Category: Hotels

Fortune Hotels, a member of ITC’s hotel group, has announced the launch of a comprehensive safety and hygiene programme for guests and associates. Termed ‘Safe Stays at Fortune Hotels’, the initiative revolves around safety and hygiene protocol, from pre-arrival to check-out. This programme is set on 10 pillars of safety and hygiene that will be diligently implemented across its hotels as they re-open/commence operations. The programme comprises an all-encompassing protocol and best practice adherence around 10 key pillars namely- deep cleaned & sanitized rooms, safe public spaces, social distancing for hospitality, F&B hygiene and safe handling procedures, safe meetings, hygiene ... Read more

The latest hotel booking data from Smith Travel Research (STR) has revealed for the first time in the many weeks since the pandemic took hold, US hotels have sold over ten million room-nights during the week that ended May 9, 2020. These numbers demonstrate an uptick of more than three million room-nights over the week of April 11. US hotel occupancy rose to 30.1% for the weekend of May 9, showing an increase in weekend occupancies for the second week in a row. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) at hotels in resort destinations was still down by 82.4%, as compared ... Read more

Hundreds of skiers hit the slopes at Slovenia’s highest ski resort on Sunday after it reopened following a coronavirus lockdown that lasted nearly two months, news agency Reuters has reported. Slovenia became the first European country on Thursday to declare an official end to its coronavirus epidemic. The small mountainous country of around two million people has so far reported 1,466 coronavirus cases and 104 deaths. Slovenes still have to respect social distancing and are obliged to wear face masks in indoor public spaces as well as disinfect their hands when entering such areas. There were about 200 skiers at ... Read more

Almost all Indian states are concerned about the immediate future of the travel and tourism industry, which has been badly hit by the Covid-19 epidemic, but hardly any of them have come up with decisive steps. In this context what the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government is trying to do, appears positive. The state government should pay 50% salary of at least half of the employees working in the hospitality sector, UP’s director general (DG) of tourism Ravi Kumar has said in a draft proposal. In the proposal prepared for a giving a “bailout package” to the tourism industry, Ravi Kumar ... Read more

By Maneesha Ajit Is our hospitality sector pet ready? In a post Covid environment what measures do we adopt to ensure that our pets are safe and healthy while staying at a hotel or resort? Do we have enough number of trained staff members who can meet the demands of a family travelling with pets? Make no mistake, the lockdown period has been a testing time for pets too. It’s not just us who are feeling the frustration. Though WHO had refuted claims of animals transmitting the disease a lot of unfortunate incidents have surfaced. But on the bright side, ... Read more

China appears to be leading hospitality major Marriott’s recovery. Occupancy rates in China have gone from single-digit lows in February to just over 30% currently, “China does appear to be recovering and holding. I know there is lots of debate on if there’s a resurgence of the virus in China,” Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson said on Monday during the first quarter earnings call. “By and large, what we hear there is reassuring.” Coronavirus first impacted Marriott’s China portfolio in January before ramping up elsewhere in March. Marriott properties in Chinese resort markets saw close to 70% occupancy rates ... Read more

How many Malayalis have seen the Champakkulam boat race live, after having a grand breakfast at a luxury villa? How many Malayalis have seen the Aranmula kannadi, while being educated on it by experts? Or let’s say how many have actually seen the Thrissur pooram and then retreated into a spa at a five star property? How many have seen a live Kathakali performance while experiencing the hospitality at any of Kerala’s leading resorts? Or let’s ask how many have undergone a panchakarma treatment or stayed in a luxury houseboat for a night? While all these may sound familiar, the ... Read more

Will the state government’s move, allowing for deferment of fixed electricity charges for a period of six months, help the hospitality industry? The sector had asked for a waiver of fixed charges, but that demand was not met. Tourismnewslive.com quizzed a number of leading industry players about this, seeking their comments. Over to their views. Chacko Paul – Managing Director -The Travancore Heritage Chowara & Lepondy, Pondicherry Hospitality industry is one of the highest tax generating as well as the biggest provider of jobs. But it is also the worst affected sector due to this Covid-19 pandemic. In this present ... Read more

The ayurveda hospitality industry must focus on those consumers who truly need ayurveda as an essential part of their lives. The attempt should be to position ayurveda as close to nature tourism, says Ramnidhiwasan, founder of Mekosha, in an interview. Excerpts: Q: Ayurveda tourism is an important part of Kerala tourism. In the post Covid-19 world, how can we ensure that we don’t lose business? Kerala had built a good momentum in 2019. A world post COVID-19 would have the consumers focus only on the essentials. Leisure travel, travel as a hobby, travel for adventure and exploring, while they will ... Read more

The South Kerala Hotelier’s Forum (SKHF) has urged the state government to waive off fixed electricity charges for the next six months, instead of allowing deferment of the same. Most of the other states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat etc have already waived of fixed charges for HT consumers since March 2020. These states have big factories and industries where the fixed charges are huge. Still, these states were the first to announce such big relief measures to consumers, SKHF secretary general Manoj Babu said. “We had requested the Kerala government for waiver of fixed charges. But as the ... Read more

Below are some take aways from the discussion: Ø             Engage with employees at home & hotel, as they are the real assets. Ø             Safety and security are of paramount importance. Ø             Online learning to update skills. Ø             Work with government authorities, health workers, police etc. Ø             Engagement with guests. Use loyalty program to engage with the guests. Ø             No buffet service in near future,  portion food to be served. Ø             In case having displayed buffet, only trained associates to serve food from the buffet, as per FSSAI instructions. Ø             Guest to leave the in-room dining (IRD) tray outside their room. ... Read more

The South India Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) has urged the Kerala state government to help the hospitality sector by issuing suitable directions to the electricity board to help them reduce their overheads. In a letter to electricity minister MM Mani, SIHRA vice-president (Kerala) Suresh M Pillai said power bills are one of the major expenses for the hospitality industry. The letter requested the minister to waive off demand charges during the lock-down period and energy bills be charged on the basis of actual consumption units. The load factor incentives should be calculated excluding the lock-down period and average bills ... Read more

Kerala Tourism should find a solution to improve Munnar’s fortunes by constituting a new body with the involvement of local authorities and industry. If Munnar and nearby areas can be further beautified with a proper vision for the future, it will be a game changer not only for Munnar tourism but also for whole of Kerala Tourism, says Shankar R Nair, general manager, Blanket Resorts, Munnar. In an interview, he says lack of awareness among guests about the places to visit in Munnar along with the activities available, is a concern. If we can do some detailed planning on these ... Read more

The South Kerala Hoteliers’ Forum (SKHF) has written to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan urging him to request the concerned authorities to extend the moratorium on bank loans to a period of 12 months from March this year. RBI had granted moratorium for only a period of three months. Interest during the period should also be waived off, SKHF stated in the letter. These benefits should be made available to all accounts irrespective of whether the account is regular or whether instalments are overdue for payment, as of February this year. According to the directive issued by RBI, such overdue accounts ... Read more

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the US hospitality sector hard. About 80% of rooms in the US are empty, according to a new study. Hotel occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room were down significantly year-over-year for the week of March 29 through April 4, per a new report from STR, a firm that analyses hospitality industry data. Compared with the week of March 31 to April 6 last year, hotel occupancy was down nearly 70%, with only 21.6% rooms filled. “Data worsened a bit from last week, and certain patterns were extended around occupancy,” Jan Freitag, STR’s ... Read more