none that have had a major impact, “Except additional FSI available in some cities to hospitality projects.” However, Param Kannimpilly, CMD of Concept Hospitality, points out that there are two notable policies; “An RBI notification last November that allows a company to convert their existing loan to an infrastructure loan of three-star and above hotel projects located outside of cities with over 10 lakh population. The other is Section 35AD of the IT Act which allows owners to opt for accelerated depreciation to get back their investment other than

land and goodwill before paying income tax.” Naveen feels that infrastructure status to the hospitality sector will really benefit to build a strong tourism industry. With the strong emerging middle class and disposable income growth, travel will continue to grow. Strong business growth will also increase demand for travel and hotels. “While the government has many priorities, assisting the travel and tourism industry to develop and creating an enabling environment will assist in tourism in contributing more to the growth of our GDP. It will attract inbound travel, bringing in foreign exchange,” he adds. “The govern-

Hotelier India | April 2013

04-04-2013 10:23:04

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

Radisson Blu Alibaug.

ment can look at supporting mid-scale hotel development as land prices sometimes are prohibitive to develop value-for-money/affordable hotels in some of the cities.” Kumar feels that travel and tourism in India is a highly taxed industry, which makes India expensive as a tourist destination. This is affecting the growth of the industry and India is losing out to other low-cost destinations. “For inbound international tourists, visa procedures are seen as a hindrance. A number of countries competing with India for tourists provide visa on arrival. India should provide visa on arrival for more countries or for certain categories of tourists for a specific duration,” he suggests.

INNOVATIONS Looking at the demand and expansion potential that the industry needs to provide for, what will make each brand stand apart and possibly ahead of the competition is its innovative offering and positioning? Almost everyone is looking to go green. “We incorporate the latest principles of environment sustainability in our design,” says Kannampilly. “Our five-star Mumbai hotel, Meluha The Fern is the greenest hotel in India with an ecotel Tier 1 and a LEED Gold certification. Our upcoming fivestar hotel in Chennai, too, will have both ecotel and LEED certifications. Concept Hospitality is recognised for its leadership in environmentally responsible hotels,” he adds. RIMC Sahil has implemented, “A process that is resource-

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VINAY PHADNIS CMD, Phadnis Group RIMC Sahil India Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. is a joint venture between Sahil Hospitality and RIMC International. As hospitality partners the company manages properties in metros as well. However, as an owning company they have properties in smaller towns and cities such as Radisson Blu Resort and Spa, Alibaug and Sahil Sarovar Portico, Lonavala. RIMC is a silent operator whereas RIMC SAHIL is a third party operator and has an understanding with international brands. The company has implemented the Green Building Concept or Sustainable Building, a process that is resource efficient, uses recycled materials, reduces wastage and pollution. Other measures used to conserve energy are heat recovery system which improves climate control and enables efficient usage of energy. The Phadnis Group has ambitious plans of expanding in the hospitality sector. It intends to set up business hotels in tier II and tier III cities and have at least 10 hotels in the next five years. Besides this RIMC Sahil Hospitality, the Hotel Management Company will have at least 3,000 rooms under its belt in the next three years. RIMC Sahil Hospitality currently has 1,400 rooms under its belt says executive director Ajit Dharmadhikari. Chairman and managing director of Phadnis Group, Vinay Phadnis, who has diversified the group in various sectors, was awarded ‘Entrepreneurship Excellence Award’ on behalf of the SME Chamber of India and Young Entrepreneurship Forum for his outstanding performance in the fields of infrastructure and hospitality.

Vinay Phadnis

Ajit Dharmadhikari

www.hotelierindia.com

04-04-2013 10:23:06

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DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

SANJAY PURI Principal architect, Sanjay Puri Architects

D Caves, Hyderabad.

efficient, uses recycled materials, reduces wastage and pollution. Other measures used to conserve energy are heat recovery system which improves climate control and enables efficient usage of energy,” says Dharmadhikari says. India is a unique market and in order for brands to be successful, they will need to reassess their facilities and services to appeal to the Indian customer. Sethi reveals that Berggruen has spent a long time in working out design efficiencies in the early years. “As a result we can today operate our hotels with 0.70 employees to a room including full service F&B,” he reveals. Kachru explains how they have worked with their international team to localize the Park Inn by Radisson brand to appeal to the Indian domestic traveler – this localization includes offering such as room service, option for greater food and beverage and meeting facilities. Sahara’s focus is green with design details that incorpo-

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Ar. Sanjay Puri graduated in Mumbai in the year 1988 and established his firm Sanjay Puri Architects in 1992. Completing an extensive range of projects including townships, software parks, residential buildings, retail malls, hotels and entertainment centres, the firm strongly believes in exploring new territories of design. Sanjay Puri Architects was the only architectural firm globally to win commendation awards in three categories simultaneously at the 2011 MIPIM Architectural Review Future Projects Awards at Cannes, France. These four awards came in succession of 10 other international awards for this architectural practice including the prestigious World Architectural Festival Award in Barcelona in 2010, the Hospitality Design Award, New York for the best mid range hotel worldwide in 2010, the WA Community Awards 8th and 9th cycles, UK, the International Asia Pacific Property Awards for Best Leisure Building , the 2011 Faces of Design Awards, Berlin, The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture ans Urban Studies International Architecture Awards 2011. According to Puri, MICE facilities add a huge potential to the profitability of a hotel. More than MICE, it is the big Indian weddings that need to be catered to in every city irrespective of its size. There have been cases where the firm’s clients grew from marriage caterers to hoteliers.

Radisson Blu Alibaug.

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:47:37

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DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

LOKESH SABHARWAL VP, Accor In India, Accor operates a network with seven brands comprehensively spanning the luxury to budget segments, underpinned by operational excellence while embracing their European heritage and adapting for what is required by the local market. The brand portfolio comprises of Sofitel, Pullman, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis and Formule1. They target customers across the spectrum, depending upon the purpose of travel and accordingly cater to their specific requirements. The company continues to look at all tier I, tier II and selectively tier III markets — state capitals, key commercial and leisure centers and cities where there is a potential of new hubs emerging and growing. In India, Accor runs two world-class convention and conference centres — the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) and the Lavasa International Convention Centre (LICC). Novotel hotels, for the company, are key properties to support the convention and conference activities. With the growth of the MICE market in its various avatars in India, Accor is in a continual process of upgrading its conferencing and allied facilities and ensuring world-class, new locations for meetings and conferences in the country. In order to reduce development time, development costs, mitigate the environmental impact with commitment to their Planet 21 programme and to ensure these innovations support not just the project development but operations for a longer term, the company continues to innovate, review and implement technologies, designs and materials across our projects. Utilising pre fabricated structures, stainless steel structures and tighter, more efficient utilization of GFA available are part of these innovations. The company is presently operating 19 hotels and two convention centers in India. In 2013, they will be adding eight to ten hotels to their current network of operating hotels. They will be opening hotels in Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Goa, Jaipur and Gurgaon across the Novotel, Ibis and Formule-1 brands.

ZAID SADIQ Executive director, Prestige Estates Projects Over the last decade the Prestige Group has firmly established itself as one of South India’s most successful developers of real estate by imprinting its indelible mark across all asset classes. The Group’s core business of property development has seen over 163 developments covering over 46.97 million sq ft already completed, with 52.88 million sq ft under development currently. Today the Group’s activities are spread over South India’s major cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mangalore and Mysore. On the hospitality front, Omer Bin Jung is responsible for the widely acclaimed, award winning Angsana Oasis Spa and Resorts and Oakwood Premier Prestige Serviced Residences at UB City, Bangalore, while Zaid Sadiq heads the Group’s venture, 24 Tech Hotel. The Group’s other hospitality forays include the Aloft Hotel, the upcoming Marriott Hotel at Prestige Golfshire in Bangalore, the Hilton Bangalore and a Sheraton Hotel at Bangalore. Prestige Golfshire is Group’s the flagship golf course project, which brings to India its first world class Bob Hunt golf course managed by Troon Golf USA. Helmed by Faiz Rezwan it offers an 18 hole Championship Golf Course, luxury mansions, a clubhouse with the full complement of world class leisure amenities, a private lake and the 300 bed Marriott Hotel. "The reason for branching out into hospitality was the increasing demand for more rooms and better service. The group is presently not looking at moving away from Bangalore, but the focus is on MICE facilities,” Sadiq explains.

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rate concepts of nature, and design that evokes the juxtaposition of relaxation with a vision of fusion of hospitality and entertainment; “It gives each guest a sense of “I have arrived and I can relax”. Easy affordable luxury breaking the traditional hotel brick and mortar model,” Vivek says.

WAY FORWARD Berggruen has projects going on in Cochin and Vizag, which are in advanced stages of development and will be commissioned in the current year. In addition, with their newly-launched franchise model, they plan to reach out to all tiers of the cities in India and leverage their strengths. “Additionally, we have land banks in cities like Goa, Lucknow, Kovalam, Baroda and Raipur. In all, we are roughly

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:48:16

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

Marriott hotel by Prestige.

targeting addition of 10 properties under the management, company owned and franchise model this year. We are also in various stages of talks for expansion in the South Asian and neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh,” reveals Sethi. Concept Hospitality has 17 projects in development, spanning a 36-month timeframe. “Our first hotel opening this year was The Fern Residency, Vadodara, another six hotels and resorts will open this year in Ganapatipule, Asansol, Jodhpur, Chennai, Goa and Mumbai,” says Kannampilly. The focus of Carlson Rezidor is multifaceted and reflects projects under the Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza and Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns and Suites By Carlson brands in key

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SANJAY SETHI MD & CEO, Berggruen Hotels Further to the hospitality boom in 2006-07, Berggruen Hotels came into being, with an intention of setting up a value-for-money business hotels and upscale resorts in India. The company has a portfolio of a mix of resorts and business hotels which offer a compelling value proposition to the Indian middle class and upscale traveller. Their primary target guest profile is the young, upwardly mobile hospitality seeker who is discerning and expects global standards. The company has properties in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and upcoming ones in NCR region, Cochin and Vizag. Properties in Cochin and Vizag are in advanced stages of development and will be commissioned this year. The newly launched franchise model is intended to reach out to all tiers of cities in India and leverage the company’s strong domain knowledge, distribution channels, reservation systems and talent pool. Additionally, the company has land banks in cities like Goa, Lucknow, Kovalam, Baroda and Raipur. In all, they are roughly targeting addition of 10 properties under the management, company owned and franchise model this year. They are also in various stages of talks for expansion in the South Asian and neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Hotelier India | April 2013

03-04-2013 14:48:23

DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

KUMAR SITARAMAN Chairman and CEO, Auromatrix Holdings Kumar Sitaraman is chairman and CEO of the Chennai-based Auromatrix Holdings. An MBA in finance from Los Angeles, California, he found his niche in the hospitality industry by becoming a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and is also a FIH, UK. He has garnered more than 30 years of valuable experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in USA, India, Europe and Far East with leading brands. He founded Auromatrix in 1990 as a hotel and resort development and management company. Under his leadership, Auromatrix evolved into one of the market leaders in a short span of 20 years and today, the company is a conglomeration of companies with interests in hospitality, infrastructure, manufacturing, seafood, retail, distribution and logistics in India, USA, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Iceland. The company’s current portfolio of entities include Auromatrix Hotels, Sparsa Resorts, Urbanedge Hotels, Stargate, Auro Investment Partners, Auro Mannvit, Auro Furniture & Fitouts, Auro Maritech, Laundro Express, Auro Southland Food Services and Auro Fleet Services. He is also the Honorary Consul General of Iceland, in India.

DEEPAK UPPAL Executive director, Vatika Hotels The Vatika Group spanning commercial and residential real estate, hotels and resorts, restaurants, business centres and integrated facilities management, is headed by Uppal who has a vast experience of 34 years and plays a pivotal role in the growth of the company. During his career, he has worked with some renowned organisations like Hindustan Unilever, Pepsico, Larsen & Toubro and Brooke Bond. He is a B-Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and also holds a Masters Degree in Marketing Management from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. The Vatika Group was incorporated in 1991 commencing its operations with aggregation of land in Sohna and Bhondsi, located at the outskirts of Gurgaon. The company entered the restaurant business with the launch of Coriander Leaf and 56 ristorante Italiano, as fine dining specialty restaurants in Gurgaon. Today Vatika's hospitality operations comprise of operational and under-development hotels, resorts, restaurants, business centers, facility management services and their properties target both the business and leisure travelers. Some of the green building initiatives by the group include, ATB (Automatic tube brushing system) for chillers, which enhances efficiency by 20 per cent; MBR (Membrane Bio Reactor) technology for STP’s, where 95 per cent of the water is recovered for cooling towers, flushing systems and irrigation requirements; use of thermal storage system for optimisng air conditioning system; construction of rain harvesting pits, amongst others.

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and emerging business and resort locations, including pilgrimage. “Our mid-market brands Country Inn & Suites and Park Inn by Radisson brand are suited to operate more efficiently in tier II and III markets and this is likely to be our key focus over the 2013 year,” Kachru elaborates. “This year we are targeting to open hotels in cities like Navi Mumbai, Goa Panjim, Bathinda, Meerut, Bengaluru, and Noida among others. Our plan is to add another 500 operational keys to the CIS portfolio by the year end, taking the tally of total opera-

tional hotels around 30. Currently, there are 62 operational Carlson Rezidor properties in India and 46 are under development with various brands of Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Park Inn By Radisson and Park Plaza. Our properties are well suited to cater to both business and leisure travelers,” adds Nandkeolyar. With a clear vision to be ‘India’s most admired hotel investment firm’, SAMHI has already established a pipeline of over 3,200 rooms across 22 hotels in nine cities. “The company has five brands with four global operators managing the assets. With a combination of SAMHI‘s investment philosophy and strategy enhanced by the current market environment, the portfolio is likely to witness a continuing expansion in coming years,” says Jhakhanwala. “The coming months in the current year would see more hotels opening up around the country including Mussoorie, Tirupati, Ghaziabad, Haridwar, Manesar, Rajkot, Shirdi, and Kolkata where projects are under various stages of development,” says Suresh. Pride will be entering Delhi, Indore, Sriperambudur, Kanha and another property in Bengaluru, Sahara plans to launch on its multi dimensional lifestyle complexes pan India in tier II and III cities with a vision of fusion of hospitality and enter-

Golden Heights, Bangalore.

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DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL

Seasons, Pune.

tainment. Currently the designs are in pipeline and will be ready to be shared in the next few months Vivek explains. Phadnis Group, on the other hand, has ambitious plans of expanding in the hospitality sector by setting up business hotels in tier II and III cities. “We plan to have at least 10 hotels in next five

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years. Besides RIMC Sahil Hospitality, the Hotel Management Company will have at least 3,000 rooms under its belt in the next three years. RIMC Sahil Hospitality currently has 1,400 rooms under its belt,” says Phadnis. Accor will continue to innovate, review and implement technologies, designs and materi-

als across their projects “to reduce development time, development costs, mitigate the environmental impact with our commitment to our Planet 21 programme and ensure these innovations support not just the project development but operations for a longer term,” Sabharwal explains. Utilising pre-fabricated

structures, stainless steel structures and tighter, more efficient utilisation of GFA available are part of these innovations according to him. Duet Hotels is working with international and innovative designers to develop stylish/modern products within the mid-scale brands. “Our designs are innovative which provide comfort, convenience and vibrant/refreshing spaces to stay,” says Naveen. They, too, are working with new construction material, better technology and environment-friendly, energy-saving equipment to ensure great places to stay for the guests. India – known the world over as the land of hospitality – is today in the defining stages of the business of hospitality. While the possibilities for growth are immense, it will take an earnest effort, both from the industry's stakeholders in the private sector and relevant government bodies to change the hospitality's landscape in the years ahead. With such positive synergies things can only look up in the future. HI

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Designing the ‘Folk ‘n’ Knife’ It is important for the design and decor of the hotel to set the tone for what the hotel or brand stands for and the kind of service one can expect

he heart of any tourist destination or the backbone of a rich cultural state’s economy is hospitality. History stands witness that India has always taken pride and royal interest in the comfort and enthusiasm of its guests. Hence, the hotels or the temporary abodes, as I call them, have evolved as a challenging and booming fashion as ever. I remember when I was staying with a known hotel, the ambience, decor, details, furniture arrangement, lighting, etc., of the entrance lobby were so intricately studied and executed that you subconsciously knew the luxurious/ royal treatment you would get at your fingertips, right from the valet opening your car door to the bell boy assisting you till your room. But, in a broader picture, the layout of the entire inanimate objects, viz. the furniture pieces, flower arrangements, rugs, centre tables, drapes, etc., is as crucial as the taste of food served on your platter. The space utilisation or development of the ambience in a hotel space varies according to the design lines or the hotel standards. Just as the shoes of a man speak of his status, the entrance of the hotel speaks a lot of its standards and grandeur. The entrance should be cordial as it is the introduction to the space beyond. Use of glass, proportionate larger vases or any other accessories will make the entrance look virtually grander. The main lobby is the area in which various activities take place simultaneously. Hence, it should be very spacious and minimalistic. A waiting area with various seating arrangements viz. a formal couch, a settee clubbed with a high back

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Entrances must be an introduction to the space beyond.

chair or a wing chair, etc. and a centre table accessorised with coffee table books, a fresh flower arrangement and floor rugs/ carpets give a storyline to the arrangement. The respective desks like travel, currency, concierge, billing, etc. run along the walls of the plaza. Nowadays, as a designer, it is difficult to pen down thumb rules or norms for any design as it can be challenged if the user is not comfortable with it. The restrooms can be an important case study as they are the most judgmental area of any hotel. Clean, stark white sanitary ware, chrome CP fittings, Italian marble flooring, wood and mirror work on the walls, and metamorphosis of the conventional use of ceramic tiles on the wall and the floor. This can be highlighted by freshly-cut flower arrangements; sanitised white hand towels; cologne sprays, fragrant toiletries, and the like. The dining areas or the restau-

Carpets give a storyline to the overall arrangement.

rants welcome the in-house as well as walk-in guests. As the space is more commercial than any other space in the hotel, the furniture placement is an important aspect of space designing so as to accommodate maximum number of customers simultaneously and also make it look uncluttered and not over-

crowded. Usually, the bigger tables are arranged along the perimeter of the space and smaller ones in the core, maintaining the anthropometry of the traffic passage. Also, there are special seating arrangements for couples, big groups, etc. Generally, the dining chairs have low or no arm-rests. Upholstered floor,

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03-04-2013 14:18:25

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Use of glass adds grandeur to spaces.

THE AMBIENCE OF A BAR IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT. DIM LIGHTS OR MOOD LIGHTING, COSY WARM DECOR, PASTEL COLOURS, TRENDY WALL PIECES, ETC., ARE THE FEW TIPS

wooden chair frames with cushioned back and seat, circular or linear tables covered with fresh linen spreads and shallow vase with a candle or rose petals make it picturesque. The chrome cutlery and fine ceramic ware clubbed with crystal glasses or goblets add the finishing stroke to the table. The bars can form the focal point of the restaurants if highlighted properly. Down lit, monochrome bar tables mainly in neon nowadays, metal-wood combination of high bar stools, and dim-lit liquor display in the background is the general idea that flashes across our Curtains that start from the sealing give the illusion of a larger space. minds. As lines are more in trend and tend to rarely go out of fashion, bar tables are preferred to be linear or curvilinear making it easy for the bartender to host his guests at the table. Usually, the bar-ware is on display to make it easier and transparent to the customer of what is being used for his order. Besides the drinks on the menu, the ambience of a bar is equally important. Dim lights or mood lighting, cosy warm decor, pastel colours, trendy wall pieces etc. are a few tips for the same. The rooms of a Bar tables are linear to facilitate easy serving. hotel are designed according to the hierarchy, viz. presidential suites, adds grandeuur service apartments, to spaces deluxe rooms, etc. The basic furniture of the rooms remains the same â&#x20AC;&#x201D; bed, study table, chair, seating, wardrobe, etc. But their design or quantification changes as per the tariff of the respective room types. The presidential suites are lavish and have a king-size bed, with or without posters (depending on the design theme followed); a settee in front of the bed; a separate study table; lounge seating, a separate living room with TV All of a hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spaces must be married to each other. cabinet, couch, bar; a dining or

GLASS

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breakfast table with four chairs, a walk-in-wardrobe, etc. The service apartments are as good as residential apartments with a separate kitchen, walk-in wardrobe, etc. The super deluxe and deluxe rooms have the same basic furniture. Higher the hierarchies of the rooms more are the amenities and grander is the scale. Curtains, if starting from the ceiling, make the space looks virtually big. Hotels usually follow a particular colour theme if they are part of a chain and it is more leaning towards beige, greens and blue or other subtle cool colour schemes. This makes the space look fresh, clean and minimalist. The lighting of any space is very crucial as it may make the room look beautiful or dull. Light requirements of different areas are different. For example, the main lobby of the hotel should be more lit than the restaurant, as the ambience desired is different respectively. The restaurant requires a warm, cosy ambience and hence, has dim lights or mood lights. The main lobby requires more illumination as it is the directive zone to different areas of the hotel. They can have huge chandeliers, ceiling lights, picture lights to enhance the artwork displayed in the corridors. The toilets are brightly lit with yellow or white lights. Bedrooms have different kinds of lights, viz. reading lights, night lamps, ambience lights, etc. It is very important for all spaces to be married to each other for the right message to reach the guests and this responsibility rests with the design and decor complimented by the service of the hotel. HI

PRANAV THAKOR,

Concept Visualiser & Interior Designer, Der Entwurf

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:18:45

CHEF THOMAS BLANCHARD Executive Chef L’Opera Delhi

THE HARLEM Hazelnut Financier Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache HAZELNUT FINANCIER CAKE 375gr 150gr 50g 100g 250g 250g 50gr

sugar white flour almond powder hazelnuts roasted in oven and grounded egg white unsalted butter Callebaut Praline Paste PRA 663

 Put the butter in the microwave, meanwhile in a large bowl mix the almond powder and hazelnuts, flour and sugar.  Once well mixed, add the egg whites and praline paste, and mix well with a spatula.  When your dough is homogeneous, add the melted butter and mix again.  Butter a rectangle cake mould, put the dough in it and bake in ventilated oven, at 145C for 45min ( poke a knife into the cake to check if it’s baked enough) and reserve it in fridge until completely cool. It is better to make it one day before, at the same time as the milk chocolate ganache. MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE 600gr 400g

Liquid Whipping Cream Callebaut Origine Chocolate Java Milk 32 % cocoa

 The night before, boil your whipping cream  After boiling, add the chocolate inside.  Mix it and put in the fridge ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS & ASSEMBLY 25 cherries

In heavy syrup and their juices

 Cut 2 slices of your cake (1.5cm thickness), keeping the rest for your children (and you!)  Using your mixer, mix the Ganache as a Chantilly cream.  In a rectangular mould, put on the bottom your first layer of cake. Imbibe it with the cherry juice, add the Ganache on the top, and in the middle put a few cherries cut in half pieces.  Cover your lay of Ganache with the second layer and repeat the operation.  When your rectangle is finish and set, put in fridge for a few hours.  Remove the mould and decorate it with a dark chocolate glaze, and a few pieces of chocolate. Bon appétit!

00_HI_Apr13_Callebaut.indd 4

For more details contact: Barry Callebaut India Pvt Ltd, #401 Times Square Building, 4TH Floor, Western Express Highway, Near Sai Service, Andheri East, Mumbai 400069 Tel: 91-22-67 21 3080 to 3087 Website: www.callebaut.com http://www.chocolate-academy.com/in/en Email: salesindia@barry-calllebaut.com

03-04-2013 13:41:44

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Golden rules Michael Romei, general secretary of Union Internationale des Concierges d”Hôtels, was in Bengaluru to hone the skills of Les Clefs d’Or India — the association’s youngest member. He tells concierges how to delight guests

he foremost rule for concierges is responsiveness. For instance, a lot of queries come to you over email and should be responded to within a reasonable amount of time; I’d benchmark between six to eight hours as a reasonable interval. You might not have a solution to offer immediately but you can acknowledge receipt with a kind email. The response, rather than the content is important at this stage. It plays a tremendous role in displaying professionalism. Of course, as concierge you have to be ahead of the curve — in the hiring process itself, aspirants for the role must display a passion for wanting to know more. Hire curious people for the position — they have to want to discover places and keep up with their evolution to be an authority on a location. Nothing in this role can really be taught. An often forgotten fact is that the concierge is ideally supposed to be a local authority. He cannot play the role of a guide-

book that stereotypes visitors to a city, because as your guest, the person approaching you would want something out-of-the-box, authentic and customised to his personality... such as a home-dining experience or entry to some place that you have through personal connections, but that they might not have received otherwise. As ambassador of the city, a concierge has the important role of drawing people back to a city and thereby to his hotel. He also plays an important role in selling the hotel’s spa, for instance, and its transportation. Moreover, as somebody who plays a part in the guest’s overall experience of the hotel and the city, he is in a position to build a bond with the guest and this can go a long way in having the guest choose the same hotel on another trip — he will return because somebody helped them to come upon a really great experience. I have to say that in India, I’ve been thoroughly impressed on both my visits — this is my second. On my first visit I stayed at The Leela Palace Udaipur. When I went for a swim, the young attendant cleaning the poolside had also

Romei says that he has helped numerous guests out with setting up their marriage proposals.

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Irrespective of whether a concierge can cater to a given need, he must offer a prompt response.

I’M IMPRESSED BY THE WARM WAKE-UP CALL FROM THE MOEVENPICK STAFF — COMPLETE WITH THE OFFER OF A REPEAT CALL SHOULD I WANT TO SLEEP FOR FIVE MINUTES MORE cleaned my spectacles — when I asked him about it, he said that he noticed a lot of guests’ glasses getting foggy due to the humidity in that area and so he had developed a solution to have them cleaned by the time the guests emerged from their swim. On this trip, I’m impressed by the warm, personalised wake-up call from the Moevenpick staff — complete with the offer of a repeat call should I want to sleep for five minutes more! So as you see, being a concierge par excellence is about small moves that are slightly out of the way. We’ve all helped with flower arrangements and requests for specific music when people want

to propose — some of us have even played witness for marriage proposals. I’ve even given guests a hand to find lost family members living in the city of the hotel they’ve checked into. None of these cost the hotel anything — its simply about not drawing boundaries on what the role should and should not bring to the table; about displaying a good degree of professionalism. HI

MICHEAL ROMEI Chief concierge, Waldorf-Astoria and Waldorf Towers in NYC.

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:19:56

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It is important to keep batch sizes small, so that students can truly learn from their mentors.

Starting from scratch Blue Mountains School CEO Guy Bentley, paints an ideal set up for hospitality education institutions, much of which is simple and easy to mimic

ducation is such a vast subject and our aim is not just academic but to develop the complete personality of our students, which would help them in moving up the ladder professionally. A lot of the things that we do are not really new. But because not many schools perpetuate them, you could say that they are different. Technology: Of course, we’re keeping up with technology — in fact, we try and stay ahead of the curve. Blue Mountains School has invested heavily in technology. All our classes are now podcast. We continue to retain our focus on campus-based learning because you are educating the whole person and technology alone can-

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not do that. However, the podcast allows students to review the lesson as and when they require. This also eliminates the need to take notes as students will have a digital memory of the classes. For our parent company, Laureate International, this also eases cross-education across its campuses around the world. For instance, if we have a guest lecturer who is an expert on a certain subject, that podcast could be distributed to students, whom it is pertinent to, across Laureate’s campuses. Language: We are also starting English support classes, which will offer free training in the language. Our support classes ensure an IELTS score of seven. In

India, spoken English is already good, but academic English is different and it goes a long way in getting higher-level jobs. We do this not only to help our students access the course material better, but also to help them get a better job and have a better career. Success barometers: We measure our success by the careers that our students choose and by their performance graphs; of course, we take industry feedback on

our graduates into consideration too. That feedback today is “You can put a Blue Mountains School student anywhere and they will survive and thrive.” About 96 per cent of our graduates find a job of their choice immediately upon graduation and 70 to 80 per cent of them reach management-level positions five years down the line. I could tell my principal, “Look I want 10 per cent more kids every year” but instead, I ask him to focus on the quality of graduates

WE HAVE HAD INDIANS SINCE THE START IN 1991. WE TRY AND KEEP THE SCHOOL AS MULTI-CULTURAL AS POSSIBLE. WE RECRUIT FROM 40-50 NATIONALITIES EVERY YEAR. www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:21:14

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COLUMN

how a parent would chide a child, we will call the student in and ask him to summarise his own wrongdoing. We won’t tell his parents... we make him or her do it. We also have him or her apologise to the other student and come upon an agreeable way of making up for, in essence, stealing his or her ideas. We also train them in CSR; this helps as hotels today have CSR as a key part of operations. Campus-based training remains key due to the need to educate the individual as a whole.

that we are churning out, and to keep a pulse on the hotel industry’s response to them. Course design: The focus is on transformational skills or what we call life skills. This includes values, prioritisation and business skills. The five-year course takes students to two or three countries with promotions every 18 months. The three pillars of our brand DNA are craft skills, theory skills and personal professional development. All our rules and policies reflect these. Our focus

on moral skills is part of what makes our graduates desirable as employees — we focus on putting them in situations that they would otherwise not face in a university but might need to figure out while working in a hotel. Let me give you a simple example: If there’s a tough deadline on a project, and one student cheats by copying from another, and this comes to our notice, we wouldn’t simply suspend, expel or punish the student. Of course, there are serious repercussions to such behaviour but much like

Hand-holding: Our graduates know that they can bank on us, as does the industry. We have to ensure this. We offer a placement service on our alumni website. Hotels can even call and ask for specifics or students, and we can direct them. This works constantly and quite well. Culture: Hotels are melting-pots but again, this is something that students are not acquainted with sufficiently in university. We have had Indians at the Blue Mountains School since its start in 1991. However, we’ve probably not exceeded 40 students (or 12 per cent) of the total cultural component. We try and keep the school as multi-cultural as possible. We

The school emphasises the need for multi-cultural learning environment to gear students for the melting pot that is hotel business.

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Guy Bentley

recruit from 40-50 nationalities every year. To enable students to become savvy with and appreciate other cultures, we have a culture night every week. Indian students, when they join us, tend to stick amongst themselves, but 12 months down the line we see them mixing around a lot more. On our part, we mix the students up quite a bit. Twin-sharing room is always with somebody from a different nationality. India story: Well, I don’t want to generalise but from experience I can say what we have needed to inculcate — Indian boys need to learn to be responsible for their actions; to learn that you will earn respect from what you do. Indian girls, however, tend to already be on the ball on how to be subtly smart. Here is an example: We once had an Indian boy, with royal roots, studying in our school. During the first week, his chauffeur-butler stayed at a hotel nearby as the boy could not unpack his suitcase or see to his belongings. We had to call the parents and ask for the butler to be called away. Also, by the end of the first year he wanted to leave. However, this is where the involvement of Indian parents comes in handy. I met his father and he asked for all the course material to be sent home. By the end of the third year, his son had excelled and we called him to make a speech at the graduation ceremony, as a proud father. HI

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:21:41

85 INTERVIEW

Call of

Photographs: courtesy Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Group.

faith For Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Group, India is an important global market. Khaled Yamak, group director of communication and business development, explains why BY BABITA KRISHNAN

he Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Group recently presented a road show of its three luxury hotels in Makkah for the Haj and Umrah travellers from India. The three properties – Makkah Clock Royal Tower, Fairmont hotel; Raffles Makkah Palace; and SwissôtelMakkah – were presented as being the most suitable locations dedicated to those making their pilgrimage to the Holy City that is a destination for more than 1.6 billion Muslims from around the world.

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In an enlightening conversation, Khaled Yamak, group director of communications and business development, reveals why India is one of the most important global markets for the hospitality sector in Makkah. HI Is this the first time you are doing something like this in India? Actually yes, my role is to develop new markets for the company and India as a country came to our mind due to the large Islamic population in the country; and secondly, studies have revealed that the next decade will see an increase in average household income globally. All indications show a good

potential hence, we have started a road show which we are presenting here and then moving on to other destinations. HI What exactly do you mean by a road show? A road show is basically an attempt to build relationships with the industry, media, and decision makers for Haj and Umrah. The government also might be a potential for us as we are here to create awareness for collaboration.

HI So does this mean that you are looking at opening a property in India in the future? Of course India is potential business

Khaled Yamak

for tourism as well. But our mission right now is to promote Makkah. However, things are in the pipeline and we are in discussions with some

Hotelier India | April 2013

04-04-2013 15:11:12

INTERVIEW

The well appointed living area of a suite in the Raffles Makkah Palace.

HAJ AND UMRAH IS ALL ABOUT HUMBLENESS. OUR GUESTS CAN LITERALLY OVERLOOK THE GRAND KAABA AND HOLY MOSQUE companies and we shall announce when things are realised. HI As a brand, what is special about your property vis-à-vis others in the Holy City? Makkah is only for Muslims and is not open to anyone else, so the focus is only for religious tourism. If you look at the location of our hotels, they are in the Abraj Al Bait complex, which is where the Grand Mosque is. Our hotels are the closest to the Grand Mosque and no other hotel has this advantage. One has a beautiful view of the Grand Mosque from the rooms which others can’t offer. We are over a 100-years-old company and come with a strong reputation of excellence in services. In fact, the quality of our hotels and services has forced other hotels to reconsider their services and facilities. We are also the biggest representing 40 per cent of the market in the central district. What is also unique about our hotels is that we were the first to introduce a room with four beds. When people come for haj it is usually in groups, we give them a room with four fixed beds so that they don’t have to ask for an extra bed. In Fairmont, we also have the elderly rooms – rooms designed for the aged hajis. This

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Main lobby of the Makkah Clock Royal Tower has a spectacular ambience.

enables them to extend their stay in Makkah, which would otherwise be cut short owing to their medical conditions/risks. But you won’t feel that they are medical rooms as all the facilities (things like oxygen machines) are hidden/ enclosed inside either the furniture or walls, the bathroom door is bigger to enable a wheelchair to pass through, hand rails, etc. HI How many rooms do you have at all your properties? Collectively, we have more than 3,000 rooms between the three operational hotels. Once our fourth hotel is operational, we shall have 4,500 rooms.

HI Which category would you place the brand in? We have three categories of hotels. There is a suite hotel which is considered the highest category; then The Fairmont where the upper levels have royal floors, but it caters to all categories of Haj and Umrah people in terms of room size and other facilities; Swissôtel is, what we call, a convenient hotel with all five-star facilities.

Have you incorporated some changes in your products, what are the future development plans? We are constantly developing new HI

Grand expanse of The Fairmont Gold Lounge.

products and services. Our motivation is two-fold – first, to make sure that we are always evolving with our guests’ changing needs and requirements; and second, to exceed the expectations of our guests by developing innovative products and services that underscore our position as leaders and forward thinkers in the hospitality sector. All our three properties at Makkah offer exclusive experience to the guests. HI What is your philosophy on luxury and how is it expressed as a hospitality option? Luxury is defined by attention to detail – it is a combination of our

opulent atmosphere and extraordinary services. We are committed to providing attentive and personalised service in the finest facilities and location in the Holy City. We honour the religious sentiments of our guests and want to give them the best they can afford. HI What are the rising demands of luxury seekers and how do you plan to meet them? Today’s travellers are incredibly informed and have high expectations. This means that we are constantly working hard to find new and innovative ways to cater to our guests’ requests. We stand out from our peers by being proactive. HI

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Building realty The two-day Hotel Build 2013 went beyond discussing the challenges faced by hoteliers and proved to be an ideal platform for exchange of ideas BY BABITA KRISHNAN

ith the huge gap in demand and supply of rooms and inadequate MICE facilities in India, several developers and both domestic and international hotel operators are looking at setting up hotel properties in the country. Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hotel pipeline is considered to be the second largest in the Asia Pacific region and the hospitality sector is expected to grow at a rate of 8.8 per cent per annum, making India the second fastest growing tourism market in the world. But building a cost-effective hotel with minimal time and less labour remains a

prime challenge for all stakeholders in the industry. Hotel Build India 2013 was organised with the aim to bring together all of them on one platform to discuss the pitfalls, merge synergies and look at the way forward. While a hotel creation can be visualised and interpreted in a number of ways, being subjective, one thing is certain that the final outcome is a result of the coming together of a number of people from different faculties for the one purpose â&#x20AC;&#x201D; build a aesthetic property that is built sustainably and responsibly ensuring the stake holders maximum returns. Hotel Build 2013 was created to get the industry together for establishing

innovative and cost effective construction, architecture and design techniques that will propel the build of hotels across all segments to commercial success. The first day of the conference concentrated on the construction and services part of hotel build with the keynote given by Deepak Uppal, executive director, Vatika Hotels after the opening address by Karthik Rajaraman, the event producer and Sai Kumar, deputy managing director, ITP Publishing along with Rajesh Pillai, general manager, retail & hospitality segment, Philips Lighting. Babita Krishnan, editor, Hotelier India and chairperson for the day started the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proceedings with

introducing the first presenter for the day Rajiv Puri, vice president, architecture, design and construction, Marriott International, who spoke about identifying the emerging hotel build, architecture and design trends in the changing hotel industry across India. The CEO panel discussion was preceded by a corporate address given by Sanjay Durani, associate head market development, Lubrizol Advanced Materials India. Moderated by Vijay Thacker, director, Horwath HTL India, the CEO panel of Rajiv Puri, Deepak Uppal, Philip Logan, vice president Formule1 India, Stephen Albert, vice-president, WATG, Ajay Bakaya, executive

1. Panel discussion on cost-effective green architecture. | 2. Discussion on innivative techniques to minimise per-key development cost. | 3. Speed networking session ensured a quick introduction to participants. | 4.The CEO panel discussion on effective networking with all key stakeholders. | 5. Amar Subash of Tyco Securities falicitating Ritu Bhatia Kler of TID India.

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Hotelier India | April 2013

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EVENT

6. Sai Kumar of ITP Publishing, giving the opening address. | 7. Welcome address by Rajesh Pillai of Philips India. | 8. Karthik Rajaraman of ITP Publication, opened the conference. | 9.Deepak Uppal of Vatika Hotels delivers the Keynote address. | 10. Sandeep Kohli of Diakin India. | 11. Desh Raj of Kirloskar Brothers. | 12.Vijay Thacker of Horwath moderates the CEO panel. | 13. Sanjay Durani of Lubrizol . | 14. N Mohan of Philips India identifies futuristic lighting solutions. | 15. Babita Krishnan, Editor Hotelier India chairs day one. | 16. Rajiv Puri of Marriott International on modern trends in hotel design. | 17.Tea breaks were opportunities to network. | 18. Cocktails organised by Philips created an informal interactive atmosphere. | 19. The audiece were involved in every discussion. | 20. Bhaskar P of Tyco Securities addresses the audience.

director, Sarovar Hotels, Vinayak Mahtani, CEO, Unique Precise International and Khozema Chitalwal, principal architect, Designers Group, discussed how

effective networking with key stakeholders will aid rapid, costeffective and sustainable hotel build â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an necessity now. A logical way forward from here was to discuss each aspect of design in detail. The first in line was lighting with N Mohan, director lighting application services, Philips Electronic India giving a presentation on the futuristic, energy saving and sustainable lighting solutions. This was followed by P Bhaskhar, director, business development, Tyco Fire and Security India talking about the importance of secu-

rity devices to safeguard people and the hotel. The post lunch session concentrated on space planning with architect Stephen Albert speaking about leveraging innovative architectural techniques in maximizing space planning to effectively plan the hotel room grid. He presented two case studies that left the audience awestruck with the extent to which one can innovate and be creative with an eye on the cost. This was followed by a presentation by Sandeep Kohli, senior manager applied business group Daikin Air-

conditioning where he spoke about the latest technological advancements that are cost effective and sustainable. Another presentation by Desh Raj, associate manager, building and construction northzone of Kirlosker Brothers also highlighted the innovative products for the hospitality industry from their brand. The last segment of day one touched upon the emerging interior design trends with a presentation by Ritu Bhatia Kler, managing director, Total Integrated Design India on the futuristic

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89 EVENT

21. Mohito Nakai, CFO Diakin, falicitates Stephen Albert. | 22.Vikas Gandhi of ASSA Abloy give the corporate address. | 23. Amit Nagpal of Hyatt Hotels talks on mix-use properties. | 24. Niranjan Khatri of Welcomenvironment Initiative makes a presentation. | 25. Dr. Manish Patwardhan on Spas as revenue earners. | 26. Bhavesh Vohra of AGC addresses the audience. | 27. Sanjay Modi of Interarch talks on steel. | 28.The panel on innovative techniques of speedy hotel build. | 29.An appreciative and intelligent audience made for the success of the conference. | 30. Babita Krishnan thanks Ravindra Kumar Singh.

interior design trends that will be cost-effective as well as have an aesthetic appeal for the hotels. She drew examples from the various projects that the firm has done both in India and overseas. Philipn Logan was the moderator for the last panel discussion for the day which discussed working around innovative techniques in a hotel build to minimize the per key development cost. The panel had Andrew Saldanah, general manager, pre-opening services ITC Hotels, Partha Chatterjee, founding director and advisor to the board Keys Hotels, Amar Subash, general manager, technical services, Tyco Fire and Security, Carlyle Pereira, general manager, technical services, Indian Hotels Company, Amitabh Tyagi,

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regional director, design and technical services, Starwood and Rohit Jain, design manager, TID India. The dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proceedings had everyone involved as the audience asked the presenters and the panelist many questions and the interaction continued informally over tea and lunch breaks as well. The highlight of the day was the speed networking which was enjoyed by all the delegates and much appreciated by the partners who got to meet everyone participating in the conference. The logical next step to the previous day, that was about trends, cost and the way forward, was to discuss aspects of building a hotel. The chair person for the day, Ravinder Kumar Singh, hospitality development and energy advi-

sor, began the conference with case studies that showcase innovative techniques in speedy hotel build. The first was by Manoj Nandkeolyar, general manager, development, Country Inns and Suites; and the second was by Harpal Singh Saggu, CEO of Synergy Thrislington and owner of Marriott Chandigarh. Everyone was amazed by Sagguâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presentation of the hotel that he constructed within 48 hours and this generated a long discussion between him and the audience about the reliability of such a construction. The main concentration of day two was on sustainability and Singh moderated the first panel discussion on cost-effective green architecture and design being the way forward. The panel

had Nandkeolyar, Param Kannampilly, chairman and managing director, Concept Hospitality, Niranjan Khatri, general manager, WelcomEnviron Initiatives, ITC, hotels, and M Anand, senior councellor, Indian Green Building Council. This was followed by a presentation by Col (Retd) Amit Sehgal, director operations, Ozone Overseas and then a panel discussion on drywall, moderated by Ashutosh Puranik, sector head hospitality, Saint Gobain Gyproc India. On the panel to discuss this latest construction innovation were Singh, Uppal, Rajiv Batra, director design, Accor India, Richard Jackson, associate director, Arup India, and Babul Ganguly, CPO, Duet India Hotels. Jackson followed up the discussion with

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EVENT

90 31

31. Audience put questions to the presenters and exchanged experiences. | 32. Richard Jackson of Arup India on prefabricated construction. | 33. Ashutosh Puranik of Saint Gobain moderates the drywalls panel discussion. | 34. Questions from the audience kept the presenters on their toes. | 35.The panel for the discussion on Drywalls. | 36.The audience was a good mix of hoteliers and service providers. | 37. Bhavesh Vohra falicitates Niranjan Khatri. | 38. Ravindra Kumar Singh chairs day two. | 39. Manoj Nandkeolyar of County Inns & Suits addressing the audience. | 40.The Tyco team taking note of all that was being said. | 41. Harpal Singh Saggu talking about speedy construction techniques.

a presentation on pre-fabricated hotels, which was followed by a presentation on exploring the possibilities of structural steel and its advantages over conventional construction by Sanjay Modi, CEO, Interarch Infrastructure. In keeping with the theme of the

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conference, Bhavesh Vora, senior manager, industry solutionshospitality, presented the technology solutions provided by AGC Networks. One aspect that cannot be ignored by the industry is the spas but to ensure that they become a value addition to the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue is a different proposition altogether. Dr. Manish Patwardhan, founder and CEO, Urban Nirvana Wellness Corporation showed the way to effectively integrate the spa into the peropertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scheme of things through his presentation. The panel discussion on evaluating the actual cost savings in the overall operating cost of the hotel through renewable energy and waste management, water har-

vesting techniques, etc. was moderated by Singh and had some of the most respected names in this field in discussion. Kannampilly, Khatri and Anand shared their experiences and urged the industry to take more initiatives to turn green. This was followed by a presentation on ASSA ABLOY India by Vikas Gandh, country general manager. Singh gave a presentation on HVAC solutions that will require less maintenance and be sustainable in the long run and kept the audience interested by sharing some amusing anecdotes from his experience in both India and abroad. The last presentation of the day was on evaluating the mixed use property concept that would increase revenue and guests into the hotel by Amit Nagpal,

director of development, Hyatt Hotels and resorts. What came through over the two-day conference was the need for all the stakeholders to be involved and equally responsible in creating what would be a unique experience for the guests. Partners like Mitras Technocrafts, Zenat Slimming Systems, Info Tech Services and Super Stone along with the others were able to showcase their products to the right audience and generate interest and awareness about the services or products. The most important point that came out of the conference was everyone admitting and agreeing to the fact that sustainability in construction and operations is the way forward. HI

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:27:53

Raise a toast!... p92

Ops&Services • News • Events • Awards • Movements • Launches

Open-mouthed... p96

RCI announces new Tamil Nadu-based member The resort property has distinct USPs and focuses on the family travel segment AFFILIATION Vacation exchange company, RCI has announced an affiliation with Hotel Shevaroys in Yercaud, a hill station in Salem District, in Tamil Nadu. It is located in the Servaroyan Hills. According to a press statement by RCI, Hotel Shevaroys was the first to start the trend of offering villa style accommodation in Yercaud. Most of its villas come with an attached car park, and a sit-out and private lawn, targeting the family-holiday segment effec-

Hotel Shevaroys was reportedly the first to start the trend of villa-style accommodation in Yercaud.

Trophy for Jacob’s Creek This is the brand’s 209th award RECOGNITION Jacob’s Creek has been awarded the Bert Bear Memorial Perpetual Trophy in the revered Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show for its 2012 Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, as the best premium previous vintage white wine in classes 33 to 37. Jacob’s Creek chief winemaker Bernard Hickin is extremely proud of the award win, and the Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay: “Vintage 2012 has produced an exciting line-up of wines across most South Australian regions. Early indications are that 2012 will go down as one of the great Australian vintages for the last 20 years — comparable with 1990 and 1991. We felt our chardonnay shone with regional personality and it’s great to see the judges experienced that too,” he says. Made from select parcels of fruit from the Adelaide Hills, the 2012 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay has distinctly Australian flavours of citrus, stone fruit and subtle oak.

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tively. The property offers four F&B outlets including a pure vegetarian restaurant. “RCI is pleased to welcome Hotel Shevaroys, Yercaud, into its portfolio of affiliated resorts in India,” said Radhika Shastry, managing director, RCI India. “Given the growing popularity of Yercaud, this beautifully located property is testimony to our commitment to widen the choice of vacation options that we offer our to our members.”

Sahil, Harman renew contract

Latter to continue selling JBL, Harman/ Kardon, Infinity and AKG brands PARTNERSHIP Harman has announced that it has entered into a multi-year distribution arrangement with Sahil International to market and sell its premium audio products across India. While Sahil International will continue to sell and market per the existing agreement, the new agreement will be effective July 1, 2013. While the financial details of the arrangement are confidential, the agreement makes Sahil International Harman’s exclusive distributor in India for JBL, Infinity and JBL Selenium branded aftermarket car audio products. Sahil will also market and sell other Harman home and multimedia products

under the JBL, Harman/Kardon, Infinity, and AKG brands. Harman and Sahil International have enjoyed a long business relationship. Sahil International is the authorised representative for Harman Lifestyle brands in India and a leading consumer electronics importer since 1999.

Hotelier India | April 2013

03-04-2013 14:30:01

SUPPLIER INTERVIEW

Raise a toast! Ajay Shetty, managing director, Myra Vineyards, on their progress, plans and strategies they consume wines. By introducing new varietals and with our entry level wines we are hoping to turn a sizeable population to take up wine-drinking.

BY RAYNAH COUTINHO

ew entrant on the wine and dine-scape — Myra Vineyards — is bustling about, hosting dinners and networking with F&B folk to have the hotel industry sample and stock its wines, not to mention, getting its vineyards together and perfecting distribution. HI How much do institutional/hotel sales contribute to your business and what is your focus on hotels? We have just entered the market, a little over a month back, so it’s too early to share the contributory sales figures, as of now. However, we are looking at a major targeted volume from institutional/hotel sales. Institutional and hotel sales will contribute to a large part of our growth focus. We are looking at hotels as an important link to build brand Myra. As they will enable us to reach out to our consumers to create a panIndia imprint. We would like to be recognised across India for our highquality wines.

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HI What can F&B managers and procurement managers expect out of the Myra stable in the coming months? We are looking at adding more categories to our portfolio by introducing premium Oaked wines and entry level wines in due course of time.

HI How can F&B managers or sommeliers sample your product/reach you? We have our dedicated sales teams across Mumbai and Bengaluru. They also visit hotels, restaurants and sommeliers as per the need.

rently, we are in the process of setting up our vineyard in Chikballapur. Till the time we produce our first yield, we are producing our wines through contract farming, where we ensure that the necessary eco-sustainability measures are followed.

HI I was recently told that wine is actually the most sustainable alcoholic beverage out there... anything specific about your company that would make you a preferred choice by your eco efforts? At Myra quality of our wines is of prime importance as it is determined in the vineyard itself. We believe that it is equally important to focus on vineyard management apart from right winemaking. Cur-

HI How will you create awareness within the hospitality industry? How do you plan to help them in turn get more people to drink wine? We’ve noticed more and more hotels conducting wine flights, for instance. We are looking at a long-term presence in the segment. Right now, there are plans in the offing to rollout training, sampling sessions and dinners. We understand that there is a need for creating a good wine consumption pattern in India too, like other countries. We will be doing our bit to help the consumers mature in the way

What must procurement/purchase managers know about your company and service? We are here to make high quality wines and ensure that we offer global standards of service. At present we are available in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune and looking at expanding our presence in other cities in due course of time. We will be available in Goa by mid-summer and mid-winter in Delhi and eventually expand our footprint across India.

HI Consumers are going to probably say Sula when they think of ordering an Indian wine. How will you help hotels to put your wines forward? Do you also have marketing/promo plans for the consumer or hotel-specific promos to familiarise guests, diners and party-goers with your wines? We believe that India has a huge potential as a developing wine market and there is space for everyone. We are here to stay and grow. We want to create a niche for Myra in the wine segment and we would like to enable our consumers to appreciate wines in India. There is already a huge consumer base of wine aficionados and we are looking at expanding it further by bringing in more consumers. The plan is to convert the large consumer base in the beverage segment to take up wines. We do have some interesting lineup of events and initiatives to promote our wines. For instance, we have already conducted a successful Golf Tournament in Coorg and are taking it further from there. HI

www.hotelierindia.com

03-04-2013 14:31:11

„Squareline“

Now available: The new ZIEHER catalogue 2013!

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TECHNOLOGY

Model aid

Though a new concept, BIM can be used to demonstrate the entire building lifecycle from construction through to facility operation BY BABITA KRISHNAN

isualising and creating a hotel is the easy part – it is only on the drawing table, but what after that? How do you check if everything is on schedule — since there is an entire procedure post construction that has to be followed and the responsibility of pre-opening and beyond depend on timely completion of the construction process. So how does one monitor if all is well with that? One of the tools adopted by architects and structural engineers in recent years is BIM (Building Information Modelling). It is both a new technology and a new way of working, though it has been around for a while in manufacturing and engineering indus-

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tries; now BIM is beginning to make an impact in the construction sector as well. At a strategic level, it offers the capacity to address many of the industry’s failings, including waste reduction, value creation and improved productivity. Building Information Modelling is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of a property. The resulting building information models become shared knowledge resources to support decision-making about a property from earliest conceptual stages, through design and construction, to its operational life and eventual demolition. They span the whole concept-to-occupation time-span. A BIM manager, also sometimes known as the vir-

tual design-to-construction project manager, is retained by a design build team on the client’s behalf from the pre-design phase onwards to develop and track the object-oriented BIM against predicted and measured performance objectives, supporting multi-disciplinary building information models that drive analysis, schedules, take-off and logistics. The process of implementing BIM moves away from using conventional word-processing and CAD into the increased use of common standards and product orientated representations. BIM changes the emphasis by making a model the primary tool for documentation, from which plans, schedules and bills of quantities may be derived. The BIM concept envisages vir-

tual construction prior to the actual physical construction of a building, in order to reduce uncertainty, improve safety, work out problems, and simulate and analyze potential impacts. Sub-contractors, from various disciplines, can input critical information into the model before beginning construction, with opportunities to pre-fabricate or pre-assemble some systems off-site. Waste can be minimised on-site and products delivered on a just-in-time basis rather than being stock-piled on-site. Quantities and shared properties of materials can be extracted easily; scopes of work can be isolated and defined; systems, assemblies and sequences can be shown in a relative scale with the entire facility or group of facilities; BIM also prevents errors by enabling conflict

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TECHNOLOGY

or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;clash detectionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; whereby the computer model visually highlights to the team where parts of the building (like structural frame and building services pipes or ducts) may wrongly intersect. BIM involves much more than simply implementing new software, it is a different way of thinking. This requires a move away from the traditional workflow, with all parties (including architects, surveyors and contractors) sharing, and effectively working on, a common information pool. Essentially, BIM combines technology with new working practices to improve the quality of the delivered product and also improve the reliability, timeliness and consistency of the process. In its purest form, BIM provides a common single and coordinated source of structured information to support all parties involved in the delivery process, whether that be to design, construct, and/or operate. Because all parties involved with a BIM project have access to the same data, the information loss associated with handing a project over from design team to construction team and to building owner/operator is kept to a minimum. BIM provides a common environment for all information defining a building, facility or asset, together with its common parts and activities. This includes building shape, design and construction time, costs, physical performance, logistics and more. More importantly, the information relates to the intended objects (components) and processes, rather than relating to the appearance and presentation of documents and drawings. BIM can bridge the information loss associated with handing a project from design team, to construction team and to building owner/operator, by allowing each group to add to and reference back to all information they acquire during their period of contribution to the BIM model. This can yield benefits to the facility owner or operator. BIM changes the traditional process by making the model the primary tool for the whole project team. This ensures

BIM involves building a digital prototype of the model and simulating it in a digital world. that all the designers, contractors and sub contractors maintain their common basis for design, and that the detailed relationships between systems can be explored and fully detailed. Working with BIM will require new skills and these will have to be learned from practice. BIM certainly means having a better understanding and control of costs and schedules as well as being able to ensure that the right information is available at the right time to reduce requests for information, manage change and limit (or even eliminate) unforeseen costs, delays and claims. Clients are often in the best position

to lead the introduction of BIM. Understanding the value of building information and its impact on the clients own business is leading many clients to require BIM to specify the standards and methods to be used in its adoption. Clients can also provide clear requirements for facilities management information to be handed over at project completion more easily with BIM. Some international clients are even now going so far as to penalise lack of information (or the lack of its provision at established points in the construction process). Though relatively new to India, it is picking up rapidly and gaining popularity amongst architects and developers. The use of BIM is primarily being driven by practising architects and consultants in the industry, who are rightly utilising the technology to increase work efficiency, saving time and resources. Engineers and architects are also using this tool to push the design

envelope and explore newer concepts and techniques in structural services and MEP requirements, as project stakeholders increasingly use BIM for improved coordination through its design and virtual building capabilities. A key benefit of BIM is the creation of an atmosphere where clients, designers, material producers and construction companies can work together with the goal of achieving the best possible solution. BIM is not just a technological solution; it helps enable new ways of working together in a more collaborative and informed process. However, the largest single barrier to exploiting BIM is the lack of awareness. Clients are frequently unaware that they can have a major influence on the deliverables from a project. BIM is not going to go away, and so we must, therefore, learn to adapt and embrace or risk the threat of losing ground to others. HI

Hotelier India | April 2013

03-04-2013 14:32:26

FOOD

Dishoom Chowpatty, in the US, steers clear of stereotypically Indian design opting for a beachy look and cheeky posters.

Leave them open-mouthed Restaurants are headed towards eye-catching designs as everything in hotels becomes experience-oriented BY RAYNAH COUTINHO

ome October this year, the Restaurant & Bar Design awards will host its fifth edition – one of the signs that focused design for F&B hotspots is being taken seriously. Interestingly, in what could be a display of India developing a focus and gaining recognition in this area, the 2012 edition of the awards witnessed five Indian restaurants getting shortlisted. Owners have long since been gung-ho about elaborate, memorable, experiential restaurant design. Operators often favoured more sensible, ROI-driven decisions. However, as social media gives a hotel’s local diners the power of worldwide PR, it appears that everybody is in favour of investing in restaurant design.

TRENDS AND TRIMMINGS There was a time when restaurant design was perhaps about match-

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ing up or staying up-to-date but given that today, it is about standing apart, anything goes so long as it is well differentiated in its market space. “When you’re speaking of a hotel design or the property’s concept as a whole, timeless design is a positive but for restaurants, you will need to redesign every five years,” says architect Ketan Jawdekar, of Studio K-7 Designs, explaining that keeping the space relevant to pop culture of a given time is perhaps the best way to go. As of 2013, pop culture if translated into design would mean the resurgence of baroque-style architecture; old-school feels reminiscent of the 80’s and anything steeped in outlandish ethnicity. “The use of metal to enhance a grunge-chic look is very in. Glossy bright colours that add drama to a space also tend to boost the essence of the interiors. Popular culture has always played an important role in design. These get reflected in the form of prints and art and installations. Art

and prints are being used liberally, today,” says architect Shabnam Gupta, of The Orange Lane. “Game-changing and relevant are how owning companies demand their restaurants designed, besides of course, efficiency finding its way to Indian shores due to the similari-

Restaurants are renovated

50%

more often than they were about five years ago ties that one can draw due to colours, textures, styling and overall ambience between the two cultures and cuisines. Nature is being drawn indoors and into restaurant design, according to Jawdekar. “People are increasingly starved of the outdoors, resulting in a craving for natural elements. In some cases, there is a lot of abstracts created of natural elements

– water and fire being the most common,” he adds. Rahul Makhija, F&B director, Alila Bangalore Hotel & Residence, says that being describable is a new add-on to the thought-process in restaurant design. After all, if somebody is going to post a picture of your F&B joint or tweet about you, you had better fit into a single frame or sentence. “Balancing act is the key here. Too many colours in your decor, too many styles of fixtures and furniture, and menu items that represent too many styles of cuisine, your customers find it harder to describe and recommend you,” he says.

LOGIC AND LOGISTICS Of course, common sense dictates that a restaurant’s design will be linked to its theme or name. But that’s not to say that one cannot achieve something out of the ordinary. For instance, at the 2012 Restaurant and Bar Design Awards, USA-based restaurant Dishoom Chowpatty paved a new

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99 FOOD

path in design for Indian restaurants in the country with a very rustic design, quirky installations and hilarious signboards. None of it actually spells out either Indian food or Chowpatty, but any diner would very easily get the essence of India. This rather unusual concept of themed design that isn’t quite spot on, seems to be creating ripples “While country specific cuisines are always making their way into restaurants, lots of chefs are also creating new eclectic cuisines to suit the audience’s food preferences. If the cuisine is an important part of the design brief, then the interior designer designs accordingly. But very often, clients don’t want the interiors of a space to reflect what kind of cuisine is served in the restaurant,” Gupta says. Jawdekar gives a fine example: “A Chinese restaurant’s design brief no longer means that the restaurant’s colour scheme will be dominated by red.”

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CHIC CHECKLIST How many of these pointers do you incorporate? 1. Describable 2. Includes natural elements 3. Pop art

“There are times when you see suddenly the entire venue transforms into a provincial museum of the identified cuisine or at times you walk it a restaurant and it’s a regional fair while trying to depict a precise cuisine, most often than not this happens when an operator/ designer starts to state the obvious,” Malik says. While design and decor are all very well, the fact is that all of this creative genius goes towards creating only the ambience for, very simply, business of F&B. And as such, dining trends must be kept in mind while designing these spaces. “With

Restaurant and Bar Design 2012 Award finalist The Crescent Inn, UK aces retro-chic design.

Chakra lives up to its name.

Hotelier India | April 2013

03-04-2013 17:16:07

FOOD

100

everyone around us leading fast paced lives in metros mostly, people prefer heavy finger foods accompanied by alcohol at bars instead of a proper formal fine dining experience,” Gupta tells us. Jawdekar adds that the trend is moving towards plated meals: “All of this means that the size of tables will change. You will need fewer serving bowls and dishes within reach of the diner.”

FIT OR FAIL?

Chocolate turned to art at the Fairmont Jaipur.

ON-THE-SIDE

Food as part of design? Chef Anurag Bali turned culinary sculptures into larger-than-life advertisements for the hotel and the city, and generated a revenue opportunity while at it.

What was the goal? It’s not just a promo; it’s an idea that was rolled out to do something different with chocolate pralines. Jaipur is globally famous for its jewellery and we wanted to blend it with our pastry. One of our brand pillars at Fairmont is to create experience that is authentically local. The whole idea was to bring this brand pillar to life through our unique chocolate display at the tea lounge, Anjum. We showcase a unique design every month depending on the season or in line with a festival. We wanted to educate our guests, both domestic and foreign about the rich heritage of the Rajputs and the Mughals. Chocolate jewellery was one such exciting and interesting example to do so. What equipment do you use to create this chocolate art? We use textured sheets to emboss ethnic patterns, in certain cases we also use silicon and poly carbonate moulds. We also use plastic chocolate, which is made by mixing dark or milk chocolate with corn syrup. Plastic chocolate is very versatile and can be shaped into rings, necklaces with ease and it also tastes very good. We also use chocolate spray guns to create a velvety texture on the jewellery. Edible

April 2013 | Hotelier India

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gold and silver dust creates a perfect sheen on the end product. What has this done for the hotel? Chocolate jewellery is definitely popular, primarily for the creativity and the art itself. This display is placed right in the centre of our tea lounge, Anjum, and makes for a great photo opportunity. It also helps us earn additional revenue as a lot of our in-house weddings and conferences groups, after seeing the display have ordered for personalised amenities and giveaways. What potential does an art like this present in hospitality today? The jewellery concept fits very well with Jaipur. It makes for a great edible memento to carry back home. It’s a big hit with destination weddings and makes for a great in room arrival amenity that may be customised with the couple’s initials. It also makes for a great product differentiator and makes our pastry offerings popular. The creativity and the visualisation that the art brings is something that makes the brand stand out from the rest. It’s also something that the guests look forward to.

The big question for decision-makers is why invest in design? How much makes for a reasonable investment and a mind-boggling one: what design will work best for my brand? Malik spells it out in a nutshell, with examples. “W hotels and their venues are a great example of fashioninspired designs in restaurants. If an individual is a keen follower of fashion and trends then the chances are pretty high that he or she would be more attracted towards fashion inspired F&B destinations. Art is another theme that inspires hotel and restaurant designs and Le Meridien hotels and venues are another example of such kind of reference,” he says. Answers to questions like what is my audience’s lifestyle and sense of aesthetics (yes, business travellers have those too!) will go a long way in creating an appropriate design brief.

BATTLE BUDGET BURDENS Given that the Union Budget 201314 retains the “All AC restaurants and cafes more than 2000 sq ft to pay service tax” rule, hoteliers will need to revisit cooling concepts and technologies – if your AC bills were not reason enough. “Mist-fans have not been explored enough,” says Jawdekar. Gupta adds that the best way to keep a space naturally cool and ventilated is by making provision for lots of landscape. “Spaces which are well cross-ventilated should be designed without disturbing the free flowing supply air. Leaving the ceiling open to sky is also an option,” she says. Malik and Makhija suggest that while buffets have to be indoor and airconditioned, there could be intelligent division of seating areas partially for both. HI

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PRODUCTS

102

Picks of the month HI-TECH BATHROOMS Domotech, by Isenberg, allows for a customised bath experience. It comes with an LED screen with simple touch controls which can be used to select functions like rain spray or mist flow. It has thermostatic intelligence that ensures a sustained temperature throughout the bath, based on the user’s selection. Also one touch of the ‘instruction’ key will tell guests everything they need to know. It also offers different light colours. Auto controls ensure that water is used optimally. ISENBERG Website: www.isenbergdesign.de

V-GUARD Website: www.v-guard.in

LG ELECTRONICS Website: www.lg.com

INDUCTION COOKTOPS

VRF HVAC SYSTEM

V-Guard’s Induction Cooktop allows hotels to choose from economy, medium and premium models, depending on their budgets. The design is sleek, to give kitchens a clutter-free look as chefs struggle to streamline operations and fit in as much equipment as possible. As with all induction cooktops it is more energy-efficient than its traditional LPG counterparts, besides also being safer due to heat being localised to the vessel.

LG Electronics India has unveiled the Multi V IV, a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system that has a 4.78 coefficient of performance rating. Building on the advanced capabilities and efficient operation of its predecessor – the Multi V III – LG’s new Multi V IV effectively minimises energy loss under partial load conditions and reduces defrosting times via a its continuous heating function. The system’s wintertime heating capacity has also improved by 27 per cent over previous models.

April 2013 | Hotelier India

102-104_HI_Apr13 _Pick of the Month.indd 102

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03-04-2013 14:37:20

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3/25/2013 6:23:11 PM

PRODUCTS

104

HIGH-PERFORMANCE PUMPS

KSB Aktiengesellschaft Website: www.ksb.com

KSB Aktiengesellschaft in Frankenthal, Germany, is scheduled to supply a new, state-of-the-art coalfired power plant located near Pune with 16 pumps by November 2014. The contract includes delivery of four large turbine-driven duty pumps, four smaller start-up and stand-by pumps driven by electric motors, and eight booster pumps. The duty pumps’ maximum flow rate is 1,265 cubic metres per hour. The highest head as per project specifications is around 3,675 metres, and the operating temperature is 190 degrees Celsius. The maximum input power of one of the turbinedriven boiler feed pumps ranges at 13,200 kilowatts depending on the operating point. Each boiler feed pump is supplied with the required inlet pressure via its own booster pump. The total weight of a complete unit of this type is between 40 and 50 tonnes. The reason that the Frankenthal-based pump manufacturer won this technically demanding order was that it had successfully equipped the Indian power plants Sipat and Barh, operated by the same energy utility, with pumps and valves.

TOWER DRYERS

Gimi SpA Website: www.gimi.eu

April 2013 | Hotelier India

102-104_HI_Apr13 _Pick of the Month.indd 104

Gimi SpA is an Italian manufacturer that is a leader in Europeknown for manufacturing and marketing products in clothes dryers, ironing boards, ladders and shopping trolley sectors. Gimi India, a subsidiary of Gimi, was formed in 2012 for the Indian market and has distributor networks pan India. Gimi India launched its new range of ‘Tower Dryers’ specially designed with space constraints when drying clothes in mind. This easy-to-move laundry dryer can be either kept in the balcony, inside the room or bathroom! Available in two models – Vip 30 and Modular 3, it is a folding clothes drying rack with a 20 kg capacity. Three casters allow for easy movement and durable powder coat finish on stainless steel racks allows for use indoors or outdoors. The product is versatile and compact in design. The horizontal racks can be folded down to make room for dresses, pants and longer items. Tower Dryer can be folded flat when not in use, hence allowing for space saving.

Ven Aesthetic Creations Website: www.vcindia.in

NATURAL STONE CREATIONS Ven Aesthetic Creations is a natural stone processing company headquartered in the city of Jaipur that manufactures a diversified product range that includes marble and stone bath accessories, marble water sinks, marble spa products, landscape products, etc. — all made in a broad assortment of natural and quarried stones like marble, sand stones, slate stones. A luxury design house in the romantic tradition, Ven Aesthetic Creations can exclusively customise products to match specific requirements and being in the forefront of innovative design, the diverse product line has won acclaim within the industry. Ven Aesthetic Creations is a celebration of integrity and quality design.

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CHECKING OUT

106

Hotel Trivia

10 things you didn’t know about… The Grand Hyatt Goa

16 27 38 49 510

The resort is inspired by a

century baroque style, Indo-Portuguese palace.

Besides the outdoor pool, the hotel has a

25-metre indoor lap pool.

The property has Goa’s biggest pillar-less ballroom at

1,150

sq. m.

The stone work on the columns in the atrium that runs on all the columns in the main building was fashioned in

CHINA

before it was transported to Goa. The Ballroom walls have marble called Kaala Khata, which is imported from

Israel Approximately

20,000

Capiz shells, or mother of pearl pieces, have been used in the Shamana Spa. These string-curtains were used in party areas of Indian palaces. April 2013 | Hotelier India

106_Hi_April2013_checking ou_The Grand Hyatt.indd 106

The Grand Hyatt Goa has on its property a 16TH CENTURY

CHAPEL which has been

untouched and has now become quite a tourist attraction.

The hotel is spread across 28 acres of lush landscape, with one tree having stood since the

1800s. The woodwork around the terrace has been constructed entirely out of

BURMA TEAK that is available locally in abundance.

Local sourcing is extended to F&B too —

organically-grown, fresh farm produce is used in all dishes served at signature restaurant, The Verandah.

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03-04-2013 11:15:42

Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd.

Head Office: Address 2nd Floor , Tower A & B, DLF Cyber Greens, DLF Cyber City , DLF Phase 3, Gurgaon - 122002. (Haryana) Tel. No:0124 4630300 Mobile: 9810304235 / 9818203205 Website: www.mitsubishielectric.in Email : customersupport@asia.meap.com Customer Care/Toll Free No: 1800 1022 626 Branch Office / Sales Contact - Chandigarh: Tel: 0172-4601645 Mobile: 9872656466. Jaipur Tel: 0141-4011109 / 9910011767. Mumbai Mobile: 9322164448 / 9619966613. Pune Tel: 020 27102000 Ext: 343 Mobile: 9545130895 / 9890614499. Ahmedabad Mobile: 9824112118 / 9978997660. Bangalore Tel: 080-40201600, Mobile: 9663375611 / 9036015699. Chennai Mobile: 9962518526 / 9840827180. Hyderabad Mobile: 9949900399 / 8897967897. Kochi Mobile: 9846013451 / 8129445670. Kolkata: 9903037097. Lucknow: 9918101640. Coimbatore: 9500998856 / 9840827180. Indore: 9755026264. Nagpur: 9921442323. Surat: 9327240082. Vijaywada: 8498894567

www.mitsubishielectric.in Mitsubishi.indd 80

3/2/2013 4:21:16 PM