Category: Hotels

Foreign guests will likely stay away from India not just this year but the next as well, EIH executive chairman PRS Oberoi has said. EIH is the listed entity of The Oberoi Group that runs hotels under Oberoi and Trident brands in the country. The travel industry was among the first to be affected by the pandemic and will, in all probability, be the last to recover, Oberoi said in his address to shareholders in the latest annual report. “Due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, we expect very few foreign travellers to visit India in the current year and in the next ... Read more

Leisure travel to downtown Los Angeles has sagged during the coronavirus pandemic, but guest rooms at the 94-year-old Hotel Figueroa are hot commodities as always. These days, however, most guests are locals taking day trips from home so they can work. A special program titled Work Perks aims to reposition some of the hotel’s 268 rooms as day-use offices, says a report by CNN Travel. According to Managing Director Connie Wang, this is a great opportunity for work-at-home warriors to get out of their houses and spend workdays in clean, quiet and socially distanced spaces that come with high-speed WiFi, unlimited printing ... Read more

Prahlad Singh Patel, India’s Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, will inaugurate the two-day ‘FICCI Tourism Conclave’ on July 29. The conclave is being organised with a vision to bring together global thought leaders and key policy makers from the travel & tourism industry under one virtual platform to ideate, interact and share knowledge. The virtual conclave will create an opportunity for the participants to plan, promote, market, strategise and implement the best practices to revive the business in the sector, post COVID-19, the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) stated. The FICCI Tourism Committee said it ... Read more

Noesis Capital Advisors and Ngage Hospitality have designed a masterclass on digital strategies for hotels and resorts, dedicated to providing insights on how marketers can stay relevant in today’s intensely competitive and evolving environment. The session will be held on July 24. The masterclass titled ‘Digital Marketing Strategies for Hotels & Resorts to thrive in the New Normal’ will aid all hospitality-related businesses that want to redevelop or re-skill their marketing strategies with the present day tools. It is designed to have an interactive and ‘open discussion’ format. Industry leaders have been curated strategically for discussions to inspire and prepare you to ... Read more

Marriott International has announced the opening of its 800th property in Asia Pacific, the JW Marriott Nara in Japan. The launch marks the entry of the JW Marriott brand into Japan. The company also expects the EDITION and Aloft brands to debut in Japan before the end of the year. “We remain confident in the resilience of travel, our owners and franchisees, guests and associates as well as the future prospects of lodging in Asia Pacific, our second largest market,” said Craig S. Smith, Group President, Asia Pacific for Marriott International. “We are encouraged by recent trends, especially in China, ... Read more

Casino Hotel and Brunton Boatyard have become the first hotels in south India to get the Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene (WASH) certification from the Quality Council of India (QCI), CGH Earth has announced. QCI is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that governs ISO and NABH certifications. “CGH Earth has always consciously tried to create a safe and hygienic environment. We are happy to announce that Brunton Boatyard and Casino Hotel have been certified by WASH. The rest of our hotels and resorts will follow soon,” said Michael Dominic, CEO, CGH Earth. “The well ... Read more

The number of hotel room bookings under the “Rao Pai Tiew Gun” (Let’s travel together) campaign has reached 3.6 million. The campaign is one of the government’s tourism stimulus measures, providing a 40% discount per night (but not exceeding five nights) to 5 million travellers. Traisuree Taisaranakul, a deputy government spokeswoman, said that travellers are still booking hotels in the major tourism cities, most of them in the western and eastern regions, according to a report by Nation Thailand. People mostly booked hotels near the seaside for largely one-night stays. For slightly longer stays, people mostly booked hotels in the ... Read more

Radisson Hotel Group South Asia has announced its partnership with table reservation and food discovery platform EazyDiner to strengthen its food and beverage capabilities in the region. The collaboration will serve all 94 operating hotels of the group’s portfolio in India and will include table booking and home delivery services, Radisson Hotel Group South Asia said in a statement. “We are excited to roll out our association with EazyDiner to usher in a new era of restaurant dining and safe food deliveries with participation across our network,” Radisson Hotel Group, South Asia, MD and VP Operations Zubin Saxena said. “This partnership ... Read more

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has warned that tourism entities that fail to comply with health and safety protocols designed to facilitate the phased reopening of the tourism sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will be shut down. Speaking at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester, during a tour of the newly opened South Coast Resilient Corridor on the weekend, the Minister stressed that: “If you are not COVID compliant we are going to shut you down and whether you’re big or you’re small, because we cannot compromise on health security.” Minister Bartlett said: “The start of the South Coast ... Read more

Radisson has announced the opening of its new property near the Atlanta Airport. The hotel named Radisson Hotel Atlanta Airport is located just minutes from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and a short drive from downtown Atlanta. Guests can enjoy access to a complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle, unique dining experiences at the hotel’s onsite restaurant, ample meeting space and modern amenities. With the health, safety and security of guests and team members as its utmost priority, the hotel has begun implementing the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol program. “We couldn’t be prouder to open this incredible hotel near one of the ... Read more

The Madras High Court has directed Oyo Hotels & Homes to respond to a breach of contract case filed by Hotel Sakthi Park before its next hearing on August 12. The hotel, which is located 100 km south of Chennai, had filed a case against Oyo in the Madras High Court on July 10 for non-payment of minimum guarantee. The case was filed under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The hotel is now seeking relief and is requesting for a compensation of Rs 75 lakh from Oyo Hotels & Homes. The company was in a contract with Oyo ... Read more

ITC Hotels has announced a tie-up with food aggregator Zomato to deliver dishes from its restaurants to those craving a taste of Dal Bukhara and other ITC specialities. ‘Gourmet Couch by ITC Hotels’ is the chain’s most recent culinary offering that encompasses exclusively curated menus from ITC Hotels’ signature brands, delivered to the guest’s residence under stringent safety protocol.  Anil Chadha, COO, ITC Hotels said, “ITC Hotels has always showcased the finest culinary traditions through its globally acclaimed signature brands. However, in a world where change is the order of the day, it has been our endeavour to ensure our patrons ... Read more

Hotel Association of India (HAI), the apex body of the hotel industry in India, has said it will wholeheartedly support Jammu & Kashmir’s further development as a tourism destination. At the recently concluded India Global Week, KB Kachru, Vice President, Hotel Association of India and Chairman Emeritus and Principal Advisor South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group called on investors to consider J&K for their new ventures citing good returns based on promising infrastructure and in the Union Territory.  The India Global Week 2020 was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and witnessed the presence of several luminaries from across the ... Read more

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the government will help the travel and tourism industry only if they give recommendations regarding tackling the coronavirus situation. The minister advised the sector to help the Centre in achieving its objective of creating an Atma Nirbhar Bharat, even as the sector is struggling to keep itself alive in the wake of the global pandemic. Before the industry representatives attending the webinar realised what hit them, the minister fired the next salvo. He slammed the industry for its “bad practices” and “wrong doings”, asking it to look within. The officials of the ... Read more

American hospitality major Hilton has stopped operating its Hilton Cape Town hotel from Sunday, after nine years of running it. The property at the Buitengracht Street of Cape Town, will be handed back to its owner, Millat Properties. Hilton had recently announced that it would cut 2,100 jobs – more than a fifth of its corporate staff –  in response to the coronavirus crisis, which has decimated the hospitality industry. “Never in Hilton’s 101-year history has our industry faced a global crisis that brings travel to a virtual standstill,” said CEO Christopher J. Nassetta. In South Africa, leisure accommodation is ... Read more