HospitalityBizIndia.com

Hoteliers in Puri to bear cost for cleaning beaches

At a recently held meeting, the Beach Development Committee in Puri has expressed concern over growing pollution on the beach. The meeting chaired by Fakir Charan Satpathy, Collector and Vice Chairperson, Beach Development Committee, resolved to engage private agencies to clean the beach while the hoteliers and other commercial establishments would bear the cost.

Ramakrushna Dasmahapatra, President, Hotel Association of Puri, Santilata Pradhan, Chairperson, Civic Body, Sabyasachi Mahapatra, Vice─Chairman, Civic Body, P K Mohanty, Additional Superintendent of Police and other members of the committee took part in the meeting.

As per the resolution, hotels and other such establishments located on the first row along the beach would pay Rs 750 while those behind them would pay Rs 500 and the hotels in the third row would pay Rs 300 a month towards upkeep of the beach. This resolution supersedes the earlier one taken in January 2010 to charge every visitor Rs 10 for the beach cleaning. The committee observed that the earlier resolution did not work effectively.

M�venpick Hotels & Resorts signs agreement with EZYield.com

M�venpick Hotels & Resorts signs agreement with EZYield.com

IHCL to phase out Residency brand

Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) is planning to do away with its Residency luxury brand. Concurrently, the country's largest hotel company is gearing up for a stronger push for its Vivanta brand, which was launched in 2008. Currently, there are three Taj Residencies ─ in Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru and Lucknow while three properties have been branded under Vivanta. The three Vivanta properties are located in Goa, Bengaluru and the Maldives.

According to a report in DNA, R Krishnakumar, Vice─Chairman, IHCL said, “We will do away with all the Residencies. These could be branded as Vivanta.”

On Vivanta's future plans, Krishnakumar said that the company wants to push the Vivanta brand, which has been positioned as 'upper upscale' and placed in between Taj, which is a five─star super deluxe brand and Gateway, with a five─star deluxe positioning.

Krishnakumar said the Group is planning to set up six more Taj Safari jungle lodges across the country over the next 18 months.

International English Distillers launches 02 Sparkling Vodka in India

International English Distillers has forayed into India with 02 Sparkling Vodka in India. O2 Sparkling Vodka has been launched in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Pune and is available through premium liquor stores across these cities. Vodka O2 is 100 per cent British, premium, pure grain, 80 per cent proof vodka that has been batch distilled and filtered three times in copper pots.

Creator of the drink Phillip Maitland said, “O2 Sparkling Vodka has caught the fancy of connoisseurs across the world. The bubbles create exceptionally smooth tasting vodka and they stimulate the taste buds, accentuating the flavour of the food, the vodka is served with.”

Sudip Majumder, Managing Partner, Acme Consultants, owns the brand franchisee for the same in India, SAARC, Dubai and Muscat. He said, “We are delighted to bring this premium drink to discerning consumers in India. An increasing number of consumers are opting for Vodka as their drink of choice in India.”

Travelport partners with Net Trans to provide hotel commission recovery services

Travelport partners with Net Trans to provide hotel commission recovery services

Paharganj hoteliers threaten to boycott CWG 2010

Paharganj in New Delhi, which has close to 30,000 low─budget hotel rooms, have threatened to boycott Commonwealth Games 2010, if the government does not offer them package for restoration and renovation facilities.

Arun Gupta, Secretary General, Delhi Hotel Mahasangh said, “All we are telling the government is that when they can spend Rs 140 crore to upgrade and renovate the Ashoka Hotel, why cannot they help the hotels here, which will be hosting a majority of the visitors to the city.” He said, “We are not asking the government to dole out free money, all we want is some subsidy and some low interest loans so that we can carry out renovation, make it aesthetic and upgrade facilities in our hotels.”

According to a report in midday, refurbishing a single room would cost Rs 1.5 lakh to two lakh, according to the Hotel Mahasangh. It will include improving the frontage and aesthetics

On the other hand, Narayan Swami, Special Advisor, Commonwealth Games 2010 said, “The government is providing all kinds of help to better facilities and also in upgrading civic amenities at these locations.

Aditya Birla Retail mulls foray into 'cash & carry' business

Aditya Birla Retail is planning to expand in to the 'cash and carry' business. The move is part of its strategy to have a 360─degree presence in the retail sector. It is already present in hyper and super market formats. After opening more than 700 small stores, Aditya Birla, one of India's leading business conglomerates, is now literally thinking more in terms of size as well as consumer base.

It is planning to start its own wholesale cash and carry operations in the next two years. By doing so, Birla will be the first Indian retailer ever to get into wholesale trading.

Thomas Varghese, CEO, Birla Retail said, “It is an interesting corollary to our existing business. We will enter this business not next year, but a year later than that and we think it will help in sourcing goods not just for hypermarket, but other formats as well.

When it happens, Birla will join the likes of not only existing retailers like Walmart and Metro, but also newer players like Carrefour and Tesco that are planning to start their cash and carry operations in India very soon.

Tilaknagar Industries aims pan─India presence

Tilaknagar Industries (TI), manufacturers of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), plans pan India expansion. The company plans to set up manufacturing units in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Till date, TI has 24 manufacturing units across India, the most in the sugar rich belt of Shrirampur, Maharashtra. Besides, the company wants to mark its presence globally.

Amit Dahanukar, Chairman and Managing Director, Tilaknagar Industries said, “We have a strong presence in the Southern states including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In addition, we have presence in Goa, Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Chattisgarh. But, we are looking for expansion in Northern India.” The company also exports its products to Western Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and Caribbean countries.

Furthermore, TI plans to introduce new brands across its diverse range of products. TI has 26 brands across a diverse range of price and product segments which consists of brandy, whisky, rum, gin and vodka.

VenueMirror launches tool for hotel websites

VenueMirror launches tool for hotel websites

Hotels, restaurants and guest houses come under UPPCB scanner for polluting Ganga

Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has started inspecting the hotels, restaurants and guest houses in Kanpur discharging their sewage waste directly into Ganga and polluting the water. Recently, the Environment and Forest Ministry have set standards for water drainage.

Under the Sixth amendment of Environment Conservation Act 1986, hotels and restaurants discharging untreated waste and water into the river would be facing an enquiry that may even include imprisonment and sealing. According to the amendment, hotels with more than 20 bedrooms, banquet halls with at least 100 sq metre area and restaurants with a seating space for minimum of 36 people would come under the provisions of the Act.

According to a report in The Times of India, the sixth amendment has set the standards of pH value, BOD, values of oil and grease for the discharge released from the hotels and restaurants and provisions of six months to six years imprisonment have been stated for those violating the norms.

Demystifying mid─market jargon

Demystifying mid─market jargon
There is an old saying 'drastic times call for drastic measures' and something similar happened few years back to the hospitality industry wherein hoteliers started using various connotations for their products in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Department of Tourism, Government of India has classified hotels under Star and Heritage Hotels category.

'Getting recognition and acceptance is a challenge'

With the launch of its first property in Goa recently, Alila Hotels & Resorts has marked its presence in the Indian hospitality sector. Mark A Edleson, President, Alila Hotels and Resorts speaks with Rashmi Pradhan on the challenges as a new entrant and plans for the Indian market

Mark Crocker: Executive Chef, Marine Plaza

Mark Crocker
Executive Chef,
Marine Plaza

TiE and AP Tourism, The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace to host Travel and Hospitality Entrepreneurship Summit 2010

TiE─Hyderabad http://hyderabad.tie.org/, TiE Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, in association with Department of Tourism (DoT), Government of Andhra Pradesh and The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, is going to host the TiE Travel and Hospitality Entrepreneurship Summit on March 26, 2010 in Hyderabad.

More than 300 entrepreneurs will get to network, pitch for strategic partnership, and tap investment opportunity at the Summit. The conference will feature industry experts like Neel Raheja Group President, K Raheja Group of companies; Sateesh Andra, Venture Partner, DFJ Ventures (that has raised USD 400 million and expects to invest USD 20 million each year in India in innovative start─up companies); N V S Reddy, IRAS, MD, Hyderabad Metro Rail and Secretary from Tourism Departments of Government of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Speakers and panelists for this one─of─a─kind Summit also include industry leaders, young founders of new─age travel and hospitality companies and leading Venture Capital firms will feature timely and

Hoteliers in Puri to bear cost for cleaning beaches

Ongoing Hospitality & Tourism Projects: February 2010

Ongoing Hospitality & Tourism Projects: February 2010

Hotel Tunga Regency

STR Global reports Asia/Pacific Hotel Pipeline for January 2010

According to the January 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report, the Asia/Pacific hotel development pipeline includes 948 hotels comprising 2,39,918 rooms.

Among the key markets in the region, Shanghai, China, ended the month with the most rooms in the total active pipeline with 13,762 rooms. Three other markets each reported more than 5,000 rooms in the total active pipeline: Bangkok, Thailand (7,929 rooms); New Delhi, India (6,768 rooms) and Beijing, China (6,294 rooms).

Among the Chain Scale segments, four of the seven segments made up more than 80 per cent of the total active pipeline. The Upscale segment accounted for 23.3 per cent of the total active pipeline with 55,806 rooms, followed by the Unaffiliated segment (22.1 per cent and 52,972 rooms), the Upper Upscale segment (21.7 per cent and 52,033 rooms), and the Luxury segment (17.5 per cent and 42,027 rooms). The Mid─scale without F&B segment made up the smallest portion of the total active pipeline with 2.3 per cent and 5,503 rooms.

Absolute Hotel Services : Mark Heather, Regional Managing Director, India operations

Mark Heather
Regional Managing Director,
India operations,
Absolute Hotel Services

Action Capture

57th International Congress of Union Internationale des Concierges d'Hotels (UICH) at Lisbon, Portugal

ITDC and its outlook for 2010

ITDC and its outlook for 2010

Flavours of the coast @ Monsoon, The Park Bangalore

Flavours of the coast @ Monsoon, The Park Bangalore

Australia─based 3B Distribution to enter India by September 2010

Australia─based 3B Distribution to enter India by September 2010

M�venpick Hotels & Resorts signs agreement with EZYield.com

M�venpick Hotels & Resorts signs agreement with EZYield.com

Spanish Olive Oil: All─round benefactor

Spanish Olive Oil: All─round benefactor
The greatest exponent of mono─unsaturated fat is olive oil and it is a prime component used in Mediterranean diet.

International English Distillers launches 02 Sparkling Vodka in India

Nashik─based Vallonne Vineyards to launch premium wines in Mumbai and Bengaluru

Nashik─based Vallonne Vineyards, which recently launched its range of premium wines, in Goa plans to introduce them in Mumbai and Bengaluru shortly. Vallonne Vineyards has launched Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Classique, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. The wines have been aged in French oak barriques.

According to Shailendra Pai, Founder and Owner of the winery, Vallonne is built entirely on the French model including the technology. The new generation machines come from Bucher Vaslin and Gai. The oak casks are imported from a premier cooperage in France. Bottles, corks, capsules, fining chemicals have been imported from France.

Pai said, “Being the state's first boutique winery, the focus is solely on quality. Our wines are nurtured long before the grape is born. The fruit is gently handled and grapes are picked and sorted by hand. As the fruit makes its way into the tanks, there is minimal human intervention for the quality of the fruit.”

In the maiden year, the winery has produced less than 5,000 cases of wine.

Hotel (In)Security

Hotel (In)Security
Vijay Dandapani
Chief Operating Officer, Part─Founder of Apple Core Hotels

Building environment friendly hotels

As a part of a very creative and ever evolving industry, architects constantly seek to invent better designs. A huge responsibility towards protecting our natural environment and habitat lies with all of us, especially construction and design firms. India is witnessing remarkable growth in infrastructure development and construction.

Understanding Ikebana

Arvind Kumar Saraswati
Lecturer,
Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, New Delhi

Karnataka to set up six more food parks

R Suresh, Chief Secretary for Karnataka food processing and technology department, says that the state government (in its financial plan) has approved six more food parks apart from four food parks that are at various stages of completion in different places in Karnataka.

Speaking about the state government's plan, Suresh says, “Among four food processing units under construction, the park at Malur is in the final stages of completion and will be inaugurated soon. The park at Malur will process vegetables, fruits and pulses, such as potatoes, mangoes and tur dal.” Last year, when the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (Mofpi) celebrated 'Food Safety & Quality Year', the Karnataka government decided to set up four mega food parks in Bagalkot, Malur, Hiriyur and Jevargi districts.

“This year's budget has approved the set up of food parks at six additional places that include Davangere, Belgaum, Shimoga and Byadgi and funds have been released for the same. Besides the six food parks, the government has plans to set up a spice park at Byadgi under public─private partnership,” Suresh adds.

IRCTC to set up 52 new food courts and 2 packaged drinking water plants

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), an undertaking of the Ministry of Railways, is setting up 52 new food courts across India. The new food plazas will help the company offer state─of─the─art catering services to the passengers. A railway officer said, "The opening of food plazas at various destinations will simplify the availability of good and quality food to passengers."

Currently, the company has about 53 food courts, including public─private paternership (PPP) basis, in India. According to a release by the Railway Ministry, the railways offer catering services through around 10,752 static catering units, in 260 pairs of trains through pantry cars and in 80 trains though train side vending. Total departmental catering units under zonal railways are 56 and those under IRCTC are 1,426. There are a total of 3,473 private licensee catering units under zonal railways and 5,797 units under IRCTC.

To ensure availability of quality and hygienic drinking water facility to passengers, the Railway Board has also approved IRCTC's proposal for setting of "Rail Neer", packaged drinking water plants at Pallur in Chennai and Ambernath in Mumbai.

BCIHMCT to organise award ceremony in New Delhi from Oct 7 to 9, 2009

Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (BCIHMCT), New Delhi will organise 8th Chandiwala Hospitality Ensemble 2009. The national event will take place from October 7 to 9 in New Delhi. The theme for this year's award ceremony is 'Grand Trunk Road from Kolkata to Kandhar.'

Traditional and ethnic Indian cuisine from regions around the Grand Trunk Road will be served during the event. Also an effort to reflect culture and ethnicity shall be done by hospitality students. The event's aim is to provide an appropriate platform to the budding hospitality executives, not only to display their skills but also to have an opportunity to refine and enrich the same.

Total solutions for human health

Hyderabad─based Leonia Resort's spa facility known as 'The Leo Juventa Centre for Integrated Medicine' is one of the largest health and medical spas in India. The spa is a part of the holistic resort concept developed in Hyderabad and features 45 treatment rooms, couple suites and spa suites. Leo Juventa spa is spread over 1,00,000 sq ft and has been positioned to offer complete wellness package that revolves around the philosophy of body, mind and soul. Leonia Resort houses 88 suites or lagoon villas with 1,200 more rooms, which are scheduled to open by December 2009.

The spa was created keeping the holistic views in mind to give total solutions to human health problems. This particular system is designed and customised for the individual's requirement. This scientific─based system amalgamates different medicinal therapies like ancient Indian medicine (Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Meditation and yoga), Hydrotherapies Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cosmetology, Massotherapy, Anthroposophical Medicine with Modern Medicine by recognising the strengths and weaknesses of the systems.

Sohum Spa to roll out franchise model in India

Mumbai─based Sohum Spa, Core Wellness Ltd's spa brand plans to roll out franchise model in India by the end of this month. The franchise model will be applicable to standalone spas across India. In the next one year, Sohum Spa plans to have six to ten spas running under franchise model. Currently, Sohum Spa runs in all the Sun─n─Sand hotels and also at Madhubhan Resort & Spa in Anand, Gujarat on a revenue sharing basis that is on management contract. Sohum Spa also provides consultancy to hotels.

Speaking exclusively to Hospitality Biz, Dr B Rajesh Srinivas, President, Sohum Spa said, “By the end of this month, we plan to introduce franchise model as a different mode of operations. We will be participating in Franchise India 2009 Expo, which will be held on November 26─27, 2009 in New Delhi. To start with, most of these franchise contracts will be in Delhi. However, we believe that this business model is a faster way of expanding the business.”

Furthermore, Srinivas added, “In case of franchise, we will provide training to the staffs, branding, consultation to set up the systems and putting them in place.

Understanding Ikebana

Arvind Kumar Saraswati
Lecturer,
Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, New Delhi

HIFI 2010: Discovering India's robust future

HIFI 2010: Discovering India's robust future

AHA India secures USD 1,00,000 study grant for Indian students

The American Hospitality Academy (AHA) recently allocated USD one million to the study grant fund of which AHA India has secured USD 1,00,000 exclusively for Indian students. Candidates enrolling for AHA's upcoming online initiative 'AHA World Campus,' which is set to be launched on May 3, 2010 will be eligible for the study grant. AHA World Campus will be available across India, Nepal, Philippines and the US.

Cindi Reiman, President, American Hospitality Academy said, “With the introduction of AHA's online programmes, we are fulfilling a lifelong goal of offering universal access to quality education at an affordable price. We are able to do so because of our revolutionary Global Study Grants and Scholarship programme, which are open to students from all over the world. On allotment of the grant, qualifying students can secure a partial scholarship that reduces the tuition fees up to 50 per cent. The funds will be made available to qualifying students in order of application, from anywhere in the world, until the fund runs out.”

HTI to organise leadership and personality development camp in May '09

Mumbai─based Hospitality Training Institute (HTI) in association with Turning Point, Nature Trails and Saif Creations is organising its leadership and personality development residential summer camp 'Discover 09' at the Dabhosa Waterfalls Resort in Maharashtra during May. The six day long summer camp is open to individuals above the age of 15.

The camp's first batch will be conducted from May 1 till May 6, and the second batch (in Marathi) during May 6 to May 11. Third batch of the camp is slated from May 11 to May 16, and the last batch will be held from May 16 to May 21. The camp fees has been fixed at Rs 5,900 per person (including travel, meals as well as lodging for six days, which excludes taxes and insurance). HTI has announced group offers and early bird offers for the camp. After completion of the camp, the participants will be awarded with a certificate by HTI.

Elaborating on the camp, Dominic Costabir, Director, HTI (India) Pvt Ltd said, “Discover 09 is for 'iGen's', the young generation with access to education, luxury and technology. But the pressure,

Mineral Water from Billbury

Billbury Food and Beverages Pvt. Ltd. has launched its entire range of Mineral Water products. The three major brands of mineral water from Billbury namely 'Glaciers', 'Vitalife' and 'Hangover Over'. Glaciers is the most natural form of mineral water and is priced at Rs 35 for a one litre bottle and Rs 20 for a half litre bottle. Vitalife is a wellness beverage and the technical know─how comes from Japan though Billbury's fully Indian owned company with independent production facilities in Himachal Pradesh. Hangover Over as the name suggests will ensure that there are absolutely no hangovers after alcohol consumption. Priced at Rs 65 for a one litre bottle, it is also available in half litre bottles which are priced at Rs 45. This pricing also hold true for Vitalife.

Hoteliers in Puri to bear cost for cleaning beaches

On the right track

Sobriety seems to have descended on the hospitality and travel industry at last. In an unprecedented move, major associations of the hospitality, travel and aviation industry got together and collectively drafted and submitted recommendations for the Union Budget 2010─11. Although Union Budget failed to address the tourism and hotel industry's long standing demands; the window of opportunity comes from the proposal to claim investment linked deductions (as an alternative to profit linked deduction) under Income Tax Act to new hotels of two─star category and above anywhere in India. Hospitality Biz gathered views from industry experts and the unanimous verdict was that this move is likely to augment hotel industry's growth and is also a welcoming sign for upcoming projects. This one step should be converted into a long journey as nothing can be achieved instantly.

Overall the Finance Minister seems to have presented a favourable budget that will appeal to the 'common man'.